June

Now on to June. It was pretty quiet for the most part. The kids must have really liked the zoo in Omaha, because when we got back, they busted out the animal dress-ups, which I can't believe still fit Beckett.

 We also made some animal costumes out of brown paper bags. Here is an elephant.

That tail doubled as his trunk. I have a picture of him walking as an elephant, but it is far too blurry. I don't remember what animal Belle made all by herself with her paper bag.

I'm thinking a squid or octopus? You decide.

About half way through the month, a friend in our ward asked if I could watch her daughter one morning. the little girls name is Paige, and she is the same age as Anabelle and are good friends in nursery. Paige had to go potty while she was at our house. So, I went to help her and Belle followed. She saw Paige pee on the toilet and immediately went and put on underwear and hasn't worn a diaper since, except for a couple weeks at night she wore pull-ups, but were done away with because she said she didn't need them. So far she has been right. We offered to buy Paige a pony, but her parents said that that wasn't necessary. I beg to differ. I haven't had to change any diapers in 2 months! That is easily worth a pony to me. Do you know how nice it has been to not lug a diaper bag everywhere I go? I just grab my purse with extra undies and clothes and we are set. I realize that will all change when we have another kid (someday in the future, not announcing anything), but for right now, I am enjoying the freedom. Here is a cute picture of the kids in there undies eating a popcicle under the table:

Father's day was nice. I attempted my first homemade cinnamon rolls for Matt. It was his mom's recipe and one of his favorites. I was so proud of my dough rising I had to snap a picture of it.

I should have snapped a picture of the finished product, but we had to hurry to a family dinner and I was taking those with us. They looked gorgeous, but I don't think I put enough cinnamon and sugar inside. They weren't gooey enough in the middle. I have attempted it a second time, but that one didn't turn out as well. I guess I am just going to have to keep making cinnamon rolls until I get it right. Anyone want to be my taste testers?

Beckett turned 5 in June. Most years, his birthday has been pretty quiet. Mostly just our little family, and maybe a few other family members are there for cake and ice cream. But this year we decided to have a real party. A few days before, we called and invited friends and family to the celebration. It was really fun. More than we have ever done, that is for sure, but a lot of fun.

We started the day off with trying to catch a train. Beckett's preschool, Preschool Express, is train themed, so every year they have a little train that is in the South Ogden parade and they invite their students to ride on it. We thought Beckett would love it. So we worked hard to get out of the house as quickly as we could to get on the train at 9 (we don't get up at our house until 8 usually). We made it, but the train broke down and there would be no train the parade this year. We were bummed. Beckett was bummed, until Matt said he would take him to the train museum to make up for it. Then all he wanted to do was get out of there. Unfortunately, we had to wait for the parade to pass by. That was a long wait for a boy that wanted to go see some trains. He didn't even want to go get some of the salt water taffy they were throwing at the crowd. Luckily, South Ogden doesn't have a lot in their parade, so we were able to get out of there quickly. Matt dropped me off at our house so I could decorate Beckett's cake, while he took the kids to the train museum. They had a great time. They also rode on the front runner, to Clearfield and back, but hey, that was a train ride.

When they got back, the cake was done and we left to meet up with people at the Hill Air Force Museum. It was free and something that would be fun for all the kids, plus we had never been there. It was so cool! The kids loved it.

All the kids that came:

After that picture, Van leaned over and put his arm around Ally, who he had just met not more than 5 min. earlier. Van's got the moves. He is quite the player.

The kids had a great time, but I think the dads had a better time. They were more like kids than the kids were. It was funny. I think every boy has a dream to be a pilot at some point in their life.

They had on display this huge helicopter:

It was massive. The picture definitely doesn't do it justice. I think they are used to transport Navy Seals. So cool.

Here some more cute pics of our time at the museum:

I love Beckett's face in this picture and that there is a little hand reaching for that nob. 

After that, the party moved to our house. More people joined us there. We had cake and ice cream and opened presents, your standard gig. Beckett had a ball. He loved being the center of attention. He had started to unwrap one of his presents, a train, before we left for the Plane Museum, and then was very upset that we took it away. When we got home, he wanted to finish opening that present. He had a very difficult time waiting for all of the guests to arrive so he could finish what he had started.

He was so excited once he got it all opened. He has wanted James for a long time. He also got some more tracks and freight cars to go with his new train, lots of bubbles, books, a big bouncy ball, a big stuffed thomas, otter pops, and some little animals that came with a tent and fake fire for roasting marshmallows. There might be more than that, but I honestly can't remember.

After that, it was cake time. I have to say, I am very proud of how this cake turned out. That is two for two this year. (Any ideas for Matt's?)

I can't take credit for coming up with all of these ideas on my own. Ana suggested using a jelly roll for Thomas's tank. That suggestion made the whole cake. Someone else suggested using an ice cream cone for his funnel. Another freezing the cake so it is easier to decorate. I came up with the idea to use disposable bread pans for the cars and the cab on Thomas.

I could tell Beckett wanted this cake to be pretty accurate, so I really tried to make it as close to Thomas and his coaches as I could. I even put faces on Annie and Clarabell, Thomas's coaches. I also had left over cake from making the cab, so I decided to make a coal car. Unfortunately they didn't all fit lined up on the board, so I had to make it look like a car off to the side. Beckett loved it and noticed every little detail I put into it.

It was an awesome birthday and we were so glad to finally share it with friends and family. Thank you to everyone that came, last minute invite and all.

It is crazy to think that 5 whole years have gone by since he was born. I have been thinking about his birth lately and some things about him as he has been growing up. He is such a sweet, tender-hearted boy. He loves to cuddle and snuggle with just about anyone he feels comfortable with. He loves to laugh and make you laugh. He loves to have his back scratched. He loves to feel other people's silky clothes, but wont wear any himself. He loves to be in just his underwear, even in the winter. He loves me with all his heart. No matter how bad of a mom I can be, he still loves me and will give me the biggest hugs and tons of kisses. He is bright and can read about 10 or more words already. He is starting Kindergarten this year and I am so nervous. I hope he does well and has a great time. I know it is only Kindergarten, but it is the beginning of sending him out into the world on his own. It is the start of his journey in life to be more independent. It is a letting go, and I think I will have just as hard of a time leaving him in that classroom on the first day as he will letting me leave him. Don't get me wrong. I am already planning what I am going to do with only one child in the house with me for half the day, but it will be hard to let someone else have responsibility for him and watch out for him and make sure he is okay. I love that little guy and don't want him to grow up for a little bit longer. I have never really thought time went fast with my kids, but now that I am here at this point, I realize that he isn't going to be my little snuggle bug for much longer. He will one day stop climbing into bed with me in the mornings and snuggling for a little while before we get up and start the day, and my heart hurts a little just thinking of it. I love that little guy and he has been such a joy in our family and we would not be the same without him.

And now for October





So October was a big month. The most exciting thing that happened was that I finally decided it was time to potty train Beckett whether he liked it or not and it is done. I am calling it official. He made it through church last Sunday in his underwear without an accident, so I am calling it. We are still having a problem with poop, but that will come with time (I hope). How it happened was this - one day I was at the grocery store all by myself and I saw all this Halloween candy. I was looking at and thought that they would make great potty treats, so I bought a few bags and went home. The next day, I told the kids that if they sat on the potty for 2 whole minutes (with a timer going) they could have a potty treat. Anabelle was all over that idea. She already loved to sit on the potty, so the treats made it all the more sweeter (literally). Beckett was much more willing to sit on the potty, but he wasn't too thrilled with the rule that he had to do it sans diaper, but he got over it real fast when he saw the Nerds packages. I did that for about 4 or 5 days, with zero accidental pees or poops in the potty.  I was about to give up on my plan, when I talked with my counselor about it, and she told me that really it was me that had to be "potty trained". She said it is really the parents getting so tired of changing diaprers that they finally buckle down and get serious about potty training. I thought about what she had said and it made sense, but I was still a little affraid of the accidents that I knew would follow after I made that decision.

As it turned out, a few days after that conversation with my counselor, we were about to be completely out of diapers for Beckett and I was on the fence about going to buy more. Matt basically replied, "Nope. Let's just do this." With hesitation coming from me, we went forward and just put him in underwear after we changed his last diaper. Beckett wasn't too thrilled, but he got used it, probably because they were Thomas underwear. Matt gave him lots of juice and then promtly left to do something at a friends house (what a guy), taking Anabelle with him (thank goodness). Beckett was playing on the computer (big surprise) with a towel underneith him (I believe in being prepared for these kinds of things) and of course, he started peeing. He kind of freaked out and quickly stopped. I put him in the bath to clean him up. Of course, he thought this meant that he was free to pee as much as he liked. He did have enough smarts to try to get his feet out of the water as he did this. Oi! Naturally I promptly took him out of the tub and put him in clean underwear and sent him back to the computer with a fresh towel under him. Not too long after that he started to pee again. This time I got wise. I immediately took him to the potty and set him on there. He was okay with it, until he accidentally started peeing again, and this time he had no control of stopping it. He didn't know what he was doing and it kind of got on his foot, which really freaked him out. This experience really didn't seem encouraging to me because he seemed really upset about the whole experience. We told him we would go get a toy for peeing in the potty. After he picked out his new toy (a dinosaur train, his new favorite show) he started to see that this might actually be an okay thing to do.

We did the sticker thing for him to earn his next toy, a motorized Thomas. Unfortunately after he got his toy, he stopped going potty. That is mostly my fault because I put him in Pullups instead of underwear. So on Monday I hit the potty training hard and he has been doing ever since, with of course an accident or two. Now I need to start thinking about when I am going to potty train Anabelle. I think I will wait till next year. Give myself a little break before I start the whole process all over again.

Beckett modeling his new underwear

Now on to the rest of the month.  We had a sleepover with some cousins. My sister-in-law Marcey and her girls came over for a visit one Friday afternoon and they ended up staying the night. We had a blast. I think we should have people sleepover more often.

L-R: Julia, Jessica, Beckett, Anabelle, Josie

 My sister and I were making a red velvet cake one day and Anabelle wanted to like the bowl (she is just like her mother).  



I bet you didn't know Anabelle was a vampire



Another big thing that happened in October is Matt turned 30. We celebrating by going on a date to a murder mystery party. It was a disco themed one and it was extremely unpredictable. I was a hussy that slept with a lot of guys and would kill them when I was done with them. I was also a martial arts expert and a member of Chuck's Angels (reference to Charlie's Angels). Matt's name was hilarious - Knight Feva. He was a bar tender and a gigolo. He also turned out to be the bionic man because he had a run-in with a shark. I couldn't believe all of the twists they fit into that storyline. They all gave us some really good laughs. Thanks Shana and Sharice for putting it together. I think Matt really enjoyed his birthday. I am kind of mad I didn't take pictures. Oh well. Maybe we can recreate them and take a picture.

The next morning we went out to breakfast with my parents to the Segolily Cafe in Bountiful. The only way to describe their food is good old home cooked food, done gourmet style. They make all of their food and sauces there. We wanted to have their sweet ricotta cheese spread so that is why we went for breakfast. It is so good. I had their cashew french toast. Unbelievably good. I don't remember what Matt had, but I know he enjoyed it. I highly recommend that place. The place itself is really cool too. It is an old victorian home redone to make it a restaurant. I love it.

One present from my Dad was to come up and help Matt do some handyman stuff around the house on the 30th. I guess this gift was more for me than Matt. Matt's friend Kevin came over also and helped them work on our furnace and ducts. I really appreciated both Kevin and my dad coming and helping out. I know Matt couldn't have done all that work all by himself.

Later that day, I got the kids all ready for Trick-or-Treating that night. My little sister helped with Anabelle's makeup.

Anabelle is a ladybug. That costume was worn by my little sister when she was about the same age. Her nickname was Bug and so the costume was perfect. It was kind of surreal to have Anabelle wear it 15 years after my little sister did and she looks just as cute, maybe more, but don't tell Sara I said that. Here is proof:


Here is Sara in the costume

  Beckett is a Jack-O-Lantern in that picture. Right after that picture was taken, Beckett immediately stripped down to his underwear so I couldn't get a full shot of him. He wouldn't put it back on and then wanted to be a lion. I didn't get a picture of him in that because as soon as we got to my brother's house to go Trick-or-Treating with cousins, he freaked out when one of his cousins came in dressed as a clown, face painted and all. That did it for him. He refused to go out and just stayed downstairs playing with the train set. So just Matt and Anabelle went out. She didn't last long. Matt said she just stood their with her bucket and wouldn't say anything. She would say it when he practiced with her, but I guess she had stage fright when it came time to perform. Also she came back with only like 10 or 12 candies. Beckett promptly took half of it. Oi!

After the kids had been back for a while, they were all downstairs playing. They sounded like they were having tons of fun. Suddenly, Matt came upstairs with Anabelle in his arms and her head was bleeding. She had fallen off of a chair playing with one of those basketball, arcade games. She somehow gashed her head open. Luckily it stopped bleeding quickly, which surprised me, because head wounds are known for bleeding terribly. Once it was all cleaned up, you could see how wide and deep the gash was. Another lucky things was that we were at my brother's house, who is a doctor. He looked at and said it wasn't bad enough to go to the ER, thank goodness. He had some small butterfly bandages (I highly recommend you have a stash at your house) and got it on. Then we iced the goose egg. I couldn't believe how brave Belle was the whole time. She was obviously crying when Matt brought her up, she stopped while we were cleaning it up and that was it. She totally let me put the ice on her wound and didn't fight Matt pushing the wound together to put on the butterfly bandage. (That is how they work by the way. I have never used one and didn't know what they did, but they work to pull the wound back together and leave a minimal scar on deep wounds. You do have to give it some help though by squeezing the skin together and then putting the bandage on. Kind of a cool thing.) She was such a trooper.

Well, I think that about wraps it up for October. I am all caught up now and hopefully stay current on here from now on.

January in a nutshell

January has been quiet and crazy all at once. Matt gave me Wii Fit Plus for Christmas and we love it. It is so much fun. We have played it with some of our friends and it is way fun to play with a group, which is a big advantage to Wii Fit. It doesn't allow you to have multiple players at one time. Any of you are welcome to come on over and play whenever (just give me a heads up so I can clean up first).

I cut both Matt's and Beckett's hair. I think I did a decent job too. Beckett's was easy. I just buzzed it. But I used scissors for Matt's (well, buzzers for the lower part, but scissors for the top and to blend). I am really proud of how it turned out. It took me about an hour and a half to do the whole thing. My back and feet were killing me when it was all done, but I felt pretty good that I was able to do a decent haircut all by myself. I think Matt was pleasantly surprised too. He forgot that I had attempted to cut Beckett's hair in his sleep and so he was a little skeptical when I first offered. Hopefully next time it will go faster. If any of you cosmetologist have any suggestions on how to cut it faster and easier, please feel free to leave a comment.

We have been getting ready to potty train at our house. I have been contemplating training them both at the same time, but I think I am going to train Belle first. She is more ready than Beckett. She asks to sit on the potty every day, unfortunately it is after she as already pooped, but hey, that is a good start. She has even asked to go potty right after she woke up one morning. I hope that is a good omen as well. She is also obsessed with the underwear we bought her and Beckett. She actually likes Beckett's more I think.


She is always trying to put them on over her clothes, but she usually just gets both legs in on hole and then she can't pull them up over her knees. She gets so frustrated. The other day she kept asking me to help her put on more and more underwear. By the end of the day, she had one on top of her onsie, and 4 on top of her pants. and they were all Beckett's. We got a good laugh out that. She also carries them around all over the house like they are a stuffed toy or something. It is hilarious. Beckett could care less. He just likes the pictures of Thomas and Lightning McQueen that are on them. I don't know if Beckett will be interested in potty training for a little while. At least not until he realizes that he can get treats if he actually does something on the potty. I think that will be his great motivator. The almighty fruit snack or candy have great sway with that child. I am thinking the first part of February is when we are going to give it a go with Anabelle. We'll see how long it takes Beckett to follow in her footsteps. Wish me luck!

I had a birthday this month. It was awesome. I kind of celebrated all week (which I totally recommend). It started the Wednesday before my birthday when my mom came up to my house and helped me rearrange my house and make it look more put together. (I still need to post pictures up here of what we did. I want to finish the picture hanging first, but that might be awhile) Then on Friday, my parents came up and took Matt and I out to dinner at Windy's Sukiyaki. It was so good. Their Beef was amazing! By far the best beef teriyaki I have ever had. And their tempura veggies were pretty amazing too. The sushi was pretty good too (but not as good as that place up in Logan). It was a very delicious meal. I recommend that restaurant to anyone in the vicinity. They have private tea rooms that you can reserve and you sit on the floor, like they do in Japan. So cool. On Saturday, I opened my presents from my family and I got some new clothes (which I needed badly). They are super cute and in style, thanks to my sister Sara. I love them. I have already worn them and I feel so hip. On Sunday, my actual birthday, we went to my brother's house and had dinner with them and played games. It was a blast. We always have such fun with family. Thanks to everyone that made my birthday great!

Well, we finally did it. We got rid of the thorn in our side. The Saab story has come to an end. We are now the proud owners of a 04 Mazada 6 wagon. We love it.


It has zoom, zoom (which Matt really likes). We love all the storage space in the back and the seats are super comfy. I think this might be one of our best car purchases yet. We wont be in the market again until we have baby #4 on the way, so that gives us at least two years (hopefully more).

Beckett is still in love with our fish. Whenever anyone comes to visit, he says "Want to see our fish?" He even said that to me. Such a cutie. He reminds me to feed them and he talks to them and shows the fish his toys. I have even caught him playing pretend with them. I love it.

The last week or so, Beckett and Anabelle have started playing together really well. I will often hear them giggling in the other room and surprisingly it isn't always because they are getting into trouble. They are just playing together and having a good time. I do have to remind Beckett that he has to calm down when he starts getting too wild and rough with Belle, but for the most part, they have become great little friends. It is so nice. I am so glad they like to play with each other and that they get along. I hope they stay this way.

Belle is still trying to become as much of an adult as she can. She doesn't like to sit in her high chair anymore. She loves to eat what I am eating, including cucumbers and many other veggies. She knows how to take off her pants now (which is great for potty training) and will run around the house pants-less most of the day. She loves to pray. I will be going about my daily routine, when I will turn around and there will be Anabelle with her arms folded and she will say, "Amen?", meaning she wants to pray. She always remembers to bless our food. It is so cute and has made me stop to think about how often I pray throughout the day. Kids sometimes teach you more than you teach them. It is awesome.

Beckett is getting better with his prayers too. He sounds a little like a baptist in that he kind of shouts his prayers and looks up as he says the words. Sometimes it is hard not to laugh. We still have to tell him what to say, but he says almost all of the words now, instead of just the end of the phrase. And today, he said "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen", which is a big first. He only says "Amen" after I say the first part. These are the moments that are truly rewarding as a parent. Less than a year ago, I was worried we would never be able to get Beckett interested in prayers, but now he asks to say the prayer at almost every meal and he is excited to say them. As a mom, that makes me feel so good inside and that I really can make a difference. I hope that both my kids keep up this love of praying.

And just in case you happened to vote for our friend that was in the competition for Xbox, he made into the final three and now he is one the final two contestants. They are in the process of making his game right now. That is so awesome and we are so excited for him. The game will be out in the Fall for everyone to play for free and then we vote again on which of the two we like the best. Thanks to all of you that helped him out.

3 in 1

Okay, so this last weekend was a little crazy. We started watching my brother's kids yesterday while they are in Hawaii this week (lucky dogs), so I was running around getting ready for this week. That is why I haven't blogged for the last few days.

So on Saturday, I was grateful for Beckett sitting on his potty. No, he didn't "go", but he did sit on it, with his pants off. The diaper was still on, but the pants were off. We have been reading a Kermit the Frog potty training book to him for last week or so, and Friday night, he asked to sit on the potty. So we all jumped up and ran into the bathroom. When we got in there, he wanted to get into the tub. The only reason I can come up for that is that he has pooped in the tub a couple of times (and yes, it was disgusting) and so he thinks that is a potty. Then I tried to get him on the big potty, but that didn't go over well. Luckily, we had purchased a little potty like a week earlier, but I hadn't opened it yet. So, naturally I ripped that sucker open and put it together as fast as I could. He loved it. He thought he was pretty hot stuff. On Saturday, after he woke up, he wanted to sit on it again, and then he wanted to take it in the living room to sit on while he watched a movie. Of course I had to put my foot down on that. The potty has to stay in the bathroom. (I never thought I would have to make that one our family rules, but it is now) So, we are a step closer to potty training. I am a little excited to get started on this. I am not looking forward to the accidents, but only one child in diapers is a big plus. I am grateful for Beckett sitting on the potty.

Yesterday, I was grateful for a new apostle. We had stake conference and the new apostle, Elder Neil L. Anderson, spoke at it. He did a wonderful job and sounds like he is going to be a great apostle (not that anyone called to the position wouldn't be great). He sounds like such a loving man and very encouraging. What a blessing to have a new apostle called after one passes away?! The church doesn't die just because the apostles do. It lives on through continued revelation and calling new apostles and prophets. How wonderful! I am grateful for a new apostle.

Today, I am grateful that my brother's children are so easy to take care of. This morning, I got out of bed at 7:30, the time my sister-in-law told me to get up. I was expecting a chaotic is morning, rushing around getting the kids ready for school. I was so wrong. I knew that Ben's kids got up early on their own, but I didn't know that they would get completely ready all by themselves. I was amazed. I only had to straighten Brookelyn's hair. I didn't even have to fix breakfast. And the children were totally ready way early. I think I might be able to handle being a mother of 6 for a week. I might be singing a different tune later on, but right now I am thinking I will be able to do just fine. I am grateful that my brother's children are so easy to take care of.