Leo's Place...the place to be!

If you live where I live, you know exactly what I am talking about when I say "Leo's Place"! The kids love this huge pizza-eating, all-you-can-drink, video gaming, huge playground playing, mechanical toy riding fUn PlACe!
We found ourselves wondering what to do when the kids were out of school one day. HMMM, what to do when it is FrEeZiNg outside and well, there just aren't a lot of options for entertainment on a day like this...


Bridget enjoyed her ride on the purple dinosour. She was also grateful for big sister who got some tickets in the video games and gave her a sucker!



Bayli and Tucker were big helpers getting Bridget into the playground and down the really long slide!


"Hang on, Sweet Pea!"

WHOA!!! That was fun!

Tucker works on his strength training...and if you're wondering where Tanner is, well, he was playing hide and seek and I was never able to capture a picture of him! Better luck next time!

Birthdays, Boise, Cheer and Late nights...

What do you get when you throw together two birthdays, a cheer competition, four girl cousins, grandma, aunt and a trip to Boise? A whole lot of fun!Bayli and I just celebrated our birthdays last weekend, and it just so happened that her Boise competition was the same weekend, so we planned a little getaway with my mom and sister, her two girls, Haili and Emma, and of course, Hailey and Hunter. We had a lot of fun and I think it will be a weekend to remember for a long time...
Hailey, Hunter, and Bayli are "pumped" and ready for some competition!

The minute we arrived Friday afternoon, the girls were begging to get in the pool! They swam for hours! Who needs any other type of entertainment when the pool stays open until midnight?

Saturday morning was spent at the mall and the most fav. store...Claire's where we always have a ball trying on things and posing for the camera! This is Haili with some sweet glasses, baby!

Oh, and Bayli with the same sweet glasses!

It was time to get ready and head to the competition, good luck, Sis!

These girls did a great job! They ended up taking second place, but they deserved first! They work so hard and have a great time at it!

Bayli is sporting her medal for second place!

We went to Red Robin for dinner afterwards; Bayli and I were sung to and given a free Sunday...YUM!! From bottom left: Hunter, Drake, Misty, Jeni, Mindy, Hailey, and Bayli.

We made it home from our trip on Sunday, which was actually my birthday, Matt had dinner ready and we were glad to be home, but even more glad that we didn't have school the next day because we were POOPED!! Bayli opens her presents and finds a gift card to Claire's... and some new clothes, plus she got her cheer bag before we left, she was stoked!

My husband surprised me with a new video camera! I love it! It is small enough to fit in my purse so I can have it on hand wherever I go!

And, there is always flowers for my birthday! This year was a dozen red roses, Bayli got some cute little pink and purple ones too! Thanks hon! I love you and your thoughfulness for my birthday this year! You are the best!

Happy Birthday, Bayli Kay!

Eleven years ago today, our sweet daughter, Bayli Kay entered the world! Our lives have not been the same since! Bayli rocked our world with her colic spells nightly and I thought I would never be able to get a full night's sleep again! But, thankfully, that only lasted a very long three months and she became the joy of our lives! We are so thankful to have Bayli as our first-born child. She is a wonderful example to her younger siblings. Bayli is full of life! She is so good at many things; she is an amazing pianist (from the mouth of her teachers), she is a great little basketball player, and her newest found love...CHEER!! She is a very talented tumbler and dancer. I really can't think of many things that Bayli is not good at. We love her and are happy to be her parents and watch as she grows into a beautiful young lady!

Happy Birthday, sweetheart! We love you...Love, mom and dad

Bayli and her mom...

Daddy's girl...

Bayli and her best cousin cheering together!

Miracles do exist!

I believe in miracles! Small, big, important or not, I still believe that with a little bit of hope and prayer, miracles can and will come our way...like the time that I found my long, lost wedding ring in one of my shoes in the closet, or like the time(s) we found the lost keys to the four-wheelers on the dirt hills across the street, or the many times that my children have been deathly ill and have come out of it unscathed.

Meet my baby girl, Bridget. Just recently turned two years old and up until last night, has never gone a day, night, or rarely a minute without the bink in her mouth! And as if ONE bink was not embarassing enough in public (while she speaks full sentences with it hanging off to the side), she insists on having TWO and will cry and scream until we find "other bink"! She swaps them out when she's tired of the one in her mouth, and wakes up during the night if she can't find both!

I have been thinking recently about when exactly would be a "good" time to get rid of the sticky, fat, corroding life lines, and it has been soooo hard to imagine life without them. I admit, I am addicted! Maybe even more so than Bridget.

Well, last night was the magical moment, and not by my choice! I had promised Tucker a little prize after he received his weekly injection (that hurts like heck...). We got out of the bath, gave him his shot, got ready to go to the dollar store, and I must admit, I was devising a plan to get the baby girl to sleep on the way home...BRILLIANT!!

We pull into the parking lot, I unbelt Bridget and take her binks and cup of milk to leave in the car, we get into the store, pick the cheap gun that costs two dollars and lasts two minutes before it breaks, and head home! Well, in getting seatbelted into the car, the binks turn up missing...where are they? I know we left them in the car and I know they came with us to the store due to the nice, quiet ride on the way there...sooo where in creation have those nasty little buggers gone to? Well, they must be here somewhere, so we head home. Lucky for me, the baby falls to sleep without a fuss and gets into bed sound asleep...YES!!

I have searched that car from top to bottom and they are NOWHERE to be found! It is the craziest thing! Bridget has gone all day and even had a nap and has only asked once for bink. I simply told her they were lost, nothing better than the truth, right? Wish us luck tonight as we go to bed without our addiction close at hand to calm the tantrums that are sure to ensue!

A rare moment without bink in tow...

Back to School, back to life!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable day yesterday as the kiddos went back to school after such a long Christmas break! I don't know about anyone else, but my kids were more than ready to get back to the routine. Yes, it was hard to get them up and moving after partying so many late nights, but we managed and I felt **free** as I got myself back to somewhat of a routine.

It was a Monday, though, as I hurriedly got the two little ones ready so I could get to my Weight Watchers meeting (not looking forward to THAT after the holidays). As I was driving along, I literally watched a car run a red light right in front of me and before I knew it, I was following the law-breaker, and found myself cruising through the light! HELLO! The even better part of the story is I checked my rear-view mirror to find a cop directly behind me! I pulled over and I wasn't even nervous because I made an honest mistake and felt that I could talk my way out of a ticket. Sure enough, my stars were in line and I was able to sweet talk my way by acting like the dumb blonde I can be sometimes (okay, most of the time)! Way to start off the day...

But, this may have been a good experience for Tucker becuase he acts like he is "above the law" when we are in the car...trying to get out of his seat to move around the car, telling us we don't need seatbelts, etc. Well, after getting pulled over, that kid was scared! He kept saying "let's go home, I don't want to drive anymore." and watching EVERY RED LIGHT then letting me know at least a mile ahead of time that I needed to stop!

Monday could have been worse, so I'll take mine and move ahead to today!

New Years Resloution #1...catch up on blog!

Wow! 2009 already...what the...it has been a busy and crazy and fun and exciting Holiday season at our house. So much has gone on and we have had some great times, as I'm sure most of you have also! It was so much fun to see family from as far away as Georgia to as close as Utah. We spent the actual Christmas Eve and day with Matt's family (see next post). Then the day after Christmas all of my siblings and my mom came to our house for a party...we had a great time with my dad's famous wings, pizza, snacks and more junk that makes me sick to talk about (ugh) Tanner is enjoying a plateful of Grandpa Don's wings! YUMMY!! They sure are messy!
It was fun to have all my brothers here...My dad (left), Kimball, Dane and Quinn.

We took advantage of the photo op and got one with the five of us and our parents. My sister, Cori is oldest, then me, then Dane, Quinn and Kimball.

Utah Trip...my family only planned to stay overnight and go home the next day. As we got up and started to get ready for the day, my mom, sister and husband devised a wonderful plan. I should go back to Utah with them and stay a few days, I had planned to go sometime during the break, so why not? Sure, let me uh get my laundry finished that I had already started, uh take down my Christmas decor, arrange my Sunday calling, pack all the kids, and oh yeah..we were going to paint our walls, so let's pick out the paint so Matt can stay home and paint without interruption...wonderful idea! I had two hours to accomplish all this before my brothers were ready to go, so away we went like bats out of you-know-where, and within two hours we were on our way! It was a great trip, the kids got to do lots of fun things with their cousins and I got to meet my twin nephews, Frazier and Eli for the first time...(oh, and sorry for the large print, I am still figuring out this whole blogging thing)!

Baby Frazier, the oldest and the bigger of the two. A sweet little guy!

Bridget just loves babies, so she was in heaven getting to "pet" them as she called it!

What a cute uncle with Frazier! Tanner loves babies also and was very anxious to get to hold these little guys!

Bayli and Frazier...

Of course, you can't hold one without then holding the other...me with Eli! This was such a great evening, I had to go back the next night for more! They are so sweet and so fun and it's even better because you always get to hold at least one of them! I am so proud of my brother, Dane and his sweet wife, Lynzi...they are great parents and I am just in awe as I watch them take care of these two little boys. Lynzi is amazingly patient and kind and loving and so relaxed, I was way impressed! She is doing a great job! I love you guys and can't wait to see those baby boys again!

Christmas came, and Christmas went!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! It seems to get busier and crazier every year, but we make it through and the kids have memories to last a lifetime! We have the family tradtitions that we do each year, starting with a kids' Christmas party. All the grandkids on Matt's side (there are currently 24) get together and exchange gifts and eat lunch at one of our homes. This year it fell on Christmas Eve day, so that was fun! (I don't have pictures of the event, my camera was frozen)

Christmas Eve dinner at Matt's parents' house. All the families are there and we eat a yummy dinner of Chicken Cordon Bleu, baked potatoes, green salad, jello and desserts! It is always such a great meal and we all look forward to it! After dinner, we gather around and watch home videos and laugh our heads off at how funny Matt's growing up years were! They have some extremely priceless videos that we enjoy watching over and over...

Part of the family getting ready to watch home movies.
We always open a gift on Christmas Eve and by now the kids have figured out just what is inside! They just ask "When do we get to open our pajamas?" It's a fun tradition and they always get excited to see what kind they get from year to year.

This is after Santa had come and before the kids could disturb anything! Santa wrapped everything this year so that when Bayli got up at her usual 2 am, she couldn't spoil the surprise for anyone!

Of course, Santa couldn't wrap the bike...

Bayli got a camera, she was so excited for it!

Tanner got a Nintendo DS and we never saw his face the rest of the day, it was constantly looking at his new toy!

Tucker also got a Nintendo DS and was just as excited as Tanner. Our home has never been so quiet on Christmas morning! It was wonderful!

Bridget discovered her Dora bike and was very excited about it, even though she can't quite pedal yet, she'll be ready to ride when the snow melts!