I am an AUNT!!

It is so amazing to me how fast you can fall in love with someone!

Welcome baby Emily, we love you!!!

SO excited to announce that I am aunt ... again, but still it never gets old.

My brother and his wife had a beautiful baby girl last night at 12:30 am. She is gorgeous!!

Her name is Emily. She is the 1st girl to be born in our family for a while.

I know I haven't blogged in ages but how could I resist finding a minute

to post some pictures of this cute little baby?

Scott coming to meet his new baby sister

(notice the size of the Giraffe next to him)

She had her cord wrapper around her when she was born and she swallowed some maconiam so she is still having a bit of a hard time breathing on her own so she is all hooked up to the machines and has a little oxygen bubble on her most of the time so she couldn't come out to say Hello. Here is Mommy and the Nurse showing her up to the window so that her Big Brother Scott can get a good look at her.

Last night her big brother got to sleep over at our house.

Here he is making a Gingerbread House with us.

When Scott when to meet his baby sister he took her a little Giraffe.

Little did he know when he picked it out that it was going to be almost as big as his new sister.

My kids are ALL officially in School

My baby went to his 1st day of preschool today. I can't not believe that ALL of my kids are now school aged. It felt kinda freaky sending him off to school today. I drove away all alone just me and my dog in the car thinking that I felt really old. I am really a young mother, but there is something about having that last baby that last little child enter school that screams in your head "you are now a mother of school aged children" It's totally different than having babies at home. Oh well we all have to grow up at sometime. No matter how much I resist and no matter how much I don't want my kids to grow up. Dang it can't they all be 3 forever?

It's a good thing I am babysitting littler kids or I would probably be in meltdown over having no little babies around to entertain me. I love little kids they are so fun and so cute and also so demanding... maybe that is just it I don't know what to do with myself when I am not jumping to the whims of a toddler or baby. hehe

Here is my cutie little preschooler

No babysitting today so it was just me and my dog all alone for 2 whole hrs. What did we do for fun? Napped and tried to catch up sleep from the graveyard shifts of course. I didn't say I didn't have anything to do while he was gone. hehe

Just that my baby is getting all big and growing up to fast!

I am officially the mother of a Teenager! YIKES

Well today marks the day that I officially became the mother of a teenager. YIKES how did I get here? I can not belive my little boy is now a teenager.

Ouch

The sun tried to kill me this week. I went to Samantha's track meet on thursday and got so sunburned. I have had blisters an my neck and back and my arms and now I am to the part where some of it is peeling and some of it is still blistered. So I have raw skin and I hurt and want to cry. But at least I am more mobile now. And at least I had fun watching Samantha run in her meet. She did a great job. She was 1st in every heat she ran she was so tired by the end of the day. She had run all her races 2x because of the finals and then she also did the relay. Poor kid pulled a muscle and was hurting by the time she was done. Then she had a softball game that night by the time we got her in bed she thought her body had been through the blender.

Friday Fun Projects

So we got some great projects done Friday and I wanted to post pictures.


I finally got my software that I wanted to my Cricut Machine. I got the Sure Cuts A Lot or SCAL so that I could use my own fonts on my machine. I am loving it. I have made several tiles lately for gifts etc. but today when I made some I finally took some pictures. I did the 12x12 one for a Family Friends 50th Wedding Anniversary Party and then the smaller ones the 6x12 and 6x6 tiles for my mom for some gift exchange thing she has coming up at work. They are bolder lettering then the other ones I did but they were much easier and I think they turned out pretty good. I am so cheap I printed them all squished together onto one piece of 12x12 Vinyl and then cut them apart to place them on the tiles. I hate wasting the Vinyl. I will have to post later the cute one I put on the wall in my Bonus Room.

We got the hole dug and cement poured so that we could start putting up a basket ball standard. The kids are excited and can't wait for the cement to dry and the rest to be done so that they can shoot some hoops. Jesse thought is would be fun to let the kids each put a handprint in the cement. I love it! I wanted to do this in the patio last yr. when the house was done and he said no. So I am happy that he let them do it here. It's cute I will get another pict. when they are all dry.

Here is your funny of the day. While Jesse was showing me where he was going to have each kid put thier handprints he showed me 5 spots. I laughed and said "uhm... did you remember that you have only 4 kids not 5." lol lol He is so funny.. so then he goes, "Well we can let Harley put his paws in it. He's part of the Family" and he did. So here he is putting Harley Paws in. Cute huh?

She lives....

I keep putting off blogging because I don't have my pictures loaded or I keep thinking I need to do a catch up post. But I finally decided that a catch up post is never going to happen. So I will just start afresh.

It's been a crazy week. Jesse was sick Monday and Tuesday of last week then I got sick on Wed. night. UGH I was supposed to be doing our Teacher Dinner for the teachers on parent teacher conferance night and I had to totally call in favors. I felt so stupid. Of all the days to get sick. UGH but I wan not about to cook anything and get every teacher in the school sick. That is all they would need a bunch of puking teachers come monday. Thank goodness I had already assigned most of the food out and double thank goodness that there were so many people willing to help me out. It turned out great I hear and I guess I wasn't really needed after all.

Then by Thurs. afternoon Jaden started into it.. then Will then Saturday Garyn then by Sunday it was Samantha's turn. ICK She missed school today. So that makes a full week of someone missing something each day because of this icky bug. Finally feeling like we might be on the tail end of it. I had taken a day off to scrapbook but then ended up taking 2 days off sick plus my normal 2 days off fell in there too so I have had 5 straight days off and yet I feel like I haven't accomplised a dang thing. Just trying to clean up the messes as we go along. Now I need a burst of energy to get things caught up. Not likely to happen on 2 hrs of sleep.

Well on Friday I was feeling much better and Jesse and I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned we steam cleaned and scrubbed and really wanted that bug out of here. But seeing as we were just in the middle of it the house now looks like we are back to square one. Oh well another day another story.

But I am alive and will get back to blogging.. I hope

Saturday Toy Massacre!

Saturday Toy Massacre!
So tomorrow it is the Super Bowl and we were unanimously elected to be this years host for that family party, since we are pretty mellow, have the bonus room in the new house to use and basically because we were the only ones willing. hehehe But ok so we have lived her for almost a full yr. and we has still not organized the Toys in the Bonus Room/Toy room. So Jesse has been talking about doing it for weeks. I looked and searched for the perfect within reason organizers that I could find. AKA Cheap but effective. My favorite things. I scored big. A girl I work with directed me to the Target add and they had the cool cubies on sale this week. PERFECT! We woke up (I worked for a bit) then we ran to Target and picked them up and Jesse put them together. It was his day to go to a movie with a friend so while he was at the movie the kids and I sorted and sorted and threw and donated toys. It was actually pretty fun. Except for the part were I get to be the mean mom and keep them on task. While they are playing. ... So far things seem to be turing out nicely up there. Fingers crossed we can get the rest of the house clean before start time. UH OH! still have to prepare my primary lesson, and I work tonight at 1:30 am till 7:30 in the morning. It's 7:00 pm now so I better get a move on. YIKES!

Will's Birthday

Sunday we celebrated Will's b-day. We had all the grandparents over for a birthday dinner and party. He was so stinking cute. He loved being the center of attention and getting SPOILED Rotten! Just finished my pages for his book and wanted to post them.

I can not believe my baby is 3 YIKES!

Charlie is Missing and we are so Sad!

Charlie!

Charlie was born at Grandpa's house in Sept.

while we were gone to Disneyland.

He has lots of brother and sisters,

who now live with my brothers and sister.

Here he is as a tiny baby. Isn't that a cute puppy?

Samantha picked him out as her favorite from the 1st time she saw him. It was love at 1st site and of course we wanted her to have her pick since she had already lots 3 puppies this yr. (oh little did we know the heartache it would bring) They are so happy together.

Oh how cute he has been becoming. We think that he is a corgi mix. His mom is part Terrier, Beagle or something like that. But she must have found herself a hot little corgi to mate with because these are the cutest little corgi mix puppies ever. Notice his thick neck and legs and his long body? Oh yes and how stinking cute are those stubby little legs?

He quickly became part of our family.. even suckering me into letting him into the house. He was been so good at potty training. But now he is missing. Saturday afternoon we let him out for a while and then we never came back. We have scoured the area looking for him checked with all the neighbors and no one has seen him. We are so so so so sad! We even went through the entire day of footage on Jesse's security camera and we don't see any footage of him leaving the yard, or of any cars coming into the drive way or etc. We see footage of his mommy (Rooty) coming over to visit and of our other dog Harley but nothing of Charlie. It is a total mystery.

Poor Mantha! What is with her luck with dogs. She had 2 puppies die in the spring, then got Izzy (remember the cross dressing mini pinscher?) and then he got sick and died and now we finally have a puppy that is so sweet and so fun and so great with the little boys and he comes up missing!!! UGH!!! She is beyond Sad.

THIS SUCKS!

So today I will be calling the shelters and looking once more but as cold as it's been I am thinking that he is long gone and gone for good. DANG IT! But part of me is just still hanging onto that hope that we will find him.

Teacher Conferances DONE

Oh I am DONE DONE DONE. Today was a rather long day.. well most days are that start at 1:30 am.. hehe

I worked then got off put the big kids on the bus. Garyn was out today because kindergartners don't have school on SEP (parent teacher conference) days. I snuck in a small nap. Woke up put the chicken into cook, for the teacher dinner. Left to get my hair cut and colored. LOVE IT!!!! I am so lucky to have such a good friend that cuts my hair. She just knows me and knows how to make it easy for me to do. Garyn got his cut too. Yup he really needed it. Yeah don't believe me look at the puzzle picture below again. Then rushed home and cooked cooked cooked. I made 2 desserts. Fried Ice Cream or as I think it is really called Coconut Ice Cream something. Anyway Totally yummy! Finished the chicken made my refried beans etc. etc. I have been the PTA mom in charge of dinners for the teachers in SEP night for 2 yrs and this yr I am having other moms bring in food so that I don't do all the cooking etc. It is a great way to go and we don't use any budget money this way because each mom just donates a portion. But I am not so good at delegating.

I find myself double doing everything because I don't know if I have asked for enough or if they will be able to complete the assignment and etc. When I was doing the whole meal I could line it all up and see what I did or didn't have etc. It is much harder planning amounts when you are tasking it out. So of course once again I over planed and over did. But the dinner was FABULOUS! The teachers loved it and the food was great and we didn't run out of anything. And I had extra moms that came and helped since my helper was swamped tonight with family wedding obligations. So we had plenty of food and plenty of help and I left feeling really grateful to live in a place where the parents do so much for the school. Everyone that I called to have bring food was so willing to help and they all offered to do more or bring more etc.

Got home at 10 the kids had torn the house to shreds while I was gone. Jesse is in SanDiego for a few days for a Software Conference and so Jaden was the the babysitter while I was gone from 4:30 - 10. He does really good with the kids but man oh man was my house a wreck. I put the food away and did a minor pick up and left the rest so that I could get some sleep. I went to bed by 11:30 then was up by 2:30am to work and now I am off and get to sleep a little more and my kids are not going to like me when I get up because it will be cleaning time. They are the ones that made the mess and I am not having Jesse come home to a huge mess after being gone. I want home to be able to come home and spend time with us in a CLEAN and relaxing environment. I think I get tonight off so we will probably get a date night.

Oh wait now we won't get a date night our babysitter is going camping. Jaden is going with the scouts on a Winter Camp out. YIKES! I have been trying not to think about it. Just thinking about my baby boy (OK young man, but he is still my baby boy) out in the cold sleeping in an ice cave is not a comforting thought as a mom. He is so excited and can't wait to go. I am gong to be on pins and needles till he gets back home again. UGH it is hard letting them grow up and go off and do things.

great now I probably won't be able to sleep... shouldn't have thought of it.

Wordless Wednesday

Because I didn't get to do a Christmas Post here are my 2 Favorite Christmas Pictures:

OK so I am alive still.. I think..

I have been meaning to post and then I loose track of the time and then I have more to post etc. So instead of catching up I am starting fresh. Beginning with My Wordless Wednesday Photo's

Instead of grumping and complaining about what a crappy day this was I am just going to post my favorite pictures from the week.

Since Christmas and His Birthday Garyn has been in Puzzle Mania.. he loved puzzles and got a bunch of new ones to work with. This one is 550 pieces and it taking him a little longer. And we will not let us put it away till it is done!

Will has been enjoying his "big enough for me to ride on it, Clean up truck." aka "digger" to scoop snow with. This has been a really fun toy.

Way to go Santa!

10 in Whatever day or Month this is

I have been in a stupor lately. Lost my funk and still don't know where it is. hmmm. Anyway better start again somewhere: this past week, has been busy like the rest.

1 Jesse and I went to see Glenn Beck’s Christmas Sweater Program. It was different than I had expected it to be. But, it was really good. It was centered on the atonement and the importance of Christ’s life. It was a great reminder that the reason that the birth of Christ is so important is because of the life and sacrifice that followed. A great thing to remind the kids of too.

2 We had our Relief Society dinner at the church this week and they had me decorate one of the tables. Gave me a good incentive to dig into the Christmas Decorations that I hadn’t gotten out yet. Samantha came with me to put up the table and she did such a great job on it. She has a little designer touch. I put on the fluffy cloth stuff and put my trees and Santa’s and books and then she went back and added the little finishing touches to it. It turned out pretty good. I didn’t even get a picture of it darn it!

3 We have all had a cold going on and some kind of a stomach bug too. Or just the flu who knows but it’s been lot s of fun having everyone sick. Poor Will he seems to be the one that keeps these things the longest. He is still fevering and his nose is still running.

4 Jaden went Camping. Yes in December he went camping. It was a scout activity. And of course it was the weekend that we finally get lots of snow. Hehe But he had lots of fun. He was well prepared for the cold and he said it wasn’t too cold. Though the leaders were teasing them from the other tent saying. “Boy are we hot in here with our heater maybe we should open the flaps or something. “Making the boys jealous. They did lots of hiking and some repelling. Jaden loved it of course. Though I told him to quit giving me to many details of how scary the drop offs were where they were climbing. It was freaking me out.

5 I got most of my shopping done now. I did the after thanksgiving sales but wasn’t too impressed. I don’t really love that crowds and chaos. So I did almost all the rest online. Got some great deals so I should add.

6 Work has been busy so it has left me no time to do my emails or blog. Sad when I actually have to work while working huh? LoL It is slowing down a little this week. I work the weirdest hrs so when I am not working I am usually trying to sleep or clean or etc. So I hardly ever make it to the computer. I just walk around in a stupor most the time.

My Typical Day…~ WARNING Boring ~ typically I sleep from 10 or 11 pm then get up at 1:15am work till 7:30 jump off the phones run upstairs get the kids up and dressed and out the door to the bus by 8:10. Then if I am lucky if Will is still asleep I will try to nap till he wakes up, most the time he is up so we sit on the couch and be lazy and I cat nap while he watches tv or plays. Yup great babysitting mom does huh? Then we try to pick up the house Garyn gets home at noon we do lunch and play games and referee the fights and chase kids.. try to get Will to nap around 2. He use to nap for me but hasn’t been lately little stinker. Then the big kids get home at 4. Sometimes I have to sleep after they are home and have them babysit. I hate that. I would rather the boys’ nap but oh well. Then we do homework whatever even we have for the night and dinner etc. Then back at it again. I have to work extra hrs for the past month and so I have been working my days off and not getting any days to refill my sleep so at this point I am a walking zombie. I feel like a pile of goo. I can’t really focus well at this point. Hoping to get some sleep soon. Yup pretty boring life we have going on.

7 We have been having Christmas parties … at the church and with family etc. Those are always fun events. It is great to get together and reconnect and just to relax and enjoy time together. Also been making gifts the house looks like a glitter bomb went off in here. LOL but it’s been fun. Some are not going to get finished and I am not going to sit and stress over it, I am just going to go with plan b.. buy something and put them away to finish next yr. I am putting them into the Halloween Décor box so I will remember to start working on them again in Oct. hehe

8 Finally finished reading The Host it took a while to get going but in the end it was worth the read. Very different.

9 Garyn celebrated his Birthday at school today. He had me bring in donuts and he was such a hoot about it. He kept saying from the second he woke up. “I am not 6 this isn’t my Birthday”.. Then would look at me and say “Am I six yet?”He is such a doll. We got to make a page that shows some of the picts of him over the yrs and also a little questionnaire about his favorites. Turned out so cute.

10 My Nephew Chance and his wife Patrice just had their 1^st baby this week. I took dinner to them yesterday. And got to hold her. OH MY! She is precious! I can’t believe what a beauty she is. I will be posting picts of her soon. I just wanted to take her and walk right out the door with her. She is a doll!

11. Today we had activity days at me house and we made these cute Nativity Wreaths. That was a fun one. These are the cutest girls and I just love getting to do stuff for them. Especially Mantha, of course. ;)

What a great weekend! & I saw Twilight

Me and Jesse enjoying our kid free weekend together.

We decided to Celebrate our Anniversary by taking a trip. Without the kids! Yup finally. I hardly ever leave my kids overnight unless it is with Jesse. But since I have an awesome great friend that was willing to come and stay with my rug rats at my house we got a break. Thanks Heidi!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Hum.. seems like last time I left my kids for a trip with Jesse was when you stayed at my house and watched the older ones when Garyn was a baby. Seems with out you we would never get away. I hope you have recovered. They are a handful!

We went to Moab for the weekend and it was so nice. We left Thursday and got back Sunday. I can not even tell you how relaxing this was. I was asleep by 9 on Thursday night and didn't even crack an eye open till after at least 10am Friday. OH THE BLISS of a kid free, work free night of sleep. I SLEPT and SLEPT and SLEPT. All I wanted for my Anniversary was some sleep and that is just what I got. Thanks to my wonderful hubby! We ate out at some yummy restaurants and we shopped and shopped and we also went to the new bond movie.. snore... snore.. oh I mean it was good. It was like any other bond film. Just not my thing. Jesse thought is was ok, but not all that it was cracked up to be.

I finally talked Jesse into listening to Twilight. So we listened to it all the way down in the car listened to it a little while while playing on our computers at the hotel and listened to it all the way home. He finished it up on his way to and from work Monday and we went and saw the movie Monday night. We took Jaden with us to the movie, since he has read the books. We all really liked it. I was not happy with the casting of Edward until after I saw the movie. Now I think it was great casting. He did a great job! I didn't like Bella as well. She just wasn't my Bella. But I do have to say: What was with the Edward Scissors Hands faces Jasper was pulling. He looked to strange for the part to me. Over all though a pretty good movie considering what I was expecting. Still the book is better of course, if you haven't read it.. then go read it.

So it has been a great couple of days! Here some fun Picts from our trip to Moab.

Yes folks it appears that I may have married a leprechaun. LOL Anyone who knows us knows this is just the silly kind for stuff we do. I left the Port a Potty pictures off the blog. hehehe Or did you want to see the funny things he does when he sees a sign that says Prairie Dawg.

Jesse enjoying the view thinking about how nice it is not to have to be worrying about keeping kids away from the side. We decided that it is much easier to take in the sites with out the kids trying to jump off a cliff.

They wouldn't let me take nay pictures inside of the house in the rock. SO LAME! So I am just posting a picture of the stupid sign on the rock.

OK so yes we think these cheesy thing are funny. The box says "Baby Rattlers... open with caution"

And inside the box were baby rattles. tee hee hee Someone is funny. You have to admit it is kind of a cute little think to have at a tourist attraction.

I hearts my litle hubby man! It was so nice to spend time together and talk and reconnect with out the kids all up in our faces. It's been a pretty good 14 yrs. I look forward to many many many more.

My 14yr Anniversary! WOW

Yesterday was our 14 Year Anniversary. I can't believe it has already been 14 yrs. We haven't really done anything to celebrate yet, since Wed. is our everybody has something night. But I spent a lot of time yesterday just being grateful for my hubby and for the wonderful past 14 yrs. I am a very lucky girl.

I don't have all my wedding pictures unpacked yet. But I found a few that my wonderful Aunt Margo gave me. And since we don't have a scanner plugged in I just snapped a picture of the pictures. They look like crap but hey at least they are in the computer now so you can see them. Right?

Wow we look so young.. well we were he was 22 and I was 18. Wow what would I give to have that body back? Well 1st off I would have to give back 1/2 of the one that I have now. hehehehe! Of course I didn't love it when I had it but would now love to have it back. Funny how perspective works. ha-ha

And for kicks and giggles

here are pictures from my Wedding Day back in 1994!