Fun at Thanksgiving Point

We had a great time at Thanksgiving Point with Aunt Wendy, cousin Mallory, cousin Jen and her baby, cousin Kam. Let's do it again soon!

Miscellaneous happenings...

This is a direct copy and paste from an e-mail I sent my missionary mother. Just thought I'd update for posterity....

How was your Easter? Our Easter bunny came on Saturday, and Sunday we went to Jen's baby's blessing. Then we went to our church. Then we put the kids to bed for naps, got 'em up, and went to Gma C's. It was quite the busy day.

We're all still stuffy and sick. Jackson isn't coughing nearly as much though, so that's good. I'm wiping snot noses dozens of times throughout the day, however. (including my own poor stuffy soul.)

Today on the way home from my workout, AJ pulled his usual, "No!!! No Home!!!!" in a high-pitched, girly squeal. So, instead, we drove uptown, called Daddy to meet us in front of his building, and we walked around temple square. Needless to say, the boys were in heaven. The sun was warm, the air was cool, and the flowers were obviously breathtakingly gorgeous. The boys loved all of the various fountains the best, of course. (And the Lays potato chips that Daddy brought them.) It was a fun little change of scenery.

On the way home AJ and Jackson both cried off and on for about twenty minutes. "want daddy! daddy! daddy!" Kinda funny.

Well, I have a whole load of pictures for you.

1,2,3: Remember that night I was talking to you, and I said, "Oh, how cute. The babies are at the piano, turning the pages, playing and laughing at each other." ? Well, here are some pictures from that. 4,5,6: These are the boys in their t-shirts that Daddy brought home from his business trip. They loved them. The blurry picture of AJ is compliments of our budding photo journalist, Alex. He is in LOVE with the digital camera. I deleted about 20 pictures that he took, but I'll include a few of his classics in this e-mail. 7: Silly Alex using his Easter basket for a hat. I thought it was pretty creative, because I never would have thought to put it on my head! 9: One of Alex's pictures that he took.
10: Another Alex picture. Not too bad, huh? Gotta love Jaxie's runny nose!

11, 12, 13, 14: More of Alex's pictures. Pretty funny, huh? He's quite the detail oriented kid. I especially love the one of the recycle garbage. Funny kid. 15: Alex being sweet to Jackson, for once!

16: I love this picture. This is of all the boys just before bedtime. Everyone just had a bath, orange Triaminic, and teeth brushed. They love to sit on our bed and draw on their magnadoodles while watching a "kid show." They were all so tired and cute, I couldn't resist taking a picture. Just a moment in the life of us....mmmm... if only you could smell their yummy lotion!!

Draper Temple

Yesterday, our little family had the opportunity to tour the new Draper Temple. We drove up there Sunday night to see it all lit up, and Alex kept asking (begging) to go inside. So, we called our Bishop and luckily he had a couple of tickets left for Monday morning. It was so beautiful! And while things were a little crazy with two toddlers and a preschooler, I'm glad we went. Mark said that as he walked into the Celestial Room with Jackson in his arms, Jackson's eyes went up to the beautiful chandelier and ceiling and he exclaimed, "Whoa!" in breathless awe. On the way home, we asked Alex how he felt while he was there, and he said, "I felt the Holy Ghost. And I liked that it is Jesus' house. I liked the pretty white room. And I liked the room where you get married." And Andrew? Well, he just wanted to get down and run amuck. But it was great. If you haven't gone yet, get your tickets. They estimate that 1.1 million have already been reserved and only 150,000 are left. It's worth it.

(We didn't have the foresight, or the free hands, to get our own picture. This is borrowed from the Draper Temple blog site.)

These boys...

Seriously... can a mother not accomplish daily physical necessities without having all chaos break loose? I hate to get graphic here, and I'll probably delete this post tomorrow, but sheesh! I had to do my daily duty (ya know... go to the bathroom). And while I wish it only took me 2 seconds, it unfortunately didn't. In the short time that I was in the bathroom, these boys accomplished total havoc. I came out to Alex's cries of, "Mom! They have your water bottle!" I come to see my bedroom floor soaked with a full bottle of water. Grrr... Not too bad, until I see both boys eating my ear plugs (another story related to lack of sleep), which has to be one of the nastiest things ever. Next to them are my sunglasses, shattered to smithereens. One twin then runs off just as I see him holding my box of safety pins. I chase him into the kitchen where I see Alex's cup of applesauce smeared all over the table, laptop, chair and floor by the other twin. I slowly walk thru the house, noticing that every toy, from every drawer and toy chest has been removed from said drawer or chest and scattered on the floor. All in a mere couple of minutes! Goodness!

I know that many people have had it worse, but two minutes people. Sheesh. I guess I'd be more forgiving if these boys were well-rested, happy, and in fabulous moods today. But their lack of sleep (and thus my lack of sleep) has left us all a bit on the cranky side.

Needless to say, the next time I have to use the bathroom they will all be tethered to their cribs. :)

Merry Christmas!

from our family, to yours!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

Happy Birthday to the best mom, ever! Seriously. They don't come finer than my mother. She is truly a gem. And while this extreme momma's girl is missing her mother something fierce, I'm so grateful for her sacrifice and service. I love you so so much, Mom. Thanks for the excuse to party, even if you couldn't be there. Miss you, and can't wait to celebrate with you next year!

Midway

We didn't have a chance to take a family vacation this year, so Mark and I packed up the kids, and we stayed for a week in beautiful Midway. It was a lot of work, but fun as well. The kids had "daddy withdrawal" when we had to come back to the real world. Here are some photos of our favorite moments.

Alex and Mark did a lot of this:And we all had a lot of fun doing that:The boys couldn't get enough of this: (with our friend, Nate)And we enjoyed a lot of beautiful that:While, inside, on the quiet days there was a lot of this:And an occasional glimpse of that:
And, unfortunately, too much of this:But overall, we had a splendid time, and we can't wait for repeat visits in the years to come. Thanks Gma and Gpa C for letting us stay at your beautiful house! It's great to have easy access to such a beautiful place!

Man... I'm feeling old.

So yesterday, August 24th, I officially became a part of the GRANDPARENT generation! I'm a GREAT AUNT! Crazy, isn't it? Me... at the ripe, young age of 21! (or somewhere around there...) My oldest brother, Kerry, and his wife Wendy became grandparents! My nephew Kris became the proud papa to baby Kameron Kristopher.

Congratulations to Kris and Jen on their new arrival. And congrats to Kerry and Wendy on becoming very proud grandparents. Here's a picture of the little guy with his adoring grandma:

7lbs 1oz, 18.5 inches, born two weeks early. Can't wait to meet the little guy

Tell ya what I want

Here's a cute little lip sync that my nieces did. Aren't they cute? Here is Candace's and Ali's big debut...

Happy 7th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary, Haaaaappy Anniversary.

To the best husband EVER, I hope you have a very happy day. I for one will, because I'm blessed to have you in my life. A wife can't get much luckier. You truly are the best!

Dang... I'm good!

So, all of my efforts to teach my children are sinking in -- slowly but surely! The dialogue went something like this:

Me: "Alex, who loves all the boys in this house the very most?"

Alex: "You do, Mom!"

Me: "You're right! How did you know that?"

Alex: "Because I'm smart, just like my mom!"

Yah, baby... that's right. Just like your mom. At least something good is getting through. :)

American Idol, here she comes!

Here's my cute sister-in-law practicing for the American Idol auditions, TODAY! Isn't she a doll? Good luck, Mino! We hope you have an awesome experience!

Well... update. Didn't make it. :( But that's okay. I think she's a great singer, and she said it was really fun!

Big brother worship...

AJ totally and completely adores his big brother, Alex. He follows Alex everywhere, he puts up with a lot of rough-housing, and he just giggles and giggles at all of Alex's shenanigans. These pictures are blurry and not that great, but I had to quickly capture the moment. Alex climbed into the laundry basket, so, of course, AJ hopped right in after him. The look on AJ's face says it all. Total adoration:
Then, all of a sudden they both leaned in, and I was lucky enough to capture this:
I hope this camaraderie lasts their whole lives.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Birthday to the best Daddy a girl could ever ask for. I love you tons and tons! I hope you have a fabulous day!

This new generation...

Man, my niece is only 10 years younger than me, but she's got an adventurous spirit that I'll never have. She just embarked on a year-long teaching contract in Taiwan. I know it sounded exciting and fun at first, but I think the reality of it is sinking in. I know she'll do great, but I would never survive. You can read her adventures here. And this post would send me straight home, no questions asked. Yuck.

Love you, Am. Good luck! Keep us updated!

Happy Father's Day!

Man, I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful pop! My dad always treated his little princess (me!) with such love and tenderness. I remember when I was young and I was super sad about something (who knows what...?). My dad took me out for a fast-food hamburger, just me and him. At our house, that happened about once a year, so it was quite the treat. My brothers were sooo jealous! My dad has always been such a great provider, and even to this day he helps all us married kids out by coming over and helping (okay... doing it by himself) us with our little home-improvement projects. He's also always been such a great example of spirituality and obedience. I don't think there's a single rebellious bone in his body. He's always been so straight arrow, and I love him for it. Forever ingrained in my memory is the picture of my dad, kneeling at his bedside, morning and night, praying. I think a characteristic of his that is my favorite is his squinty-eyed laugh. When you get him going, his grin is so big that his eyes just automatically shut. And if you drive him to complete silent laughter, you know he's got the giggles good. It's so hilarious that it sends the rest of us into even more laughter. :) He's also the most brilliant man I know. He can figure out any math equation from simple algebra to advanced calculus. (I guess helping 7 kids with their math homework - and a few grandkids too - helped him remember everything.) He's a fabulous engineer and has designed some incredible machines. He worked until the ripe, young age of 76... definite devotion and wonderful work ethic. He's a great man!

Love you sooo much, Daddy. I miss you! Thanks for your wonderful example!

Paria {pah-ree-ah}

This last weekend, Mark and I went with some of my family to hike the narrows in Paria and Buckskin canyons in Southern Utah. It was so incredibly beautiful and so incredibly difficult! My brother Danny and I had backpacked it overnight before, but we decided to try and day-hike the whole thing this time... 21 miles! The first 14 miles are slot canyons - beautiful narrows of red rock cliffs. There's a huge risk of flash-flood danger, but we carefully checked the weather forecast before heading in. It was sooo neat. Here are a million pictures from our great day!

The Group, at the trailhead:We weren't alone: Here are some jack rabbits and some rattlesnakes! eeek!Here are some more group shots in the canyons.We had a few obstacles to get around as well: This huge boulder was right in our path:This is called the "Rock Jam." It's a huge jam of boulders and sand that have been washed into this spot by flash floods. The only way down is via rope:JJ showin' us his moves:
We let the "young ones" scramble up this little cliff. Us "old folks" knew that we wouldn't want to expend any more energy than necessary:
This quote really says it all. Unless you're there in real life, you really can't quite appreciate the beauty of it. Literally every turn of the canyon walls displayed more beautiful scenery. After taking dozens and dozens of pictures, we finally just had to soak it in, because we could have been snapping away all day!
Needless to say... something like this just always reaffirms my belief in God. This beauty didn't happen by chance or some big boom. It was incredible!