The Summers Family

Freedom

2011-12-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

Today is a wonderful day. Why? Because I completed my last final for the semester! I feel so liberated...and happy... and....well, I just feel like a ton of weight has been lifted off of me. If only I could skip out on next semester and just graduate in May without having to do anymore work.

Ok, wishful thinking.

That's ok--I can dream, right?
I think I will go light my new Day at the Beach candle and have a
hot bubble bath.

Come back summer...come back!

2011-08-11T04:52:00.013-06:00

Well here I am at 4:53 a.m. updating my blog because I woke up to the sound of our sprinklers hitting something metal outside and just couldn't get back to sleep. You know those nights and mornings where you should be sleeping but your brain dosen't want to shut off? That is me right now. I'm feeling anxiety about the upcoming semester and summer coming to an end. It has just gone by too dang fast and I don't like it! I figured I would keep everyone up to speed with what we have been doing all summer so here is my report :)

Z has been playing AYSO soccer (this is his first time) and it has been a lot of fun for him to experience what it is like to be on a sports team and make new friends. I have had a lot of fun taking him to his practices and games, and it's just fun to take advantage of the playground and free lunch offered afterwards. Woohoo!

Our good friends who moved to Provo last year for graduate school have been staying with us all summer to help out with work. T and his high school BFF B have been plumbing together, while B's wife and kids have been keeping my kids entertained. They will be leaving next week and we will really miss them! It's been so nice to have them around because T has spent MANY late nights plumbing and I've been feeling like a single mom.

I finally completed the 75 hours required for my internship and have been anxiously awaiting the publication of my work. The fair guide I have been working on all summer was just put up online. I wrote another article in the September/October issue of I.F. Magazine and that should be coming out mid-August.

Vi's birthday was July 28th and she turned 3 years old! Can you believe it? We had a great time celebrating with friends and family, and Vi got her bounce house for the party, as promised!

I have been running and biking a lot this summer and have ran in 3 5ks so far. With each race I have improved my time and that has been really fun for me. I just love being in shape and having my clothes fit like I want them to, you know? It has been great to have a workout buddy (my friend L aka Gator who has been staying with us). I may or may not be running a 10k at the end of the month, it just depends on my motivation after my first week back at school and whether or not my aunt in Utah will be able to come up and run it with me.

Last weekend T, Z and I drove to Salt Lake with my sister-in-law and nephew for some fun at Lagoon. This year Z was very brave and went on a lot more rides than he did last year. The Bat and Rattlesnake Rapids were his favorite rides! On our way back, we stopped at McGrath's Fish House in Layton and the food was delicious! I will definately go back. Over the next week and half before school starts, I plan on going school shopping and getting my house all organized and ready for the chaotic start of the school year. Z will be in first grade and Vi will be going to the preschool at ISU.

Let the slave labor begin!

2011-06-08T22:18:00.002-06:00

That's right. I started my writing internship on Monday, and let me just say it has been a great experience thus far. Everyone at http://www.idahofallsmagazine.com has really gone out of the way to make me feel welcome. I have already learned so much in the past 3 days I have been there (can you say information overload!!) and hope to learn as much as I can to help me excel in the future as a journalist. As of right now, I am in charge of a huge project and am trying to keep a positive outlook in order to keep the pressure at bay.

School's out...still waiting for summertime

2011-05-30T21:29:00.002-06:00

Okay--I know that Idaho summers usually don't begin until the first part of July...but I am anxious for the sun to come out already! This blasted rain and wind is making me cranky, especially when I have to go camping in it. Why did I go camping in 29 degree weather might you ask? For two reasons: to see my son's face light up when his dad shows him how to cast his fishing line into the water for the perfect "hit," and to spend some quality time with my family and friends (whom we haven't seen much of since they moved to Provo last year for graduate school). Quality time with one of my dearest friends (does that sound too grandma-ish?) and seeing our children play together was worth the uncomfortable cold chills and facial wind burn I received over the past few days. I think that is why most people go camping on Memorial weekend. Yes we should remember past war heroes and make the rounds to visit deceased ancestor's graves. But after all that is said and done, we must take a look around us and make every possible effort to make memories by spending time with those who mean the most to us; those who are in our presence here and now.

4 weeks until semester's end!

2011-04-07T20:35:00.004-06:00

I decided to bring my camera along with me during one of my volunteering days at Z's school. He really loves it there and has a lot of friends. It's cute to see him interact with the other kids and show off his school work he is so proud of :)

Circle time is a regular part of the Montessori school routine. This was taken on Z's birthday. Vi and I showed up and brought him cupcakes to pass out for his birthday treat.

Best of buddies...most of the time.

I was cleaning the house and passed by Vi's room to see her having a tea party with her bunny. It was so cute I had to grab my camera.

Life has been a little crazy around here with the usual chaos of school and family functions. Last month, Z turned 6 and we had a party for him here with his friends from school and a few from the neighborhood/ward. It was a little bit crazy to say the least ;) He managed to end up with two remote control helicopters (among other things) and loooves to fly them around the front room and taunt Vi.

School has been a challenge this semester and I am so ready for the first week of May to get here! Two of the classes I am taking are group project oriented, and so far I have had two of my partners drop out of school, leaving me to carry a big part of the work load. It's so crazy to me that people who are in their senior year of college decide to stop going after they have already completed 80% of a course's work. I do know that one of my partners was having a hard time dealing with the stress of school and had some emotional issues. Today I was happy to learn that I have more credits than I thought I did. So this means I won't be taking any online summer courses like I had planned-Yippee! My internship with Idaho Falls Magazine starts in July, then I have 2 more semesters until graduation. I can't believe I'm almost done and am so thankful I have made it this far. I can't wait to have my nights (and life) back and be able to go to bed on time!

CANCUN, BABY!

2011-01-21T23:03:00.005-07:00

For those of you who never heard, Cancun is the Las Vegas of Mexico.

So...the week before spring semester started, we decided to escape the cold Idaho weather and make a break for Cancun. We ended up falling in love with the weather there and didn't want to come back, of course we had to come back to our kids or else we would have stayed ;)
Usually I am not a fan of humidity, but man it felt good coming from below zero weather. We have resolved to put in a humidifier system for our furnace because the whole time we were there our sinus infections went away and we felt great. As soon as we got back to the dry, mountain air our colds came back.
We went on a tour to Chichen Itza (one of the new seven wonders of the world), for those of you who don't know it is the remains of ancient Mayan ruins. We are standing in front of Cenote Sagrado where ancient Mayans would throw human sacrifices into the water below. A nice Australian girl who was on the tour with us took our picture, too bad it turned out so shadowy.

It was amazing to see this place. There was so much to see and so little time.We weren't allowed to climb on or explore any of these structures. About 3 or 4 years ago people were allowed to climb up the temple shown below. In fact they had a chain that went up the middle of the steps for people to grab onto that was ripped out. If you look close you can see the white line that runs through the middle.

It was a very hot day, surprisingly I didn't even burn.

Beach bed we rented behind the hotel.

Our beach scene from one of the outdoor hotel restaurants. All-inclusive resorts are the best! I've never been on a cruise so I can't compare but I would highly recommend staying at a resort.

My friend and I found this guy at a souveneir shop inside an outdoor mall by our hotel.

The gourmet food was plentiful. We had breakfast brought to our room one morning, but most of the time we ate our meals at different restaurants at the hotel. One was called Salt and it specialized in Mediterranean food, the other was Silk and they had Japanese food. We had lots of sushi, mussels and other foods we wouldn't normally be able to make or afford on a regular basis!

Outdoor Mexican restaurant overlooking the beach.

Todd bodysurfing

Christmas Party

2010-12-29T14:37:00.006-07:00

As promised, here are the pictures of Santa at Grandma's party. If you can't tell, Vi just loved interacting with him. In fact, she had to sit on his lap twice!
Grandma was busy taking pictures, while Z and Uncle M watched Santa.

B, S, and J were so cooperative when I asked them to smile for my camera ;) You see the blankets they are holding? My grandma made all of us married couples each a blanket and told us this was our last year getting one. She also told us this was our last year getting jammies-sometimes being an adult sucks!

T and kids enjoyed themselves and the presents.

We may be too old to get more jammies and blankets, but we still have to sit on Santa's lap!

Z was thinking pretty hard, but he knew what he wanted-a space station. He did get that space station, too.

Vi was just all smiles around Santa. However she was not the first one to jump on Santa's lap, Clem (my mom's dog) beat her to it!

A Bittersweet December

2010-12-21T21:14:00.003-07:00

Many reasons I chose the title for this post; where do I begin?
This month has brought a lot of happiness and relief, along with sadness and pain. First of all, my great-grandmother E passed away at the age of 93. She had been at a nursing home in Logan, UT for the past five years. I know that she is in a much happier place now, but at the same time losing her is hard when I think of past memories. My mom told me not too long ago that it was Grandma E who helped her choose the spelling of my name at the hospital. My cousins and I will always remember the ramen noodles, cheese, and toast she would make us when we were little girls visiting her home. I can't watch Wheel of Fortune without thinking of her, probably because she always had it on when we were there. She will always be in my heart, and I know that her spirit will be with us.

I hate to put all of the bad news first, but shortly after returning from Grandma E's funeral, I broke my little toe on the doorframe of the bathroom. I don't know that "freak accident" accurately describes my injury so I will just call it a "dumb accident." When I had an X-ray done, sure enough the bone had been split down the middle (an oblique fracture) and I have been wearing a foot cast for the past few weeks. This has not been fun with finals and kids at home. I have had to rely on other people to help me get places (which I hate doing) and have let my house go more than usual (scary, I know). I am happy to report, however, that my toe has been feeling great this week and I have been driving around with a slipper on one foot. I went visiting teaching with one slipper and one shoe today just for kicks because I am so sick of wearing the foot cast.

So here we are-the 3rd week of December and finals are over and I am done with fall semester-oh yeah! The kids have been sooo excited for Christmas and have really been getting into the magic of it all. Z put his Christmas list in the mailbox this week and today he and Vi both got a response letter from Santa. Vi didn't really get it but Z was ecstatic and many questions about the North Pole followed. Last weekend we went to Logan again (for the 3rd time in a month) for the Christmas party at Grandma W's. See next post for pics of the kids with Santa.
Z and Grandpa W playing Christmas songs on Sunday morning.

Z and his class singing "Away in a manger" at the Christmas program.

One morning I was at home with the kids watching them play and noticed how cute and little Vi's hands and feet looked in the sun, so I had to capture the preciousness.

Showing off one of the many ornaments on the tree. She loves to take them off and hang them in a different place all day long. Our tree looks kid-ified and we can't put the presents under it yet either because lil'miss won't stay out of them, sad.

My favorite people in the world, in one snapshot.

Halloween

2010-11-05T21:34:00.004-06:00

Wow what a busy month October was! Besides the usual schoolwork, housework, and parenting we were able to cram in a lot of late nights going to parties and taking time for each other to go on dates. I started a jogging class a few weeks ago and it has really been stealing any extra energy I may have away from me by the end of the night. Let's just say I look forward to two things after the kids are put to bed: a hot bubble bath and a cold Mountain Dew! We had a lot of fun last month despite the chaos and look forward to the holidays.

Of course we all dressed up. How lame would that be if we didn't! T was such a good sport wearing his Luigi costume while we went trick-or-treating down our neighborhood. He got a lot of sideways looks and chuckles from our neighbors. They were just jealous. We went to Grandma S's for a little family party and Z won a few prizes at the fish pond.

All of the cousins together at Grandmas. 10 and counting-we just found out that T's brother and his wife are expecting another one in May.

One of Z's new best buds. We have been doing a lot with our new neighbors since they moved in. You can't find a better pair than Princess Peach and Mario!

A looking glamourous in her Greek Goddess costume. She came to my house very early one morning, before she had to go to work and I had to go to school, and we dolled her up. She had a work party that day.

Vi's prize from the fish pond. A sparkly baton is just what she wanted :)

Before they were carved, we had to get some pictures of our home-grown pumpkins.

Christmas lights are up!

I am a bad blogger

2010-10-10T20:20:00.002-06:00

My poor blog has been neglected. Since school started back in August, things have been a little bit crazy around here.
First of all, the big news is that Z started Kindergarten. He has been learning all kinds of things, and is getting better at writing each day. It took a few weeks for him to really enjoy school; after being home with me all summer it was a hard transition.
As a mom, this has been a really hard stage for me in his life. I feel like he is officially no longer my baby and is a big boy now. Every day it seems like he learns something new or says something new that just makes him seem so grown up. I'm not ready for this yet :( But I do love seeing him grow.
Vi has been talking like crazy. She has the vocabulary of a four year old at age 2. I'm wondering if she will turn out to be one of those kids that has a really high I.Q.
She already knows the difference between past and present tense and has been speaking in full sentences. "Can I have a carrot mom?" and "Do you want to play with me?" It just blows my mind.

As far as school goes for me, this semester has definately been a challenge. Good news, midterms are this week which means I am halfway through the semester.

We have had summer weather in October, and I am so thankful for that. We are all looking forward to a nice cool fall though, and the kids are ready for some trick-or-treating!

Devil's Creek Reservoir

2010-09-05T14:49:00.001-06:00

Midsummer Family Pics

2010-07-20T13:22:00.006-06:00

Violet loves to ride in the bike trailer...as long as she has snacks!

Playin' in the Front Room with their favorite "puppy blankets."

This particular morning lil' Zach was still asleep at 10am! I had to take a pic before waking him up :)

Family pic at Lagoon last weekend. It was HOT and humid. But lots of fun!

Zach and his cousin. They love meeting up at Lagoon every year and going on rides together.

He loved this ride. Kiddie land was a big hit!

Last week we took our bikes to Snake River Landing and rode around the new paths.

ISU Scholarship

2010-07-11T14:25:00.003-06:00

Last night I logged into my student email and to my surprise found out that... I received a scholarship that I applied for a few months ago! 3000.00 Dollars to be specific :) :) What a relief! I hate worrying about money every semester, the little things like gas, childcare, and hidden class expenses. This should cover it for the year! To think that I didn't want to apply for this one because I thought it would be a waste of time.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

2010-07-08T23:12:00.002-06:00

These past couple of weeks have been so much fun-and so much work! We have been working, and that online class I have has been kicking my butt, and I have been doing lots of fun stuff with my family. My sister A graduated from Job Corps last week, so my mom and I drove to Boise to see her graduation, and took her out to lunch. We were able to hit an outlet mall before we had to take her back and found some cute stuff at Maurices :) She is looking for a job, and will be leaving Job Corps for good on Aug 11th, so we wish her luck! T and I have a season pass to Rigby Lake and have been taking our bikes over there whenever we have a spare minute. It has been fun to go as a family. Z loves being able to ride his bike on his own now, and it has been nice for me to have less weight in the bike trailer!
Last weekend, (4th of July) we had so much going on, but it was still fun. I ran a 5k in I.F. with some of my friends from Highschool Saturday morning, and then ran another one in Menan Monday morning. It felt good to finally do it, and I made better time on my second race. We went to the I.F. parade as a family, then to T's parents for lunch, then to a rodeo in Rexburg, then we set off some fireworks. Yes, it was busy!
This weekend is our anniversary, and my favorite sis in law is tending our kids so we can have a night away. We are going to dinner and Eclipse, then probably will go biking in the morning. I am just loving summer and don't want it to end!

Summer update

2010-06-20T22:44:00.004-06:00

I decided I had to post since Summer is going by too fast and so much has happened in the last little while.

This is Z's first year in swimming lessons, and it has been such a great experience for him. He has always been overly cautious and extremely nervous when it comes to water. He hates getting it in his eyes during bathtime. So for the past two weeks he has been taking lessons, and has gained so much confidence. He will now go all the way under the water without a fuss and does a nice backfloat.

This is one of Vi's best buddies. They love to play together, and get into trouble together as well. This is a favorite hiding spot of theirs-an empty kitchen cabinet! We have been having a lot of fun getting together with friends and having dinner, going shopping and riding bikes. I had a garage sale this weekend and made some extra money for our "date night fund." We finally weaned Vi off the binky and it has been great-although the first three days of transition were anything but. She is also in a toddler bed now and loves it.

Z learned how to ride his bike and we were able to throw out the training wheels. It was such a neat feeling to see him take off down the driveway for the first time on his own. I knew he had the balance down long ago-but he was just too scared of falling to give it his all. Now there's no turning back! As you can see in this picture-our grass is finally coming in, and pretty soon we will have a nice full lawn (I am hoping). We planted our garden about a month ago, and everything is coming up nicely.

As for me, I have been busy working two days a week, spending time with the kids and hubby, and am taking an online class. A few weeks ago I received a letter in the mail from ISU congratulating me on making the Dean's list for last semester. I was excited about that, as that has never happened before (I guess you have to be a full time student with a high GPA whereas I have been going part time with a high GPA so it didn't count towards the list, and this has been my first full time semester). I have been trying to get up the motivation to start running again, but the rainy weather has been taking away all my excitement about that, plus T and I have both been sick with Strep throat and are just now feeling 100% good again. I have told myself I have to run at least one race this summer, even if it's just a 5k.

Cuteness

2010-05-20T23:06:00.002-06:00

Need I say more? :)

Mommy survey

2010-05-06T21:57:00.002-06:00

Today was my last day of finals (thank goodness) so I had to go to Pocatello and was unable to make the "Muffin with mom" day at preschool with Z. I was so sad about this, but luckily T had the day off and was able to go in my place lol. I think it should have been "Muffin with a parent" day but I guess "Muffin with Mom sounds better," so I see the rationale for that. The teacher went around and asked the kids questions about their moms and then put together a cute little booklet with their answers in it. After reading through what Z said about me, I thought I would share his responses because they are so cute!

Teacher: What is your mom's favorite fruit?
Z: Candy

Teacher: What is your mom's favorite thing to do?
Z: Ride bikes with me

Teacher: How old is your mom?
Z: 60

Teacher: How much money does your mom have?
Z: 6 dollars

Teacher: What is your mom's favorite TV show?
Z: News

Teacher: What is special about your mom?
Z: When she kisses me

Teacher: If you could give your mom anything in the world, what would it be?
Z: A basket full of candy

After seeing his answers, I decided that I probably need to cut back on something...

Finals week

2010-05-02T19:38:00.002-06:00

Ok guys-one more week to go! I am excited to be so close to the end of the semester and look forward to a little break (about a month) before I start my online summer class. This week I have a portfolio due in my creative writing class, and I am about done putting the finishing touches on my story and poem I will be including in it. I have to read an excerpt from it in class Thursday morning and am a little nervous, although I did have to give a presentation last week for another English class and that broke me in somewhat with public speaking. I haven't had to do it for a while, and I hate it! I alsohave a math final tommorow night, and a French and Lit final Thursday. Wednesday is my b-day and T scheduled a hair appt for me so that I can get some highlights for summer. I totally wasn't expected him to do that. He even found a sitter for the kids so I wouldn't have to worry about it! So basically we are just waiting for school to be out and summer to start (without the wind please!) We planted our yard last weekend and are anxiously awaiting the appearance of some green blades of grass.

Dr. Mario

2010-03-29T21:15:00.003-06:00

Does anyone remember this game that came out originally on the NES? Well, now they have it available on the Wii, you just have to buy it via the Wii shopping channel for 10 bucks and once it is downloaded your good to go. This is a game I would highly recommend. My brother-in-law got us hooked on it and it is a blast to play against other people. All you need is a Wifi connection and once you put in the other person's friend code you can start a Dr. Mario battle. If anyone has this let us know so we can link up!

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

2010-03-26T23:00:00.004-06:00

Really, I don't have alot of time to watch t.v. But-this show is awesome. I love how this British guy is trying to change the food system here in America, more specifically in schools. I have always been appalled at the amount of processed foods that kids and adults eat on a regular basis. Of course I eat my fair share of junk, so I am in no way dissing on people who eat convenient food, but I really like how he has brought to the surface the basic issue of eating healthy.

Starting a food revolution in America, means getting people to start eating healthier and cooking foods from scratch. Hitting the most unhealthy place in America, Jamie encounters much resistance and disapproval from the townfolk in West Virginia, and from the "lunch ladies" at the first school he visits. Alot of the negativity stems from concerns about time and money. Yes-it takes extra time to peel potatoes, make bread from scratch, marinate and cook real chicken, but it is sooo much better for your body. A big issue he keeps running into, is resistance from the elementary school kids to eat the healthy menus he dreams up, instead of the processed foods they are used to. He finds out that the children, when given a choice want pizza instead of his fresh chicken. One of the things I enjoy most about watching his show, is that he is not afraid to stir **** up, and make people rethink the way they have been living. He is so passionate about what he is doing here, that "making a big fuss" isn't a concern to him. If you want to check this show out- It comes on fridays at 7 or 8 on ABC.

Pirate Party

2010-03-23T18:29:00.004-06:00

Happy 5th B-day to my little man! He had a party last week with some of his neighborhood/preschool friends, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. This year, he wanted to do Pirates, so we bought all of the decor required, sent out some fun invitations, and decorated the house to set the stage for the party.

This is the first year I have actually made his cake-so don't laugh at my cake decorating skills!

We played a few games- Musical chairs and Walk the plank. They both turned out to be a big hit. He received alot of fun presents as well, but I think his favorite part of the day was just having all of his friends over to celebrate!

She is growing...yet again!

2010-03-13T19:21:00.004-07:00

Lookin' pretty in her Sunday best :)
She loves to take baths, and her hair is getting so long now! Her new favorite thing to do in the tub is to throw all of the toys out, then get on her stomach and "swim" through the water.

She has been very fascinated with the potty and asks to sit on it all the time. This was taken a month ago, before she decided that it was way more fun to sit on the big potty. Now she always wants to use the real one with the Dora insert we bought for it...and yes, she actually goes potty!

This was taken at a family dinner. She loves B and W's new dog.

She still loves to look at books, especially if they are pop-ups. I have to sit by her and make sure she doesn't rip out everything!

Unfortunately, she is still hooked on her binkies. If she has more than one, she gets so excited that she has to put them both in her mouth. We are hoping to rid her of these this summer-wish us luck!

Good for a laugh

2010-02-26T21:34:00.002-07:00

This was filmed last year around Christmas time.
The little blue radio in the background with the moon light
on the front is mine from when I was little. I found it downstairs
one day and Z begged me to let him bring it upstairs so he could
see it. It still works good- Good enough for a dance party!

Dreaming in Iambic Pentameter

2010-02-19T22:41:00.005-07:00

Some of you know that I have been taking a creative writing class, and have reluctantly had to dive into writing poems, A LOT of poems. I also have a Literary Analysis class and guess what we have been analyzing? Yep. You guessed it-poems. I feel like I have had so much poetry shoved down my throat in the past month I could vomit- but is it bad that I am starting to like it??

Last week I spent three nights perfecting a sonnet about how dirty and disgusting my vehicle is. If I had been able to write this poem in free verse (poetry with no official form) then it would have taken a few hours at the very least, but since I was trying to mimic a Shakespearean Sonnet, I found myself frusteratingly rephrasing the original rhetoric to conform to Iambic Pentameter (the unstressed/stressed syllable pattern with five feet per line) and I found out just how constricting it really is. I was changing important imagery in my poems just to fit this form and I really hated doing that. So-this is what I have decided; if I were to pick which form is my favorite to write in- I would do either free verse, the cinquain (which is Iambic but it has a different amount of syllables on each line) or a haiku.

The other night my brain was so fried over following the unstressed/stressed pattern of poetry that I actually had a dream that I was walking through a forest full of free floating words. I was holding three bags (satchels if you really want to know how loopy this was) in my hand, one for the words with stressed syllables, one for the unstressed and one for words that had two or more syllables with multiple stresses. I woke up and told my husband that I was being haunted in my sleep by Iambic Pentameter, then he just laughed at me and asked "what?"
Two more weeks-and I can say Au Revoir to the poetry in my life...For now.

Posting just to post

2010-01-29T10:38:00.004-07:00

Do you ever feel like you want to update your blog but have no time? That is where I am at right now. Sorry to those of you who like to check blogs frequently and mine is over a month old. I have been really busy with school and trying to keep up with the massive pile of homework I have each week. I usually don't get around to that until after the kids are in bed, because of course I would rather spend time with my family while they are awake and we are all together and push the neglect towards my homework. I have always felt gifted in the art of multi-tasking and feel like this semester has pushed me to the status of Advanced Expert. It is amazing how many things you can do if you have a positive attitude about these things and map out a weekly plan to accomplish them.
On a different note, I hope to post pictures soon of my kids-I have some new ones that are adorable. They are always learning and growing in more ways than one. T's 30th birthday is tommorow and we are heading to Lava Hot springs for some much needed R&R. So long for now and I hope that I can be more entertaining blogwise in the future!

Making memories

2009-12-24T12:39:00.003-07:00

Last night we finally used the gingerbread house kit that has been sitting in our pantry all month. Z has been begging us to help him put it together and it turned out to be a lot of fun. The kids loved putting the candies on the frosting and eating them.

I think that is frosting running out of Vi's mouth...Yummy! Just in case there wasn't enough junk food laying around we decided throw a big bowl of popcorn into the mix.

Shortly after this pic, the roof started sliding off. Oh well-it's the thought that counts!

Family Update

2009-12-21T05:55:00.001-07:00

I know-I have been horrible about posting lately. So, I decided it was time for an update, because my kids are growing up too fast! Violet will be 17 months old on the 28th of this month. Although she has always been a sweet little girl, as of late she has developed quite the bossy streak. She talks a ton now and climbs onto everything. Her favorite thing to do at home is pick up her little baby books and haul them around the house. If she sees me or Todd sitting down somewhere she will hand us her books and then turn around and plop her little bottom down on our lap so we will read to her. One day I read at least 15 books in a row and she still wanted me to read more! She usually wakes up between 6:30 and 7am and gets very upset if Zach dosen't get up with her right away. Usually he likes to sleep until at least 7:45ish, and she will run to his door and pound on it if he's not awake or if it's open she will climb onto the bed with him and pat his head. She really loves her brother and gets bored when he is not around.
This is one of her favorite camera faces. The funny thing to me is that this is how Zach used to smile when he was her age. I don't know what the deal is with the scrunched up nose and eyes but it's pretty cute.

Z has been busy at his new Preschool. He has so much fun each time he gets to go, and his teacher is so good at giving them something new and different to do each time. He made this little wreath picture for me for Christmas and I thought the picture was so cute on it-he looks so grown up! Some of his favorite things to do are: learning numbers and letters, watching Curious George (that hasn't changed since he was two), playing with his toy monster trucks, teasing his sister, dancing, playing Mario Kart Wii, building bear caves with his playdough, helping me cook and playing with his friends and cousins when I have to go to school. He likes to watch the school bus go by each day and drop kids off on our road. He will be five in March, I can't believe it!

Vi's favorite place-"Acky's room." She is such a bookworm, which I am thrilled about. She also is mastering the art of eating with a fork or spoon. She does a pretty good job-although she needs to work on not throwing her bowl of food on the floor! That's it for now-we are just excited for Christmas and can't wait until it's here. I have a pretty sad looking Christmas tree, only the top half of it is decorated since little stinker won't keeps her hands off the ornaments. Also

, we have no presents under the tree for the same reason. I have a closet full of presents that I am just dying to put out...

I heart Kohl's

2009-12-08T08:02:00.002-07:00

I just went shopping again at my favorite department store and used the $50 Kohl's cash I earned from spending money on black friday. What other store gives you money for shopping there? Ok there may be a few out there but this store rocks! Plus-I saved 15 more dollars off my total purchase after I spent the Kohl's cash with a discount card I received in the mail. Woohoo!

New trees!

2009-11-28T10:00:00.002-07:00

We now have six new pine trees bordering the back of our property! It is finally starting to look like a yard and as soon as spring is here we are going to get our grass planted, turn on the sprinkler system and just sit back and watch everything grow!

Black Friday

2009-11-27T19:50:00.006-07:00

Yes I am one of those crazies that wake up in the wee hours of the morning in hopes of scoring some great deals and saving serious cash. This year is now the 3rd year I have participated in this holiday ritual and it was fun to have my mom and friend accompany me into the cold and madness. I hate to say it-but the store that I picked out as my first hit (Old Navy) turned out to be a big disappointment and I will not be returning there at opening time again. They advertised opening at 3am this year, and their big prize was the Lego rockband game in the platform of your choice if you spend over $20 (who doesn't?)

Ok bear with me, this is a long post and the reason I am taking the time to rant about this is so none of you will make the mistake of putting Old Navy before any of the other stores. The first disappointment came when they did not actually end up opening until 4am because that is the time that mall opens which Old Navy is inside of. So I wake up at 1:45 AM! with high hopes that I will get the free game and be one of the first in line for dibs on clothes. We pull up to the mall around 2:30 and see a huge line, park and take our spots outside in the cold. Well- quarter past 3 the doors to the mall still aren't open, and everyone is angry trying to figure out why we are still standing outside when this mall cop comes out and announces that he is not going to open the doors because "The mall" doesn't open until 4am. Why in the hell didn't Old Navy and the Mall coordinate with eachother and plan for this? We had the ads in our hands that said they were opening at 3am. So half of the line leaves, and I am closer to the doors so we decide to wait out another hour in 5-10 degree weather because I was certain I would be getting a game. Well 4am rolls around-and the mall doors open-everyone tramples eachother trying to get to Old Navy and stand in front of it to make yet another line. The jerk in charge (probably the manager) comes out of Old Navy and yells at everyone "WE ONLY HAVE 74 GAMES TO GIVE OUT-GET IN A LINE OR I'M NOT HANDING THEM OUT!!" Now again-I was really close to the front and then people started worming their way past all of us to the front of the line despite the fighting and yelling from the people around me. I decide to voice my opinion "Someone needs to make those people go back to the end of the line where they came from" (saying this more to my mom and friend than to the rest of the crowd) when this lady in front of me who was obviously at her boiling point overheard me and was pushed over the edge. She looks back at me and goes "All right I'll do it but you better back me up!" and she starts charging to the front of the line (in front of about 300 people) all the while I am thinking crap what did I just do. She then gets in their faces and proceeds to tell them off while our whole line starts clapping and cheering her on in support. My mom and I were wondering if we needed to hide before she came back to ask us why we didn't follow her up there-but when she came back we ended up telling her good job, way to go!

Next disappointment... After all that the people still didn't move, and I didn't get a game. They stopped handing the wristbands out 10 people ahead of me. And they didn't get the dumb gate open to the store until 10 after! We are never going there first again. I will choose Kohl's next time. We went there after we hit Walmart and I saved 266 dollars hitting the doorbuster deals! The whole atmosphere was just friendly and although packed with people more relaxed. I didn't get back until noon and needless to say was totally exhausted. At least I have most of my shopping done right?

Things I am thankful for...

2009-11-26T21:00:00.003-07:00

In honor of Thanksgiving, I feel the need to write down the things I am thankful for today! These are in no particular order, I will just write them down as they come to my mind. And please bear with the cheesiness of the post too. It's very sentimental and I don't do sentimental a lot.

I am thankful for...
1. My husband. He works so hard every day to support us, and when he comes home tired, he still helps me with the kids. He supports me going back to school and gives me the freedom to be me. I love him!
2. My kids-besides being adorable and sweet they are such a blessing. Nothing else can make you forget yourself and serve others like having kids can. And the rewards you get from being a mom are endless-even if you have to work very hard and put in a lot of time to get them!
3. The Gospel- Without this, I would be lost in the world. Nothing brings comfort to my soul like praying, listening to powerful talks, reading the scriptures and going to church. I know how it feels to have the gospel missing in my life, and I don't ever want to feel that pain again. Sometimes, just remembering that God loves me is all it takes to make me feel better when I am feeling down.
4. Friends and Family-Life is so much more fun with these in your life! Especially after you have kids, there are so many opportunities to make friends with other mommies. I have really been missing my sister ever since she has been away to Job Corps and am looking forward to seeing her again. It always makes my day if I am able to spend a few hours with a friend (especially my cousins!) And if it's going shopping or going out for sushi-even better.
5. My vehicle-If I didn't have a reliable vehicle to drive around in Idaho everyday my freedom and sanity would be gone.
6. My home-Many people don't have a place they can call home and that is very heartbreaking.
7. My health-Now that I just got over Bronchitis-I realize the importance of having good health, good health insurance and lots of vitamins on hand for prevention!
8. Living in modern times-indoor plumbing, electricity, immunizations, internet, appliances, ...you get the picture.

Halloween FUN!!

2009-11-01T14:40:00.006-07:00

We ended up having 2 fun filled days of Halloween this year-lucky for us that it fell on a weekend! Friday was great, no school or work for me-and Todd left work early so we could take the kids trick-or-treating at Melaleuca. My mom works at the one in Rexburg and every year they deck out the rooms with different themes (candyland was the theme for the pic below) and the employees all dress up to match the theme room they work in. Don't forget the massive amount of candy they give out. We really didn't NEED to go trick-or-treating saturday after stopping here.
Z was a very happy spiderman

Making and eating Halloween sugar cookies-YUM.

Working hard on the dough...and getting covered in flour.

Being a goof ball in the backseat (my mom gave us some of her homemade suckers.)

Family pic of us at the Halloween party. We had it at my sis-in-law's house this year. We put together a fish pond with prizes, and had the kids pin the patch on the pirate. My mom-in-law made a big pot of chicken noodle soup with mashed potatoes. We made some worm punch (gummy worms with gatorade, sprite and jello) which turned out delicious and not as sugary as it sounds...

Here she is....Princess butterfly! It was hard to get a picture of her she didn't want to hold still for a second! Her and Z love running around with their cousins.

Z with the full costume effect. He refused to wear the mask that came with his costume. Later on, we decided to catch up with our friends and do some more trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. We now have two huge bowls of candy stashed away in the pantry, and I am glad to say that Halloween is officially over. Now-I can start to get really excited for Christmas!!

Trip to Boise

2009-10-21T18:57:00.005-06:00

Last weekend I took a much needed trip to go visit my one and only sis who is currently attending Job Corps in Nampa. It was great to have some time with her and my mom and grandma were able to come with me as well. We stopped at the Malad Gorge State Park on the way out of curiousity, and boy did the park live up to it's name! The funny thing is, we couldn't even see it from the freeway because there was a huge cornfield blocking it.

Picture taken outside the hotel room in Boise. We stayed at the Red Lion Hotel. It was very nice accomodations since the hotel had just been renovated. We spent a day and a half doing some serious shopping. First at the Boise Town Square mall (A was ready to have a meltdown from all of the shopping we made her do) and then to Burlington Coat Factory. LOVE that place. We also visited the State Capitol Building (which was under renovation) so we were unable to go inside. Later in the evening, A showed me around downtown Boise and pointed out the places that she has been to. She did a walk a thon last month and was eager to show me exactly where she started the race lol. My legs were killing me and we were more than ready to go back to the hotel and soak in the hot tub.

This is the pool we swam in at night, there was also a hot tub to the right. You would think it would be too cold to swim in an outdoor pool in Idaho during October, but we got lucky and enjoyed a really warm weekend.

I have many more pics, but the good ones are on my mom's camera, which I don't have at the moment. So Enjoy for now.

My little "big girl"

2009-09-12T17:23:00.002-06:00

No more crawling....she's outta here!
No more baby food...she will eat ANYTHING now.

No more goo-goo gaa-gaa's. So far she can say "Mom" "Dad" "Ack" "Gate" "Thanks" "No No" and "Hi". It amazing to watch her learn everyday. And she can tell what we are saying to her most of the time! If I tell her to get her toy, bring me her blankie, or get ready for night night she understands!

No more bottles-she can drink from a straw, cup, sippy-you name it.

My little girl is growing up fast!

Life in the fast lane

2009-08-30T22:41:00.003-06:00

Recently my life has gotten really crazy. I started school last week, and a new job. The new job, I wasn't exactly planning for. I was grocery shopping one day, and I got a call from my old boss at the collection agency where I worked years back (before kids) and she told me they had created a flexible part time job and wanted to know if i was interested. At first I told her I would think about it because I knew school was starting soon and didn't want to jump into it yet. Well, after a lot of talking, planning and praying I decided to give it a shot. I really didn't want to turn money down, especially since T's hours at work have been hit and miss. So for a week, I have been taking my kids to a different family member or friend's house every day, since I am really opposed to day care and can't afford the outrageous prices anyway. I am swapping babysitting with 2 of my friends so I don't have to pay anything, and it has gone OK for now. I just still feel really guilty all day being away from my kids, wondering what they are doing and if they are safe. I hate it but Im hoping it gets better. I have this voice in the back of my head telling me to stick it through, so that is what we are doing right now. Z has loved being at his cousins and friends houses and dosent seem to mind, but Vi is having a hard time adjusting with her naps and all. Im thinking that when she gets more used to seeing these people every week it won't be so hard. One thing I have learned so far, is that I really appreciate the time I have with my family when we are together. The dishes and laundry can wait! And Vi is officially walking now, EVERYWHERE, and it is so fun to watch. I will post some pics of her walking soon. For now, Im off to bed.

Lagoon

2009-08-23T22:09:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we drove to Utah and spent the day at Lagoon! It was a lot of fun, especially for Z. We took him two years ago, but he wasn't very interested in the rides at that time, so it was neat for us to see his excitement now that he is older. We met my aunt, uncle and cousin there and little bug really enjoyed having his favorite cousin there to play with. My mom volunteered to tend Vi while we were gone, so it was nice to have the freedom of doing what we wanted there without worrying about our baby's schedule. Plus, she wouldn't have enjoyed it or remembered it anyway... Below are some pics of our fun day, well, more like pics of Z and his fun!
He loved the baby boats, I think he went on them at least 3 times, and he had to have the blue boat.

Having fun on the helicopter ride

Crazy kids in the bumper cars...Guess which one Z is in?

By the smile on his face, you never would have known he was upset about not getting the blue car...

We can't wait to go again next year! We were there from 1-11pm, and we still didn't ride all of the rides! We decided against going to Lagoon a beach since there was a thunderstorm earlier and it was still chilly. It did end up getting really hot later in the day though, and T and I were able to ride on some of the rollercoasters. I would NOT recommend "The Spider", it hurt my neck and was very jerky. My favs were The Colossus and The bat. Believe it or not, Z went through 2 haunted house rides.

Sunday afternoon

2009-08-09T17:22:00.003-06:00

Maybe it's just me, but seeing my baby and my husband asleep on the couch is the cutest thing ever! What is it about sundays, after you get home from church and eat lunch that makes you so tired? It could be the 3 hours of kid wrangling during church, or the big homecooked meal you get to eat after being hungry all through church because it is right in the middle of lunchtime.

Dental work

2009-08-03T09:42:00.002-06:00

I meant to post sooner on this topic. A few weeks ago, little bug had to go get his cavity filled. He was such a good sport, and it definately helped to have his favorite bear with him for support. The room also had Monsters Inc. playing on a tv in the ceiling and he watched that with headphones on. I can't believe he didn't even cry or need an anesthetic. We scheduled the appointment at 8am in case he did need the "happy gas", but gladly he didn't and it's a good thing because that would have been another hundred dollars. I'm so proud of him. Since he did so well, the dental hygenist said he should be able to handle a regular cleaning next time.

Island Park

2009-08-02T15:28:00.004-06:00

Todd and I have been dying to get out of the house and have been wanting to go camping at least once before school starts. We were finally able to make it happen this weekend, and we all had a great time. We went with Todd's brother Brady and his wife Whitney and 3 month old baby Harley. My sister in law's family owns a piece of property in Island Park and have their camper parked there for the summer, so they were nice enough to let us stay there. After hours of preparation (when you have kids and their stuff to pack it takes hours) we were off. We took our dutch oven and ended up cooking every meal in it. I wasn't expecting it to get so freezing cold at night, so next time we will bring more blankets. I was awake for literally four hours freezing and not being able to get warm in the camper. Its a good thing Violet was next to me in a warm bundle, though it didn't help me much, but at least she got some good sleep. Come to find out the dumb vent above our bed was open all night, go figure. Todd ended up sleeping in the other end of the camper with Zach on a bunk bed, and my sis and bro in law slept on the beds in the kitchen area. It was nice to finally see the sun rise so I could officially get up and start walking around the camper in preparation for breakfast! Anyway we got some nice bike rides in, and we took Zach's four wheeler so he could keep up with us. Todd strapped Violet into the hiking backpack on his back and she got a real kick out of riding on his back while he was riding the bike (I know, not the safest option.) See below for some pics!
On the way home we stopped at Big Springs. The clear water comes from a spring in the mountain, so pretty.

Todd and Violet ready for what turned out to be a bike ride instead of a hike...

Zach keeping watch over the marshmellows (mallo? in too much of a hurry to check)

Getting lots of relaxing in

I actually took this pic while I was riding my bike, thought it was funny

Waiting for the dutch oven food

We set up the playpen outside, she loved it!

The babies playing together

Zach loved Brady's dog Baco Tell (she was such a good dog, stayed close to the camper, kept watch outside at night, followed us on our bike rides)

My little girl is one!

2009-07-30T15:03:00.006-06:00

Happy Birthday to my baby princess! I can't believe it has been a year since I gave birth to her, and a month before that we had just moved into our new house. What a crazy year it has been. Its hard to comprehend how fast she has grown and how she has learned all of her milestones in one year's time. She took her first steps last week, now we are just waiting for her to gain the confidence that comes in time for her to walk around on her own. We had her birthday party at the local park, and were able to celebrate with our closest family and friends. I even made 40 individual strawberry shortcakes as the dessert, that we served with a fruit and cookie platter. I regret not taking pictures of the delicious spread, but hey, I had a lot of other things going on.
Diving into her shortcake. She had already shoved the strawberries in.

Looking at her new puzzle that one of our friends gave her.

She wasn't the best subject for picture taking, we never got a shot of her looking right at the camera...Too many things and people to look at!

Sitting in the pile of presents. She kept getting annoyed that we would make her go on to the next present when she just wanted to play with the last one she opened.

Vivi and her baby buddies at the party. Notice how she is jamming that dessert cookie into her mouth.

Daddy with the birthday girl

Z's big boy booster

2009-07-21T19:30:00.002-06:00

We finally made the switch and bought Z a new seat. Vi was simply getting too big for her infant seat, we about injured our backs hauling her around in it all the time, and the convertible seat we have had Z in since he turned one was getting too cramped. Now Vi is has moved to Z's old seat and they are both happy travelers! Yay for me while I'm driving.

Critters in our backyard

2009-07-19T18:13:00.002-06:00

You can find these rabbits everywhere around our subdivision, especially on the empty lots.

These guys ran from our yard to our neighbors. I guess they prefer grass!

Biking in Pinedale

2009-07-13T12:18:00.007-06:00

This year, for our 7th anniversary, we wanted to get out of town and do something fun that we haven't done for a while. After some online research, mountain biking in Pinedale, Wyoming fit the bill. It was a three hour drive from I.F., but totally worth it! We had a lot of fun (with our Walmart special bikes he he) and found some great trails that took us deep into the wilderness areas.
After biking for 10 miles around Fremont lake, we found a single track dirt trail that led to a fish pond. The water was so clear, you could see the fish in the pond. After a long and very hot ride, we decided to eat our lunch by the waters edge where it was nice and cool.

This is where we parked to unload our bikes.

We rode our bikes across this dam off of the CCC trail loop.

T's bike didn't have a memory foam seat like mine, so halfway through the ride he decided to rob it from me.

Overlooking Fremont lake

Lookin' good! It was a great day for biking.

In front of the fish pond, and our picnic spot.

Road view from our car

Unexpected Surprise

2009-07-08T14:51:00.005-06:00

Sunday morning my cousin called with great news-they (her and her husband) had work off and wanted to drive up to see us! We were also surprised when my other cousin showed up with them that we didn't think was coming. So we had a fun two days just hanging out and going shopping. We also had a great cookout the first night they were here (thanks to T and his grillin' skills.)
Taken off of my back patio

Baby ViVi , my sister, and cousin

While at Target we stopped to look for sunglasses, Z found a great pair to go with his personality

ViVi didn't wanted to stay in the front of the cart for too long, so like a bad mom I let her roam around in the basket area. She loved it!

Cruisin' for a bruisin'

2009-06-17T21:00:00.002-06:00

This last week has been a big one for Vi-she has learned how to pull herself up and cruise around the walls and furniture. We have all gotten a kick out of watching her get into things and the look on her face when she knows she shouldn't be is priceless! See below...
Can't resist the fireplace. At least we haven't had to turn it on.

Playing with the dollhouse Grandma W bought her.

She likes to get behind this curtain, and usually ends up falling backwards when she can't find her way out.

Yesterday, she fell down the stairs after Z pushed against the safety gate she was leaning on. She had some red swelling on her face from carpet burn, but it has gone away for the most part. This happens after I had warned Z at least 10 times that day not to push against the safety gate when Vi is standing up to it. Grrr.

Garden Delights

2009-06-10T15:53:00.003-06:00

Ok, no we don't have a garden, but our gracious neighbor does! For those of you who don't know, we live next door to an older retired man who is out in his garden from sun up to sun down. He has all kinds of things planted out there, and plants so much of it that he always brings us more than enough. This week, he has been bringing over spinach and radishes. Last week it was lettuce (the spring mix type). The salads and sandwiches that I have made with them have been delicious. I am excited for his peas, corn and carrots to come in. I feel somewhat guilty enjoying these without putting in any labor, but he assures me that if we don't eat them they will just go bad anyway. Another reason I love this neighborhood.

Cute moment

2009-06-01T22:52:00.002-06:00

After Z helped me wash my car and I had parked it back into the garage I went inside for a moment to make Vi a bottle. When I came back out to check on Z, I found him on the driveway with his bike and cop car giving them a good washing. I thought this was too cute...

Memorial Day

2009-05-28T12:10:00.002-06:00

It was great for T to have an extra day off this week so we could enjoy some good family time. This past weekend has been really great, I think we went to at least four barbecues lol.
Memorial day morning, Vi was eating breakfast and trying to grab my camera.

Z and his cousins had a lot of fun getting rides on grandpa's four wheeler at the dry farm cookout

Z enjoyed putting flowers on his great grandparent's graves in the Ririe cemetary.

We went for a hike after the cookout at Cress Creek, and then went swimming at Heise.

T gave all the kids rides around the farm house. Vi loved the four wheeler :)

Now that it's all over, it's sad to have T go back to work. At least it's summertime and we can spend the majority of the day outside-YAY!

Preschool graduation

2009-05-24T22:31:00.003-06:00

So friday was Z's last day of preschool...I know it's crazy. T, Grandma S, Vi and I were able to watch him and his friends put on a little program that his teacher put together. A dance routine was put on to the tune of "Zippidee Doo Da," and then his teacher took a few minutes to tell about each child and how much they had grown since they started preschool. She told us all that Z's favorite saying in class was "Oh, that's weird." Ok, I will admit he probably got this from me. She also told us how he loved to make silly faces all the time to make his classmates laugh, and how he showed them how to make truck jumps out of whatever the teacher had handed out as a learning tool that day. So basically, he was a big goof off, but he did have his share of learning as well!

Shae's wedding

2009-05-22T20:35:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we drove to Utah for my cousin's wedding. It was a gorgeous day to have the wedding, the weather was perfect and the Logan temple grounds were of course immaculate. Later that night, the reception was held at my grandparents home in Richmond. We had a lot of fun visiting with my relatives and were glad we could make it for this special day.
Family pic taken in the temple grounds

Officially married!

T and little miss Vi

Wind storm aftermath...

2009-05-13T09:43:00.005-06:00

Yesterday we had some, uh, weather related issues here in Idaho. With wind gusts up to 62 mph, let's just say we had our share of damage and missing outdoor furniture. This morning I thought I would drive around and take some pictures of our development.
My neighbor's wooden playhouse/swingset literally flew to greener pastures.

The Terrace Hills development sign took a hit.

My neighbor's mailbox that was cemented into a bucket blew over.

Our poor roof, not even a year old yet...if you stand back far enough you can see that a big chunk on the top flew away for good. I wanted to take a picture of my backyard neighbor's dog run, it was totally annihilated but somehow he put it back together this morning before he went to work.
Also, check out the attached link for the local weather news story. Watch the video on the right, it shows more extreme damage that happened in and around I.F.

http://www.localnews8.com/global/story.asp?s=10349433

I'm so excited to leave town this weekend for my cousin's wedding and escape this weather!

Birthday Fun

2009-05-06T10:10:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was my 25th, and Todd was able to take part of the day off from work to spend it with me. He surprised me by showing up with a new bike and bike trailer. I have been wanting these for so long, and now I can go for a bike ride during the day and take the kids with me. I had a final to take last night so we didn't go anywhere to celebrate, but it was just nice to be at home with my family. Todd brought some fried chicken and potato salad back for dinner, so not having to cook was great.
This trailer seats two kids so it is perfect! Yes I know the lighting is bad...

We will have to make some adjustments to the seat and handlebars since I am a tall person, but from riding it last night in the 50 mph wind (oh how I loathe the weather) I can tell it will be a nice bike for me. It even has shocks on the back and front so when we go camping we can do some serious mountain biking.

Sunday night we went to my parent's for a birthday dinner of taco soup and dessert of brownies and banana cream pie. My parents gave me a new dress and clinique "Happy" perfume. This is another item I have always wanted but never got around to buying. I love how birthdays make you feel so special and loved, and getting all of the birthday wishes yesterday made my day. Thanks everyone!!

Date Night

2009-05-02T11:18:00.003-06:00

It is so great to be able to get out and have a date night with my husband and NO kids. I love my kids of course, but being a stay at home mom I get plenty of time with them during the week I can assure you. T took me to this little place off of first street called El Palmar, and when we walked in I could tell it was a very authentic Mexican restaurant. We were the only white people there and everything on the menu was in Spanish. Luckily T had been there before with his hispanic co-worker and knew what to order. We ordered the "Molcajito bowl," which was a huge rock bowl that came out piping hot filled with shrimp, chicken and pork along with strips of cactus, onions and fried cheese strips. It was kindof spicy, but nothing I couldn't handle. We filled tortillas with this mixture and added rice, refried beans, and guacamole. It was seriously delicious! I didn't even get heartburn or indegestion afterwards like I normally would at some commercialized place like Applebees or Chilis. The best part of this whole dining experience was that it was a very quiet, intimate place to go to on a Friday night and the service was exceptional. I will take a place like this over any typical, overcrowded and music blaring restaurant any day. It was so great. Ok I will stop raving about this new found mexican jem of a restaurant and go on to the next part of the date.
Afterwards, we hopped in T's purple '58 Chevy and cruised around the greenbelt, where we parked and walked around downtown I.F. to admire the quaint little shops that lined the streetside. I was bummed of course that these shops were NOT open, but we were still able to window shop. Which is in some ways better because then I am not tempted to spend any money. When it started raining on us we decided to head back to the truck. Instead of going to a movie like we had originally planned we figured it would be best to rent a movie and get back to the kids. After all, we didn't want to leave my mom with them too long or she wouldn't want to offer to babysit again... :)

Garage sales

2009-04-25T13:55:00.004-06:00

One thing I love about warm weather is the fact that it brings out many garage and yard sales. Today, I woke up and drove to Ammon where I found some really cute baby girl clothes for Violet. I got a full bag, which included some dresses that still had the tags on them, for twenty dollars. I even scored a cute little mermaid piano, that Violet and Zach love. I am a pretty picky person when it comes to second hand clothes, but I got lucky today! Now I just need to find some more blue jeans for Zach since he ruined one of his last night at my in-laws house when he got into some finger nail polish with his cousin Gage...

Easter

2009-04-15T14:27:00.008-06:00

I know i haven't posted for a while, but these past few weeks have been not been very fun. We all got the stomach flu at our house, Violet got two teeth and during the skin breakage period she was a total nightmare, and the weather has been yucky so we have been cooped up in the house. I'm happy to say that we are over all of that, so things have been better. We made it to Utah last weekend to attend a bridal shower for my cousin Shae. It was nice to see all of my relatives again and Zach had a lot of fun with my cousins, especially his buddy Lauren. Below are some pics from our Easter adventure...

Violet finding an egg at Grandma Watts easter egg hunt.

The Easter bunny showed up at our house...and Violet had a ball with the plastic eggs!

Zach was really enjoying himself, can you tell?

All the girls with my Great Grandma Em. She was able to escape the nursing home for a few hours to attend the bridal shower.

Todd took Zach to a monster truck show in Pocatello a few weeks ago. They had a blast!

The inevitable easter egg tradition

2009-03-26T13:04:00.004-06:00

Z and I decided to take advantage of Vi's naptime and dye some eggs. As you can imagine, he was very excited to take part in this messy Easter ritual.

The finished product, had to take a pretty picture before we put them in the fridge...

"Mom, is this gonna come off?"

First time making rolls...

2009-03-23T13:19:00.002-06:00

After years of being intimidated by receipes that call for yeast, I finally caved in and tried a receipe titled "Easy Dinner rolls," and yes it was easy! They were also very delicious I must say. It took me a few hours, as I had to mix them up in my Bosch, let the dough rise, knead the dough, divide it into sections and roll it out, then cut the dough into triangles that needed to be rolled up. Then I had to let it rise for another 40 minutes before I cooked it. They require more time in comparison to the frozen Rhodes rolls you can buy at the store and pop in the oven. Anyway, it was worth it and now T knows that I am capable of making rolls from scratch!!

Z's Birthday

2009-03-19T10:26:00.003-06:00

My little boy is now four years old, it is so crazy! He has grown so much over the past year and is alot of fun to have around. It's so fun for me to have conversations with him now, and he is always willing to help me. Here are some pictures from his party...

Blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, he had a monster truck themed party...

Riding his new bike in the kitchen

Reading a birthday card from A

Nevermind the clothing all over the floor in the background, we sold his old dresser last week on craiglist, and I am waiting for the one I picked out at Target to come in. We were sitting in his room after the party and he said "Mom, did you know I love my baby sister?"

Vi had a good time. By the way, yes T was there, however he did a good job hiding from the camera!!

Updates

2009-03-12T21:16:00.004-06:00

My cousins from Utah came up this week and stayed for a few days. We had a lot of fun just hanging out, going shopping at the mall (our tradition) and seeing the new Titanic exhibit. It was so neat so see all of the things that were found aboard the sunken ship, for instance, they had serving dishes out on display that had been found in a rotted out chest full of sand that were still all together. They had some unopened perfume vials that still had a strong smell of the old perfume after 97 years (there were holes in the side of the display case to let museum visitors experience it) and there were various suits and some old gloves as well. There were alot of other neat things but my mind is drawing a blank now. It is so crazy to think that these items have been recovered from an old ship that sunk that long ago, and is still sitting at the ocean floor more than two miles below the water's surface, Now here in Idaho Falls of all places we are able to see these items first hand. Amazing!

Z's birthday is coming up on the 16th, and he will be four years old! I can't believe it, I feel so old now. We went into the grocery store the other day to pick out his cake and he would not take his eyes off of one that had a monster truck on it that was driving over three little cars. So that is the one I am going to get for his party on saturday. Tommorow T and I are going to buy his birthday present (a bicycle and helmet) and all of the party favors. I can't wait to see the smile on his face, he has been waiting for his birthday to come for a few months now with eager anticipation. He was mad that T got a birthday before he did. I wish i was that excited about my birthday!

Vi has been fun, she is growing so much each day. We are still waiting for her to start crawling, I guess since Z crawled at an earlier age we have been expecting her to do it too but each kid is different. She seems perfectly content sitting on her behind on the floor. She is 7 1/2 months now. We went through a stressful week of trying to teach her to fall asleep on her own, not with me nursing or holding her like usual and I was about ready to pull all of my hair out and drive to a far away country. She has been doing really great with it now, as long as we make sure she gets to bed on time and don't keep her up too late. School has not been too bad, I have been getting pretty good scores on my tests, i really need to work on studying more though! When I have free time I have other things I want to do, so it is hard to stay focused.
I will try to post some pics later, bye for now!

Glorious sunshine!

2009-03-03T12:59:00.003-07:00

I have been sooo happy this past week, and I owe a big part of my happiness to the change in weather. I love this time of year, when the sun comes out and the snow starts melting away. I also love hearing the birds chirping, seeing the planes and helicopters flying over our house, and hearing the school bus stopping to drop off the neighborhood kids from school. Last night I woke up to the sound of rain falling, and it was so nice. I hope that spring is here to stay.

Need a good laugh?

2009-02-16T21:48:00.003-07:00

Yes, Zach is driving a snowmobile and pulling Todd behind him on a sled.

Happy 29th Honey!

2009-01-31T21:00:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was T's birthday and since he was able to take the day off, we decided to go swimming. We met T's friend and his family at the Aquatic Center. It felt great to soak in the hot tub on a freezing cold day! Later on that day we had a party for T at his parent's house. His mom made a yummy prime rib dinner that we finished off with some banana cheesecake. (I thought this picture I took above with T and his dad was funny because Vi decided to suck on her soothie binkie sideways for the picture.) Vi and mommy :) (Don't mind my farmer's tan from last summer)

Vi and her baby buddy

Little princess loved the water!

Z didn't want to leave when it was time to go. I had some other pics of Z swimming but for some reason they didn't load, and I don't have any more time to spend posting at the moment!

Back to school...

2009-01-21T09:44:00.002-07:00

Spring Semester at ISU started last week, which meant I had to dust off my backpack, spend my "hard earned" loan money on books and tuition, and head back to school. I am taking 9 credits this semester, in the form of 3 classes. Philosophy, Psychology and Survey of World Literature are now keeping me company in the rare moments that I have some time alone. Todd is learning how to adjust to taking care of the kids 2 nights a week, but he is getting better at it! Little Violet has been giving him a hard time though, and I can't wait until I am done nursing! The good thing is that she now eats solids, so that has been Todd's backup when she starts to get the munchies. Zach couldn't care less that I am gone these nights, because he gets to spend time away from me and just have daddy time, he also thinks it is great that we both go to "preschool" now.

Random Pictures by Z

2009-01-10T23:28:00.003-07:00

Whenever Z finds my camera laying around the house, he will usually seize the opportunity to snap a picture or two. Sometimes I will be right by him when he does it but most of the time I am in another room unable to witness it. The funniest part of the whole deal is when I find them on my camera later and wonder what I was doing when he took them. Anyway, thought I would post these for a laugh.
He loves to make his sister smile.

Love this one.

Fun in the Snow

2009-01-10T22:59:00.002-07:00

On New Years Day, T's siblings and their kids came over to play with Z and Vi in the snow. We had fun, even though it was really cold and the dang wind had to pick up as soon as we went out there. My mother in law was gracious enough to bring homemade chicken noodle soup, cookies and hot chocolate for afterwards. It was delicious!

Vi in her new snowsuit she recieved from Aunt A for Christmas.

Like I said, it was really windy and cold outside. A cold gust of wind blasted us in the face as this picture was snapped. Poor Vi was trying to catch her breath.

This picture wouldn't turn right side up, but you can still see all the fun Z had in the snow.

T and his brothers had sleds tied to the back of the snowmobile to give the kids a ride around our property. Z got to drive this mini polaris snowmobile with his cousin on the back. They had fun even though Z ran into a big snow drift and tipped the snowmobile over.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:41:00.002-07:00

I am looking forward to starting a new year, setting new goals and resolutions.

Christmas Party in Utah

2008-12-30T23:36:00.002-07:00

It has been a tradition of mine every year since I was little to go to my grandparents house in Richmond, UT for a Christmas party. Every year Santa has been a faithful attendant and all of us grandkids have had the opportunity to sit on his lap and tell him what we want for Christmas. This year was no exception, even though I am 24 now, and married with two kids. When my grandma heard me tell my cousin that I wasn't going to go up there, because I went up with Vi earlier, she threateningly told me "You WILL sit on santa's lap." And she gave me a menacing look. Don't worry I did'nt bother posting a picture of me sitting awkwardly on his lap.

Anyway, it was fun, and Z of course enjoyed it, what with all the presents and goodies at the buffet table. He especially had fun running around with my six year old cousin L. He was so sad to leave as you can tell by the look on his face.

He told santa he wanted a guitar for Christmas this year, which we had no idea he wanted. We already spent enough money on his presents this year, so I will have to dig up his old toy guitar from last year. Is that bad?

Violet didnt seem to care much for santa. She did manage to grab a handful of his fake beard hair on her way out though. My cousin got a great shot of that on her camera.

Week in San Diego

2008-12-13T10:30:00.005-07:00

Sunday morning we left for San Diego to attend a convention for the plumbing supply company that T buys parts from. It was a lot of fun, and a much needed vacation. Since I am still nursing Vi we took her with us, and she was so good the whole trip, I couldn't believe it. Z got to stay with both of his grandma's while we were gone and he had alot of fun going shopping and making cookies.
We stayed at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa. There were so many walkways around the property that made it fun to explore the grounds.

I took this picture off the back of the private yacht we took to tour the harbor.

This was inside the USS Midway Museum. It took us 3 hours to go through it and we still didnt see all the exhibits.

This dolphin at Sea World was so cute! The trainers at the dolphin encounter area had us hold out our hands above the water, and if the dolphins wanted to be touched they would swim up to the rock and let you feel their head. I was able to pet this one a few times, I think it really liked me :)

This was taken at the catered lunch we had in the pavillion at sea world. Vi wasn't too sure about the giant penguin. We were able to go on a dinner cruise around the San Diego harbor at night. It was fun to go back and forth from the dining areas to the outside deck and look down at the water.

Family cuddle time!

2008-12-01T22:14:00.002-07:00

We desperately wanted a nap sunday afternoon, and thought our kids would take a nap with us if we all laid down together in our bed. Well, Z found the camera on my dresser, and we ended up taking pictures instead.

V attacking my head.

My favorite spot in the world :)

I was telling Z to smile, and as usual he was being difficult.

Thanksgiving weekend

2008-12-01T21:34:00.004-07:00

We had such a busy weekend, I decided I should probably post something. This year for Thanksgiving we ate at my parents house, and my cousins who I haven't seen in years came up from Hyrum to join us. It was a lot of fun, and my mom really outdid herself on the food! We had a ham and a turkey, mashed taters and gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole, stuffing, jello, and tossed salad to name a few, not to mention the three different kinds of pie. We had a lot of leftovers, and Ive been making turkey sandwiches and casseroles with it all weekend. As you might have guessed, in this picture we are standing inside my dad's shop. Z loves to go out there with his grandpa and sit in front of the toasty wood stove. It was a very enjoyable day. The next morning, I woke up early and hit the black friday shopping specials with my friend Melanie. Later that night, my sister in law A and I went to the movie Twilight. Of course it wasn't as good as the book (I wasn't expecting it to be) but it was still fun to watch. Saturday we spent most of the day finishing up the tile on our fireplace and the backsplashes in our bathrooms. I am very happy with the results. Did I mention we also put our Christmas tree up? It is the same tree weve had for four years now, but I still love it. I took Z into Shopko to pick out some new ornaments for it since he thought we needed to add some snowmen. It was fun to watch him put them on the tree when we came home. We have also been watching the Polar express all weekend (Target early bird special $3.98!), he has now pegged this as his favorite movie. Last week it was Kung Fu Panda...

Vi's new trick

2008-11-14T22:49:00.003-07:00

On Veteran's Day Vi surprised us all by rolling over for the first time. I can't believe she has reached this milestone already, time is moving way too fast! My mom was here when she did it and we were both really excited. Z came running into the front room wondering what all the commotion was about, and when we told him what she had done he wanted to see for himself. However, she decided she was done with her tricks for the night and Z missed out. She has only rolled over a few other times since that night, and every time she does it, Z is not in the room with me. He gets so upset that he keeps missing out. Today he sat and watched her for 10 minutes waiting for her to roll over and finally out of exasperation he said "Well I can't sit here all day" and got up to go play in his room. He cracks me up.

The firefighter and the pumpkin

2008-11-10T15:22:00.005-07:00

My sister in law took these pictures at our Halloween party, and I have to say they turned out really cute! Of course, Z didn't want to smile at first, but after my mother in law used her reverse psychology on him "Don't you smile," then he was grinning from ear to ear.

After we had taken pictures of all the kids we headed inside for some mexican food and treats. Z really had fun running around with his cousins and eating candy. Halloween is so fun when you are a kid. Next year, I think I will try to get T to dress up with me :)

Halloween Goodies

2008-11-04T21:52:00.005-07:00

Z has been hasseling me to help him make a recipe out of his cheerios cookbook, so I decided to be festive and make some jack o' lanterns. The concept of this receipe is much like making rice crispy treats, so it was a simple, yet unique treat to make. Z enjoyed putting on the m&m's and gumdrops, but I think he ended up eating more than he put on.