Warner Family

Palm Desert in December

2012-01-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

It was our year for Christmas with the Warner Crew. Steve, who just got back from his mission, really wanted to go on a family vacation. Soooo, we headed to Palm Springs the week before Christmas.

Palm Springs isn't just for the Snowbirds anymore!!! We had so much fun.

My favorite thing about this family picture is my niece Elle. Her face is awesome. And out of the 5 different shots of the family we got, she has that same face in all of them!

Yes, it was warm enough to swim in December! The pools were all heated so even though the temp was high 60's, the water was great. Our kids LOVED the pool & the slide! Luke's an animal in the water.

Luke & Chase perfected their putting skills.

We took a lot of walks enjoying the amazing weather. Luke found the turtle featured above. He ran off at one point & became fixated on this rock which actually turned out to be a turtle :)

(My 6 year old has mad photo posing skills!)

The first snow we've seen all winter was actually in Palm Springs. We rode the Palm Springs Tram up a big mountain & actually played & froze a little in the snow. The tram ride was really neat.

All in all a great little vacation. My kids had a blast being able to play. So much so that we cancelled our plans to visit "the happiest place on earth!"

I'm leaving out a lot.

Like our visit to Uncle Cole's who feeds us every time we are in So Cal.

And our nightly family games. They've dubbed me "The Ruthless Competitor" which i think is a bit harsh. But I do like to win. And the boys in the fam are sore losers.

Christmas

2011-12-27T21:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it came & went as fast as it did! We had a great Christmas. It was quiet & a lot of time spent with just the 5 of us. Here are just a few from the 2 days of festivities.

The Kids all dressed up to head to Aunt Jill's house for a yummy prime rib dinner. I thought I'd get their picture before their clothes/faces were covered in food.

I love these outake pictures of our little photo session. Can you imagine how life will be for Tess with these two as her brothers as she gets older. It makes me happy.

Santa made Luke's life with these 2 superman figurines. Too bad he lost one at church an hour later :( He is obsessed with superman. He brings me his superman toys & demands that we play. So the past couple of days have been spent flying around the house making superman noises (?). I tried to make superman going "night night" as part of our play (& to be done playing superman) but Luke doesn't buy it. He's too smart. He's got me figured out.

Love this time of year with my kiddos & love teaching them & remembering the birth of our Savior. I loved having Christmas on Sunday & wish that it was that way every year. I thought a lot about His humble beginning this year. A king born in a manger. No designer crib. No perfectly decorated nursery. Just a stable & a bed made of hay. So simple & so perfect.

Until next year tree! We will say goodbye to you tomorrow. I'm ready to declutter!!!

Merry Christmas card

2011-12-22T22:12:00.001-08:00

Our cute friend Bri Webb designed our Christmas card for us this year & did such a great job! Getting Christmas cards thru snail mail is one of my favorite things about the season! We just got back from Palm Springs & have one day pretty much to get everything ready for this weekend. Eeeek!

being mom

2011-12-02T14:33:00.001-08:00

I've had a few experiences lately that have really got me thinking about life.

Deep I know.

But one happened just this week that I can't stop thinking about.

I traveled with Scott to LA for a short business trip he was doing. We met a lady named Jewel who was very successful, educated, very pretty, & well traveled.

We ended up having to be together for quite some time so I made an effort to get to know her & what not. She is 42, not married, lives in NYC, LA, & San Francisco. She knows many people, she has many contacts, she's worked for numerous big city companies doing marketing & what not. She told me about how she gets hit on by much younger guys because she looks much younger than 42. Her family is the most important thing to her & yet not once did she mention their names nor did she know how old her only nephew was.

Needless to say we were 2 very different gals but she was very nice & could hold conversation well so I didn't mind the differences at all & I don't think she did either.

EXCEPT

When she asked me what I did back in Utah.

That was when I told her that I was mom to 3 little kiddos.

BAAAMMM!

It was like a steel door had been closed right on my face. She didn't even acknowledge this very big detail & only detail she had asked for so far about my life.

She in fact laughed & turned away looking for someone else to talk to. I'm sure someone else who she thought was more educated, contributed more to society in some way or another, had something more to offer.

It was my first experience where I felt "in the world but not of the world!"

I have thought about this experience so much in the past 2 days. I am so grateful for it. So grateful for my 3 kids who keep me grounded & remind me what is most important in this life. So grateful for a husband that when I told him about this conversation said "Little does she know that you are doing the greatest work possible on this earth." So grateful for my testimony & the Holy Ghost that reassures me of how right the things I am doing in my life right now really are.

Like I said, our conversation pretty much ended right there but she did warm up a little more as we had to spend more time together. Being a mom is not super glamorous. I sometimes get those feelings inside that make me feel entitled to something more. Like "hey, I'm an educated woman. I could go out there & have a career instead of worrying about my laundry & what is for dinner."

But I choose my 3 little ones instead.

I choose to have a home where we try to fill it with meaningful, lasting things like our family.

Speaking of family, here are a few pics from Thanksgiving in St. George.

The table was set so beautifully. My mom did such a great job but right as she was making the last few things for dinner she got super sick. It was so sad. It still was such a great dinner we were just bummed mom couldn't enjoy it more.

The kiddos were able to play with all their cousins so they were pretty much in heaven.

Now on to Christmas......

Belize

2011-11-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

So I'm going to start out by saying that this is a really long post. But for sure one of the most memorable events i've experienced so it deserves to be long. Plus I'm not sure if anyone still blogs anymore (what with instagram being the hot thing & all - love it) but thats ok cause I think of this blog is something more for myself anyway. I started it way back before Chase was even 1. And now he is 6!

BELIZE

So a group of Pinnacle salesman & some wives headed down to Belize for a humanitarian trip. These boys & girl had to donate a certain number of their sales to the cause & then go down & work to build a home for some families with nothing. I have never done anything like this before. I had no idea what to expect. It was for me a huge eye opener. I feel like I came back with a whole new perspective on life. Which is why we can't wait to go back again. I need to be reminded of the blessings in my life. Especially the small ones like toilet paper.....cause the village of Chunox where we worked didn't even have much of that.

This is on our way to the village of Chunox. We had to take 2 of these ferries that were powered by hand to get to the village. We traveled on nothing but dirt roads. This is day 1 for Scott & I. I have many stories about our first night there but that may have to be a different post. It was an adventure to say the least.

There is someone doing this job 24 hours a day.

This is the village bar

That steaming pot of -who knows what - was our lunch for the day .....yummy, right next to the dirty clothes pile :)

This is Bri & Atom Webb. Atom was the one who organized this whole trip & did such a great job. And his sweet wife Bri......she is prego. She was such a trooper. I don't know if I could have done it being pregnant but she didn't complain or stop working once.

This is the front entrance to the Garcia family's home. You can see the poverty that they live in. It really offers no protection from weather or anything else really. They are a family of 8 living in this.

Dalia is the mom. She is such a hard worker. Always doing the laundry by hand or making her corn tortillas for their next meal. I really liked her. She always had a smile for us.

Here is where the kids play. I'm not sure how safe that teeter totter is.

I'm standing at the entrance of their home. You can see the mattress behind me with no sheets or blankets.

Megan is a fellow st. georgeian!! We all helped Dalia with making the corn tortillas.

This is how the dome (home) starts out. They blow up the large white contraption first & then cover it with cement. Inside is a kitchen, bathroom, etc. Super nice. YOu can tell I don't know much about the logistics of the whole thing.

The children were the sweetest things ever. I kind of really wanted to bring AnnaRuthie home with me :(

Jess with 4 of the 6 Garcia kids.

ok the food in the village was interesting. We were fed by a family in the village who helped us out during our whole stay. They were the more affluent people in the village. Their yearly income is about 4-6,000 belizian dollars which is about 3,000 US dollars. I didn't want to offend so I ate, plus i was starving but I'm not sure how I choked it down. I'm a wuss.

My hubby celebrated his birthday while we were there. Trapp's wife made him a giant birthday cake & we all sang to him. She was so proud. I thought it was the sweetest thing.

The Ladies

we worked mostly at the schools during the day since we couldn't do much on the dome. So this was the high school we helped paint. I loved the kids there. They were so shy yet wanted to talk to us so bad! School is expensive so not everyone goes. If there is a family with 4 kids usually just one goes. I can't imagine having decide which of my kids could not get an education.

The dome in progress.

We also worked at an Elementary School. Oh my goodness. The kids were darling! They all wear uniforms & act so polite. They speak English at school so we were able to talk with them. The little boy above loved the camera & i thought he was so handsome.

All the guys & the Garcia's

Another picture from the school

We had one free day before we left so the 6 of us (trey, jami, & the herrifords) hopped on a little plane to San Pedro. To catch a flight in Belize you only need to arrive 15 minutes before your flight leaves. & it is totally normal to have cell phone conversations while in flight. It was so crazy to me.

Aaaahhhh!

We stayed here one night before heading home. It was super nice.

And my most favorite restaurant of the trip. So good.

I have about a billion more stories & pictures but I'm done for tonight.

I am so grateful for my chance to do this.

As we head out for the Thanksgiving break, all I can think about is how blessed & thankful I am. It was great to help that family & another family had a dome started for them that will be finished later but I learned so much more from them.

They were kind & humble & loving!

The kids would hug us from the moment we stepped out of the van.

They were grateful.

We have way too many distractions here at home that I want to try to fix.

Home is so Sweet.

Our country is great.

My family is the most important thing!

11-11-11

2011-11-11T14:42:00.001-08:00

We spent 11-11-11 at the park watching dad play flag football & relive his glory days. It was super cold.

You would have thought it was the super bowl the way these guys were playing. I doubt they will be able to walk normal tomorrow. And we have a 10k to run in the morning. This weekend is really crazy. It is the year end party for Pinnacle. Everyone gets paid for their summer work. Lots of get togethers, parties, etc. I haven't seen my hubby much.

These 2 won the BYU intramural flag football league way back in our first year of marriage. Kind of fun that they are still together as friends & get to play again. Scott always reminds me of how they beat my ex-boyfriend in the championship. He had something to prove :)

The kids were so glad Elle was there to play with! Her hat is the cutest.

And sweet little Ivy. She was all bundled & even took a nap. Luke LOVES her.

I think we will finish off with a little pizza cause lets face it, I don't like to cook on Friday nights!! Happy 11-11-11

Epic home video

2011-11-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

So dancing is a regular occurrence at our house. So is LMFAO cause Lukey loves them. We close the shutters for a reason when we are having our daily jams & I'm busting out my moves right along with them. But never have I been able to catch them all dancing & all really into it at the same time. We sent it to dad who is out of town for work & made his day. This should make you laugh or at least smile.

my big halloween post

2011-11-03T12:46:00.001-07:00

I just have to start with this picture. Scott & his brothers sure got into the Halloween spirit this year! My handsome hubby has a slight obsession with Superman, oh Trey...., & danny the cowboy! I love this picture. kind of shows off their personalities well :)

MOMS HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA

It happens every year & this year did not disappoint. My mom loves all things HALLOWEEN. I think she spent something like 3 weeks decorating her backyard. There were lights everywhere, ghosts & witches on every branch, & a new addition this year.....body parts. (A Chase favorite)

We always look forward to seeing her costume :) She plans for this months before! And this year she was Smurfette.

I was Hermione, thanks to my awesome neighbor who lent me her costume. Unfortunately I'm the only Harry Potter fan in my family so they didn't appreciate it as much. Plus it would have been better with my spouse there. He was supposed to be Ron Weasley but was delayed on a flight in AZ so came halfway thru the party.

Matt as the big bad wolf & mindi & brady as jail birds.

My dad is so funny. He rolls his eyes at my mom for weeks before the party cause she's always planning or decorating.....she has a binder for it :) But in the end he loves it as much as she does. He put his foot down at being a smurf though. would have been so funny.

The kids got to play a ton of games. This one was wrap the mummy. I don't think they (the grandkids) know how good they have it.

Mom & Dad

This is Indie & Tess trick or treating at Dad's work. Two really cute kitties if you ask me.

I'm just going to finish with this last pic of Tess on her way out the door to trick or treat Halloween night. My kiddos loved it. Of course. And Luke was in high heaven & wore his dragon costume all day & night.

Now it's already November. It's always a CRAZY month for us. Here's hoping mom survives!

apple caramel cream cheese dip deliciousness

2011-10-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

We made this dip today & it was super yummy! I could have licked the bowl. My kids loved it! I halved the recipe but this is the original.

Apple DIP:

3/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla

8 oz cream cheese

-just mix together

Like I said, these 3 loved it & Tessa was like "MOM, it is so good & soooo healthy!" Yes Tessa, I believe cream cheese & sugar is very healthy also! :)

With Halloween fast approaching, I thought I would look back over our past 5 Halloweens. Can't believe how much my little ones have grown. (the one of me as a cheerleader is super gross. it was a last minute ordeal. I won't wear that one again.)

weekend

2011-10-25T22:15:00.001-07:00

I've decided that we will be forever the "mover & shaker" type of people. Our weeks & weekends have been super busy lately. Always good though.

A good friend of Scott's invited him & Chase to go to San Francisco to see a horse race (where his very own horse ended up winning the race!!). Yes that is my oldest baby at the controls of of an airplane. When did he suddenly get so old? I ask myself that daily.

Chase was obviously in high heaven having dad all to himself, not to mention his uncles who got to go too! I don't know why I love that goofy face Chase is pulling.

The other 2 kiddos & myself packed up & headed to St. George. We went to Staheli farm with the cousins. The picture above is them watching some pig races. So funny.

The terminator waiting for his tractor ride. I also learned that he loves country music while at the farm. The funniest moment of the night was when my sister accidently let loose one of the pigs from the petting zoo & the teens who were working the attraction had to call for back up. I've never seen a pig run so fast!

But most importantly we went to see this handsome 8 yr old get baptized. I want my Chase to be just like Dallin. He is the sweetest, nicest, smartest boy. Doesn't he look so handsome in his suit? He is my sister Marci's 2nd oldest & we love him. Don't mind grumpy in the picture. He loves Dallin too.

cali & no camera

2011-10-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Scott & i took a quick little trip down to Southern California for his cousins wedding. It was one of those weekends that was perfect. The weather was beautiful, we visited a temple we had never been to, & saw family we don't see regularly.

Us with the Bride (Katelynn) & groom (Eric). They are a super cute couple. They were both so excited & truly happy as they were sealed together. I love sealings. We are excited to have her as a part of the fam. If I would have had my camera, I would have taken pics of their reception. It was beautiful. My favorite part was all the different sized mason jars filled with candies on the table. And lights in mason jars hanging from the trees.

2 of the cousins we don't get to see enough. Julia & Richard. We even had a little dance party at the reception with everyone. Super fun.

It was great to spend the weekend with my hubby. The kids were home safe & sound with their aunt & favorite babysitter Taylor :)

I love this quote. I found it on pinterest (which can consume waaaay too much time if you aren't careful) but I loved it. Sometimes I get consumed with having the dishes all done, the beds made, & the laundry going. This helps me remember that I won't have these little ones home with me forever. The dishes can totally wait.

My camera is on the fritz so these are all some iphone pics. Here is my beefy little guy AFTER i took away his 3rd pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. He was so not happy with me. "Give me back my dang cookie!"

Chase on our first snow day :( Yep it has snowed once already

And just a random one with Tess playing with Ellie last month.

Chef/Talent show partay

2011-10-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great conference weekend the past couple of days. I always finish listening to the Prophet & apostles of our church & come away feeling better, feeling hope, & feeling the need to step it up. I loved it. My kids were actually quite good & quiet which is a miracle. I'm thinking some of the talks heard were really needing to be heard by us thus the miracle of quiet kids :)! We made pumpkin waffles Sunday morning which were so yummy, definitely a new tradition.

Here are the pictures from the "Harker Grandkids" chef party & Talent Show. I swear my mom should be a party planner, she always amazes at what she pulls off for her grandkids.

The kids all had chef hats & aprons

They started out by making their own pizza & then were able to decorate their own cake with all sorts of edible treats. My youngest pretty much just ate frosting the whole time.

Next up was the Talent Show. Tess decided to display some of her artwork. She was so proud.

Chase showed of his crazy good baseball skills :)

And Luke, well he showed us his run which is hilarious & also joined in with all the dance numbers.

You can tell the kids had a blast!!

My nieces danced, matti & alley sang, maci showed off her gymnastic skills, & shelbi jumped off the rock into the pool.

Logan played the recorder (it was so awesome), kade has almost all the articles of faith memorized (!!!), Dallin did pull ups, & blake swam the length of the pool without taking a breath.

Talk about talent!

My mom & oldest sister finished off the evening with a surprise performance to Michael Jackson. We have it on film & it's epic. We had so much fun. Thanks MOM!!!!

my poor child

2011-09-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

So we will never forget the famous unicorn bump of '09. The poor thing has scar tissue STILL! It was right before school pictures & we opted out of retakes cause it was just too awesome!

Here's the wound of 2011. I got a call from his school saying he had gotten hurt on the playground & could I come down & get him. I was thinking he had fallen off the monkey bars & was just done for the day. Nope, wasn't expecting this when I walked into the school office. (this pic actually makes it look quite mild too.) He said he fell into a "horn" bush. Pretty sure its a thorn bush. It was really quite gross to look at cause the scratches were all puffy. (if you look closely you can see the bump of '09). Turns out school pictures are this Friday (the actual accident happened last week). We laughed at this thinking of the memories we will have looking at all his head wounds throughout the years. Luckily it has healed nicely & almost gone so he will probably be scab free by Friday.

We were thinking this would also be a good look for pictures.

Or this

These are actually pics from my Mom's chef/talent show party. OOOhhhh lots of pics to come from that!!

DC

2011-09-23T13:46:00.001-07:00

A few weeks back, right after our camping trip & right before our trip to St. George, Scott & I hopped a plane to DC. He had an office there this summer & I had told him months back that it was the one place I for sure wanted to travel with him this summer. Well long story short, he didn't have to work but we decided to go anyway & see the sights. We were literally there a day & a half but had the greatest time. It poured the entire time we were there but we didn't care. We were the biggest touristas you have ever seen. We walked all over that city in the rain & our only regret was that we didn't have a little bit more time.

THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL

it was just as amazing in person as I thought it would be.

This building (all the buildings were so stately & beautiful, we couldn't get over it) held the constitution, the declaration of Independence, & the bill of rights. Very cool.

This was at the Ford Theater where Lincoln was assassinated. This museum/theater was one of our favorite spots. So much history. They have actual plays that still run in this theater. Of course no one sits in that box, but how fun would that be to see a show there.

The national monument. I was a little bit sad that the reflecting pool was under construction.

THE WHITE HOUSE

That's as close as you get. The first lady's garden is right out in front but of course with all the rain she was not out gardening. But I'm sure she's out there daily :)

All of these sights were within walking distance from our hotel. We stayed right on Pennsylvania Avenue.

At the SMITHSONIAN I saw all the first ladies innagural gowns. This one is Obama's.

And the famous Ruby Red Slippers.

Scott found Farrah Fawcett & her swim suit

And the van his family drove growing up.

The Smithsonian was so much fun. We could have spent a few more hours there.

We made a quick trip to the DC temple which was beautiful.

And even caught a few innings of a baseball game. Very important. Very historical :)

All in all a great trip. We want to go back again someday when we have a little more than 24 hours.

labor day camping

2011-09-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

I've never been much of a tent camper. In fact Scott asked me if I had been camping before & I told him "well duh, we went on a ton of Grisswald trips in the motorhome growing up." He laughed & then proceeded to tell me why that was NOT camping. I argued that sometimes we had to shower in the public campground showers so for me that was camping! He didn't buy it. So lately he has been spending a lot of time at Cabella's. He's had a bunch of scout camp outs & him & Chase went to fathers & sons & loved it so we decided we needed to take the whole fam. I had survived girls camp so I was pretty much up for anything!

It ended up being so much fun. My kids were out of their mind excited & we had the best time just letting them run around & play with their friends. They did awesome.

We even took this guy. He loved it!

Some of the kiddos enjoying their hot chocolate in the back of the truck. I think I counted like 26 kids at one point!

It was great, we definitely will go again. We want to go one more time before it gets too cold, maybe down south somewhere.

lots to blog

2011-09-15T22:17:00.001-07:00

We've been busy just trying to soak in all that is left of summer which really isn't much. I've already got my apple spice candle burning & pumpkin recipes that I want to try all ready to go.

We camped - in a real tent - over labor day. So fun. I have lots to post.

But I first had to post about this little one cause she's been sick lately with fevers & what not so I've been worried about her. She's fine, just got a little bug.

I asked Scott tonight if he ever just listens to her talk. She talks a lot. She is our most shy child but she talks non stop with us. She is very articulate for a 4 year old. It's kind of a crack up. When I'm in the car & I stop worrying about what I need to get done or how I'm late for this place, I just listen to her talk & it's so hilarious. She has a really high kind of voice (don't ask who she gets that from) & she will sing & tell stories the whole time. The other day she was telling me how she was the "star studio" in class. I didn't understand until I read the note that she was the "star student" for being good & participating. But she is constantly telling me about her "star studio" moment.

She's for sure a feather weight. I was laughing & telling some friends a while back how her swimsuit she was wearing was a 2t. Well I looked, thinking maybe i was wrong & it was a 3. I was wrong but it was an 18 month. (She had a ton of crack showing!)

She hates jeans & only wants stretch pants.

She loves her brothers more than anything but can antagonize with the best of them.

She still thinks her hair will turn brown if we cut it.

She colors non stop. And paints. And practices her letters. She loves that kind of stuff.

She woke up yesterday insistent that she goes on a date with dad. I melted & so did he.

We love her more than anything!

Some big firsts

2011-08-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

This one had his first day of kindergarten today! He is getting so old. He had picked out his shirt the night before & was dressed at 7:15 a.m. When he went in for his assessment he told the teacher he already had learned all this "stuff" so he didn't have to do it. Oh dear!!

I decided to start a little tradition. When he got home, there was a big cookie that said "1st day of K!" He loved it. I'm so glad I did it.

He said everything went great but that they didn't go on a field trip & that was kind of a bummer. (didn't know he was expecting that the first day.)

He also said he sat still (something we talked to him about beforehand) but the teacher wouldn't call on him & he just had one more question to ask her. This made me laugh. Knowing my child, he had probably asked 14 million questions by this time.

She had her first day back to preschool last week. My favorite thing is picking her up & listening to her talk about what they did that day.

He had his first krispie Kreme! I don't think there needs to be an explanation on how much he loved it.

My younger sister Meisha had her little boy Saturday! His name is Mack, he weighed 6 pds. 15 ounces & is absolutely perfect. It is her first boy. His big sister is Ellie. We can't wait to go down & meet him. And yes, she looks that good after JUST having a baby. Not fair.

You know it's bad when....

2011-08-26T18:36:00.001-07:00

You know things are bad when you look over to find your 18 month old eating applesauce with his sisters paint brush & the only thought you have is "Oh, so glad he found something to eat!"

We've had the flu this week. Started with Tess, then me. Then I felt ok & decided to eat an entire bowl of berries & cream while celebrating a friends birthday at Ruth's Chris. Bad idea. I got it again & so did Chase. Not to mention the fact that Scott is at Scout camp. Awesome. Here's to hoping that things will be better tomorrow.

This little guy hasn't been hit with it yet.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed cause 1. that would be sad & 2. I'm sick of cleaning up puke

End of summer/really long picture post

2011-08-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

Tess starts preschool tomorrow, Chase kindergarten next week :(

It's feeling like the END OF SUMMER!

so I wanted to post our Cali trip.

BIKING ON THE BEACH

This was for sure my favorite thing on the trip! It reminded me of the summer trips we used to take to a beach house when I was a little girl. Always with the same families!

I remember biking on the beach & wanting my hair the same as Brittani :)

So I've started a new little tradition with my own little clan.

And let me tell you, they LOVED it.

Especially the hubby.

DISNEYLAND

We had to do it at least one day. Even though it was super crowded & prices have gone up people!!

But look at my lukey in this picture. He was done before we even entered the gates! Don't worry, after a few rides, half a bottle of propel, & throwing up.....the kid finally took a nap & was good to go for the rest of the day.

Tessa & i loved the parade the best. It's new. All about princesses.

ORANGE COUNTY FAIR

We were looking forward to this part of our trip the most. This is one good fair! The food is great (turkey legs are scotts favorite), they have fried everything, & all the other good carni food, rides, & games.

Luke loved this ride & sobbed when it was over!

This llama's teeth is my favorite!

THE POOL

THE BEACH

AND THE PLANE RIDE HOME!

Yes, that is me really close to tears if not already there & we hadn't even boarded the plane yet. This bad boy was so tired, he was beyond being consoled. So he just screamed. It was great!

It was a good 1/2 hour of screaming on the plane before he settled down & slept. We vowed we would never travel with him again. Ever.

(but we seem to forget pretty fast too)

iphone pics

2011-08-19T11:50:00.001-07:00

Tess got some dress up jewelry, crowns, microphones, etc from grandma for her bday.

Needless to say, she loves it & wants to wear it everywhere :)

Not helping the princess complex she has going for her!

Tomorrow our Cousin Cam is in a BBQ cook off competition in Salt Lake.

He makes THE BEST bbq i've ever tasted.

No, I did not eat all that food in front of me but I sure wanted to.

One of the last competitions he was is he beat out the #1 professional bbq guy with his pulled pork. So Yummy!

We ate one night down at Downtown Disney while we were in Cali. And one day soon I'm going to blog about that trip.

Last Saturday Scott & I ran our 3rd half marathon this year. It was a great course, I would for sure do it again. It was the Provo River Trail run. He smoked me this time. Which was hard cause I'm kind of competitive. But he beat his personal best by 8 minutes!!! Who does that? I was so proud.....even if he beat me :)

Its hard to think that summer is almost over. This was the kiddos last year on the 1st day of school & I can't believe how big they look now. Time is just flying by & I feel like I have to make a conscious effort to slow it down a bit. To not rush through each day but enjoy it cause these 3 are getting too big too fast.

He arrived

2011-08-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

So Steve made it home safe & sound after 2 years doing the best work possible in Brazil!

We are so proud of him!

He has matured a ton but is still the same fun loving Stevie that we all love so much.

We are so excited to have him back.

One of the best things about having Steve back is how much he loves my oldest!

He loves all 3 of our kiddos of course, but him & Chase have a cute little bond.

Steve thinks of him as a little brother & how great is it for Chase to have one more great example in his life.

Indie & the terminator

I just wish we had gotten little Ivy in this picture with these 2.

The 3 Steve had never seen until yesterday.

2 years ago

2011-08-10T21:23:00.001-07:00

This was us 2 years ago with little brother Stevie.

My babies were still babies.

I was prego with baby Luke.

Steve was still a baby compared to now.

And my hubby was one hot baby!

(hahaha, I just had to add hubby in with the whole "baby analogy" & it just came out really cheese ball gross.)

These 3 are all grown up now.

Especially Steve :)

We can't wait to see him tomorrow!

2011-08-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

We've been gone a bunch!

I'm behind on all of our summer craziness. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind, I'm not sure if I'm coming or going. We spent a week in California, followed by girls camp for me, & a weekend with my family in Midway. We feel so blessed though, we've had such a great summer.

Our garden got away from us while we were gone & we came home to find this over grown zuchinni! Chase brought it in the house, set it one the counter, & then asked me where the bread was. He was thinking he was going to get warm, fresh zuchinni bread as soon as it came in.

Our spunky, sassy, & sweet Tessa Belle turned 4 on Saturday. We love her to death & were able to celebrate with cousins. Thank heavens for grandma who spoiled her with presents. I had just gotten home from girls camp & had just enough time to shower & throw in a load of laundry. I felt unprepared but Tess didn't even notice, she had so much fun with her cousins.

Love those two redheads!

These pics were cracking us up!

Thanks for the fun weekend mom & dad!!!!

Its been a while...

2011-07-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

Summer is busy! And life moves way too fast these days.

I can't believe it is already the end of July. Where are my lazy summer days?

Anyways, my lens broke on my camera & i just got my new one in the mail yesterday.

But I have some photos that I haven't posted with the kiddos & their cousins.

We have had almost all my sisters stay with us this summer & we've loved every little visit.

We've done a lot of this....running thru the sprinklers!

Seriously one of the best things about summer & being a kid.

I love everything about this picture EXCEPT the squinty eyes.

We were able to have Ally with us for us few days. She is my oldest sisters youngest. We had such a good time with her.

I have a funny story about my 2 sisters kids.

They want their hair done & clothes on immediately after they wake up. It is bizarre to me. We don't get dressed sometimes till early afternoon if that. Sometimes it just doesn't happen at all. So whenever I have Mindi or Megans kids we are ready first thing in the a.m. It makes me laugh so hard cause that is sooooo my older sisters!!

Ok the best thing about this photo is my niece Lucy in the right hand corner. She's yelling at something or someone. But if you look closely, we are all smiling at the camera & Luke is giving Lucy the look of death. Classic.

Sometimes my parents pool looks like the regular city pools on a Saturday afternoon jammed pack with kids. Except the best part of it is that all the kids are cousins (& we don't have to worry about any nasty pool spreading disease)! I didn't have cousins my age or really even close to my age growing up. I want them to know how lucky they are to have that.

The fam went to Little Mermaid (with kids) & Grease (no kids) at Tuachan a few weeks back.

Both shows were great but i enjoyed Little Mermaid a little bit more. The special effects are amazing. & my kids LOVED it. They sat thru the whole thing & didn't make a peep.

I love Tuachan mostly cause I spent an entire summer there after High School but also for the scenery. It is such a beautiful setting. No where else like it.

Thanks mom & dad!!!!

Megan & I took our crew to the zoo & they were able to fit in quite nicely ;)

(Tessa, Maci, Matti, Logan, & Chase)

And one last shot tonight of my youngest.

He has been extremely whiney & crabby the past week (maybe even month)

And as I was brushing his 4 bottom teeth tonight, I think i found out why.

He's got a bunch of teeth just about to break thru his gums.

Poor guy.

Worst teether ever!

2011-07-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

i'm having a holiday hangover i think.

We had such a fun 4th of july weekend that this morning was a real let down: laundry, Wal-mart, & cleaning my floors just wasn't that great today.

Hopefully I get over it tomorrow (which tomorrow is less than an hour away!)

It was like Christmas in july for these two!

They were so excited for a bbq & fireworks they could hardly stand it!

i didn't get a family picture of us but i did snap this one of the kids with grandma & grandpa warner that I'm absolutely in love with!

They were so cute in their 4th of july attire. love them.

Luke, Tess, Indie

It was such a great day with friends & family.

Even the rain didn't stop our firework show.

2011-06-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to my one & only!

This daddy is absolutely adored by his little ones!

(Yes, Luke was stealing the peanut butter chunks off the top of the cake & eating them faster than I could say stop!)

And to my own dad.....Love you tons!

2011-06-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

We have been loving this home we moved into back in November. So since this is our first spring in this house, we have been in LOVE with the backyard. It is quickly becoming one of our favorite things. Here are some of my favorites that just popped up all on their own. (I took pics so that come November when we are covered in snow again, I will remember what I have to look forward to.)

Something edible!!!

The roses are from our yard & so are the strawberries!

I'm in heaven i think. I do not have a green thumb at all but I'm thinking I want to learn more.

The strawberries were already planted & then with the help of my friend we planted some more veggies. Hopefully they grow too. It is Chase & Tessa's favorite thing to water & check on the little garden. They can hardly wait to pick the red strawberries!

And #3 got his summer buzz.

So much less traumatic than Luke's buzz :)

the rest of Chicago

2011-06-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to the rest of our Chicago photos!

We've been busy enjoying this warm weather.....yay for summer!

I love these street performers & yes they always get me for a buck or two. I'm a sucker for it. But they are good. I've seen them in years in past & they always make me laugh. I wish I knew how much money they make off of all their shenanigans!

This guy jumped over 5 people!

We met up with Kristin again (yay) & all the little rugrats!

We had no car this day so Kristin braved the traffic & I braved the cab to meet her at the downtown zoo! Thanks for meeting us, we love you girlies!!!

Lukes favorite part was not the animals. It was this guy & his guitar!

I had never seen this before. Michigan Avenue was full of tulips!

It was beautiful.

Not only is it one of my favorite streets ever, but then they lined it with tulips & I had died & gone to heaven!

Our first attempt at a family photo

much better :)

i love how tess has her hand on her dads chest!

And my last Chicago picture for the blog!

We took the kids to a baseball game.

dodgers (shocker) vs. the white sox

BTW Luke ate an entire hot dog, bun & all! He is a bottomless pit.

He usually eats more than both of the older kids.

He hasn't found his stop button yet.

But look at his face in this picture!

It is one only his mother could love.

i've got a hot date tonight!

2011-06-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

It is our anniversary today!

9 YEARS!

what? what?

Can I get a "Heck Yeah!"

(that would sound better if I used the real swear word huh.)

I LOVE my hubby more than anything!

He's my bff & stuck with me forever.

(i don't like to get too mushy on the blog)

Chase makes the exact same face he is making in this picture.

Love you lots hubby!

randoms

2011-05-31T13:32:00.001-07:00

we had a great memorial day weekend. We were able to spend it with our families & there really is nothing better. The weather did not permit any real outdoor fun, but we did take the kids to the cemetary to see all the flags up in honor of our soldiers. (it was a great idea right, until Chase remained fixated on what would happen if we dug up the coffins. Morbid right? it's not like i let him watch CSI or anything!)

Lately I've been super grateful & have felt so blessed for my 3 little ones.

That seems to happen when I hear another story of a family struggling, not my own but one close to me. It puts things in perspective. I want to never take a single day for granted with my little ones!!

The 2 littles are my shadows.

They follow me everywhere & want to help with everything!!

This was them & typically is them helping me make dinner.

I love this little guy. Tantrums & all. He does the cutest thing when I give him a snack. He walks over & sits on the bottom step of the stairs. I die every time.

We also had our first t-ball game!

What? Is he that old??!!!

Of course he loved it. & of course i loved it.

And scott got it all on film.

Hahaha!

chicago....part 1

2011-05-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

we took a ton of pictures so this may be picture overload!

Last week we packed up & headed back to Chicago for a little visit.

We just can't stay away!

The week started out rough, really rough. I caught a nasty flu bug before we left & my hubby had to take care of me & the kiddos cause I was down flat. He then flew out to St. Louis where he came down with the same bug! It was brutal. I had to call my friend (thanks Jess if you are reading this) to take care of my hubby in St. Louis.

I never thought we would ever be able to make it to Chicago but we did! We met up with Scott and had a super fun, super busy time!

Our first stop was the field museum. We hadn't done it before so decided to give it a whirl! It was not as kid friendly as say the aquarium out there, but we still had a great time. I personally think the building is beautiful!

This is SUE. The giant T-rex.

Chase loved it.

oh my 5 year old was in rare form this trip.

He totally posed.

Wondering how my 15 month old terror did on the flight???

He was great on the way there. The way home was a whole other nightmare.

The first night we were there we were able to hang out with my bestest friend from college & her hubby. We met up in this crazy posh suburb & went to dinner & then bowled. The bowling alley was super fancy. Leather couches, big screen tv's, a big step up from FAT CAT'S.

I bragged to all me fellow bowlers how I took a bowling class at BYU!

I probably should have never told them that since the first game i bowled something ridiculous like 50.

Kristin & myself.

Love her.

talk to her everyday almost. And wish so badly we lived closer.

It had been last summer since I had seen her but it felt like last week!

a little group shot.

We ate the best food, had such great company, & finished it off with bowling.

Thanks for hanging out with us guys!!!

Wish you lived in UT ;)

2011-05-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

we spent last week down in St. George & finally got to enjoy some sun!!

See all that beautiful red hair? It's gone now. Pictures to come. It's kind of a funny story. I say funny now cause I've come to grips with it but at the time it was not so funny.

We swam & ate poppies (popsicles) all day. Chase is a champion swimmer these days.

Maci, Tessa, & Chase

Ellie & Meisha

Brinkley (the birthday girl) & my Luke

We had a great time. My sister was out of town so we stayed at her house with her kiddos. It was quite the adventure with 7 kids (two of them being 1 year olds! eeeekkk, twins would be nuts!) but my kids were in hog heaven. Chase idolizes his older cousin Logan so the chance to have a sleepover with him was big time exciting stuff!!!

easter 2011

2011-04-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend filled with egg hunts, egg dying, & yummy food.

We tried our best to teach the kiddos what Easter means to us on Sunday & without a doubt it was my favorite moment of the whole weekend.

Chase made a classic comment on Saturday.

I called out to them, "Who wants to die Easter eggs?"

He came running up the stairs & yelled "Which eggs are we going to kill first mom?"

Luke raided his brother's bucket.

And found a milky way which he kept hidden from us, ate it complete with wrapper, & then smeared what he didn't want all over the walls & carpet.

Trouble!

but it is really hard to be too mad at this face.

If you are not a cougar fan.....

2011-04-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

you have to at least be a Jimmer fan!

We got to meet him last night while he was at Pinnacle doing some stuff for Scott's work.

Chase was soooo excited. We pulled up & he wanted to know which one was Jimmer's car.

(Jackson Emery told us it was a silver hyudai or something like that, & I thought.....not for long!)

He was a super nice guy. Very patient with all us adoring fans wanting his picture & autograph.

Chase got a little nervous. He was star struck. He gets that from me, not his father :)

He also wanted to ask Jimmer why he wasn't good at football.

I put the kabosh on the question before it was asked.

yep, even mom got a photo.

WOOT, WOOT!

I'm a jimmer fan.

We watched him sink a shot from way beyond the 3 point line.

He is crazy good.

Scott & his besties.

Hahaha.

Not really but he told me I should write that.

When my bro in law saw this pic on facebook he asked him how he kept his shoes so white.

So Matt!

I wish we would have prepped Chase a little more to meet Jackson Emery. He was so darling.

Is darling not a good word to describe a guy.

Probably not, but he was so nice. Telling us how his wifey is prego with a boy. Chase was just so focused on meeting Jimmer that he didn't give Jackson much attention.

Such a fun thing to do!

I also got a picture of just Scott & Jimmer that i told him i would blow up to an 11x14 glossy for our family room. Scott may have a man crush. Just kidding....kind of.

Tessa's dance recital

2011-04-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

My Tessa's first dance review!!

You would have thought she was the star soloist with all the attention we were giving her & pictures we were taking. It was so much fun to watch her. Her class did not disappoint!

It was a classic 3 year old ballet class complete with crying, waving, checking out the lights, pushing, etc.

We laughed so hard.

They were the stars of the show!!

Her little dance studio did the secret garden, & Tess was a butterfly.

I was so impressed at the whole show!

It was done so well & so many of the kids were from our neighborhood/ward so that made it even better!

She was so excited to wear make up.

Chase said to her "Wow Tessa! YOu look soooo beautiful."

Hopefully this is the first of many!

Scott was such a proud dad. He was nervous the whole time that he was going to miss when her dance started & he wouldn't get the whole thing on film. It was cute.

thanks family for coming to watch :)

oldest 2 youngest

2011-04-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

Um, Justin Beiber has nothing on my 5 year old.

He's got some moves.

He is especially fond of dancing to Michael Jackson songs on our window sill/bench.

He puts on a great show, complete with the moonwalk.

This one has her dance show next week!

She's a butterfly & cannot wait!

Mom can't wait either :)

And this one is just crazy!

Crazy.

He skipped the walking stage & went straight to running.

I can't turn my back on him for a second.

Love them all!!!!

2011-04-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

"The seemingly insignificant acts of daily life are the tests of eternity,

because they prove what spirit possesses us."

~andrew murray

I'm not an inspirational ghandi type blogger at all.

But I loved that quote when I read it on an inspirational blog that I love to look at.

Isn't it great?

I was inspired a lot this past Sunday after listening to conference.

The gospel is such a huge blessing in my life & i am grateful every.single.day for it!

We missed the saturday sessions because Scott & i took a little get away to LA minus our little ones! We had such a great time. Another blessing, being able to spend a couple days with the hubby. We went down specifically for the dodgers first home game. We've tried to make it a little tradition.....just the two of us.

GO DODGERS!!!

{we go from one sport to another so fast in our house it's hard to keep up!!}

rise & shout

2011-03-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

We're ready for the game!

Are you?

Go Jimmer, Go Jimmer, go go Go Jimmer!!

Viva Las Vegas

2011-03-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

We are Jimmer fans in our house.

My hubby being the biggest. So of course we headed down to Vegas for the Mountain West Conference!

Actually, the hubbs headed down for the games & we went along for the ride :)

the kiddos at Ceasers

Luke's first visit to a casino & Scott felt like it was important to get it all on film :)

The kids were like "Lets go play some games!!!!"

And I was just praying Chase wouldn't spot out some showgirl or what not.

Not that he's into that.

He's 5.

But there was a time when he thought Victoria's Secret was the most beautiful store he had ever seen!

So Vegas makes me nervous.

here we are at Cheesecake Factory.

There is really nothing to say about this pic except that my 1 year old is a complete TERROR at restaurants. The only place he should dine at is the golden arches. Mickey D's baby!

He's like a bull in a china shop.

He's crazy.

We met some of our friends down there. Went swimming (that i got no pictures of), shopped at a fun outdoor mall, & attempted to eat out.

Jen & I loaded the SUV up with all 5 kids & headed down the strip.

We wanted to roll down our windows & blare disney radio!

It just felt funny cruising the strip with 5 kids :)

{Raise your hand if you think Circus Circus is Ghetto Ghetto}

Talk about pricey, won't go there again. Total rip off.

But we managed to still have fun.

While there the grandpas taught Luke how to give high fives.

{HI MOM}

This was the best we could do.

It's all we got.

I think it is impossible to get a picture with 5 people, all looking at the camera & all smiling.

Top of the Morning

2011-03-17T09:13:00.001-07:00

Some St. Patricks day LOVE from my little kind of Irish looking lad!

Have I mentioned that he is walking now?

And that there is a path of destruction wherever he goes.

It's Awesome!

for my mom

2011-03-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

we are totally posed here but thats ok!

happy birthday mom/grandma!!!

We love you more than anything.

if you've read my blog before you know how amazing my mom is.

She is there for me whenever I need her.

She makes the best Hot Chocolate around.

And I don't know too many grandmas who will dress up as snow white just to have a tea party!

My kids adore her.

We are so lucky!

Some favorites/joy of love assignment

2011-03-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

These were taken last weekend in St. George.

Not much to say to go with the pics, just like em.

Dogtown Half

2011-02-28T21:54:00.000-08:00

We did it!!

We ran our first half marathon together in St. George this past weekend.

I love that the hubbs & I have found something else we love to do together.

We ran separately during the week but on Saturdays we would always try to do our long runs together (in the past we would eat McDonalds breakfast every saturday...... im thinking this is a better habit for us.)

And it paid off, we started & finished together.

I'm so proud of him, he has really only been running for about 6 weeks now.

So glad I had my hubby with me though.

You feel so accomplished after running that far so to do it with your favorite person feels so so good.

The day was freezing & rainy & the course had a gradual incline I swear the whole way but we still had a great time. My sis Megan also ran it too with some of her buddies!!

My time wasn't as fast as my last half in October but I was just happy to finish in just over 2 hours. I had gotten the flu the Wednesday & Thursday before & then ran Saturday so I was just praying I could make it.

Running really is so mental!

So what's next??

I think we are going to do another one in April.

Scott is trying to talk me into a full marathon but I'm still not sure about that!

So much time!

It's a part time job with all the training.

Have you heard about that guy running across America.

He started last Friday at Disneyland & will finish in New York.

(follow him on Regis & Kelly)

He has to average 40-50 miles a day.

While training, he did the equivalent of a marathon or more every day!

CRAZY.

I can't even imagine. So fascinating to me.

super cutsie

2011-02-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

i just changed my desktop picture to this cute one above.

it's free on Leelou-blogs.com

FREE!

i love it

But what i'm really going to love is when Scott sees it on our desktop for the first time!

hahaha :)

i just had to share

Blast from the Past

2011-02-21T20:51:00.000-08:00

(morgan, me, heather, brooke, cicely)

This pic is scary. It's an iphone picture gone bad!

But I had to document my girls night out at the Cougarette Concert this past weekend!

Heather & I ate at Brick Oven of course & then headed over to the concert where there were a ton of cougs from our 3 years on the team!

It was their 65th anniversary & Jodi's 20th year!!!

So much fun to see old friends who were like sisters for those years at college.

I L.O.V.E.D. college

& it was pretty much because of the girls I was with.

We spent everyday together & most weekends doing exactly what we all loved!

Loved the concert (they were awesome) & loved seeing old friends!!

It kind of puts me right back to those coug days, all the funny stories, & kept me wondering

"did I really move that fast when we danced??"

Heather assured me we did :)

I also kind of felt a little old!

The 3 kiddos had a night out with dad @ Cabella's

They are obsessed with Cabella's.

Grandma & Grandpa W took them a couple of weekends ago & now that is all they want to do.

So they all headed up to Cabella's again!

Tessa's favorite thing are the tents & shopping.

Luckily this time no one puked on grandma (last time it was Chase)

I thought i was done with winter hats.

I was wrong.

so much snow this weekend!

oh happy monday!

We all pretty much stayed in our pj's today

This is Funny!

2011-02-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

We had a great Valentines day!

But the best part of the whole day was my hubby's card.

Those of you who know him well, know he hates Twilight.

He's funny. But please don't ask him about :)

So he found the most perfect card & doctored it up for me.

I laughed so hard!!

Do you love that he used his high school photo? I sure do!

But the inside is just as good.

The inside plays edward's voice talking to Bella.

so funny.

He made my valentines day!!

Plus spoiled me with flowers & chocolate covered strawberries.

love him.

Here is another valentine of mine!

We think he is starting to resemble Justin Timberlake during his NSYNC days.

"you may hate me but it ain't no lie, baby bye bye bye!!!"

love him too.

All about the Lukester

2011-02-09T19:02:00.001-08:00

It is official, he's one!!

I will try not to go on & on about how much we adore this little guy.

I think I do that a lot BUT he is the baby!

And such a sweet one too.

We tried to celebrate his bday on Superbowl Sunday since he was born on Superbowl Sunday 2010 it seemed like a great idea.

But his ear infection still wasn't cleared up & I started to not feel super hot.

Oh well, we tried :)

He looks really happy here about his cake but he really didn't have anything to do with it.

This was him on his actual bday (monday) carrying around his own tissue to wipe his boogery nose with. Ok, not really. He is in that super annoying toilet paper stage. all he wants to do is unroll all the toilet paper in the entire house.

Love you luke!!!!

I'm still doing my "joy of love" assignments. The pic above is my "generation" photo. That is Luke's only great grandpa. And there is hardly anyone who gushes more over Luke than his great grandma & grandpa. Grandma is holding our newest niece Indie, so it works really well in the photo.

I'm really excited to journal all these photos in my scrapbook. It has made me take pictures in a whole new way.

Then & Now

2011-02-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

I'm lovin this "joy of love" photo a day thing.

One assignment was to do a then & now photo.

I tried to get one of my hubby but he wasn't in the mood for a photo.

Then I remembered my chubby boyfriend will be 1 on Monday!!

There was no one better to do.

He was born February 7th.

Early.

He was 5 pds 10 ounces so a scrawny little thing.

He had a few issues but mainly just wouldn't eat. You can see that that is not much of a problem now. He will pretty much eat anything these days.

It is mind blowing to me to see the change a little baby makes in just a years time.

They grow so fast.

If i could slow down time, i would. I've been saying that since the moment I brought him home.

Love him.

And love this photo challenge.

I would never have had my camera out so close to capture this sweet little face.

Or these.

Poor guy has another ear infection.

He's not feeling too hot.

He went to bed right after this photo shoot :)

Another day the assignment was "What they Wear"

Easy Peasy.

Tess dresses herself every morning in stretch pants & a short sleeved t-shirt.......no matter what.

She has no bum to speak of, so we only have 1 pair of skinny jeans that will fit her & not fall off (size 2t).

She LOVES her stretch pants.

And then there is Chase. Still in his pj's, boots on, coat on, hat on, &

30 Below!!!

He doesn't care. Lately he thinks he is jimmer ferdette so he plays a lot of bball snow or shine!!

joy of love

2011-02-02T19:10:00.001-08:00

I'm no photographer.

But I do love to take pictures of my family.

So I found this FREE month long photography class type thingy.

They send you an email each day with your assignment & then give you different tips on how to take better pictures.

I kind of really like it & it is free!!!!!!

The website is willettedesign.com & the class is called "joy of love"

Your subject(s) is a loved one.

The first day we took pics of "what they do..."

This is what my chubby boyfriend does.

Steals candy from the candy drawers.

I realize I'm pretty much asking for it with candy in such an easy to reach spot.

But it's super cute.

He crawls as fast as he can while I'm not looking & stuffs his mouth with treats.

His favorites are the candy corns.

And this is what my Chase does:

Stays in his pj's as long as possible & plays & runs & pretends!

He does this puzzle almost completely by himself!

So smart!

Today's assignment was "how they look...."

I took this pic of my Tess right after her bath.

All clean, hair dried, & so ready for bed.

Love her.

SURPRISE.....you're old!

2011-01-24T19:08:00.000-08:00

Oh No! The Big 3-0 is right!

I had my birthday last week & after days & weeks of convincing my hubby, kate, & jen that I DID NOT

want a party, they threw me one anyway.

A big fat surprise party.

It's such a funny story how my hubby kept it from me. Lets just say that by the time I got to the actual party, I was ticked at him! It didn't last long though. It seriously was the BEST bday that I've had. Thanks to all my family & friends who helped make it the best. And helped remind me of my old age :)

The party was at Dave & Jen's & they immediately added accessories for the night. This is my hubby explaining to me why he wanted to throw me a party.

We pigged out on Cafe Rio & Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes....that were to die for.

Then everyone went around & had a chance to embarrass me, make me laugh, or make me cry.

We then played the "Micheal Jackson Exprience" on the wii.

If you haven't played it yet, go get it. So fun.

I love this pic cause I'm pretty sure Trey & I are talking smack.

He thinks he can beat me. He's wrong.

Ok, maybe he HAS beaten me a few times at "Just Dance"

Even the men got into it.

I have some a.m.a.z.i.n.g. footage of the guys dancing but I don't dare share without their permission. My neighbor dancing was priceless.

My hubby enlisted the help from these two girls to get the party put together.

The decorations were darling, the flowers beautiful, & the treats all my fave.

He couldn't have pulled it off without these two to say the least!!!

You guys are the best!

My sweet hubby! Love you more than anything!

Remodel

2011-01-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

We've been in our new home for almost a month & a half now & I still have boxes to be unpacked. At this point I'm tempted to toss them.

Do I REALLY need what's in them if I haven't even opened them in over a month?

Anyways, we are settled for the most part.

FYI never move during the holidays.

We bought an existing home & have done some remodeling.

Soooooo, here are the before & after shots of the kitchen (by request)

BEFORE

AFTER

I have loved how it turned out.

I had to do some convincing with Scott but he loves it now!!!

And a couple shots of my chubby boyfriend.

Don't let those sweet baby blues fool you......

He's kind of turning into a terror!

These will warm you up

2011-01-13T18:53:00.001-08:00

We had our family pics done a while ago. i love the age of each of my kiddos right now & loved how the photographer was able to capture each of their expressions to the tee!

This may be picture overload.........BUT oh well :)

She gives me this same look so many times during the day.

my oldest may as well be 16!!!

He looks so old in these pictures. love him.

He has been the sweetest boy & brother lately.

Or maybe I'm just realizing how he is about to leave me.....for kindergarten & i'm already dreading it!

We went to Peekaboo photography.

Well worth the moolah!

you may NOT want to read this....

2011-01-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

i only write that because it is so freezing cold right now in Utah!!

i went running the other morning in it (dumb) & my water bottle that straps to my hand froze in about 10 minutes.

So it is hard to look back at these pics & believe that I really spent the first week of 2011 in Maui!!!

We had an A.M.A.Z.I.N.G time.

I could have never done it without my incredible mom who kept my kiddos for me!! Thank you mom. Seriously, I have it good. Not many moms would take 3 little kids for that long then cry cause she didn't want them to leave.

I love you mom!

We actually arrived new years eve so we celebrated by eating sushi & being in bed by like 9!

The view from our room.

I'm not a huge fan of swimsuit shots but this was too fun not to mention. We paddle boarded one day, Ashley, Kate, & myself. Not as hard as it looks & a ton of fun. I would do it again. Scott was so excited to get the shot of me falling into the water.

The beach.

beautiful.

we saw a ton of whales. like a lot. that thing sticking out of the water is a whale fin or tail. Scott & I saw two jump out of the water at the same time side by side. So incredible. Of course i didn't have my camera out.

The Newlyweds

The not so newlyweds!

I feel so lucky to have spent a week with my hubby (love him lots). Such a great time.

A Very Merry

2010-12-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday!

We sure are!

My mothers annual Christmas Eve Pageant.

It was very eventful like always.

Scott was a cow, he usually is some sort of animal in her pageants :)

But this year he added to his costume.

I wish I had video of mom conducting pageant practice.

McKinley has reintroduced the clarinet into our christmas eve night. I was a clarinet player back in the day & would play Christmas songs for the fam.....while the dog howled (not lying)!

Christmas morning & all the cousins in their jammies from grandma & grandpa.

I wish I could say that the awesome pink beach cruiser was mine, but Santa brought it to Brinkley. Jealous. But those new navy rubber boots are mine from my hubby who always picks out the perfect presents. He knows what I want without even asking!!

We also went 4 wheelin & on my sisters Razor Christmas day! So fun!

I'm pretty sure everyone goes 4wheeling in leopard shoes.

The whole darn fam

2010-12-21T14:09:00.001-08:00

i love my family!

Merry Christmas to us....early.

Instead of presents we don't really need, my parents took us all to Disneyland for Christmas!

Memories last a little bit longer than the toys.

We had such a great time. Our day at Disney was perfect & then the rain started & never stopped & I think is still going.

So glad we had such great weather on our Disney Day.

Thank You MOM & DAD, it was such a fun trip.

The whole fam minus Scott who is snapping the pic & my oldest sister & husband who couldn't make it.

Scott & his mini me

Luke was sick with a TERRIBLE cold.

We didn't sleep much on this trip.

But he was a trooper.

One of my favorite pics of Tess.

She was so sick of me taking her picture that this is what i got when i said "SMILE!"

This will always be a favorite.

Sweet little Ellie & her daddy!

She was a little busy during this lunch time.

See that lump in the bed. That is me taking a nap after a night of maybe 3 hours of sleep. The boys were creating havoc in the room & i was completely oblivious.

Decembers in full swing over here

2010-12-13T19:49:00.000-08:00

Our tree is up & our stockings are hung!

The kids & I have made little friend gifts....playdough!

We had so much fun & it was so easy!!

turned out pretty cute & the kids were sooooo excited to deliver them.

Cait & I threw Jami a little christmas baby shower for her little princess due in January. Jami has this little basketball belly - nothing else!

My mother-in-law set up a night for us to go on the "polar express."

Small train I know - it wasn't the heber creeper BUT we thought it was ten times better!! It was focused on the Savior not just Santa & presents & all that jazz (which is great) but helped put things in perspective this time of year. We had a ton of fun.

Grandma & grandpa are such troopers, hopped in that train without a second thought to how tiny it was :) Love them.

We've seen Santa!

Luke's face never changed from that expression the whole time he was on his lap.

Our annual trip to the festival of trees.

Buzz was in heaven.

My hubby looks kinda nerdy but so funny - we hated/loved this tree.

And Tess found the tree of her dreams!

she didn't want to leave it.

My holiday weakness right now is rolo's, peppermint bark, & my neighbors baked goods!!!

Life is good!

A Blur

2010-12-02T19:40:00.001-08:00

That's what November feels like, a big old blur!

We've moved.

It was stressful.

And in the middle of it all, this big guy turned 5!

I can't believe my firstborn is 5.

Words to describe Chase at 5:

inquisitive, smart, polite, kind, handsome, inquisitive, energetic, happy, & inquisitive.

He asks a lot of questions.

But really he is the best little guy. I love him more than life.

He is one of the best big brothers around & so protective of his siblings....& his mommy!!

He is tells me daily that he loves me (pleasedontstoppleasedontstop!!)

I love him at this age.

He loves space, dinosaurs, pirates, sharks, etc.

I'm starting to have to really answer his questions because he's starting to pick up on when i'm making it up. Or else he tells me I'm wrong.

I can't believe he's 5!

He is definitely one loved little guy.

He shares a bday with my dad which they both just love....I do to. They've been together every birthday. So grandpa came up for football & to spoil Chase with presents from him & grandma.

He also got to see some of his favorite boys in the world, Dallin & Kade.

And if you are wondering how the princess is doing, well the picture says it all. She's got some tude! ATTITUDE!

Not really, just in this pic. She is sweet as ever with a little bit of red hair spice!!

We did celebrate Thanksgiving but moved into our new home the day before. I had no clue where my camera was. But we had a great feast at Gma Warners. We were with family that we don't see too often so it was tons of fun. Hoping I can get pics from them ;)

Oh & Chubby is as cute as ever!!

Tess dressed him up as a pirate & like always he was such a good sport about it.

Happy Bday to my one & only

2010-11-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

It's my hubby's bday today!

I love him more than anything.

He is my best friend & the best dad in the world!

We just got back from a cruise to the caribbean with some people from work & had the best time!

It always seems like we have a million things going during his birthday & this year is no different, if not the busiest we've had yet. Lots of stress, kind of wish we were still on the beach!

We love you!!

Happy Birthday!

Our Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

Halloween seemed to last all week at our house.

I swear I put the kids costumes on 50 times at least.

So when the actual trick-or-treating time rolled around, & it was raining, we opted for our jammies & the kids had a ball passing out candy.

They got plenty of sugar trick-or-treating at dad's work!

They so weren't deprived or anything.

me (super greasy..again), Danny B. & Kate

We've been training for the Provo Halloween half marathon for a while now.

What a great time!

I highly recommend it to anyone. Tons of people dressed up in costume. One guy ran bare foot the whole way. Another guy was papa smurf & wore blue crocs the entire way!!

Whaaaatt????

Our goal was under 2 hours & we made it in an hour & 52 minutes.

Yay!! Way under our goal time.

I was so happy with it.

I couldn't have done it without Kate!!

Or our Saturday morning body guard :)

Thanks guys!!

(FYI, I can barely walk. the downhill part killed me! We didn't train for running downhill. We started at Aspen Grove, above Sundance & ran down the canyon. Sounds easier. Its not.)

Check out Captain America.

Yep, he ran 13.1 miles in that.

Awesome.

And here they are!

The cutest Lady Bug & Superman around.

Their Aunt Cait & Uncle Danny had a little Halloween party at their house!

The kids loved it & she went above & beyond.

So cute.

"What up Homegirl!"

I wish I had a better pic of Elle in her owl costume. She didn't have her wings on yet but it was the cutest costume ever! And Cait made it!!!! She is such a doll.

Our little pumpkin!

Apparently it isn't too easy to crawl in.

"I'm alright mom!!"

Love this little buttercup.

October Stuff

2010-10-27T13:11:00.001-07:00

Is it really almost the 31st?

We have been really busy this month with so much different stuff.

The biggest thing is our move.

(more on that later - not a far move, just around the corner but still kind of a nightmare)

So here are some random pics from Cali & stuff.

Our attempt at a little family photo.

Can you believe the chunk in the bottom right hand corner?

He is classic.

(ignore the greasy girl in the photo)

While we were in Newport earlier this month, I took a little morning jog along the beach.

I smelled this amazing food coming from a little cafe right on the beach called "Beachcombers."

Best. Breakfast. Ever!

Just look at that photo.

I sprinted home to get the kids & scott there before they ate breakfast...thus the greasiness.

This is Luke on Small world.

Despite the face, he loved it!

No, my mom & Tess weren't dressed up for Halloween.

This was for their tea party.

Yep.

They got that dolled up for tea!!

We managed to squeeze in a trip to the pumpkin patch last week.

Best 9 dollars I've spent in a while.

The kiddos loved it.

Tessa's 1st roller coaster

2010-10-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

We spent a soggy family vacation in Newport last week. Despite the wet weather we did have a great time. This video clip is of Tess going on the Toon Town roller coaster. Her face is hilarious & her laugh at the end is so dang funny!

Our Hike up Mt. Everest

2010-10-13T10:00:00.001-07:00

Ok, it wasn't Mt. Everest it was Mount Timpanogos but it felt like everest.

This may be photo overload but I haven't blogged in a while!

Scott's dad & I have been talking about this hike for a while & so the day finally came the last day in September!

Kind of last minute we talked Scott into going with us. We got about half a mile into it & he was ready to barf & go home. If you knew what he ate for breakfast you would understand, plus he had just had surgery 2 weeks prior. But he was a trooper & pushed through without really complaining much after the first mile (& after his enormous breakfast had settled)

i told him to get to this first waterfall & then go home but he wasn't about to be wussy!

True Hikers!!

This is at the base of the glacier. We still had to climb that huge mountain behind us.

The colors were amazing.

We saw a bajillion mountain goat.

Some were huge & right on the trail. We were kind of nervous at first but they just looked at us.

Ok, about 5 minutes before this picture I was ready to turn around, give up, & head back. There is a really steep climb at one point & we were exhausted. Luckily we had Haley who had done it a few times before. She convinced Scott & I to keep going & that it would all be worth it. Well it was. I got to this point in the hike & got all teary eyed. The view was amazing & i felt so accomplished. But we weren't done. We still had to make it to the very top where that little hut is. You can kind of see it in the pic.

This was the trail on top. YOu can see how narrow it is & how high the drop off

The view from the top!

It was spectacular. Amazing. The only adjectives I can think to adequately describe the view & the feeling of being at the top.

This pic was for facebook. I don't facebook so it makes it even better :)

Thank you Haley for getting us to the top!!

Can you see the little chipmunk on top of the world?

We were dirty & sore at the end of it all.

It took us over 9 hours.

And we were booking it on the way down.

I loved every minute of it except for the really steep part where I wanted to quit :)

My kids were farmed out to a few different people but I have to thank my mother in law for being there all day for the kiddos.

The best part of it all was making it to the top with my hubby.

It was one of those things you don't do very often but so fun & rewarding & a memory we will always have.

Luke & Lucy/Sports party

2010-10-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

My niece Lucy LOVES Luke!

He's a little afraid of her cause she's a little rough (what 1 year old understands soft).

These pictures say it all.

She really was trying to be sweet with him. The last pic is my favorite.

My mom had her annual grandkids summer party last weekend! It was a sports theme as you can tell & the kids had an absolute BLAST!

They were to come in their favorite jersey & then they played all these different sports games.

I swear my mother should be a party planner.

She has a binder that she works on for weeks preparing for her parties.

I love this pic.

Mom looks like a doodlebop.

She is a MAJOR Peyton Manning fan.

Has a signed ball from him & everything.

So she is in her jersey, with colts spelled backwards on her face, & her doodlebop hair.

Tessa has no idea what to think.

So so so funny!

Grandmas parties & costumes go down in history.

They'll never be forgotten!!

Of course Chase's favorite game was baseball!

He would hit the ball, the run the bases & slide into what he thought was homeplate. It was hilarious!

Double Whammy!

2010-09-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

This past week has been kind of rough.

Scott had a minor surgery that ended up not being so minor.

I had a surprise/emergency surgery on my mouth after dealing with mouth pain for 5 days that finally put me in tears.

We've had better weeks.

BUT we are all good now! We made it through with the help of our family & we are both functioning fine now. Between the two of us we are pretty close to being a full functioning person :)!

I won't go into details cause quite frankly it's gross & kind of a long story. But we are good. And super grateful for our health.

Here are some of our latest pics.

(Labor day weekend)

Chase gave Luke his teddy bear that he has had since birth last night.

He said "Mom, I'm getting too old for this. Luke can have it now!"

Yes.....i bawled.

He's getting so old & big & i love/hate that he's growing up!

We had such a great time In park city with our friends/family over Labor day weekend!!

Me before I started looking like cindy lou who's mom from the Grinch who stole christmas. I've been extremely swollen!

Speaking of teeth. This big guy is teething.

I gave him a red vine the other day & pretty much made his life!!

Scott will die when he sees these pictures but he was in heaven.

Oh the mess!

Tessa & Bailee after dance class!

They are such sweet little buddies.

After class they tromped around my house in their princess high heels.

It was too cute & sooo funny.

Skipping off to Kneaders, then grandmas, then Fullydelphia (Philedelphia)

Those are the exact places Tess told me she was going!

She kills me!

All time favorite picture

2010-09-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

This is the very moment Chase saw Tessa for the first time!

Great Grandma W caught it with her cell phone camera.

I don't think anything will top it!

3 years & 9 some odd months later......

2010-09-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

That is how long I have been waiting for Tessa to start dance.

Totally kidding....kind of!

Today was her first day & i'm not sure who was more excited mom or tess?

We put her little outfit on at 10....dance started at 2:45!

My mom says that when I was little, my sisters would teach me their dances from class & then I would teach my dolls. That's how she knew I was ready at age 3.

Maybe I'm reliving that a little with my real life baby!!

Now I sound like a scary stage mom!!

She loved the outfit & the shoes. Good sign.

She was in a mini dance camp this summer with her teacher so when i put the clothes on her she was like "are these for my dance camp mom!"

Then she practiced her moves for a little while

until she realized I was taking her picture!!!

This is her telling me no more pictures!

I hope she loves it like i did! If not, it will be exciting to find out what she does love.

She takes from my cute friend/neighbor & loved it!

I will have to take pictures of her in her actual class actually dancing!

School & Stuff

2010-08-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

It arrived. The first day of Preschool. I had mixed emotions.

I was ready for a routine & structure again but letting go of our summer freedom is kinda hard.

Now we have somewhere to be!?!

The kids did great. This is Chase's 3rd year so he didn't mind a bit.

This is Tessa's first.

She was a champ. She didn't even look back as she went into her little class.

It helps that every friend & neighborhood friend is in her class.

So for a few hours a week, it's just me & the beefcake!

And his toupe, combover, bangs, etc...whatever you want to call his man hair.

I don't know what to do with it

But I am thrilled to have time with this little man.

He is the best!

Luke & Wallace

I'm so fortunate to have 3 sets of in-laws with their own little puppy dog.

They do all the work & potty training & my kids get to think they have a pet :)

Luke loves the dogs. He doesn't even flinch.

This is how I found tessa a few nights ago around 11:30 pm.

It scared the living daylights out of me.

especially when I realized how many flights of stairs she would have rolled down had she moved even the tiniest bit!!!

the lake & super baby

2010-08-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

We've been thoroughly enjoying our last few weeks of summer.

We were even able to go to the lake 2x with my family last week.

& even more shocking was me being able to water ski!!! First time in years, granted I couldn't lift my arms up the next day they were so sore, but hey I was proud of myself!

The kids pretty much had died and gone to heaven.

Tessa even rode the jet ski's.

Have I mentioned lately how much we love our little Luke??

The kids adore him.

Chase decided he needed to be superman on Sunday & dressed him up in his little cape & gave him superman to play with.

He loved it!

He would get so excited & start flapping his arms just like he was trying to take flight.

We all just sat & laughed.

It's 4 pm & I should be thinking about "What's for dinner?" Maybe it is the heat but I'm so over cooking right now :) so instead I'm blogging & going to make hot dogs & corn on the cob for dinner & be done with it!

She might as well be 16

2010-08-08T16:59:00.001-07:00

Tessa turned 3 on Friday! I can hardly believe she is that old. We love our little spunky, sassy, smart as a whip Tessa Belle! She keeps us all on our toes daily. She is dramatic as the day is long but has such a sweet side too. Brett, her uncle, said she is the oldest 3 year old he knows! My sister said that "they threw the mold away when they made Tessa." She is definitely one of kind. I'm so grateful to be her mommy.

We had a little friend party. A first for me. Lots of fun. Our menu was really fun to prepare. Chase, Tessa, & I spent the night before getting it all ready.

But next time we will have pizza :)

with maybe one fun little side dish!!

That night we took her to chuckee cheese

Grandma & Grandpa H. got her all sorts of dress up clothes & shoes.

She was spoiled of course.

We now change 50 times a day into a different princess dress.

She is sooo into it right now.

Her new bagpack from Grandma & Grandpa W.

She loves it & we don't leave home without it!

So many choices, so little time!

She's growing up so fast, I really wish I could just freeze her like this. But I know I'll probably say that every year.

Last minute adventure

2010-08-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Here is my little Tessa, who will soon be 3 :(

(where does the time go?)

She is very timidly deciding if she wants to go in the water.

(Hands out for balance)

She makes it in!

She splashes for a bit & that's as far as she goes!!

Decides hanging out with grandpa would be better.

They visit for a bit.

She has my hyper-extended elbows

& he has his dads swagger!

Arms out Tessa!!!

My mom & dad were in Park City unexpectedly in their motorhome. They had been in Canada for 3 weeks, so we took a short little drive up to see them for the day.

The kids were in heaven in the motorhome. They even got to ride in it to another campground. They thought that was super cool.

Tessa asked grandma where her other house was. I thought that was so funny.

Thanks mom & dad!

We had so much fun.

Sunday Sky

2010-08-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

This little guy ran to get me Sunday night to look at the sky outside. I ran to get my camera.

Nothing better than a summer storm. It smelled like rain & was absolute heaven.

Children's Garden

2010-07-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

We just discovered the Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point.

A definite Summer Must!

& fairly affordable.

This is my sweet little niece Lucy.

We went with her & her siblings a week ago.

And then with some friends today.

Days like this make me want summer to stay all year long!

Harker Family Fun!

2010-07-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

We went on this little trip a few weeks ago to Newport but I'm just now getting around to posting. We had such a great time. Beautiful weather. Fun with our fam. It was great.

A little Beach Baseball.

Look at that stance! Way to go buddy!

Playing baseball with dad is Chase's all-time favorite thing!

Tessa was able to sit by grandpa one night for dinner.

She loves her grandpa.

they made jewelry until dinner was served!

SOME of the family.

My little homey G!

Yes, the beach was cold but it was actually nice not being in super sweaty hot weather.

FanFest 2010.

If you would have asked me 8 years ago,

I would have never in a million years seen myself at fanfest.

These 3 are born travelers. They do so well.

Do you think they look alike at all?

Scott & I were able to go to the All-star game thanks to our darling cousin Annie who babysat for us. It was quite eventful.

I thought we were going to be arrested & i helped someone buy beer (pretty funny for someone who has never tasted alcohol!)

The arrest first: we bought some tickets from a guy who was selling (scalping) before the game. Right as we hand him the money an undercover cop cuffed him! What the crap! I was super nervous. The cop said we had been sold fake tickets, turns out they weren't fake & we went on our merry way, enjoyed the game, & paid a lot less $ for the tickets. The cop said we were lucky ones. Scott on the other hand said he knew what he was doing all along :)!

Beer: You can only buy 2 beers at a time during a game. Some guy wanted me to help him buy 4. I thought he was trying to buy me a drink. Hahahha - nope. He said just stand by me. So i did. Then I told him I had never drank alcohol before & he looked at me like I was from Mars.

So funny. He did buy me a box of M&Ms so I got something out of it.

2010-07-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

Just a quick pic of Chase jumping waves with grandma & cousins.

Hopefully I can get the rest of our vacation pics posted.

2010-07-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

Something is wrong with Blogger. I can't upload any pictures....except these two!

No big deal, don't want to waste anymore time.

Our little "Yukie, Yukie" isn't so little.

(Tess can't say her L's, so she calls him yukie, yukie & the name has just stuck)

He's getting huge. Our little Chunky Monkey.

I think my back is broken from carrying him around in his dang infant car seat.

I wish I could adequately describe how loveable this little one is.

We literally cannot get enough of him.

He has the sweetest little temperment - as long as he is fed every couple of hours :)

Can't imagine life without him!!

Not sure what face Chase is pulling, but Luke's is so funny.

2010-07-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Jeter

2010-07-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

My hubby took this picture just for me a few weeks ago & after taking it yelled

"I hate you Jeter, but only because my wife thinks you're hot!!!"

Jeter found that pretty funny.

I may or may not have said one time at a game that he had a nice bum!

He won't ever let me live that down.

He's got nothing on you hubby!

Anyway, I thought this picture was hilarious. He's so posed!!

I should be sleeping

2010-07-01T21:54:00.001-07:00

We spent last weekend in St. George with the fam. Such good times, it's no wonder my kids don't want to leave there & when we come home they want to know when we are going to gma & gpa's again.

My mom saw this picture & said,

"Wow, i didn't realize there was a big nose mask on my goggles too!!!"

Classic mom!

Brett calls her scuba steve!

My little indoor baby.

He doesn't fair well in the heat or direct sunlight :)

Chase is swimming a lot like Michael Phelps these days.....kind of.

But he has graduated from the nipple suit & swam so well on his own.

I love this pic of meisha & tess

Hanging in our jammies by the pool after drinking grandma's Hot Chocolate.

Chase makes my mom make Hot Chocolate every morning. Nevermind that it is 110 degrees outside. It is such good stuff.

We think she needs to sell it.

my 2 oldest neices & dad

My brave padre took us all jet skiing one day.

There was only 4 adults (3 being girls) & a bajillion kids!

No one drowned!

Everyone was able to start her own jet ski without dad's help!

Thank you dad (don't think you read this, but oh well)!

We had so much fun.

Too cool for school

Blake is wearing a life jacket all of us girls wore when we were little. I need to get a better shot of it.

Yep, the picnic table was in the water....kinda cool.

Don't they look posed for a wedding announcement.

I didn't pose them. They did this all on their own!

Can you tell now why I go down there all the time!!

Boston

2010-06-28T14:07:00.001-07:00

A week or so ago Scott & I left the kiddo's & went on a weekend get-a-way to Boston.

We both had never been.

What took us to Boston? I'll give you one guess......baseball.

Scott wanted to see Fenway Park & if i have to go to a baseball game or two to go on vacation so be it :)

We had a ton of fun with just the two of us & our friends the Christophersons.

We ate some really good seafood!

This crab stuffed lobster was the "lunch special" so that is what scott ordered, not asking much about it or the price!! Sheesh....kind of a mistake but still super tasty.

Fenway Park

I'm not going to lie, Mindy & I ditched out on one of the games to go shopping!

I have fun going to baseball games, but shopping is my first love!

I didn't dare wear dodger paraphenalia. This was the day after the Celtics lost to the Lakers. I was too afraid of being jumped or something.

Yep, that is Rhianna.

We were literally 3 seats away from her.

She had quite the entourage of bodyguards & security but no friends.

It was sad. She didn't really have anyone to talk to.

Scott decided he didn't want to be a celebrity after seeing her being stared at & her every move being watched & photographed.

*sigh of relief*

no famous hubby :)

I told him that we may be in US weekly though (haha)

She is beautiful in real life too!

Here's her boyfriend.

We visited sites along the freedom trail.

And also went a took a looksie at Harvard's campus.

We ate at this famous little Burger place which was delish.

The line I guess is always out the door like this.

yep, they are all waiting for a burger.

The last day Scott & I drove up to Salem to the salem witch museum. Kind of fun, but the town was super cute.

Scott found this comic book store & was like a kid in a candy shop.

He can hardly hold still for the picture.

He was kind of running down the aisles trying to see everything cause we didn't have much time.

We had a blast!

And my kids survived without me.....even luke! He was probably the best of the 3. Tessa told the babysitter a few times that she "didn't love her anymore!" I can only imagine the sass she dished out to the poor sitter.

Summertime!!!

2010-06-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

Talk about "Bang for your Buck"

This trampoline has been the best money we've spent all summer.

Keeps them entertained & wears them out.

Love it.

We usually don't jump with popsicles.

My sweet little Lukester!

There is nothing to say, these pictures say it all.

He is the happiest little guy.

We all fight for his attention cause he gives us the best smiles.

He's my little golden child right now.

Just can't stay away

2010-06-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

This pic was taken may 24. are you kidding me??

I've never been so excited to hop on an airplane with 3 kids.

We headed back to Chi town (chicago), but this time for a few days not a few months!

Actually it was a work trip for Scott & we tagged along.

We met up first with our friends the Jones Family! Quite the crew. Our little ones play so good together. There may be a budding romance between Alexis & Chase.

He looks a little nervous in this pic.

It's crazy to think about life before these 5 little ones.

Our biggest worry was getting that assignment turned in so we could graduate.

I'm so grateful for our friendship.

It's one of those where you don't see the person for a year, but that doesn't matter.

We can pick right up where we left off.

Probably helps we talk on the phone daily.

This was a bonus date night on our little vacation (& proof that scott was there)!

A night out without the kiddo's! so great.

(memo to self: that shirt makes me look prego. not cool.)

Could this pic be any sweeter. My chubby little Buzz with Jocelyn....so bite size & cute you want to eat her.

We then headed to the Shedd aquarium to see creatures like the blue iguana & giant snow crab.

It gives me the heebee jeebees just looking at it.

I often wonder what possesses Chase to do some of the things he does. It's awesome!

We were able to go with our two sisterinlaws Haley & cait. I couldn't have done this adventure without Haley to help me watch them at the aquarium & stop them from jumping into lake Michigan. Thanks Haley!!!!!!

Watching the Beluga Whales.

Navy Pier was our next stop.

Beautiful!!!

The city....not myself :)

Elle & Cait!

(I know....Caits hair is too cute & you're (i'm) jealous I can't be cute in hair that short)

My kiddo's love elle. In fact I'm pretty certain they don't leave her alone for a second.

We loved seeing our family who are now our neighbors but only lived there for maybe 2 weeks. Can't wait till everyone comes home!

This is how we roll!

Look closely & you will see Chase holding himself.

Poor kid, we didn't make it. He waits till it is life or death to get to the potty.

Just imagine me running full sprint, pushing that load to get to the nearest bathroom

which obviously wasn't near enough.

Such a fun city! Love it.

We stopped in Denver on the way home & met up with DAve & Jen.

I must have been to0 tired or pictured out cause I have not one photo!!

uuuggghhh.

& now we're back!

8 years later...

2010-06-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to my Hubby!

I never thought I could love him more than i did 8 years ago, but it gets better every year!

Love him more than LIFE!

2010-05-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

Chase had his "Sweet Pea" graduation today. Can you call it graduation when he will be back for another year of Preschool? Oh well, it was the cutest program complete with him tripping & falling on his way to the stage. Super classic & I got it all on tape.

He is now going to be a "Tater Tot"

Whatever he is called is fine by me. We love his school. He actually read his first word on a Rubio's cup. It was "sky!"

Scott & i were so proud.

He now believes that the cost may be worth it :)

Him & i celebrated with a milkshake & burger after.

He said this to me before we got out to go eat:

"Mom, this is what we are going to talk about - the dentist & the treasure box"

Today also his first visit to the dentist.

I was feeling all sorts of guilt when they told me he has 5 cavities.

awesome.

I swear we brush.

2010-05-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Guess who's sleeping through the night! It's pure bliss. I followed a little bit of "Babywise" & "The Baby Sleep Solution".... it worked like a charm. And no making him cry through the night. Luke survived Baby Boot Camp.

nothing better than a sleeping baby

I never thought in a million years I would have 2 REDheads :)

or strawberry blonde....whatever you want to call it.

He's really getting the big brother thing down. He loves to feed Luke his bottle (if he's not too busy) & loves to make him smile. My favorite thing is when he reads him stories.

If only I could get him to stop antagonizing his sister!

2010-05-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

These 3 were really good to me on Mother's Day! So was my hubby!

The best was watching Chase run up about 10 minutes too late in sacrament to sing & then trying to shove his way through all the kids to get to the podium.

When he was finally settled on the end, he sang his little heart out :)! I almost cried.

Tessa has been a real winner these past couple of days.

She likes to test me!!

She tried feeding Luke a bunny cracker yesterday & yelled "Mom, I put something in Luke's mouth!!" I dropped a cup of liquid laundry soap trying to get to him. Luckily he was fine. but as I was telling her how naughty that was & how he could choke, Luke decided to let out the loudest belch. She just started laughing which got me going & so the teaching moment was a total loss.

My favorite quote of hers lately is

"I smell like deaf mom!"

deaf = death

& she had pooped in her pull-up!

Sew Bug

2010-04-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

I've never sewn anything that I would personally wear......until now!

I found this super easy tutorial(s) on how to make a summer scarf.

I love everything RUFFLES!

so of course I wanted one.

I found this fabric today at the fabric store for 2 bucks a yard. I only needed 1/2. So I spent less than 2 dollars on this.

Here I am modeling it with a cardi :) Love my cardi's!

So here is where I went to make it.

Keep in mind I am extremely new to sewing so anyone who knows how to turn on a sewing machine can do this.

www.dana-made-it.com

(this girl has the best blog & inspired me to go out and get the material, but I followed the directions on this blog : http:vermillionrules.blogspot.com cause my machine won't load elastic thread.)

I don't know how to link these websites up. I'm not that blog savvy.

And one final pic of my big boy! He is laughing & talking up a storm. We all can't get enough of him.