Trip to St. George

This past weekend we headed down to (somewhat) sunny St. George. It only took 4 1/2 hours to drive there. We had such a great time! We ate out so much that we can't even think about it or it makes us sick. Our favorite place to eat was The Pizza Factory. They have the best breadsticks in the world that they wrap around a super long stick. They have this restaurant in Murray, too.
We visited Brigham Young's winter home and Jacob Hamblin's home, which were so cute decorated like they would have for Christmas in those days. We also saw the St. George temple and tabernacle, a neat dinosaur museum that had the actual tracks of dinosaurs that lived in St. George along time ago, we saw the Tuacahn theater lights, Snow canyon, saw Santa twice, watched movies and shopped. It was just a fun, relaxing trip! The weather was a little cool but not as cold as it is here! Jon and I loved the scenery down there. It is so different although it is only 4 1/2 hours away. We loved the red rock cliffs and the desert feel. It was such a clean town filled with the nicest people and great places to shop.
We stayed in Jon's work's condo so it was a way affordable trip. If anyone ever wanted to come with us next time we go, you are welcome! His work also has a condo in Bear Lake. We only spent about 50 dollars on gas for the entire trip and that even includes driving around a lot in St. George.
It was so neat to hear the history of this place and how the pioneers were sent down by Brigham Young to grow cotton because with the Civil War, they wouldn't be able to afford it from other places.
Even though we had a great time, it was so nice to come back home!

Already?!!

I went to my 12 week appointment yesterday and during the ultrasound, the doctor asked me if I wanted to know what I was having. Jon wasn't there and I thought, hmm... should I hold out and not tell him and make him suffer for two more months or should I just not find out? Of coarse I had the doctor tell me. We are having a BOY!!!..oh, and I really did end up telling Jon!

Giddy up, Let's go!

I am one of those people that seems to skip right over Thanksgiving and kick Christmas right into high gear. But don't get me wrong; I love Thanksgiving and being able to spend it with family, and with lots of delicious food, and of coarse being able to reflect on my blessings, but then again, I looooove Christmas, not because of all the presents, (or in our case, a present) but because of the Christmas spirit. Everyone seems to have it with them this time of year and I love it!

I love walking into stores and having them all decked out with Christmas trees and ornaments and decorations of scary little elves and snowman cookie jars. And I love going to Temple Square all bundled up to see the Nativity scene and all the beautiful lights; and when Jon isn't around during the day in October and early November, I love having Nat King Cole singing in the background "The Christmas Song" as I clean or just relax with the kids. I especially love the guiltless feeling of drinking as much Stephen's hot chocolate as possible because it is cold outside!

Whenever the "Horsey song" comes on the radio (you know, Giddy up giddy up, giddy up let's go!), Hunter hops onto anything that resembles a horse and goes for a ride! He also loves to dance with Jaina!

This year, Jon and I have started shopping early for the kids. Hunter told us he wants a helicopter and a Mater (from Cars); and Jaina, well, she's at a hard age. We have no clue what to get her, because she already has all of Hunter's old toys. She really does like horses, though. My sister found a darling stuffed horse at the DI that we'll give her (Thanks Nae!) Maybe a couple of empty boxes will do...

One thing Jon wanted to get Hunter was a new blanket that fit his age more. Since he was born, Hunter has had this cute white and yellow baby duck blankie that he can't part with unless it is taking a bath ( in the washing machine). We went to the fabric store and found an awesome Cars fleece blanket with Lightening McQueen, Doc Hudson, and Mater. The other day, we ran short of blankets and let Hunter sleep with it, but in the morning I took it away hoping he'd forget about it. The next day he came and asked Jon and I where his Lightening McQueen blankie was. We told him that Santa was going to bring it to him for Christmas and he then asked really sadly, "Why did Santa take it away from me?" Jon and I couldn't help but laugh out loud!

This is Jaina's cheesy new grin!

I hope all of you have a Happy Holiday!!!

Funny quirks

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It seems like we have been so busy lately, but we really haven't. I guess that's what happens when you are still trying to adjust to daylight savings.

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Ever since Hunter has moved to a bigger bed, he has to have all of his favorite toys with him before he goes to sleep and they all have to be lined up perfectly. It was getting kind of frustrating because he would come wake us up if he got a little car stuck in the big truck or if he lost one of his toys, but we still let him sleep with all those toys because we think it is so funny.

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I've noticed such a difference between Hunter and Jaina, besides the obvious, as they've grown up. Hunter has always been obsessive about things. When he was Jaina's age, he went through a stage where he wouldn't come downstairs until all the bedroom doors were closed. He also always had to have a pen or spoon in his hand and he hated having dirty hands. Do you think we should be worried about OCD?!

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Jaina isn't obsessive about anything, but you don't ever want to look at her the wrong way. Yesterday, while standing in line at the store, a sweet old lady behind us was saying hi to Jaina. Jaina just looked at her and said "NO, my bee-bee (Blankie)" like this sweet lady was going to take her priceless blanket. I looked at Jaina and said "Oh, you be nice." and she just looked at me with cross eyes. Where do these kids get there funny personalities?

June 17, 2009

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Going private

I've decided to make my blog private like alot of you. Leave your email if you want to still join in on our fascinating life.

What we've been up to

Last Friday, we headed down to Gardner Village for our annual trip to see the witches. The kids loved finding those crazy witches doing wacky poses. Their favorite thing was watching the ponies, though. They both wanted to ride them, but I just knew once they were on, they wouldn't like it. ...maybe next year. It was so fun to be out in this festive atmosphere! (sorry, the pictures don't do it justice:)

Jaina absolutely loves little baby dolls and little Curious George. She loves wrapping them in blankies and rocking them to sleep.

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Jaina is quite the character. We've been trying to teach her to say please when she wants something, but all she says is "mine" and even says "mine" for thank you. Jon just thinks she's too lazy to learn a new word:)

We made yummy homemade oreos the other day and the kids loved helping. I let Hunter take some dough to play with and he flattened it out and called it a scarecrow pancake.

Hunter has been very good with Jaina lately. He usually doesn't like her touching his toys, but he's been nice to share. I love that they now play with each other. Jaina loves to be around Hunter while he is playing with his trucks and trains and wants to do what he is doing. It is just the greatest feeling to be their mom. I love how every morning, Hunter will come wake me up and say "come on mom, let's go get bweakfast" or when I go get Jaina in the morning, she always says "hi" so loud and cheerfully! My kids are such a joy and I can never be sad when they are around.
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Jon is absolutely so sweet with our kids. Tonight I walked by the kids room to hear him softly singing "Rock a Bye Baby" to Jaina as he rocked her in the chair... made my heart melt!
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I can't really explain how grateful I am to be me, not because I like myself so much, but because I have a good husband who is fun loving and understanding, and I have beautiful children that make me laugh out of the blue and make me make sense out of this world. I have such good family, where there is never a dull moment when they are around and also that I have knowledge of my Heavenly Father and his plan.
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It is such an exciting, yet scary time to be alive, but I know that if I am doing what I should be, that everything will be okay. That is the great thing about my family and friends... they help keep me on track. Life is good!

Fall Fun

Doesn't this look so comfortable? I walked in to see that Jaina had fallen asleep this way.

We have been having so much fun at our new place. There is a new house going up just down the street and me and the kids love going there during the day to see Scoop, Lofty and Rolley. The neighbors across the street have a dog named, Penney, who loves to play fetch. She is a good little dog and will put the ball down and push it towards you with her nose. Hunter absolutely loves playing with her. The kids also love exploring outside. It is a quiet neighborhood and I feel really safe here to let the kids run around the yard, of course, with me out there with them! Sorry these pictures are so random!

I know this was over a week ago, but I just loved these pictures. For the Priesthood session, we headed over to JaNae and Justin's and had alot of fun. My kids absoutely love Tay and Corbs and Levi.

Hunter loves following Corbin around. This is one of my favorite pictures. Don't they just look like they have something up there sleeves?

Nae and her beautiful babe, Levi.

Jaina loves Levi. She loves looking at him and touching his face.

There is a fun little park up the street. We had a good time eating lunch and having my favorite, maple donuts and chocolate milk!

The other day, I asked the kids if they wanted string cheese for a snack. Hunter said he wanted some for his horse, but I didn't realize, he was actually going to shove it up its mouth.

We love working outside in the yard, especially in this cool, crisp weather. Jaina loves playing in the leaves and Hunter loves exploring in the yard.

There is this ferocious lion in the front yard that the kids love to sit on.

This is my dad...

...but deep down, he really looks like this.

No he isn't "It" or the Joker's brother, he is just a silly clown. (Jon couldn't resist the urge to make him over in photoshop.)

Ever since me and my sister and sister in laws started blogging, he decided he wanted to also, and so every month on the 1st of the month, he has been emailing us what he and my mom have been up to. Warning: you have to know my dad's sense of humor to get his jokes. I think they are the most hilarious thing to read.

Have fun reading this months blog by my dad, Richard.

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October blog

I’m am glad I take writing classes or I would never get to do the blog. And I are being very happy cause this will soon gets to be the hollow ween day. I wants to be a Little Red Riding Hood so I can scare people. I want to go by the mountain to see the leaves and gather acorns. I like to feed these things to the squirrels then eat the squirrels. They are quite tasty but their tail tickles going down.

We is glad to have our house building done. It looks pretty and people are pouring through the doors and windows to see Jill’s pretty colors. We soon will make the big room more pretty with the Christmas tree and things so the left over termites can enjoy them.

We did this visit to them All Red peoples mountain cabin. We ate some things and looked at a television set. And it looked nice outside the door. We enjoyed the pretty green of pine trees, the yellow of quakie aspirins, the orange of those autumn leaves and the gorgeous reds of box elder bugs.

I has been so much worried bout the economys. I sees my stock in Twinkies has gone way down. So I buys more from Kents and I will store them under my mattress. I just hope those persons at the capitol building will fix the money things and will make the gas for my scooter go down.

I will goes now and put some carmel on the apples then I will pick them from the tree and eat them.

Wich ode

Levi's blessing

This past weekend, my beautiful sister, JaNae, had her baby blessed. His name is Levi and he is just about the cutest thing you'll ever see. He has a chubby little face and a button nose and a little dimple in his chin.

It was fun to see alot of the family and also Justin's family. They are the nicest people and they make really good salads, too! But of course, nothing can top my mom's famous potato salad!

I love this picture of my dad. He is pretty much the life of the party and should never be taken seriously. He is always fun to talk to and can always make you laugh with his corny old jokes. This is Levi. See I am right, he is just about the cutest thing you'll ever see! I love this picture of him because he looks like if he drinks one more ounce of milk, he'll explode! My sister gave birth to him just over a month ago and she already looks amazing. So unfair:)

This is me, my mom, and JaNae. As you can see, my sister and I look nothing alike, but I think she is gorgeous! She has the cutest personality and is always making something good when I come over and visit. My mom is absolutely gorgeous too. She is so easy to talk to and always has good advice, plus did I mention she makes a killer potato salad?! Little Livy is next to us holding Levi. She is the most beautiful red head I have ever seen and has a sassy little personality to go along with it!

Who could forget my Jon? I don't know why he always poses like this.

My Dad is so sweet with my kids. They really love him and love staring at him apparently.

My mom is also so sweet with my kids and when I say sweet, I mean she has had to bribe them with candy and popsicles to come sit on her lap. It was mainly Hunter that needed the bribing, but he really loves Grandma now.

Hunter had such a fun time at the park. He and Mitch hung out most the time sliding down slides and playing in the sand. It was a great place to have the luncheon.

I'm horrible that I just let Jaina drink the water out of this little crack in the cement. I actually hurried and snapped a few pics and then stopped her, but it was pretty funny to watch.

Jaina is super attached to this blanket. My sister in law, Jen gave me all of her girls old clothes and blankets and this was one of them. Jaina can't go to bed without it.

The joys of life

My kids are such a joy! It seems like everyday, they are doing something that makes me smile and laugh. Hunter loves getting on our bed and having us put pillows around him. He calls it his house. Where did he go?
There he is!

Lately, I've been teaching Hunter how to make his bed. This morning I went in his room and his bed looked like this. I asked him if he made his bed and he said "Yah". I can't tell you how excited I was that he did that. Now if only I can get Jon...

This past weekend, we went with James and Janese to the Reptile Expo. Jon use to want a lizard this size, but I think after seeing one in real life, he doesn't want one that big anymore.

Hunter really liked all the spiders, turtles, snakes and lizards. Jon walked Jaina around and he said she wasn't so sure about them.

Jaina is a girl that knows what she wants and wants it right then and there or else! I honestly don't know where she gets her personality because both Jon and I are pretty easy going (okay maybe Jon is more than me).

This morning Hunter smacked her right in the head and it caught her off guard. She then hit herself in the head and yelled so loud for about 10 seconds non stop. It was just about the funniest thing I have ever seen, but also very sad.

I just love being a mom and watching my kids learn and grow. It is sad to see them getting bigger and more independent, though.