Halloween 2010

Brandon-Buddy the Elf (he wore this hilarious costume to the office)
Nash-Mummy
Canyon-Vampire
Paige-Bee
Our pumpkins before:

And after.

Growing up...

Anyone still out there?? I have been horrible this summer, and almost gave up on it completely. Until, I read through my blog and decided I needed to keep going at it since scrapbooking around here has not been happening, and doing this keeps things organized for future reference.

So Paige is now 18 months old and I can hardly believe it!

She has developed such a fun personality. She loves to run into a room and say "boo". She loves to do silly things to make her brothers laugh. She loves to play outside. She is such a sweetheart. She loves to snuggle and give long cuddles to everyone, and she's a great hugger. She loves people and most always has a big smile on her face. She just brightens up my day! The boys really enjoy having a girl around. Nash loves to take her outside to swing. Canyon is the sweetest with her and they definitely have a strong bond. Coleman likes to talk to her in his cute baby voice, and he likes to make her scream by bugging her. And she is a HUGE daddy's girl! We are so grateful to have her in our family. Here are her favorites, and what she is saying these days.


Favorite Song-BINGO and Animal by Neon Trees (she loves to sing the "oh,oh" part)
Favorite Animal-puppies, she will stop and want to pet every dog she sees. She loves to say "I see a puppy".
Favorite Book-Any book with puppies or kittens
Favorite Toy-Balls, purse, baby doll
Favorite Foods-Spagetti, Pizza, bananas, grapes, salad (yes, she is weird)

Recent Phrases:
"I see a puppy"
"Guys, EAT!", she likes to yell this down the stairs to the boys when I am setting the table.
"All done"
"Eyes, Nose, Mouth"
"Night, Night"
"Help you", she says this when she needs help with something.
"drink"
"Mama, Daddy"
"no,no"
"I gotta go potty, poo, poo."
"I did it, Yeah!"
"more"
"Woof, woof"
"Meow"
"oink"
"Moo"
"Sheep", "Bah, bah"
"bye, bye"
"up"
"owwweee" (ouch)
"pretty", as she points to her hair
"slide"
"I got it"
"Good girl"
"Don't"
"MINE!"
"kitty"
"Boo"
"Na" (Nash)
"I wanna eat"
"Peek-a-Boo"
"stinky"
"cookie"
and this week she added "candy" to the list

My first Triathlon

So I did it!!! It was such a blast, and I can't wait to do it again and improve my times, or do the Sprint which is twice as long. This was a perfect beginner Triathlon! It was a 200 yd. swim, 5 mile bike, and 1.5 mile run. I know, really short huh?! I didn't do as well as I wanted, but I did okay. I placed 12th out of 24 in my age group. I really need to work on my transition time, it was way too long.

Here we are in the transition area getting ready for the race.

Here I am after the race with my cute and patient family as they waited for me to finish. I know I look like a drowned rat, but I really did have fun, even though I don't look very happy.

It was so fun to do this race with my Brother Ryan, Nikki (Ryan's girlfriend who kicked all our butts) and my sister Amy. We will all do it together again soon!

7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 months

Obviously I haven't updated on Paige in months. Just want this for my records. I can't believe she will be one year old tomorrow!! She has been so fun, and we have all enjoyed having her in our family. Can't wait to celebrate her birthday this weekend. Happy Birthday Baby, we love you!

7 months (Oct-Nov):
First Halloween-Kitty costume
Loves gerber baby snacks
Smiles at everyone


8 months (Nov-Dec):
clapping hands
First Thanksgiving
Cut her first two teeth.
Loves to smile her big cheesy smile.


9 months (Dec-Jan):
First Christmas
First word-"kitty"
LOVES to wiggle and dance to music, at home or at stores.
Likes to eat most everything, except for green vegetables.
LOVES finger foods the most.
Reaches pretty far for toys without falling over.
Refuses to get up on her knees.
Pushes herself backwards and rolls to get where she wants to go.
Still reaches for anyone to hold her.
Likes walk around holding one of our fingers.
Clicks her tounge.
Loves to rub and try to bite daddy's head.
Tried a little sleding for the first time.


10 Months:
Says "ma ma", "da, da", "kitty", "hi", "bye,bye",
Started crawling
Still loves finger foods
Refuses to eat vegetables, I have to sneak them in little by little
LOVES to snuggle with mom and dad
Gives brothers hugs
Loves to tell her brothers "bye, bye" at bedtime
Loves to smack her lips and give kisses
Likes to pull the kitty's tail, still does it even when the cat retaliates
Starting to get into cupboards
Pulls herself up to the coffe table and stands up
Loves to groove to music. She bops her head and wiggles her little hips (so adorable).



11 Months:
Tries to sing with "Ba, ba, ba's".
Still dances whenever she hears music.
Gives her brothers high fives.
Loves to be pushed around on Lightening McQueen by her brothers
Says "Ohhhhhh" when she gives hugs and snuggles.
Pats her baby dolls back when she holds her.
Loves to wash herself with the wash cloth in the tub.
Cruising along the coffee table and couches and beds.
Loves to explore the house now and gets into a lot of things.
Likes to eat anything she finds on the floor, but when we tell her "no, no, yucky", she will hand whatever she has to us.
LOVES to take a bath.
She loves to drop things on purpose just so she can say "uh-oh".
She likes to drive cars and around and say "vrm, vrm".
Cut four more teeth.
Touch and feel books are her favorite.
Her newest words I can add to the list are: "uh-oh", "nigh, nigh" (night, night), "puppy", "all da" (all done), "mo" (more) when she wants more food and she always nods her head when she says it.
She is starting to scream and tenses and shakes her little arms now to get my attention, or when the boys are bothering her.
Eats almost anything, she is just picky about what vegetables she will eat.
Still struggles drinking much out of a sippy cup, and she doesn't like cow's milk (not sure what to do about this).
Loves and sometimes hates all the attention she gets from her brothers.

Tiger

Our cute little kitty died over the weekend. I noticed on last Tuesday that he was seeming more tired than usual, and he wasn't drinking as much as he usually did. Then he disappeared for a few days, which he did sometimes, but he would always come back. I was starting to get worried about him. I checked in our shed thinking he got locked in there, he wasn't in there. I called for him in our yard and he wasn't around.

On Saturday morning Brandon went out in the backyard and saw Tiger under one of our big bushes trying to stretch out a little into the sun. Brandon said, "hi, Tiger", and he didn't meow he just looked at him with sad eyes. He brought him inside and I was so sad cause he looked so tired and sick and he had been laying in his own excrement.

Brandon took him to the animal hospital. In the ultrasound they found his kidneys to be very enlarged and a little unusual looking. His red blood cell count was really low. There wasn't really much they could do for him. They weren't sure what caused it, but they were thinking he had some kind of kidney malformation or disorder that he was born with. I told her that he drank at least 3 bowls of water a day and was always up at our sinks meowing for more water. They said that was pretty unusual for cats. They said we could sent him up to get an autopsy done, but we didn't want to. So I guess we will never really know what caused him to get so sick.

So I took the kids there to say their good-byes and it was heart wrenching! Nash and Canyon cried and cried, then we were all crying and the doctor came in and she was crying. Tiger had looked so miserable at my house, but now he just looked peaceful and was giving up. It made me sad. So they put him to sleep and we left. It was a good life lesson for the kids and it was a good opportunity to talk about the Plan of Salvation. And to tell them that we will all live again together in heaven some day. We just need to focus on doing what is right while we are here on this earth, so we can have that blessing.

Nash cried about it for a few days. Canyon asked through his tears if we could get a picture of Tiger and put it in their room. What a great idea. So this is the picture that will be up in their room so they won't forget their Tiger.

We love you buddy and we are missing you!!

Brandon's first love, and his new love

I am sure you are all thinking that I was Brandon's first love. Grievoulsy, I have to tell you that I was not (sigh). Brandon first fell in love with a girl who was born in 1979, yes one year younger than me. She was a tough and sweet little thing. Not everyone would say she was beautiful, but Brandon would say she was stunning. He loved taking her to new heights and taking her on new adventures, many of which I have heard about with some jealousy and admittedly, a little fear. He always took good care of her and I know that she really appreciated him. I am sure she appreciated him as much as I appreciate how well he takes care of me now. She was one lucky gal. But, he had to end that relationship shortly after we got married, it just wasn't working out anymore. It was just getting to be too much and things were getting a little complicated. And we were moving across the country and he knew the relationship would rust if he couldn't care for her everyday. And the expense was too much for us.

He recently had a a chance to rekindle the old flame with a newer version of this true love. She was born in 1997 (I guess he likes them young now, I can't say that I blame him). I didn't have a problem with her at first, but after him being gone for hours and hours with her I started to get REALLY frustrated. Then she started having all these problems and some of her physical aspects needed improving. So Brandon was gone often trying to fix her problems and improve her self esteem. It was almost the end of us-until I saw the new and approved version of her. I felt much better and I knew all his efforts and time were worth it, and I could tell that he was happy too! And that made me happy. She stands taller now, in fact she is quite a bit taller than Brandon. She is comfortable, constant, stable and reliable now, and she is gorgeous!! Who couldn't be with a man such as Brandon, working so hard and taking such care? I have come to appreciate her too, and in some strange way she has brought our little family together. I think a lot of you probably know her or one of her sisters. They surely get around (if you know what I am sayin', wink, wink). Let me just give you a hint...


Wow! Just that small glimpse might set Brandon's heart a flutter!! Okay, one more hint...


I think you might have guessed it!


Yes, her name is Toyota Land Cruiser. (We have yet to give her a nickname.)

Isn't she a beauty? This isn't even with all the improvements.
She has brought our family together (more thoughts on that to come). Although she did take a lot Brandon's time and caused a lot of stress in the beginning, it was worth it. I know Brandon isn't done with all improvements, but I am glad he has found her.
(I hope everyone understands that I am being totally dramatic, except for the part about it taking too much of Brandon's time, ha, ha.)

Our Valentines

This is how we started out our Valentine's this morning with a little holiday inspired breakfast, heart pancakes, heart strawberries, eggs and ham. YUM!!

Brandon ate by candlelight and dined with music (provided by Nash). Sorry about the pictures, I was too lazy to set up my tripod.

Then the boys got their treats from us.

We will spend the rest of the day being lazy, going to church and then eating a Valentine's dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Weeks' house with all the cousins. Yeah! Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day!

Alibis for my Absence

Besides raising 4 kids, this is what I have been doing besides NOT blogging.

1. Keeping up with this cute thing. She is now crawling and needs her mommy more these days.


2. Trying to keep both of these kids occupied and entertained during the day.

I might also add that my afternoon alone time is now limited due to Coleman laying in his bed for an hour and not falling asleep for nap-time (6 days out of the week). I am sure he is done with naps, which is really sad because for the last 6 months or so he was taking one almost every day. We will see what this month holds, although it isn't looking good.

3. Reading The Mortal Instruments trilogy (which I loved).




I am finding that I really love fantasy books, they are so entertaining. They are making the first one into a movie and I can't wait!


4. Swimming, running, and biking 5 days a week.





My training for a Mini Triathlon I am doing in St. George in April. I have wanted to do one for a long time. It is a really short one- a good place for me to start. I am really excited!

5. Washing, folding, hauling and putting away this every week. It seems to be growing more each week. I had to mention it because it is a HUGE part of my day.

6. Attending Nash's basketball games and practices.

7. Planning and attending scouting activities each week. Including the Pinewood Derby (pictures to come). Yes, I am a leader of the Wolf pack, and I really like it.

8. Decorating and trying to at least complete one room in the house. I am almost finished with Nash and Canyon's room.



A big step up from their purple room -2 years in the making. My boys wanted a "camo" room, so it was their idea. I thought of the pattern, and my sister-in-law was the one who helped me pick the colors and helped me lay it all out. I couldn't have done it without her. I think it turned out so fun! Next I need to complete the finishing touches on Paige's room.

9. Researching and shopping for healthier foods. We are trying to get in better shape around here. It has taken a lot of my time surfing the web and a lot of time at the store reading food labels. I am going to miss you white pasta, white rice, white flour and white bread. I am going to miss you Peanut Butter Crunch and Fruity Pebbles. I am NOT going to miss you chocolate because there is no way I would give you up-I just might not eat you as often (maybe).

I am also trying to come up with a different dinner menu. We are so tired of our spagetti, taco, lasagna, stroganoff, and BBQ chicken and rice menu. Anyone have any recipes they love? I would love any ideas in this area.

10. Playing Super Mario Bros. Wii with my boys. I love that game, it takes me back to the good old days.




11. Going on fun little outings with my little family. Here we are in Park City...

we stayed at Brandon's uncles condo. It was a nice relaxing weekend of sitting in the hot tub, eating yummy food, sledding and taking walks. We stopped in Midway to see the ice sculptures and eat at a local Mexican restaurant. Good times.

Hopefully I will make blogging more of a priority while continuing to do all the necessary things.