Dragonfly Flittings

Absense

2010-09-24T13:21:00.003-06:00

I know I've been absent for awhile. But I was busy...
This is what I was making.

Travis Jeremy Horton
Born June 27, 2010
11:04
8 lbs. 7 oz.

Adelle's Birthday Dinner

2009-06-10T14:32:00.006-06:00

Me- Adelle, where do you want to go eat on your Birthday?
Adelle- The Lion
Me- The Lion? I dont know that restautant.
Adelle- you know- the pool
Me- We cant go to the pool- it isnt open yet it is still too cold.
Adelle- No- where they jump in the pool and the fire.
Me- Oh- OK we can eat at the Mayan.

With the fire breathing cast member. This guy absolutely terrified my poor nephew. Adelle obviously doesnt mind that there is a mostly naked man right next to her.

Grandma Horton helping her eat her Birthday dessert.

The kids with their cousin Kimberlyn.

Aunt Heather and Uncle Icky (Eric)

Me and Kenadee

Aunt Angie and Kimberlyn

Uncle Brett and Lucas

Jeremy wasn't feeling the best, and he was freezing, so he is wearing my down jacket in this picture.

Aunt Heather and Kenadee

Adelle about to be eaten by a snake.

She is absolutely terrified!

Boys conquering the snake.

Messy Little Lady

2009-06-10T14:08:00.003-06:00

Remind me not to let her feed herself pasta again.

Mardi's Birthday

2009-06-10T13:52:00.003-06:00

Threw a small little surprise party for Mardi for her birthday. Had some friends stop by and had cake and ice cream. VERY low key! But it was still fun.

Girls Night Out Birthday Tradition- We take the Birthday Girl out to dinner to the restaurant of her choice. This is a tradition we have done for the past 2 or 3 years with Mardi, Heather, Ciara and me. This year we invited a couple extra girls. We almost always end up eating at Happy Sumo because it is everyones (except Ciara) favorite.

Sweet little Beckham's 1st Birthday Party. (I totally stole these pictures off Mardi's blog.)

Superbowl Tradition

2009-06-10T13:37:00.004-06:00

While I dont really enjoy watching football (or any other sport really) and my husband only usually watches BYU games- we still indulge in some Superbowl traditions. Well OK- really only one- but we have done it since our first Superbowl Sunday together- before we were even married...

7 Layer Dip

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

2009-06-09T13:31:00.002-06:00

Teachers presents I made for Valentines Day. What teacher cant use soap and hand sanitizer? Especially during flu season! And they are non-fat-ening!!

Adelles Valentines Bag- made 30 min. before preschool started- when I realized she needed something to hold her valentines in. No- the top isnt finished, but we needed to leave. And yes you can still see where I drew out her name to stitch over it. Oh well- it served its purpose and maybe I will do better next year!

Her valentines she handed out. She wanted to hand out these candy bracelets, so I cut up strips of double sided paper and stapled them on. She wrote her name herself on most of them (until she got tired of doing it.)

Thought process

2009-06-01T12:39:00.004-06:00

Let's see what I have in my hand.

think think think

I wonder what they have.

What should I do?

I can't believe she played that.

Yes- I'm cute.

3 zero

2009-05-29T14:46:00.008-06:00

In honor of Jeremy's 30th birthday I decide to throw him a 70's party to honor the decade in which he was born. We ended up doing a Murder Mystery Party.

Double ‘7’
Double Secret Agent & Prankster

Originally hailing from Britain, Double ‘7’ is a
womanizing American secret government agent
involved in covert international operations. As serious
as his job may be, he is the ultimate trickster. He is a
non-stop 'sneak' and you better watch your back...
literally!

Dalan Doogart
Computer Genius and Medieval Swordsman

Dalan Doogart is one of the most intelligent and
eccentric people you will ever meet. He works for IDM
Computers as a consultant on microprocessors. He
swears that computers will be a staple in a large portion
of American households by the year 2000 just like the
television. Those around him laugh about that since
computers would take up too much space! Watch out
because Dalan is also known for his random
impersonations of animals...and these could catch you
off guard!

Lola Gaynor
Gracious ‘70s Vegas Showgirl

Lola Gaynor is one of the friendliest people you will ever
meet! The beautiful and talented Las Vegas Showgirl
stars in the show, Dopacabana, at the Popicana Resort
and Casino on the Vegas strip. The amicable Lola is
known to be overly accommodating...almost to a fault.
Lola suffers from a rare condition named mute
syndrome...at random times, she is unable to speak but
the doctors can't figure out why?

Tony Tuscadero
Oblivious ‘70s Disco Dancing Champion

Tony Tuscadero hails from the streets of Brooklyn
where he was an 'A' student in the school of hard
knocks. His dream was to become a disco dancer and
he spent all of his free time practicing in a local
discotheque. He is now the reigning national disco
dancing champion with his partner, Sharlet
O’Shoolahan. One more thing about Tony… when he’s
dancing, he enters his own world and is completely
oblivious to his surroundings!

Barry Vahl
Lazy Millionaire Inventor of the Pet Rock.

Barry Vahl is the recently-divorced inventor of the pet
rock. With his pet rock invention, this entrepreneur
made his first million within six months of his first sale.
Who knew? He is also an avid hunter and humanitarian,
but sometimes, he can be as lazy as his pet rocks!

Jeremey ended up being the victim which is why he has makeup on his face. It is supposed to be a gash on his head and a black eye- but all I had to use on his face was blush and brown eyeliner.

Fanni-Sid Pyngstad
Egotistical Member of the ‘70s Rock Band ‘’BABBA”

Fanni-Sid Pyngstad, a member of the hit '70s band
‘BABBA’, is one of the most difficult pop stars to work
with because she is so demanding and egotistical. She
is known to be a major one-upper as she can't stand for
anyone to succeed around her. So don't tell Fanni-Sid
Pyngstad you ran a mile unless you want to hear a
made believe story of how she just got back from
winning a cross country marathon!

Harry Nadshaw
‘NFL Quarterback and Professional Rose Gardener

Harry Nadshaw is an NFL quarterback and Super Bowl
Champion. In his spare time, he is a professional rose
gardener. This naturalist is keen on showing his
sensitive side to those close to him, but on the football
field, he's a beast!

Vampira Von Bitemark
‘70s Vampire and Animal Rights Activist

An icon to the Gothic community, the anti-social
Vampira Von Bitemark is one of the leading animal
rights activists in the nation. She also happens to be a
vampire...or at least she believes she is a vampire.
Beware to meat eaters everywhere…she desires a
complete eradication of those who consume animal
products.

Bisty Crinkley
Stunning‘70s Super Model and Over-Achieving Academic
REQUIRED
(HOST)
The playful and gorgeous Bisty Crinkley is a famed '70s
icon! Best known for television and modeling
adventures, people are shocked to find out that she's an
over-achieving academic with three Ph.D.'s she's
secretly earned over the years! College classes, of
course, have been second to being the face of the
Cosmetic Company ‘Plaster Girl.’

Disco Dancing competition

Making mini disco balls

The cake isnt that pretty, but it is the best. tasting. cake. EVER!

We hired 2 babysitters for the night to keep an eye on the kids while us grown ups had fun. They came down for dinner (we had Cafe Rio chicken and pork salads/burritos.) When the boys noticed we were all dressed up weird, they put on their pirate costumes.

Here is Kenadee getting in on the action with her Uncle's costume.

So yeah...

2009-02-12T22:29:00.001-07:00

I think I have been loosing my mind lately...
So if anyone finds an extra one just laying around- let me know- I could really use one...

So much for that idea...

2009-02-06T10:49:00.004-07:00

So after my bad case of strep throat last week and Jeremy's before that- we have been really wanting to get out of the house together- WITHOUT kids. We had made plans to go out dancing tonight- and I was SO SO SO looking forward to it. I have been trying to get the boy to take me for about- oh 8 years since the last time we went. And he went out and looked up places and everything on his own. So that was the plan- until I went to get Kenadee out of her crib this morning that is. She was covered in throw-up. So I have been cleaning throw up and other various bodily wastes this morning. She even managed to hit a pile of books. Thankfully they weren't library books- but they weren't cheap paperback books either. I am SO ready for spring to get here!

So much for that idea...

2009-02-06T10:49:00.001-07:00

Last of the Christmas Presents

2009-01-13T09:53:00.002-07:00

Wanted to make Mardi an apron, but wanted her to pick the fabric out herself, so I knew she would like it. This is what she chose, and it turned out great. Pictures didnt come out good. Might hijack the apron to take some better ones. It was at night and under dimmed lighting- and I think I forgot to change my lighting source on my camera. It really looks great in real life. Same pattern as the one I made my sister. Kinda want to make one for me in this pattern, but I would either need to 1- get some cosmetic work done first - or 2. figure out how to alter the pattern for those of us who arent so well endowed.

close up.

FIL's present. We wanted to get him a picture to take to work like we did for my Dad, but werent sure if he shares space, or has his own or whatnot, so we decided to make him a keychain one.

MIL's magnetic photo board. I had planned on making this for her and had everything ready for it since October. Of coarse with that amount of time combined with little hands getting into things, I ended up loosing some of the parts. Like the metal holder for the top. Ended up using ribbon to hold it up instead after searching FOREVER for it. Of course we found it right after we got home from our trip from visiting them. Figures. I was tempted to keep this one for myself. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get pictures of her other grandchildren to put on it as well, but those can easily be added.

Nephews blanket. Tried out a fancy stitch from my new machine- but I definitely need more practice on that one. It was hard to get it to feed consistently, and ended up that some of the stitches were closer together and some further apart. It probably didnt help that I was sewing on flannel.

Jeremy's present from the kids

2009-01-12T14:45:00.006-07:00

I used a cosmo cricket blackboard album for this one.

daddy tag I made out of a maya road atc acryllic coaster

shows the thin acryllic sheets I cut out and used for the front and back covers to protect the pictures

Ryans message - "Daddy, I love you so much. Ryan -complete with a little shark drawing

Camerons message- "Daddy, You are my favorite dad in the whole wide world. Cameron

Adelle's message (translated by Mommy) Daddy, I want to work with you one day. I want to say I Love You. I like to give you a kiss and hug. I Love You. Adelle - Then since the boys had written a message, she felt the need to write one out herself.

Kenadee's hand print. After this her and Mommy both had blue hands for a few days.

On the back acryllic cover I etched "Merry Christmas 2008" but it was kinda melting through since it was so thin- Oh well, I will know better next time.

Funny Girl

2009-01-12T12:57:00.001-07:00

From Adelle today-
"But Mommy, I cant clean up really fast because my feelings are going to get sick in a minute."

Present for the cutest little baby boy I know.

2008-12-23T16:12:00.004-07:00

I love this fabric. I think it speaks to me since my Dad is a firefighter. Hopefully they will like it too.

I think I need to redo the ball. Flannel frays so bad!!! I have never tried to make a ball out of it, and I zigzag finished the edges where I would be stuffing it, so it wouldnt, but that made it even worse when it pulled the stitches out. Next time I will use just fraycheck instead of zigzag stitches. It started fraying so bad when I was stuffing it, I just hand sewed it up so it wouldnt get any worse, then when I was pressing it to give it a good shape and compact the filling- it got smaller inside than I like. I will probably still give it to him, since I dont have time right now to make another one, and just tell his Mommy that I will replace it. It is still great for playing with- in fact I have had to wrestle it out of Kenadee's hands a couple times!

I worked really hard trying to get the blanket to line up perfectly so that when you fold it - it is all even. Gave it rounded edges as I think they look better, and double topstitched all the way around because I think it finishes it nicely.

My Sister's Present.

2008-12-23T15:59:00.006-07:00

Front.

Close up of fabric and bottom ruffle.

Close up of top.

Back ties. It is halter style- so it ties around the neck and around the back.

Matching reversable headband. (Just like the one I made my Mom, but with this fabric.)

OK- those of you who read this and know her- dont tell her. She came with me to the fabric store one time, and we were both drooling over this fabric. Matched it up with a stripe for a little contrast- although I regret that a little bit. I wish I would have used plain black. But it still goes really well I think, and I think she will like it. She has been wanting an apron that they sell in the middle of the mall for a while- so hopefully this one will do. I saw this pattern on the front of a book, and had to buy the whole thing- it was just so "her".

My Mom's present

2008-12-23T15:42:00.006-07:00

My Mom is the HARDEST person to get a gift for! If you give her a generic gift (lotions, gift cards, etc.) she will just give them to someone else. She loves roosters, so for like the past 4 years I have bought her a rooster for every holiday- Christmas, Mother's Day, her birthday. They are THE ONLY thing I know she will actually keep. Well I am going to try my luck with something else. Hopefully since it is handmade she wont give it away. I dont know - she may try. But I hope she will like it.

Matching headband. My sewing machine is allergic to velcro, so I need to give it a little break before I attempt to sew the velcro on again, which is why the ends look wierd. They will look better soon.

Front of apron.

Pocket

Bias tape must have been invented by someone who was pure evil is all I have to say. But you can see the ruffle. Brown with small white polka dots. Goes along the entire bottom - you just cant really see it in the other picture.

Back. It crosses in the back. I think it is way cute- and it is supposed to be more flattering that way.

Another little close up.

My Dad's present

2008-12-23T15:26:00.004-07:00

I think this is safe to post here... I dont think any of my family reads this- or if they do- they dont comment or even mention it to me- so I think I am safe. If not- he will get it in 2 days anyways.
I made him a picture that he can hang in his locker at work (he is a firefighter).

measures 5 in x 5 in. Photos put together with photoshop. I had already edited them- and added their names (even though you cant really see the girls names in these pictures) for a thing we made for Jeremy. Glass in front.

on one of my magnetic chalkboards

Added an acryllic strip in the middle that I used rub-ons on. I wanted to make it a little more personalized to him.

Back. Hot glued magnets on. I originally only had 1 magnet, but it is kinda heavy, and it would just slide down my magnetic chalkboard, so I added 2 more to make sure it stays where it is supposed to.

I hope he likes it. The kids are excited about giving it to him.

Felt Food

2008-12-23T15:14:00.003-07:00

Pasta- Meatballs are optional. I did sew all the noodles together and the sauce on top so that we dont get random noodles floating all over the house.

Pizza. Either cheese or pepperoni at this point- will make more toppings later. I know one of the pieces is a little wonky. That was completely my sewing skills (or lack of) manifesting itself. They were all cut EXACTLY the same size.

My final count and cost-

2008-12-23T15:09:00.002-07:00

Blanket for my daughter- 0
Shark raglan- 2.99
2 Monster hoodies- 12.80
2 raglan dresses-0
2 pajama pants for my boys-0
2 Kimberbell kids dolls-2.69
2 doll dresses, 2 matching peasant nightgowns for my girls, 2 dolly blankies- 2.98
chefs hat-0
reversable crayon apron-0
oven mitt-0
Advent Calender- 1.00
dinosaur raglan- 0
18 wellness kits- 2.00
3 notebook/colored pencil carriers-0
2 cloth balls & 2 cloth blocks-0
felt food- (2 spaghetti with meatballs, 1 pizza, 4 chocolate chip cookies, 1 sugar cookie baking set, 2 poptarts, 2 bacon, 2 eggs, 2 pancakes)-0

So 63 items for $24.46
(which equals an average of like 39 cents an item) I did end up spending $42.00 on supplies but there were some things I didnt finish by the time the challenge ended, since I got sick. I did finish all my original list- these were some of the things I kept adding when I saw everyone elses great projects. I have finished most of them since. Still working though.

Last Day of the Thrifty 50 challenge!

2008-12-15T08:36:00.002-07:00

Alright it is almost "Times Up"- Put down your needles, thread, sewing machines time. Officially the time is 11:59 p.m. tonight. We will see how much I can get done today! I wasnt able to get a whole lot done this weekend. Saturday I had our Ward Party that I am on the Activities Committee for- so most of that day was spent setting that up and getting ready for it. Although I was able to get a couple things done.
Then I got so sick yesterday. I was up in my craft room trying to muster up the energy to do SOMETHING-- ANYTHING!! I just couldnt. I went downstairs and told Jeremy that I didnt even feel like sewing, and he was like- "Wow- you really are sick!!!"
He took the kids to church- I was completely oblivious of him getting them ready. When he came home I realized that Kenadee was in the same dress that she had worn the night before to the Ward Party, and Adelle hadnt even had a brush taken to her hair. She had pigtails in from the day before that were half pulled out. I guess that is what happens when Mom is sick. But yeah- I still think I have a GREAT Husband for taking them (and having to deal with all 4). I know had it been me- we probably wouldnt have made it.
Even though I am still not 100% I think I can give it a go today! I just have to finish a couple more things. Wish me luck. Hopefully I will get a chance today to post all the things I have made since last time I posted.

Kenadees Blanket

2008-12-10T16:57:00.003-07:00

So since Kathryn is making all my other kids quilts (her and my sister already made one for Kenadee when she was born). I decided to make a blanket to give her Christmas Eve with her pajamas. Her favorite fabric is fleece, and I saw these 2 cute cuddle fleeces and couldnt resist them. They are kinda hard to work with, but Im sure she wont care that it doesnt look that great.

Shark Fleece Hoodie

2008-12-10T16:43:00.003-07:00

Whipped up a quick hoodie for Ryan (my kid who got everyone in his Preschool class to call him "Shark Boy"). I had actually done most of it last week, and then I sewed the hood opening onto the shoulder. Thank goodness for stitch pickers- or whatever they are called (my brain isnt working that good at the moment- I really needed a nap, but Kenadee woke up about 1/2 hour after all the other kids went down for their naps, as I was laying down.) Anyway- I kept putting off finding my seam ripper- (ha! thats what its called!) until I decided I just needed to do it. The fabric is a little juvenile, but he has seen the fabric, and keeps telling me how much he loves the sharks- so I'm sure he will love it anyways.

Monster Hoodies

2008-12-10T14:32:00.005-07:00

So I saw these and thought that my boys would totally love them. But $50 for a cheap hoodie for a 6 year old? NO WAY am I paying that. Plus they looked a little flimsy- only 1 layer of felt. I thought I could totally make some myself. Easy peasy! The teeth are 2 layers sewn together and topstitched to get a more professional look. I had a hard time deciding on what kind of monster eyes to do though. I didnt want to do the googaly eyes, because I didnt want them to fall off or whatnot. I drew about 4 or 5 patterns before I settled on these. I did not make the hoodies. I bought them from Gymboree online Thanksgiving Day. They are the sueded microfleece, and are super warm and soft. They were normally $22.50 each, but were on sale for $8.00 each. Plus I had a 20% off coupon, so they ended up being $6.40 each. Yeah I did have to pay shipping, but I got a ton of other stuff that I was going to get anyways so I am not factoring shipping costs into the equation. So total cost was $12.80.

Adelle is modeling them for us. Remember this is a 3 year old in a 7-8 size sweatshirt.

The one in the above pictures has red eyes. This one has yellow eyes. I decided to make them 2 different colors so there wouldnt be any fighting over whos sweatshirt is whos.

Breakfast anyone?

2008-12-10T10:51:00.004-07:00

So I have seen a couple of felt food sets made here and there, but for this set alone it is like $30. No way am I going to pay that much for something I can make. So I whipped these up. SO easy. I started with the breakfast food because it seemed the easiest. Since I have never really worked with felt other than making Jedi capes and a felt purse once- oh and the doll shoes, I didn't want to get too in over my head. Had to start simple- and these definitely were! Made up my own patterns.

Pancakes, eggs and Bacon.

Close up of the eggs. The yolk actually sticks up like real eggs do. The pancakes have batting between them to give them more poofyness like a regular pancake. Bacon actually is a little wavy- just like real bacon- Ok well kinda like real bacon.

Oh- these didnt cost me anything, they were made from felt I had laying around (I bought it to make things for our FHE felt board and never got around to it).

Casual Christmas Dresses

2008-12-10T09:51:00.004-07:00

I. LOVE. these. dresses. I cannot say enough good things about this pattern. Seriously, it should be in everyones list of patterns that they go to again and again. I had this cute fleece that I bought like a month or so ago because I thought it was so cute, but didnt really know for sure what I was going to make out of it (at no time did I think it would be dresses though, I was probably thinking of a little blanket.) Well this fabric decided that Carlas Raglan pattern was so awesome it just had to become one- or two. I made it long (although I forgot that Kenadee is tall for her age- Very unusual for my children!- and had to add a ruffle to hers to make it longer like I wanted it.) I just followed the standard age sizing in the pattern since my girls were asleep, but there are instructions to make your own pattern based off of actual measurements. I elongated the hood so I could knot it, and added a pocket, although I need to find the manual for my camera to adjust the flash, because it keeps washing things out, and you cant really see the pocket. These dresses are so warm and comfy (fleece) I had to literally pry it from Adelles body as she was screaming that she wanted to wear it forever, and never take it off. But I decided that 2 days was way too long to wear the same outfit anyways, and I was not going to let her go 3. I promised her if she would let me wash it, she could put it back on as soon as I got it out of the dryer.

Kenadees front. You can kinda see the pocket.

Back. Knotted hood.

Adelle and her funny face. Side. You can kinda see the pocket. It all really blurs together. I think it is a combination of the fleece and my flash. It really looks so much better in real life.

Back. Knotted hood. Please excuse the hair- she just woke up... you should have seen mine. Good thing no cameras were pointed at me. Ive been so busy I havent even looked in the mirror for about a week.

Not Naked Anymore!

2008-12-10T09:28:00.002-07:00

That get your attention? Well I was talking about the dolls. I got around to making them dresses, panties and shoes. They even have cute bows in their hair, but I think I am going to sew a snap in so that we can change bows out and just snap different ones in... When I get the time (or IF I do). I also made Adelle and Kenadee matching nightgowns. They are peasant tops that I just made long and added a ruffle to the bottom. Funny thing is- they have disappeared. I think my hoarder (aka Adelle) must have hidden them away somewhere after I tried hers on for length. Whenever I find them I will post the pictures as well. The fabric for the dolls dresses, panties, and girls nightgowns are all the same and I got it on Black Friday at Joannes (only had to wait 5 hours in the cutting line for it!!!???!!!) It was $1.49 a yard, and I got 2 yards. I still have some left over that I will probably make dolly blankets with. So all of these things for $3.00! I am going to put it all in their present they open Christmas Eve, along with the AMAZING quilts my neighbor is making them.

What Jeremy has been working on at work.

2008-12-08T14:31:00.004-07:00

This is the hotel Jeremy has been going out of town to work on. It finally opened. You can see an article from ET here. The hotels website is here.

Here is what happens when the nerdy guys have too much time on their hands. This uses the software that their company produces to control our home. Its funny to me because we have about 100 of those remotes laying around the house, and that the software that lets me control my house on my iphone can be turned into a remote control.

Reversable Apron, Chef Hat & Oven Mitt

2008-12-07T20:34:00.005-07:00

So I have it on good authority that Adelle is getting a play kitchen from a certain fat man. No- not her Dad- this guy prefers red, and only comes out 1 night a year. So I made her some accessories to go with her kitchen.

The reversible apron is a regular apron with pockets on one side and on the other it is a crayon apron with slots to put her crayons. You can get the pattern here. There are a couple things in the pattern I will change next time to suit my own sewing style better (I am a self taught sewer, so I may do it wrong???) but overall it was a good pattern with 3 sizes, and I love how it turned out. I think I am going to make me a utility one for sewing when I get a chance.

The chefs hat is a free pattern you can get here. It is super easy to follow and doesnt take any time at all. I added a little "a" for her, which took the longest since I had to manually machine applique it on (one day I will have an embroidery machine and it will make my life SO much easier!!!) I would suggest doing this step before you sew the sides of the band together, but after you put the velcro on- so you can see where you want it. Oh and do it on the notched side, since that side will be facing out. Oh and it is adjustable so it can fit their head as they grow.

The oven mitt is kinda something I "cooked" up (Jeremy made me do it- he says he is all about the corny-ness.) It was based off of our oven mitt and her hand size. It was kinda hard to turn because I used a stiff interfacing, but it turned out ok, and it is even quilted.

I think I am going to make her a little kitchen towel with a strip of coordinating fabric sewn on to go with the set, but I still have to figure out how I want to do it exactly.

These were all made using scraps- the same ones I used for the wellness kits (like I said I usually buy TOO much fabric). Crayons were bought for like 25 cents at the beginning of the school year (I always stock up on school supplies then). Anything else is stuff I have on hand so these were completely free since I had everything laying around. Not too bad!

Dolls

2008-12-07T17:22:00.004-07:00

I love these dolls. They are so cute. They are a little bit more labor intensive than most of my other projects- (The hand embroidery took me like an hour of two- I've never done it before. Thats about what I spend on a complete project, not just part of it.) But I love them, and I think it was worth it. They are naked, but I figured since they werent anatomically correct it was alright to post anyways. Hopefully they will be clothed tomorrow. When I was doing the hair Kenadee came downstairs and was literally pulling the dolls out of my hands to snuggle and play with. She was so excited about them, which makes me really excited about giving her one for Christmas.
Total cost- $2.69 for yarn. I had other yarn on hand but this matched the color of my girls hair better. Everything else is stuff I have had sitting around for awhile. I probably only used 1/2 if even that, so I can make more with it if I have time.

Advent Calender

2008-12-07T17:12:00.004-07:00

So my kids have been wanting me to officially finish the Advent Calender. We have been doing activities each night leading up to Christmas, but I had been waiting till I got time to finish the calender how I wanted it to be. Well thats not going to happen, so I just settled with odd shapes and number stickers. This is so not what I had planned, and I am not really that pleased with it, but it is done, and it only cost me $1.00 for the baking sheet because I got it at the dollar store. At least my kids like it.

Hanging on my wall today.

With all the numbers on.

Christmas Centerpiece

2008-12-07T16:25:00.005-07:00

So I have been wanting to change my tree from a red tree to a hot pink and lime green tree, but it is so expensive! Plus I absolutely love all my red ornaments. Well on Wednesday my friend called me up and asked if I could do a centerpiece for one of the tables for our Relief Society Christmas Dinner on Thursday night. Well I had seen this and thought- Oh I can make one of those for the dinner. Well since my kitchen isnt in the same room as my tree I decided to do it these fun colors. Of course when I went to the craft store wednesday night before Young Womens, I got a little carried away and came home with stuff to make all these fun things. I guess it is a little Christmas forest.

This is how I sorted all the different buttons while I worked.

Best Holiday Movie of the Season

2008-12-05T15:32:00.001-07:00

HERE.

Get Your Buttons!

2008-12-03T10:04:00.002-07:00

So go HERE and get your buttons on your own blog for even more chances to win.

Oh- for all you that STILL want a tutorial- it is in the works (along with about 50 other things) Thanksgiving weekend was CRAZY! I am still recuperating. Jeremy wins the Husband of the week award for taking Monday off just so I could relax. So instead of getting back to work, I went with my family to pick out our Christmas trees, and we decorated for most of the day. Yesterday was spent running kids back and forth to and from various schools (every tuesday and thursday is like this- they are the most hectic days of the week for me), and trying to get caught up and back to normal. It looks like today I am going to have to baby a sick little boy, and I was supposed to go into their school, but that probably wont work out now, as well as that trip to the store I was planning on. We will see how much I can get done today.

Giveaway and Thanksgiving break.

2008-11-26T11:16:00.003-07:00

OK, I might not be posting again till Monday. We are leaving for Vegas in about 2 hours (I really should be packing).

As soon as I get back I will post a TUTE to explain how to do the wellness kits so you guys can make some in time for Christmas.

Oh and I decided that I am going to do a giveaway to some of the people who comment on my blog during this challenge. I will do a drawing after the challenge is over (Dec. 15) and winners (yes that is with an *s*) will receive something that I have been working on. I know for sure one of the prizes will be a wellness kit. Might throw in a crayon roll, and some other goodies. Each comment you post will get you an entry so the more comments the better! Oh and if you link to my blog in a post you will get 3 entries. (You will have to comment that you linked to me so I can verify it to be entered). Comments that qualify will start from my 10 presents down post.

Cameron is going to be SO happy!

2008-11-25T13:47:00.005-07:00

See what I made out of this.

2 old Halloween shirts I bought 2 years ago for .99 each that have been worn a lot and are starting to get too small. I shirt I got for free (my ward had a trading table type of thing. I brought about 7 tubs full to get rid of, and only came home with 1 full in return, so not too bad for me! Most of what I came home with is clothing to recon.) Some dinosaur fabric I got last year when it was on sale 40% off and my friend who works at that store let me use her 30% employee discount. Cameron has been eyeing it in my stash for so long, and keeps begging me to make him a blanket out of it. Well since Kathryn is making my kids some amazing blankets I thought I could turn it into something else. Oh the fleece in the background was going to line the shirt to make it more of a sweatshirt, but I decided not to do that yet.

So here it is. the reason why the sleeves are striped is because there was writing on the shirt, so I had to be a little creative, but I wanted to work with what I had.
I used this pattern- Raglan Hoodies to which I added a pocket to break up the pattern in front. I have about 7 more of these to make. These instructions are amazing. These are not like anything you will find in a store. You can actually follow these. They are very clear and explain in detail and have pictures of each of the steps. They also go very into detail about working with knits, which with the exception of hemming a fleece blanket once, this was my first time working with them, and with her explanations it was super easy. I definitely recommend this pattern, Carla is an amazing pattern writer.

10 presents down

2008-11-24T15:47:00.005-07:00

So I have finished my first 10 presents. I really have 6 more of these to do, but they dont need to be done by Thanksgiving, so I am not worried about them, plus the extra 5 are almost done, I just need to sew the covers together for them and they will be complete.

*Any white spots are just because I was impatient and took the pictures as the sun was setting and shining into my window, and didnt feel like taking them again. There arent any marks on these*

The whole set. Hot pack (big one), Cold pack and Eye pillow.

Different eye pillow patterns.

Different Hot pack patterns.

These can be done super cheap and super fast, which are 2 of the goals of this challenge.
Breakdown of Materials--
1. I am really bad at buying tons more fabric than I actually need for a project because I hate running out in the middle of a project (everytime I walk into a fabric store- even if it just for a spool of thread I walk out spending at least $100 so a trip in the middle of the project can be very bad for me- plus it increases the chances that that project will never get completed) or the store running out of what I need. I buy WAY more than I need when the fabric is super cute too. So I had tons of cute scraps laying around, and thats really all you need for the decorative part of the fabric.
2. I also used a bunch of muslin I had gotten when it went on sale for 30% off, and it is just the super cheap kind that is only .99 to begin with.
3. Then I used some cheap canvas type material that I had gotten with a 40% off coupon.
4. Thread- I always buy the really big spools of thread when it goes 50% off and I always stock up on black and white. Even though the fabric I used was cream, I used white thread because thats what I had, and it still looks great. I think it even probably looks better than cream would.
5. Velcro- I bought a really big roll of this at Walmart about 2 years ago, and it has mostly just been sitting in a cart. It isnt necessarily the kind you sew with (it has a very sticky back, and kept jamming up my sewing machine with gunk) but hey- it was stuff I had and money I didnt have to spend so I made do.
6. Essential oils- In the cold packs I used a 1/3 a bottle of Peppermint oil that I didnt have on hand, so I did have to go buy this. It was 5.99 a bottle so I ended up using about $2.00 worth, and yes I will use it for other things in the future so I am not including the entire cost in my final costs. I also had a room diffuser of Lavender Vanilla from Bath and Body Works that I plied the top off and used for the heat packs and the eye pillows. This was awesome since the lavender scents run about $50.00 a bottle at the store- that would have been my whole budget.
7. rice- about 40 lbs for all 16 or so I ended up making. This came from food storage. (You can get a 20 lb bag at Maceys for 9.99 I think.)
8. Buckwheat- I think I used about 10 or so lbs- also from food storage. But this is very cheap I think it is 1.50/lb at my local health food store.
9. Flax- I have about 50 lbs of this that I grind up 2 T from everyday and add it to my food, so I had tons of this, and it was nice to see it being put to use faster. If you buy this I would recomend the brown flax as it is cheaper than the golden- also found in a health food store.

I think thats about it, so 16 presents for $2.00 equals about .125 each- NICE! Of course there are a lot of people who read this that are getting these as a present this year- in which case I spent a lot more *wink wink*. And I dont think it is necessarily what a present costs, but the thought and effort, and biggest of all is if you like it, and I would LOVE to get one of these.

**If anyone wants to know how to make these I can post it later- just let me know.

Getting old?? What?!?

2008-11-21T14:10:00.002-07:00

So in my mind 26 isn't old. I like to think I am still pretty young in the whole scheme of things. I mean, I can still run around, climb trees and read a book without special glasses, all that fun stuff. Young people dont wear bifocals or get gray hairs. Or do they. Well I am here to tell you that 26 must be old, because you CAN get gray hairs at that age. I know because I just pulled 5 of them out of my head.

Challenge #1

2008-11-20T17:26:00.008-07:00

**How about take pics of your stash without any neatening, cleaning, or organizing! I've seen lots of pictures of perfectly arranged sewing rooms and lovely stacks of fabric...I want to see if anyone has a mess that is WORSE than mine - LOL!**

OK so, even though my first thought was, "Well if I work really hard tonight, I can post pictures of my room clean and perfect looking tomorrow, and then people will think that I always have a clean craft room..." I resisted. The sad thing is I HAVE been cleaning in here. Well at least there was a week after Halloween and before I started to think about Christmas that I STARTED to clean/organize my room. It's like I have heard before- really creative people just have messy homes. I must be UBBER creative let me tell you!

So on to my stash. This is all stuff I have to work with- so if I were to make something from this it wouldnt cost me anything since I already have it!!

Paper storage under my computer desk. Left side has solid paper, middle has patterned and right has chipboard sheets, vellum, textured, 12 x 12 page protectors, holiday and seasonal paper, and unsorted paper as well.

Some paint, glitter, beads, and other goodies. These were originally flower boxes.

This is one of my favorite things my MIL ever gave me! My cart full of supplies. Drawers have 1- tools, 2- ink and chalk, 3- stamps and embossing patterns, 4- buttons, 5- adhesives, 6- punches, and the last has some textile medium, modge podge, felt glue, and embroidery thread.

Boxes full of fabric. Mostly jeans.

To the right (behind my monitor) is a wall mounted hardware drawer unit full of sewing notions (elastic, bias tape, snaps, etc.). The big white cart of drawers holds my bigger notions like zippers, my needles, tracing paper for when I alter or make up patterns, velcro, etc.

Cabinet full of things to alter. Plus empty mini albums that were so cute I couldnt resist buying them.

Full cabinet system. These are actually deeper than they look, and you cant really see things that are lurking behind, but most things are 2 deep. Right upper top has random fabric that I havent folded to put onto my bookshelf yet, and my batting, oh and some jewelry making supplies. The closed cabinet below holds all my office supplies and lots of empty formula containers to alter, plus most of my store bought sewing patterns. The closed cabinet in the top middle is the one from the previous picture. The open cabinet below it contains paper scraps sorted by color and pattern/solid. There are also embelishments in tackle box inserts and drawers. The bottom shelf is unfinished wood, mostly frames. The 2 cabinets on the left are full of idea books and things to scrapbook.

This is my sewing desk. You can see my sewing machine that I am constantly fighting with (and yes, I do yell at it- quite often in fact.) The built in filing cabinet is full of thread and bobbins. Clothing to be repurposed, and rolls of stuff I applique with. Ribbon on spools is shown. Loose ribbon is in containers sorted to color in the right cabinet. Unsorted ribbon, flowers, fraycheck, and hairclips are in the open cabinet. All my bow making supplies pretty much at this station.

This is my cutting scrapbooking table. It is an old kitchen island, but it has a granite countertop so it works great for pounding eyelets and cutting on. Plus it is just the perfect width for my big cutting mat.It has 2 drawers on the other side (that you cant see). One is full of pens, pencils, and markers. The other one holds all my tools that I use while I am at the table, (well the ones I use most often at least). In the cabinets are containers of fabric scraps, cutting/glueing/painting mats, a box of sewing notions that I still need to give back to my mom (I used it when I borrowed her machine in college- YIKES!), a bedazzler (Mom gave it to me, still havent cracked it out of the box yet, maybe I can come up with a project to use it on...), About 300 sponge paintbrushes that I ordered in when they were on sale for 5 cents each all in containers, and finally some unfinished IKEA wood drewer sets. There are containers in the front right of this picture that contain scrap fabric and scrap paper that hasnt been sorted yet. A couple of unfinished projects stacked on top. There is a mirror that needs to be hung on the wall behind my sewing machine, 2 magnetic chalkboards, 1 will go on the wall next to my monitor, the other one will be hung on the empty space on the left side of the cabinet in the picture. In the grocery bag are baking sheets for a project and silicone snowlake molds to make crayons in. On the table is the project I was working on today. Yes that is a disco ball. My husband has to hang it for me. I absolutely love when the sun hits it in the afternoon and throws light all over my ceiling and walls.

Pebboard with embellishments. In the metal containers are some of my paints, and my eyelets in the little round MM containers. Under the ironing board you can see part of the project I am working on now, as well as on the ironing board.

Bookshelf of mostly folded fabric. There are about 5 quilts in various stages of completion as well.

File cabinet. Bottom drawer has all my kids craft supplies. Top drawer has sorted embellishments. There is a bunch of random fabric piled on top. To the right (which you cant see is a cart full of felt and fabric scraps as well as a few Christmas presents waiting to be wrapped.

Yay! So excited!

2008-11-19T13:21:00.003-07:00

So the website that is my favorite resource for patterns (youcanmakethis.com) announced the other day that they are having a "Thrifty Under 50" challenge/contest. And guess what, I was picked as one of the 50! I am so excited right now. I always spend WAY too much when I am making things, and we have always spent WAY WAY too much on Christmas, so this is going to be great. No way is my whole list going to come in under $50- lets face it, it has already far exceeded that and I have just barely starting buying things. But I think that this will help me to spend less overall and get to be creative at the same time, by having a chunk of my gifts put into this category. I am not sure of all the rules yet, if I will be mainly posting here on my blog, or on their special one or what, but I will keep everyone informed of where to go. Who knows maybe you will be inspired and come up with some thrifty Christmas gifts of your own.

Adelles Halloween Parade

2008-11-17T10:28:00.003-07:00

Adelle wanted to be Cinderella, so I totally Frankensteined a pattern I had, and totally remade it. This is what we came up with. She loved it. Other than walking up the stairs. She had 2 sets of pettiskirts on, and she would get all tangled in them.

Boys Halloween Parade

2008-11-17T09:54:00.006-07:00

Ok so I dont know who was in charge of taking pictures this year, but we didnt get a lot in costume. About the only ones that I can find of the boys in their costumes are from their school parade. They are from far away, they were moving fast, and they only came by once before it even started, and we were just barely sitting down.Ugh! I will have to put them in their costumes again to get pictures of them. Anyway here these ones are.

Cameron. He wanted to be a bumble bee transformer. So I looked at his toy we bought last year and made a pattern out of it.

Here you can kinda see the back. The bottom panels on the legs have red tail-lights that actually work. I made them by sewing in flashing luggage tags for the tail-lights. He had to show everyone this feature.

From the side again. I really need to get better pictures of this one, especially with all the sweat and tears put into this thing.

It was even harder to get a good picture of Ryan. He was shark boy and all I had to go off of was this. The outfit that was SUPPOSED to go underneath it was of course dirty because

1- He didnt take it off after Trick -or- Treating on Main Street on Saturday like I asked (or after the ward trunk-or-treat-again like I asked).
2- When he finally did take it off he did not put it into the dirty clothes like I asked so I could wash it.
I am trying this new thing with them that if they dont have clean socks because they did not put them into the laundry basket, (and not on their floor) then they will have to rewear dirty socks, clothes, etc. I should not have to pick their clothes up off the floor every time I do the wash. They are learning- slowly!

So he has on a pair of church pants and one of his shirts on inside out so it would be all the same color. They is why it looks so funny. Also because he had put it on himself and not situated it quite right, and some pieces are upside down, and/or missing. Oh well nothing I can do about it now. I dont know if you can see the quilting on it or not?

Not quite right...

2008-11-12T15:47:00.003-07:00

OK you know something is wrong when your Husband calls and says he has bad news, and you think- Oh no he lost his job. Then he tells you he has to go out of town for 4 days and you think that was worse.

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

2008-10-27T09:08:00.002-06:00

Wow try saying that 3 times fast.

http://frecklesphotography.blogspot.com/2008/10/sneak-peek-for-h-family.html

A couple of pictures from the photo shoot. Almost ready for Halloween. Which is GOOD especially being as I have been working off and on on costumes since about July. Unfortunately it has been more off than it has been on. Maybe I will clean my crap, I mean CRAFT room today. It REALLY needs it. Of course I dont know what I will do for exercise if I dont have to battle my craftsticle course everyday. If I can ever get caught up, I will post all the projects I have been working on/ignoring.

Ode to Jeremy- well kinda- really just questions about him.

2008-10-13T14:10:00.003-06:00

My cute friend Mardi tagged me for this- you should go check out her blog- seriously- cutest family you will ever see!
1. Where did you meet?
My apartment. He and some of his friends were helping his sister move in. I was just getting back from 16 hours straight on the road, taking turns driving and sleeping with my best friend Brandon, -( OK that doesn’t sound right- him and I were taking turns sleeping- not sleeping together!!) on our way back from my boyfriends cabin in Montana. I walked into the apartment, and since I had only been there once before like a week earlier, when I walked in and say 3 guys standing in my living room, and no one else I turned around and walked out without saying anything. I thought I was in the wrong apartment. Boy did I feel dumb.
2. How long did you date before you were married?
Well he waited to make a move until I was “legal” (I was 17 when I came up to college) From when I broke up with my boyfriend, for him, until we got engaged “officially” was about 3 ½ months. We were engaged about 3 months. Wow- it didn’t seem like such a short amount of time at the time.
3. How long have you been married for?
7 ½ years. My longest relationship by 7 years and 4 months!
4. What does he do that surprises you?
When he brings home flowers without me telling him he needs to.
5. What's your fav feature about him?
His arms- I am SO TOTALLY an arm girl. I also like that he doesn’t have chicken legs- eww! Totally hate chicken legs on grown men.
6. What's your fav quality about him?
That he loves to get on the floor and play with our kids, and is totally willing to cook dinner for me and clean the house when I don’t feel like it. That he is so supportive of me. That and the fact that he is the BEST husband ever. Seriously girls, this guy does everything- I am seriously the luckiest girl. Ever.
7. Does he have a nickname for you?
What is it? He calls me Hun a lot, or maybe its just that I call him that a lot. I had a roommate with an ubber annoying boyfriend who always called each other Babe, so I resist that nickname.
8. What is his fav color?
Kind of a charcoal grey. At least to wear anyways.
9. What is his fav food?
Um, he really likes pasta. But he is definitely a steak and potatoes kind of guy.
10. What is his fav sport?
He likes to watch football, but only certain teams- thank heavens.
11. Who said I Love You first?
Um I think he did. I wanted to but resisted. Didn’t want to have one of those-
Girl- I love you
Guy- Um, thanks.
-kind of moments.
12. When and where was your first kiss?
I think we had been dating for a month or two, im sure I have it in my journal—OK WOW just went and checked my journal from that time period, and it was October 9th, so I guess not that long- and WOW I cant believe how young and nieve and kinda immature I was! -Oh and we were sitting on the grass by the small "stream" by our apartment complex talking.
13. What is your fav thing to do as a couple?
In the spirit of keeping this a “PG” rated blog I will have to say just cuddling up on the couch watching one of the MANY shows we watch. We also like Laser Tag, but I’m not very good, and he always gets first in the groups we go in.
14. Do you have kids?
4 beautiful, sweet kids!!
15. What is a hidden talent he has?
Um hidden talent? Well he is super smart and really can do anything if he has seen it done once.
16. How old is he?
The BIG 3-zero in 3 months.
17. Whats his favorite type of music?
Probably rock. I know that’s a generic answer, but he likes a lot of music that most easily falls into that genre. He also likes techno a little bit. And I only say little bit because it is so not “me”, so I am trying to tone it down.
18. What do you admire most about him?
His testimony of the gospel, and that he is so smart, and such a hard worker.
19. What is his fav past time?
Playing computer games.
20. Do you think he is going to read this?
Eventually.

I love you hun!!!! Thanks for putting up with me!

Adelles Preschool

2008-09-18T09:13:00.006-06:00

So Adelle is loving preschool. Even though she is 3 we decided to go ahead and put her into preschool this year for two reasons (mainly.) The first is that she is so ready for school. She has been counting to 10 and saying (well singing)the alphabet since she was 18 months old, and shows a lot of the readiness steps for kids to start reading, and just astounds us every day with what she catches up on as we work with the boys. The second reason, and the main reason why I am not just teaching her myself anymore (we had a preschool homeschooling program I was working with her on for the past year or so) is that she needs to be more social. She is so shy and gets totally introverted when faced with people she doesnt know. She just sits there and glares at everyone she isnt comfortable with. To the rest of us she knows, we see a TOTALLY different kid. Its like there are 2 seperate people in there. Anyways- I am hoping that this will put her out of her comfort zone enough that she will get used to being around other kids, and be OK with it.

So this really great photographer from the area came and took school pictures of the kids, and put them up online to buy. Some of them are amazing. I of course forgot that it was picture day, so she wasnt dressed up special or anything, and her hair was just up, but not all cute-sey, but they still turned out good. She has one of the pictures of Adelle up on her blog which you can find here--->

freckles photography

She is the 2nd from the bottom. For those of you who want to see more of her (some really cute ones) just email me, and I will send you the link and password to see the rest.

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-09-18T09:13:00.003-06:00

So for my Birthday this year I really just wanted to go shopping. Jeremy had to take some friends to the airport at 4:30 in the morning, and when he got back we were all up and getting ready. We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel (my kids favorite place to eat), went to a couple home decor stores, then hit the mall. Usually my boys (all 3 of them) are done by the time we even walk in the first store, but this time it happened to be Gymboree, so they all sat and watched the movie quietly (yes even my husband). I probably should have just left them there while I did all my other shopping. Like the 3rd or 4th store in Kenadee had a poop-splosion. Jeremy was holding her, and we ended up having to buy them both new clothes, and after we wiped her off, we still had to give her a bath in the family bathroom sink. Yuck! Definately something you dont want to have to deal with EVER, let alone at the mall. We went to A LOT of stores, and by the time we were in the last store (all day we had promised the kids that at some point we were going to go to Toys R Us) the boys were crying about wanting to leave and go to the toy store. As I am in the dressing room Cameron and Jeremy had a pretty funny conversation.

Cam- This is not fun! I want to go!
Jer- Sorry- its Mommy's birthday and she gets to decide what we do today, and she wants to go shopping.
Cam- But Dad, she is NEVER going to stop!

Gotta love those kids. Kenadee took 4 steps while we were at Gap. She had taken 2 yesterday while her and I were at my friend Mardi's house. And when my sister was watching her while Jeremy and I went out to dinner she took like 10 all on her own. Made me so sad that I missed so many of those first ones, but Heather recorded it onto her phone, so I still got to see it.

One funny thing- every time my sister watches my kids Jeremy and I end up going to the grocery store. We went on our anniversary, a couple other times, and yesterday night for my birthday. I think it is so funny that we are out on a date night and we end up spending part of it at the grocery store. Welcome to parenthood right. When your just excited to get to the store with out kids and spend time alone together that you dont mind combining the two.

Kenadee

2008-09-16T16:50:00.002-06:00

I can't believe my baby is going to be a year old in a couple days.

Fiesta Days

2008-09-15T16:56:00.004-06:00

This year we went for the fish rodeo. The kids all got to catch a fish with their hands. They had so much fun, untill it came time to clean the fish out.

"But Dad, can't we just put it into our fish tank? We dont want our fish to die." -Insert sad face full of tears here.-

The boys got pretty high up on the wall before they got scared.

One of the ladies that comes and cleans our house was volunteering there, and helped Adelle catch her fish.

Shark Party

2008-09-15T16:23:00.004-06:00

For lunch we had octopus hotdogs on seashell pasta, dinosaur chicken nuggets, steggosaurus snacks (carrots and apples) and ocean juice. Then we went out back for Ryans Party. There were lots of activities planned, but the kids really just wanted to play in the water, so they did for the most part. We had a small pool filled up with water that had tons of sea creature toys in it that the kids "caught." We made wave jars. The trampoline enclosure was filled with balloons, so it was really fun to jump in (until the Dads went in there and popped them all.)

Ryans favorite toy this summer. A rocket where you control the height by controlling the water. Everyone had to see if they could get the rocket highest before it came crashing down.

Classic slip and slide. I bought this for the boys at the end of the school year and they were mad the I hadnt bought them the shark one.

Ryan getting ready to start a water fight with his little sister.

Shark Cake.

Ry and his cake.

Shark Pinata.

Dinosaur Party

2008-08-14T08:52:00.005-06:00

So this year the boys decided that they wanted their own Birthday Parties. I told them we could go somewhere fun like Kangaroo Zoo if they had one together-(totally easier on the Mom!) But even that didnt convince them. Me being the procrastinator that I am didnt even start planning the parties until a week before, and of course 3 of my kids get sick that week. We almost postponed the parties, but the Doctor assured us they would be fine by that day, and they wouldnt be contagious. So basically that left me everything to do the day before and the day of- ARGGGG! Next year I swear I am going to have everything done before I even send out the invitations.

So since they wanted to have their own parties, but I didnt want people to have to come either 2 weekends, or on a friday and a saturday, I just decided to do one party, lunch, and then the other party. Camerons party ended up being first since there wasnt going to be and water games, and it was still a bit cool in the morning. He decided that he wanted a dinosaur theme.

Dinosaur obstacle course type thingy. They had to jump over "tar pits" to help hatch baby dinosaurs. In the background you can see the dinosaur egg pinatas we made, and kinda the big T-Rex footprints leading up to our house.

Volcano cake. Doesn't look that great- by the time I got around to decorating this, I had like no time left, so yeah- but Cameron still liked it and thought it was cool- so I guess that is what really matters.

Cam and his cake.

Dino egg invites.

Each kid got to make a volcano erupt.

Digging up dinosaur bones and eggs.

Excavating the dinosaur bones from sand. Putting the dinosaur puzzles together that were in the eggs.

Making our own fossils.

Wow- I have two 6 year olds!

2008-08-05T14:12:00.002-06:00

Ryan and Cameron decided that they wanted to go to Cracker Barrel For their birthday dinner (I think it was just because it is the only place to eat that sells toys too.) So their Aunt Heather and Uncle Eric met us there for dinner on their birthday. It was super yummy, and then we let the boys open all their cards from family and presents from us. After that we all came back to our house and had an ice cream cake from Coldstone.

The boys and their cake.

Cameron biting off a little more than he can chew I think.

While smaller than his brothers bite, this is still a pretty big bite for Ryan. They think since they are 6 now everything gets bigger- including the amount of food they shove into their face at a time.

I just think Jeremy looks hot here, so I am including this picture, even though Kenadee is a little blurry and has a wierd look on her face.

Our sweet little Adelle. She keeps saying it is her birthday too, but hasnt minded that no presents have been coming her way.

Kinda fun

2008-07-11T16:12:00.000-06:00

go here

So Spoiled

2008-07-10T21:48:00.003-06:00

So as I am typing this, my sweet Husband is waiting in a line camped out in front of the AT&T store to get me the new 16 GB iPhone 3G. His friend was going to go, so he asked me if I would like for him to go and wait in line to get one too. This, after he calls me and my female relatives crazy for camping out overnight at Best Buy every year (at least every year we go to Vegas for Thanksgiving) for Black Friday. They wouldn't let them line up until 9 p.m. but they got there at 8:20 and he was still 5th in line (well the line they formed NEXT to the sidewalk- which is where the real line formed once they let them.), and people were pouring into the parking lot. He called me at like 9:15 and said the line was at least 100 people long. OK he is definitely scoring major brownie points on this one. The store doesnt even open until 8 a.m. And yet here I am dreading the night since I barely get any sleep when he is gone.

OK so, I originally wrote that about 10 last night, then me being the paranoid person that I am was thinking that if there was someone who was stalking me or something and read that, they would know that my husband wasnt home, and come over and kill me or something. So yeah, I decided not to post it last night. This is just how I get when he is gone- every little noise is someone breaking in.

Jeremys Job

2008-07-07T10:33:00.002-06:00

Jeremy is SO loving his job. Really big things happening in the company, he is so excited about it.
This is what he is the test lead on. Here is another link, another, and another.

This is for all those people that have asked us how things are going, they are just some links Jeremy sent me.

SO busy!

2008-07-07T09:14:00.002-06:00

We have been busy this summer. My boys finally finished their T-ball season, which I am glad about since it gives us our Tuesday and Thursday nights back (at least until soccer starts this fall.) They also finished their first round of swim lessons this year (next session starts today though- at least we got 1 week off.) Adelle is half way through her swim lessons- after every lesson we ask her what she learned and she always says- "Um, blow bubbles." She loves her lessons, we hired our regular babysitter to teach her, since she also happens to be a lifeguard at the pool this summer and teaches lessons there. I think I figured that in 10 days I was at the pool 20 something times. We go once for the boys swim lessons, and then again for Adelle's, at which point we either just stay and swim (if her lessons are late enough that Jeremy can meet me there,) or leave, and I have been trying to swim laps 2 times a week.

We had my Dad and 3 brothers stay with us for a little over a week this past week, which was so much fun for us. My kids totally enjoyed it- especially since they get to sleep downstairs with their Uncles when they come. We went to My Great Grandma Ruth's 90th birthday. It was so good to see relatives from my Dad's side that I haven't seen for years. My Dad helped me paint my girls room which made Adelle deliriously happy- especially since it was pink and green which are her 2 favorite colors. Once we get the chair railing up I will post a picture of it. We went up to Kennecott Mine, out to Happy Sumo, helped my sister and her Husband lay sod. The rest of the family got in for the 4th. I love being able to spend time with my family. We definitely don't get to see them enough. We got to spend time with the Konolds (my grandmas sisters family) which was great since we really haven't seen them since our last Henrie family reunion which was almost 2 years ago. Oh and the best part was we all went out to eat at Chefs Table, which is Jeremy and my favorite place to eat. The only downside is they didn't have my scallops on the menu anymore, which is my favorite thing to get there.

We got a new piece of furniture for our front room, which finally makes the room feel like a real room, and not just the place where leftover furniture goes to hide. Which isn't really hidden at all, since it is the first thing people see when they come over, and the only room we really haven't done ANYTHING with.

My big news is that I received another calling this Sunday as the 1st councilor in Young Women's. I am SO excited about it. Ever since we have been married, I have always wanted to be able to serve in Young Women's. I have only been a Primary Teacher- 3 wards, and the Enrichment Committee Leader- also 3 wards. I guess I have also been on the Activities Committee (which I am still on I assume since I haven't been released from that.) The first thing Jeremy said when I told him is- "You realise that you have to go to camp right?" Yeah I like to be pampered, and Camp for a week, all dirty and in tents that aren't air-conditioned and what not doesn't exactly appeal to me, but I think I have a year until I have to worry about that. I remember each and every one of my Young Women's leaders and they all have had big impacts on my life, so I do have a bit of a feeling of inadequacy, but am praying that the Lord will guide me and compensate when I fall short.

Pierced Ears

2008-05-15T18:08:00.006-06:00

Adelle got her ears pierced today. She was really good. We let her pick out her earrings- pink studs, and sat her up on the big seat, and she was so excited. I warned her that it was going to hurt, but I think she was too excited to really listen to me. She was sitting up in the chair, grinning so big, until the lady came to mark her ears, then she got all clenchy. It was pretty funny. Then they pierced her ears- both at the same time (really the only way to do it- especially in the little girls.) She was OK for like a second after they did it, and then you could just see her expression change as she started to feel it. There were some big tears, but she only cried for about 2 minutes tops. It also helped that they gave her a bag of skittles. By the time I paid, she was back to smiling, and telling the ladies thank you. Ever since we got home, she has been looking in every mirror to see her new "big girl earrings." At the store, one of the ladies made a remark about how big she was now to have pierced ears, so when we were leaving, she asked me if we were going to big girl school now.--I have been telling her that I wont sign her up for preschool until she would go potty in the toilet, that she needed to be a big girl to go.

The first picture is of her goofy face waiting to get them pierced, second is obviously them actually doing it, and third is right after, with a very grumpy face.

Sorry for the crappy photos, they were taken with my phone, which while it in itself is completely awesome, it definitely doesnt have the best camera.

Anniversary- Family Reunion- pretty busy

2008-05-07T12:14:00.002-06:00

So Sunday, April 27 was our 7th Anniversary. We went out on Saturday to celebrate. We went up to the Tracey Aviary, and stopped at a Tibetan resturaunt to eat- the food wasnt great to say the least. We thought we would like it since we like Indian food, and Tibet is near India, but it was definately a no-go. We went to the Harvest Restaurant for dinner, since Chefs Table (where we always go) was booked due to BYU and UVSC graduations and 3 proms in the area. The best I can say was that the bread they brought out before was really goo,- they were fresh wheat mini loaves, and dessert was good. Everything in between was definately a let-down. We got an appetizer, some kind of tuscan flat bread, which was alright. Jeremy ordered a tomato soup- which was really good, but my ceasar salad, wasnt great. The service was slow, and when the waiter brings out our order, he had switched the way the steaks were cooked. Jeremy ordered on type of steak medium well, and it was bright red inside, and I ordered a different steak medium rare- but specified that I wanted it pink throught, and red in the center since it seems to differ at every restaurant. Well mine came well done. So we sent them back, which made me nervous. We have never sent anything back before, but this was our anniversary, and I wanted good food. After about another 30 minutes of waiting, he brings me my steak, and this time it was probably medium well. Not to done and dry, but definately NO pink at all. It was rediculous. By that time, I didnt want to wait for them to prepare a new dish again, so we just ordered dessert and left. Both of our dishes were just alright as well. We SO wish we would have gone to Chefs Table- but lesson learned I guess, and next year if we stay in town we will make a reservation well ahead of time. After dinner- being the dorks we are, we went to Home Depot and the Grocery store. Great Anniversary celebration huh? But it was nice to not have any kids with us.

Sunday, our friends blessed their sweet baby boy, so we went over there after the blessing for lunch. They had built their own table, and it looks AMAZING. I love it. It looks so great. These photos dont even do it justice.

Friday our kids went to a Birthday Party for their best friend. I of course didnt get presents made till the last minute. Cameron gave her a little scrapbooking kit with 2 albums, paper, stickers, embellishments what-not in it because her mom said she likes to scrapbook with her. Ryan gave her a purse that I made. It was a brown felt purse, with her name sewed on in hot pink felt, and hot pink and light pink felt flowers on the other side. Adelle gave her a tea set that she helped me paint for her, which turned out not that great unfortunately. But I guess that is what I get for waiting till the last minute, and letting a 3 year old help. But the hat box we put it in turned out really cute. I will put pictures up as soon as I get motivated enough to go out into the garage and get the camera out of the car and load the pictures onto our server.

Right after the party we left for Vegas. After about 5 bathroom, gas, dinner, feeding Kenadee stops we got in about 11:30 which is late for us to be traveling. - The first bathroom break we did, Adelle needed to be changed, and since we forgot to let the boys go the bathroom before we left I told them that they needed to try and go to the bathroom. They were saying that they didnt need to, untill I told them they could pee on a bush (we were at some secluded ranch exit) and all of a sudden they were like- "Maybe we do have to go potty." Thats 5 year old boys for ya! Saturday we had a family reunion for my Grandpas side of the family. It was neat to hear my grandpa and his siblings talking about their parents (at least what I heard of it before Kenadee got too fussy.) My Grandma recorded it, so hopefully I will be able to watch it soon. Our boys had fun playing in the "river" which was about 2 inches deep and 6 or so inches wide, and catching frogs. Adelle enjoyed playing with my cousin, Sydney, who by the way had her first car accident there (she's 4). They were playing on a golf cart that had an emergency brake on, and she pushed the brake, which unlocked the emergency brake, and rolled into the nearest car. My boys came running up to me talking about how they had seen her driving a car past them and getting into a "big crash" I'm just glad that for once it wasnt one of my kids behind the trouble.

That night, my Aunt and her Husband came over to my moms house to make everyone dinner, while the kids went swimming. The best part of the whole evening was when one of my boys brought a "present" in the house to my Mom, and proceeded to hand her a cricut. It was pretty hilarious to see all my aunts and grandma and mom, scream about it.

Sunday we did Family pictures, and went out to the Fiesta Buffet for brunch with everyone before we left. Again, we had about 6 or so stops on the way home. My Sister who left 2 hours after us, and stopped and went shopping on the way home got to our house at the same time we did. There are definately things that I will not miss about this stage in my kids lives.

40 Things

2008-04-25T13:56:00.003-06:00

1- I have a very extreme, irrational fear of outhouses. We call it portapotaphobia.

2. I hate when my kids go anywhere without socks on- even my babies- I think it makes them look orphaned.

3- I like to read cereal boxes.

4- If I am reading a book- I tune everything else out, and will not respond if someone is talking to me- I don’t even hear them.

5- I can spend hours on Ebay, and Etsy, and often do.

6- I will not pay money for something someone has made- I would rather make it myself (if I can- and I usually can), yet I pay someone to come clean my house.

7- I love to make budgets and to-do lists, but rarely follow them.

8- I love coupon shopping. It turns my favorite activity (shopping) into a sport. ( I even get 5 newspapers every Sunday just for the coupons, and want to get more.)

9- I sing the Guardian Angel song from My Turn on Earth to my kids almost every night.

10- I love buying and organizing scrapbook supplies, but don’t use them very often, especially if I found the perfect place for it to be stored/displayed.- Sometimes I will buy a couple of the same things just for this reason.

11- I am SO not a morning person.

12- I am starting to train (trane?) for a marathon (again- I had started before I got pregnant with Kenadee, and stopped because I have activity induced asthma, and didn’t want to use the inhaler while I was pregnant.)

13- Disneyland is my favorite place. EVER.

14- If I make a dish with tofu in it- I have to tell Jeremy it is chicken, and he likes it, but if I tell him it is really tofu- all of a sudden the taste changes for him, and he cant take another bite.

15- I LOVE vegetables.

16- I have a little bit of a shopping addiction- I have to really watch myself. (And yes- I realize that there really isn’t any such thing as a little bit of an addiction- it just makes me feel better when I say it that way.)

17- I love many foods burnt. BBQ chicken, lasagna, freezer pizzas, grilled corn on the cob + more.- If it has a couple of really nice black spots it tastes so much better to me.- I know, I know, it causes cancer, but really what doesn’t nowadays?

18- I came up to Utah to go to school because I didn’t want to be one of those people who spend their whole lives living in Vegas, and now I think to myself- ok maybe Vegas wasn’t so bad.

19- I don’t think I am a very good driver- especially if there is snow or ice on the ground, I absolutely refuse to drive in the snow!

20- I justify taking nice long HOT baths in my big tub by bathing my kids in the water after I am done.

21- I really want to go to New York again- we almost did for our Anniversary, but decided against going anywhere, because its not much of vacation when you have to bring a baby.

22- I am my boys soccer coach, and although we are undefeated the kids don’t know this. I tell them that it only matters that everyone had fun playing the game. (They are only in Kindergarten after all.)

23- Sometimes I am tempted to just do my boys homework for them- especially if it requires scissors. I have to constantly fight the urge.

24- I LOVE fabric stores. I can walk in and spend 4 hours, and think that like only a half hour has gone by. My mind just sees fabric and all the possibilities of what can be done with each design.

25- I am a major procrastinator. I need to change this tendency, but keep thinking I will start tomorrow.

26- I’m jealous of all my daughters cute tutus, hairbows and tiaras, and sometimes wish I could put them on and go to the store like she does and not have people think I was crazy.

27- I am only 25, and I have 4 kids.

28- I married one of those guys that I used to make fun of (in my head) in High School. You know- the super-smart-computer-guys.

29- I am really into British History.

30- Orchids are my favorite flower, followed by Gerber Daises, Hydrangeas, Hyacinths, and Lilies.

31- Cumin is the most used spice in my pantry, and cilantro is my most used herb. – We cook a lot of Americanized Mexican food. And my favorite deserts are Mexican desserts- especially flan.

32- Barley is my favorite grain, followed by quinoa.

33- My favorite color is pink, and just a little bit behind is green, the shade that soybeans are after you steam them and take them out of their pod. I want to take a soybean in to Home Depot to have them match a paint color to it for my scrapbook room.

34- When I get too stressed out I just shut down and don’t do ANYTHING. I never worried about anything in High School and College, and as a result I don’t have good stress coping skills.

35- I consider myself a professional beginner. I like to start lots of things, but don’t finish them a lot of the time. Also, I learn how to do a lot of stuff, but move on to the next thing before I can get really good at whatever it is I am learning to do.

36- My husband totally spoils me, and I have been told this a couple of times.

37- All my kids still take naps everyday, and sometimes I do too.

38- I still think Fairy Tales do come true.

39- I love my family SO SO SO much, and of course think I have the best one ever.

40- My life definitely hasn’t turned out like I planned…

IT’S BETTER.

Left out

2008-04-16T09:50:00.004-06:00

So of course since Ryan and Cameron had super cool new shirts they loved, Adelle wanted one. She decided on Cinderella- (she LOVES Disney princesses & Tinkerbell)So I made this one for her, and on the back put her nickname from her Daddy- CinderDelly. She loves it! Now I just need to make Kenadee one. Im thinking an owl on one of her onesies- Im really liking owls at the moment.

stenciled shirts

2008-04-16T09:07:00.002-06:00

Its hard to sew for boys. I dont like the whole "homemade" look for them. Sometimes it looks so shabby- and not in a good way, so I usually dont sew for my boys- except for quilts or blankets, and costumes. But I am always making new dresses for the girls, and my boys ask me when I am going to make something for them, so I decided to paint them shirts with their favorite things. Camerons favorite is T-Rex, and Ryans is sharks, so here they are. These were my first stenciling attempts, and they arent exactly lined up, but I still like tham, and my boys absolutely love them. They have worn them for the last week straight, wont even let me wash them. Maybe after bath time tonight I might just raid their room and steal them to finally get them clean.

Changes

2008-04-14T09:04:00.003-06:00

So in one of my last posts I told everyone about how Jeremy was giving Novell his 2 weeks, well he ended up starting his new job today. Last tuesday, after he got back from accepting his new position at this new company, his director called him in and asked if he had a lot of work to do for the next 2 weeks, and since he didn't he let him stop working that day. I guess that it is a liability to have employees around that are leaving and have access to everything, because if they were disgruntled they could cause a whole world of trouble. But they still are paying us for those last 2 weeks, even though he isnt working them, and an extra week from the FTO he had, so a months worth of pay for a weeks worth of work isn't bad. So we decided that he would take the rest of the week off before starting his new job since he wouldnt have any days off stored up, so who knows when our next break from work will be. We had originally planned on finishing up our garden boxes and just spending time here together at home. Well yeah, that didnt really happen. He ended up working at my uncles shop wednesday morning, then going to his farewell from Novell lunch, then to Santaquin the rest of the day.

Thursday was quite an experience. Late wednesday night, I get a call from out pediatricians office rescheduling our 2 p.m. appointment to 9 a.m. due to and emergency with one of the doctors, so thursday morning, I wake up bright and early (for me) and get up, take a shower, do my hair, makeup, get dressed, go downstairs, get breakfast ready, and go upstairs to wake Adelle up so she can eat. It was about this time that I was thinking to myself how smoothly things were going, and that we were going to actually be early, and getting excited about it... Then I opened Adelles door. All I can say is DESITIN. EVERYWHERE. She must have taken some into her room, and hidden it, and after we put her to bed for the night she had a party with it. She had also put it into her hair. So she had whitish-grey hair that stuck out in every direction possible. And the smell- UGH! So I put her into the bath and scrub her hair 3 times before I realize that it isnt coming out at all, and we are now going to be late by the time she eats, and I get her dressed. So I pull her hair back to try to disguise the desitin. We end up getting to the doctors office late, but since we were scheduled for the first appointment of the day, it isnt too bad. After her 3 year check up, and Kenadees 6 month appointment, we went to the optomitrist to order our sunglasses. Well I had gonr into the Sunglass Hut before and found the pair I wanted, but they gave me the wrong code for it, so we had to go back into Sunglass Hut, get the right code, then go back into the Optomitrist, order them, pay for them whatnot, then we went to AF to look at some cars, and went to La Vigna for lunch. Decided we werent going to make it back to Spanish Fork in time for our boys school, so they would just spend the day with us. Looked at some more cars. Then we had to hurry back here for Soccer pictures, and then play our game. After the game, we came home, and Jeremy had to go back into Santaquin, so I bathed the kids, and got them to bed, he came home and we pretty much crashed. Friday we spent most of the day looking at cars again, and Jeremy figured out what kind he wants. I think it is the Honda Civic SI. We came back so we would be here in time for the boys bus, and Jeremy had to go to a tax place to fix their computers. After that our friends, Jeff and Mandie, took us out to dinner to thank Jeremy for helping Jeff get a job. We went to Tepanyaki in Lehi, so Jeremy was able to get food he likes, and I was able to get sushi- yay!!

Saturday, I took Ryan shopping with me, while Jeremy worked on the garden boxes, then we had a little barbeque with our friends. We had yummy steak, grilled zucchini, salad, baugette bread. For dessert we had strawberry shortcakes, and I tried a new recipe.
It was so good. Then we just played Wii untill we were all exhausted. It was so good to be able to spend time with them, and see their cute little baby.

Well I gotta go, it is Spring Break for my boys, and the weather is actually decent, so they are begging me to jump on the "frampoline" with them.

Random quiz

2008-04-09T11:20:00.000-06:00

What Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Means

Your eating style is reserved. You are a bit of a fussy eater, and you have very specific ways you like your food prepared.

You have an average sweet tooth. While you enjoy desserts, they aren't exactly your downfall.

Your taste in food tends to be pretty flexible. You may crave sushi one night, and your favorite childhood recipe the next.

You are probably a fairly normal, upper middle class person. You don't rock the boat too often.

You never really grew up. While your childlike innocence is charming, you often just come across as a big baby.

Precise and controlled, you can be a bit anal retentive when it comes to how you like things. You're definitely a perfectionist.

What Does Your Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Say About You?

New Job

2008-04-08T09:43:00.002-06:00

Well he did it. He gave his 2 week notice at Novell today and is on his way up to Salt Lake as I type this to put his acceptance in at this new company. So for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about (aka everyone but our parents and my sister) I will fill you in. So Jeremy had said that he would look for another job after he got a promotion at Novell, we just thought that it would take over a year longer than it actually did. So last year he got his promotion unexpectedly, but things were going good, and his manager was fast tracking him and whatnot. So he just kinda stayed and didnt think much about moving. Well every time there is a layoff I get majorly stressed, there have been like 5 of them at least since he started working there. While he has been completely safe every time I still drives me crazy. Plus with the outsourcing to India last year- let me tell you it was not fun to have my husband half way around the world, and me at home with a newborn and 3 other kids for most of December, we just feel like Novell is more out for whatever is going to save them the most money instead of trying to keep their employees happy. They have been steadily cutting back on the perks since he has been working there, and we just hate the whole, well who knows if he is going to have a job in 6 months, because they dont seem to care about the Provo office thing. But he had an awesome manager, who always went to bat for him and whatnot, so he said at that point that if his manager left he would look for another job. So about 2 weeks ago his manager quit and got a job as a director up at a company called Control Four.
Well Jeremy gets a call from him a few days later that there are a couple of openings and he wants Jeremy to come work for him. So he did the whole interview process and we got an offer last week. Well Jeremy wanted his friend, who was recently fired to get a job up there so they could carpool and whatnot, so we waited until his friend got an offer and accepted.

I am kinda stressed about the whole thing. Just cause it is the unknown. Its kinda funny, when his old boss first called him to try to talk him into coming up there, I was all for him just staying at Novell, then when he decided that he just wanted to stay at Novell, I was all for him leaving, we have gone back and forth and every time, I get nervous and try to convince him to do the opposite thing. Well I finally talked him into leaving, and he is going through with it, and of course now I kinda want him to stay. Oh well. We prayed about it and felt it was right. And I told him if it was something he really wanted to do I would support him 100%- that I would always stand right behind him and support him while he follows his dreams. So it looks like we are moving to a new company. There will be a longer drive for him, and benefits arent quite as good- (paying $15 for our last 2 babies, and like 100 for a $60,000 surgery just cant be beat.) But it is something we can handle, plus it is a new company that is taking off, so there are more opportunities here.

Jon and Kelseys reception

2008-04-07T18:04:00.004-06:00

So 2 weekends ago we went up to Idaho for Jeremy's brothers reception. He and his wife got married on Valentines Day, the same day my sister and her husband got married. (My only other married sibling also got married on the same day that one of his brothers did- CRAZY) Anyways, because it was kinda a last minute thing I guess, they had their reception later. So we drove up on Thursday. Because we cut it close, we just went straight to the reception place. Let me tell you, it is not fun having to do a 3 year olds hair in a tiny bathroom, while the baby is crying, and the 3 year old is protesting, and trying to run out every time you reach for a bobypin or whatnot. We took our Wii up with us and most of the weekend was spent with everyone gathered around that. The kids had so much fun with their cousin, Kimberlyn. It was nice that Adelle had someone to play with. The boys are at that age where they dont want to play with their little sister so she is constantly being excluded, and we are used to dealing with lots of screaming, fighting, and tears as a result. So needless to say, we would have gladly kidnapped Kimberlyn and taken her back to live with us. For some reason I dont think that that would have gone over very well though. On Friday we went to this really fun park that is mostly handicap accessible, and they had the most comfortable swings ever. They are made to strap people (even adults they were big enough) in that would fall out otherwise, and completely support them. So most of my time was spent on one of those, reclining, with Kenadee as I watched everyone else run around. We went to see Horton Hears a Who on Saturday since the elephant is named after our family after all. It was definitely an experience. In the row behind us there was a Dad and Grandpa that took the kids to the movies. Now I am all for Dads getting to spend time with their kids, and giving the wives a break, but let me tell you it definitely wasnt a break for the rest of us. They were constantly kicking out seats, and since the seats are the kind that kinda rock, I was almost feeling motion sick from all the kicking. So being the brat that I am I would brace my feet on the floor and as they would put their feet on the seat to kick it again, I would push back, which they werent expecting, and they eventually stopped. (Like an hour into it anyways) They were constantly talking over the movie, and towards the end, and I am not joking about this, they dumped an entire large popcorn over our heads. The whole time the Dad and Grandpa are just sitting there watching the movie, not even paying attention to the kids. So about this time I just loose it and swing around and yell at them in the middle of the movie- "Watch your kids!! They are throwing popcorn all over us." I think it embarrassed them a little bit, but come on- it was ridiculous. At the end of the movie the Grandpa comes up to us and says "Wow you guys are good sports, I've never seen that ever happen before." I was thinking in my head- yeah because usually people are courteous of other people and actually watch their children. Ugh! Some people. But overall it was a good trip other than I got food poisoning one night, and Ryan was throwing up one day, but yeah.

Easter

2008-03-31T16:19:00.003-06:00

I am so bad at remembering to dye Easter eggs, (one year we even did it Easter morning and the Easter Bunny happened to come while we were at church.) This year was definately no exception, especially with it being so early. We got around to dying our eggs at like 10 p.m. saturday night. Its a good thing we have late church. Our kids are still pretty young, so it wasnt anything extravagant, just single and double color eggs and one egg that happened to get into ALL of the dyes. They just loved being able to get in there and take charge of their own eggs themselves. And yes my kids are in their underclothes. I didn't want it staining any of their clothes, so we pretty much striped them down to avoid any big messes.

Fun Week

2008-03-14T10:06:00.001-06:00

Saturday morning, we went to Kangaroo Zoo with our friends, Jeff and Mandie and their kids, Paige and Jason. Kangaroo Zoo is an indoor play center where they have lots of those blow-up jumpers and slides. These are my kids favorite things ever, so this place was heaven to them, especially with Paige there as she is my boys favorite person. So they played there for a while, and then we went out to eat at Mi Ranchito. It is mexican food (obviously from the name)and was pretty good. Jeremy got this HUGE platter of food, and he almost finished all of it *oink oink*. The rice there is so good, which I think is totally random. We split a fried ice cream (it was very big) and the kids really enjoyed that. They had chocolate syrup all over them- always a sign that they enjoyed themselves.

On tuesday, I got to have lunch with some of the women in the ward. It was so much fun. There are such neat women in our ward. They are all great examples to me. It was hosted at Heather's house, and Jeremy watched the girls for me since Kenadee had a little cough, and I didnt want to take a chance and accidentally get Heather sick before her surgery. So much fun! I love just being to get out with other women, and recharge!

Wednesday, we had our neighbors behind us, Marcelo, Jana, and their cute daughter, Carly over for dinner. Marcelo is a chef at Macaroni Grill, so I was a bit intimidated. I mean, we always have people over for dinner, and it is always good, but I have never had someone over who cooks for their job, and has any training. So we decided that since the weather is getting a little nicer we would have steak. You cant really go wrong with steak. We also grilled zucchini, and had twice baked potatoes- which in the middle of getting everything ready, I forgot they were in the oven, and were a little overdone, but still tasted good. We also had some of the homemade grape juice that I canned last fall. Marcelo made a super yummy salad, and dinner was a big hit. After dinner we played Mario Party on our wii. We had a ton of fun hanging out with them.

Thursday night I had a coaches meeting to get all the information and equipment I need for the spring soccer season. After that I went to Enrichment. There was a really good program on the Parable or the Ten Virgins, and a yummy dinner. Every table was decorated with a different set of place settings and a yummy cake. Unfortunately, I had brought Kenadee because I didnt have time to feed her before I left, and she wasn't very cooperative. I spent most of the program in the mothers room, listening in, and ate my dinner fast, and one of the sweet women in the ward held her for a few minutes so I could enjoy a little piece of cake. After that I just decided to leave since it was too much of a hassle, plus my feet were sore from walking her around for like 2 hours in high heels.

Jeremy has been crazy busy because the guy that he works for on the side went out of town, so he has been going back and forth from Provo, to American Fork, to Pleasant Grove, to Santaquin all week long trying to iron out kinks in the city systems. Although he is getting a little bit of a break today since his team at work is going out to play laser tag, as a farewell for his manager.

Money

2008-03-11T10:53:00.002-06:00

So a couple weeks ago I read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, and it was such a good book. Some of the things I had heard elsewhere, but the way he puts everything, and the step by step process makes me think that this could actually work for me. So we committed to follow his plan. Although right away there was a slight problem, you see we had already saved and budgeted for Disneyland, and there was no way we werent going to go- it being a family reunion and all, so we decided that we would still go, and as soon as we got back we would start implementing his plan. So we cut up all our credit cards- YIKES!!! Let me tell you that was hard for me! But it is a little ridiculous that we have paid off all of our credit cards 3 times. I am determined that we will never have to pay off a credit card again, because we wont have a balance on one. When we were first married, we were very good about only buying things we could pay cash for and it never even occured to us to get a card, but after we had the boys things were hard- You see, we were on birth control, so we werent even planning on getting pregnant, once we found out that I was, we figured that I would still work since I was a nanny, it would be fine to bring the baby, but then we found out it was twins and that changed everything. Jeremy was going to school full time and working 20 hours a week maximum at that time. I got put on bedrest 2 months early (as a precaution- not because I really needed to be) which meant I had to stop working. So since I was making more than him at the time this definately put a strain on us. He was bringing home about $900 a month and our rent was $600. Ouch! We went on housing assistance which helped us not have to move, but I think we still were paying like 400 month. Then we also had a $5000 maternity deductible for our insurance that we had to meet, which we couldn't, so we went on Medicaid. Well since we had insurance, medical bills kept going back and forth between the two, and things started to go to collections, so we opened a card and put it on there to stop it. Once we realized how easy it was to get stuff we needed- (and yes we did need diapers and food) by putting it on a credit card and being able to pay for it slowly- in payments we could afford, we kinda got hooked. Then once Jeremy got hired on at Novell and he was suddenly making all this money, instead of going back to paying cash for everything, we started to put stuff we didnt need on our cards- going out to dinner every night, fun toys, etc. We never had a problem paying way more than the monthly payment on the card, but we avoided it so we would have more money to spend.

Anyways, we decided that we are going to break the cycle. So we totaled up all of our debt- not counting our house, and have like 18000 to pay off. Wow that seems like a big number. But I guess when you factor in the fact that it includes our van, it doesnt seem as bad. Oh and we arent counting student loans either, since we pay less than 1% on those, we could put our money in any savings account and make more than that. So we have a check that we get once a month that is earmarked entirely for debt. This months payments are going to the $1000 for the emergency fund. Then for the debt snowball, we are paying off one of our cards, and making minimum payment on the other debts. We also have to get our garden in starting this month, so that we can save money this summer by not having to pay a premium for fresh produce (which we eat tons of). So a little detracted from paying off the debts now so we can pay on them more in a couple months. oh and back to being better at coupon shopping for me. Which up until now has really just been a hobby ( I love seeing how much I can save) I am going to actually have a budget for food, so that we can put even more to paying stuff off. If we are really good we can have everything paid off, a full emergency fund, pay more to our 401K, and pay off our house in less than 5 years. Although once we pay everything off and fill our emergency fund, we may want to pay cash for some fun things too, which will probably put off paying the house off as fast, but we will still make way more than the monthly payment. I will try to keep this up to date, and see how fast we can pay things off!

Digital Scrapbooking

2008-03-10T11:08:00.002-06:00

So two of the fun girls in my spinning class had a little digital scrapbook class that my sister and I went to a few weeks ago. Since then I have been trying to get some pages done. Dont get me wrong I love paper scrapbooking, but it seems like the thing i love most is buying all the fun scrapbooking stuff and organizing it, and that is about as far as I get with it. I have about 4 years of pictures just sitting in my "to scrapbook" cabinet, or on my computer, and every time I think of how I really need to get them done, it just stresses me out. It seems like I just dont have the time to put all my sewing stuff away, get the right pictures out, design a layout for them, select the papers and embellishments, actually put it all together, and then clean up. Plus I have way too much stuff anyways. I put a moratorium on buying scrapbooking stuff (even using my gift cards) until I actually use up some of what I have. So I was excited when these girls said they could actually teach me to use my photoshop program my husband got for me like a year ago. Since then I have gotten a couple of pages done- I think I still like paper better, but this is something I can do while I am just sitting here feeding the baby or eating lunch or whatnot. Plus since I am spending more of my computer time being productive, I have been spending less time on Ebay which definitely saves us money! So here is my first page. It isnt exactly what I was picturing, but I think it is the first one I completely finished in over a year!

La Brea Tar Pits

2008-03-07T10:04:00.006-07:00

After lunch, since our flight didn't leave until after 7 that evening, we debated what we wanted to do. The beach was suggested, but with 4 little kids getting sand everywhere, and not being able to give them baths before our flight, I thought that probably wasn't the best idea, even though I LOVE the beach. So we decided to take the kids to the La Brea tar pits. We get my phone out again, and this time we are dealing with downtown LA weekend traffic! I am so glad traffic here isn't that bad. So after Jeremy takes the wrong exit- not because of me or my phones directions BTW - just too many lane changes and freeway splits and whatnot. We finally get to the tar pits. Well after battling traffic, we only have about 45 minutes to spend there. So we go in to the museum, look at all the bones and animals and displays. Didn't have time for the movie, didn't have time to go into the courtyard. We make a mad dash to the actual pits. Well to my kids, this looks just like a dirty lake with statues in it- no big deal. You can smell the tar though- smells like someone just refinished a road right there, and can see bubbles breaking just under the surface water.
Of course my kids, being the runners they are, are going off the path, and trying to run all over the grass, and don't understand why I am trying to make them stay on the path. Jeremy doesn't understand either, until I show him all the spots where tar is just seeping out of the ground, somewhat hidden by the grass, at which point he makes sure that the kids stay on the path so we don't get tar all over the vehicle we rented.
We go down to where the statues are and take pictures. This is where we took pictures when we were little and my parents took us there. Heather and I got some pictures of just her and I- trying to recreate those pictures - 15 years later- too bad Clay and Whitney weren't there. I couldn't believe how tall the statue was of the sloth we were sitting on top of. It seemed like a long way down! -Yes I am afraid of heights- After our pictures, it was a mad dash to get everyone back into the van and start heading back to the rental car place.
Here is where my phone failed us. Not because it gave us the wrong directions, but because we had the wrong address. Luckily we weren't too far off, and we just called the place (3 times- we kept forgetting) and they gave us the right directions. At this point I am majorly stressed out since it is 6 and I wanted to be at the airport at 5, so we didn't have a repeat of the hectic-ness of our departure. So we get a shuttle from there all to ourselves, and the driver was so nice. We get there, and again check our bags with the skycaps to save ourselves time, at which point he is telling me they wont let Kenadee fly back because she wasn't on a ticket. Well she flew there no problems, and since we bought our tickets online, it didn't even give us an option of specifying that we had a lap child. So I am stressing even more at this point, head to the ticketing desk, there is no wait, and it was easy for them to just print me out a new ticket with the information on it- not the big hassle that I thought it would be. We go through security- and at least this time there wasn't a wait, but because we had to unload the laptops, cameras, and video cameras, liquids, shoes, belts, sweaters, stroller, carseats, whatnot, it still was a hassle. The x-ray machine at LAX was also apparently just a little bit smaller than the one at SLC, and it took some tricky maneuvering of the carseats and strollers to fit through the machine. Jeremy had gone through first so that all the kids could go through and he could start re-assembling things. But eventually everyone went through but Eric and me, but we were still loading, which is when we started having problems with things not fitting, and they wouldn't let Adelle go through without her parent, even though we were right there, one on each side of the screening. So Heather comes back through and they let her take Adelle across, but then she has to do the whole screening process again, and then Jeremy comes back through to help us, and he also has to re-empty his pockets, take off his belt, shoes, sweatshirt, hat, etc. The poor college student behind us, is stuck there for the entire time, but he was so nice, and helpful. Even helped us afterwards to get the stroller put back together, and carseat in it and whatnot.

We made it through security and headed to our gate, and I figured that I should probably change the girls diapers, and feed Kenadee. So Heather and I take them to the airport nursery. Well us adults needed to take care of business to, so I go first while Heather changes Kenadees diaper, and then when I get back, I start changing Adelles diaper, and then Heather goes, well I'm not sure what I was thinking, but it is really hard to change a toddlers diaper, when they are afraid they are going to fall off the changing table, and while you are holding a screaming infant in one arm. I just didn't want to have to change a diaper on the plane- tried it on the flight there- and it was really hard. After everyone took care of business, we got the kids Happy Meals for dinner, and adults California Pizza Kitchen Express. We get back to our seats, and I attempt to eat before we board the plane, since I have a feeling I wont have free arms to do that once we take off since Kenadee is so tired. Well midway through my dinner, Kenadee decides that since she has a fresh diaper on it is a perfect time to have a blowout. So just as they are letting us board the plane, instead of lining up, Jeremy and I are trying to deal with her mess, when I realize that the bag that has all the changes of clothes in it was checked before I could grab a couple of outfits out for her. So we just have to wrap her up good and board the plane. Once we are all settled onto the plane, she decides to have yet another blowout, and I cant get back to the bathroom, so I just have to sit her on napkins on my lap, and try not to get too grossed out while I wait for my chance to get into the bathroom. After that is taken care of, she only wanted to be held the entire plane ride, and fed constantly.

We hit a bunch of turbulence as we were starting to descend and oh- it was the worst I have ever felt in my life. The kids enjoyed it as it seemed like another Disneyland ride to them, as I am clutching Jeremy's hand and trying to not let the kids see the terror on my face- flying makes me nervous anyways, let alone when turbulence is that bad. We finally get on the ground, get our bags and head out to catch the shuttle out to the parking area.

Once we get to the parking area, our bags are unloaded and the guys head out to get the cars. Shortly after they left it of course starts snowing, so Heather and I have to load all the kids and bags into the enclosed shuttle stop, and wait for the guys. Then once they get there we have to try to latch all 4 carseats into our vehicle fast, get the kids in and load the car up. Jeremy and I had the hardest time keeping each other awake on the ride home, and we finally get home and just dump everything in the front room and head to bed. The kids even slept in their clothes because everyone was so tired- It was like 1 in the morning.

Leaving Day - Disneyland Trip part 7

2008-03-06T13:08:00.003-07:00

So we wake up in the morning, go down to breakfast. We go through the line and want chocolate muffins and poppyseed muffins, there arent any left in the baskets, so we ask if there are anymore behind the counter, there are like 1 or 2 of each, and they say that is all they have left, so we take what we can get, and go sit down, well it took us longer to eat than usual since we were talking to everyone, and by the time we are almost ready to leave, all of a sudden more chocolate and poppyseed muffins appear- Wow Magic! or something. So we grab some for the road because they are so good.

Then we head to grandma and Grandpas room for family prayer and to say goodbye to everyone. After this my sisters watch my kids while Jeremy and I frantically shove our belongings into suitcases as fast as we can. Before we leave we head over with Dad to Downtown Disney for our souvenirs. First stop it the candy shop, and guess what they are sold out of Apple Pie Caramel Apples again, so our whole trip we only got 1, and I was planning on bringing home at least 5! Dang it!! We let the kids each pick out a treat (if they wanted more they had to use the Mickey Dollars they earned by helping out before our trip) They all picked the long stick swirly stick suckers, And Adelle chose a Minnie tin. Then we head to the Disney store where we tell the kids they each get 1 shirt, and one toy (we dont want to be here forever). The boys each get a mickey pirate shirt, and Adelle picks out a pink sparkely shirt with the Princesses on it. Cameron picked out a set of 3 cars that were all Buzz Lightyear themed. Ryan picked out a stuffed animal shark from Finding Nemo, and after much debate (do I want princess stickers, princess bracelets, a tinkerbell wand?) Adelle decides on a Tinkerbell baby doll. We grab a Minnie Mouse for Kenadee that is around the same size as the Mickey that Heather got her for Christmas, and Mom grabs Mickey ears for the boys and Minnie ears for Adelle.

After this we all head over to El Pollo Loco (I love this place, and wish they had them here) for lunch with Dad and some of my brothers and sisters and cousins (everyone else left for Vegas already.) The flan was so good, we ordered 2 to take back with us! After we eat we say Bye to everyone, and Heather and Eric pile into our van with us as we head to downtown LA.

Club 33 - Disneyland Trip part ... um like six or something???

2008-03-06T12:16:00.004-07:00

So my Uncle comes up to us today and asks if we want to go to dinner at Club 33. I'm like yeah sure we would LIKE to. So he hands us 2 park hopper tickets that say club 33 on them. No WAY!!! I am SO excited about this as I have heard how exclusive this club is, and all the many myths and legends surrounding this place. So we ask Whitney to watch Kenadee for us and Kendall to watch our other kids. There were 10 or us going. Rick, Tracey, Jeff, Heather, Mom, Dad, Lamond, Robyne and us. Problem is none of us had planned on going anywhere nice so most of us didn't exactly bring clothes that fit the dress code. Amber to the rescue for the girls. You see when our boys were 5 months old and we took them to Disneyland we ended up having to go shopping because they threw up all over all their clothes and because for Jeremy and me- we didn't plan on it being as cold as it was. I really didn't want to repeat this so I definitely packed enough, which included 2 sweaters as well as the one I wore on the plane. So Mom and Tracey borrowed my sweaters, and I wore my clothes I wore on the plane which were- comfortable dress pants and a sweater. Jeremy had to borrow a polo shirt from Rick which happened to be from the Karate studio he goes to.

Our reservations were at 8:15, but we had to wait a little while until our table was ready, so we took pictures of all of us in front of the door while we were waiting. We get in and since it was our first time being there they talked to us about some of the myths surrounding the club, as well as about some of the furniture that was there. So we get to go up in a glass lift- (sure the stairs would have been quicker, but come on you have to ride the lift!) We sit down at this big table and first thing that happens is Robyne drops her butter knife on the ground. About 4 or 5 minutes later, she knocks Lamonds butter knife on the ground. About 5 minutes after that Heather knocks over her drink all over ricks plate. (In her defense there was a bump on the table there from where they put another table on top to make it bigger.) Tracey commented on how we seem like kids at their first Prom date. So Jeremy and I order the Vintner- a preset 5 course meal. Course one was basically a Caesar salad, with really good dressing and a toasted baguette
with olive taupenade on it. Second course was a jumbo prawn in a creamy sauce with truffles. Jeremy substituted this with the Creamy Butternut Squash Bisque. Course three for me was (I substituted this in) Chateaubriand with potato leek puree and vegetables (OK well 2 string beans, 2 wax beans, and 2 little cherry tomatoes), Jeremy had a strip steak, spinach, and a potato thing I think. Course 4 was a cheese course. There were 3 different cheeses- The first was like a sharp white cheddar on pepitas, second, some type of Brie on chopped nuts, and third, some other type of soft cheese on a bed of mini greens (which was my favorite). Then for dessert we had a Pistachio Mouse cake, with raspberry sauce and an Oatmeal Raisin cookie- which was so much better than and cookie I have ever had. Oh and we had their special fruit punch to drink. Which was fresh citrus juices blended together.

In the middle of dinner we hear what sounded like gunshots outside, it turned out to be the fireworks, so we got to go out onto the balcony to watch them. Which would have been great had there not been a huge tree in the way. My Dad in true Dad fashion took pictures of everything, so I will have to get some from him. He even sent my Mom into the bathroom with his camera because he had heard about the "Throne Room" I happened to be in there when my Mom came in, so I took the camera, and joking around took pictures of everything- especially the trash can from every angle!

It was such good food, and a really fun experience, especially with my Aunts and Uncles and Parents being there. It was also the most Jeremy and I have ever spent on dinner for just us 2 before. Although when you consider that we each got a park hopper ticket- it really wasn't bad at all- even though I left right after eating, and didn't really get to enjoy it.

So as soon as the dessert course was brought out, I get a text from Whitney that Kenadee woke up and is screaming her head off (she absolutely refuses to take a bottle), so as soon as dessert was over, I went back to the hotel, while Jeremy stayed with everyone else (no point in both of us missing out when I am the only one that can satisfy her.) They ended up riding space mountain 3 times in the hour they had until the park closed. I was completely out by the time Jeremy got back to the room, at around 12:30 that I barely rolled over, kissed him goodnight, and rolled back over and went back to sleep.

California Adventures Slide Show!

2008-03-06T12:12:00.001-07:00

California Adventures - Disneyland Trip part five

2008-03-05T20:57:00.001-07:00

OK so, Friday we went to California Adventures. We got to sleep in somewhat since it didn't open until 10 a.m. Well we ended up renting 2 strollers today for a total of 3 strollers since my Grandma wasn't renting a wheelchair and said she would push one. So that meant only 1 kiddo would have to walk- I ended up carrying Kenadee just about the whole day anyways. First we rode on Soaring Over California. I sat next to Cameron. (Ryan was in the row behind us next to his favorite uncle, Taylor.) Cameron got so scared when it started- I guess to a 5 year old it seems way to real, and thought he was going to fall out, he was clutching me for dear life! Finally I explained to him that we weren't that high off the ground and we weren't really flying and the look of terror eased somewhat from his face, but he did still clutch my hand. We decided after this that they probably still weren't ready for Tower of Terror, so we went to Monsters Inc, and then saw the Muppet's 3D show.

From there the baby brigade headed over to Bugs life land. We watched to 3D show there- Which IMO is the best one at both parks. Usually the best part of watching the movies is watching the little kidletts jump back when something looks like it is flying out at you, but this one was way more interactive. Then we let the kids ride all the rides there over and over. Kenadee didn't like the watermelon on the chew chew train- it misted her and made her mad. Jeremy decided that he wanted to go see the Aladdin show because a CM told him it was good.

So on our way over there we met up with almost all of the rest of the group (45 of them) and they ended up following us in to the show, even though some of the people had no idea what was going on. It ended up being a cute show and the kids loved it. Adelle was dancing and singing along to all the songs, and the boys really liked when the big elephant came in on the lower level.
From there we went to the Burger place by Soaring- for some reason this is like the only place in both parks that some of the people in my family will actually eat at. I split a chili cheese fry with my kids since they already had a ton of snacks and 1/2 a PB&J each (not to mention that we bought them a kids meal to split that we ended up giving away since they didn't eat it.) I was saving up for dinner!!

The boys all went over to the water ride after that- I wasn't about to get wet- all the little pre-teens in our group who had been riding that over and over looked like they were freezing- plus i didn't really want dirty water all over me. I went with the baby brigade over to the Bear playground thing, and left Kenadee with my Grandma and Mom since she was sleeping and took Dell and Sidney with me. FYI- not a good idea to take two small little girls through the long squirrel ropes part of the coarse. I had to keep pulling their feet out from between the ropes and we were clogging the line up behind us. They both really loved the slide though, and we even found one of the kids in our group there after he had gotten separated and he was screaming his head off. Although the CM just handed him over to me because I gave him a hug and he hugged me back- and let me tell you this kid will hug anyone back, and will just walk up to me or Jeremy (who he has only seen maybe 3 or 4 times in his entire life.) Kind of scared me! This is one of the reasons that we had the little backpack leashes for our kids- because no matter how many people are in our group, ultimately Jeremy and I are responsible for our kids, and since we have 4 very small children- 3 of which are runners (one cant walk yet)- We would rather deal with the nasty looks and comments we get then deal with the terror of loosing a child in a crowded and big place like that.

Anyways, from there we went to the "Undersea" carousel, and then left the park so I could give the kids their baths and get them in their pajamas while Jeremy went out and got them dinner.

Disneyland Slide Show!

2008-03-05T20:43:00.001-07:00

Disneyland Day- Disneyland Trip part four

2008-03-05T19:54:00.005-07:00

So after Adelles hair is done we head over to Disneylands gates to get in. Of course just about as soon as we get into line, Kenadee starts screaming her head off because she is tired and decides she wants to nurse. People start giving me the dirtiest looks because she is screaming. But there really wasnt anything I could do about it right there. Did they want me to just whip it out and start feeding her? I'm sorry but I am just not that type of person. Its a few minutes till we get in- just deal with it- or better yet move to another line!

So we get in and Jeremy heads to the stroller rental place and I head to City Hall to get Adelle a Birthday button. We meet up with the baby brigade. So it was Our family, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Robyne, her son Evan, Kearston and her son, Byron. We go over to Pirates because that is where everyone else is, and then hit Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on our way to Toon Town. The kids love exploring there and we get to meet Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Mickey. Then we went to Honey I Shrunk the Audience, and Buzz Astro Blasters while Jeremy and the boys did Star Tours. We met up with some of the other people in our group there and Heather watched the girls while Jeremy, Ryan, Cameron and I went on Space Mountain. Then it was lunch from the Bengal Barbeque- Grandma brought everyone PB&Js to save money- but Jer and PB just dont mix so I went and got him lunch. Ryan, Cameron and I went and rode Haunted Mansion, and the ride stopped 2 times while we were on it, one of which was kinda a scary part (at least for 5 year olds) and the boys didnt like being stuck there too much. At this point both girls were asleep, so we headed over to see if we could catch a Jedi Training Academy showing- (I made costumes for the boys for this in hopes that they would be picked) but it turns out that even though the schedule online for that day said the last show was at 6:30, when we got there the posting said the last show was at 4:40, so we missed it by and hour. By this time the boys are pretty grumpy and needed food in them. So we went over to see if we could get into Blue Bayou, and as soon as they call our name to be seated here comes my Mom asking if we wanted her to take the girls back to the Hotel. So instead of eating, my Mom was so great and took all of my kids back to the hotel and Jeremy and I got to hang out with my Dad and Brothers. We went and rode Indiana Jones and then Matterhorn, then caught a couple minutes of the parade while we waited for it to end so we could get across, then closed the park by riding Splash Mountain. I was the one who wanted to ride it and I ended up in front, and boy did I get wet!!!

As we were leaving we stopped by the candy store for an Apple Pie Carmel Apple, but they were sold out- BUMMER- those are my favorite!! So we went back to the hotel and I gave the kids baths while Jeremy and my Dad went to El Pollo Loco for dinner. Then we all turned in early. We were so exhausted from our fun day.

Adelle's Hair Appointment- Disneyland Trip part three

2008-03-05T15:50:00.006-07:00

You know how when you are a kid and it is Christmas morning, you wake up with butterflies in your tummy at the crack of dawn all excited for the day, and no matter what you do you cant make yourself go back to sleep? Well that was totally me Thursday morning. Luckily I had two little bugs to join me, or I should say I joined them. I crawled into their bed with them and we sat there whispering so we wouldnt wake anyone else up.
There was a little bit of light filtering in through the cracks of the drapes and Cameron realized that he could change the shadows by moving his hands- so he says to me-
Cameron- Last night I saw a shooting star and I mad a wish and it came true.
-Me- Oh? What did you wish for?
-Cameron- Superhero Powers!
-Me- Oh wow- what are your powers?
-Cameron - I can make light.
At this point Ryan chirps in-
-Ryan- Yeah and my superhero powers is to swim really very super fast (as he is waving his arms super fast -like he is swimming.)
-Me- Oh Wow.
-Ryan- Now our whole family has super powers.
-Me- Oh do we? What is my super power?
-Ryan- Kissing.
(Well I am always giving their little cheeks smooches)
-Ryan- Or maybe its exercising. So then you can go super fast.
At this point Cameron starts talking about all the exercises they see me do- sittups, lifting weights, running. Then Ryan turns to me and says-
-Ryan- And Dads Superhero power is a secret. Shh!!

After a bit more snuggling I decide that everyone else in the room can wake up now, so I start getting ready. Our little sleepyhead Adelle was refusing to get up, and when Daddy said, "Don't you want to go to Disneyland?" She responded with, "No the water is too cold." So we had to explain to her that the beach and Disneyland are two very different things.

We all get ready and head down to breakfast, then to the parks. We hit a little snag when we tried to take our wagon in- I guess they dont allow wagons in the park anymore. This was a little annoying to me as we transported it all the way down here and we only brought our single stroller besides the wagon, which means I now have 3 small children who dont have something they can sit in. Last time we were at the park (a year and a half ago) you could even rent one from Disneyland. They suggested we rent 3 strollers- but Im not sure how they expected us to do that with only 2 adults??? So Jeremy takes the boys and the wagon back to the hotel (which upset them quite a bit as they thought they were not going to come back.) While I take Adelle to Club Libby Lu for her appointment. She got the little Princess makeover- I think it was "Pop Princess" This was so totally up her alley. She got eyeshadow on, her nails painted, and a cute updo that hid her mullet hair that she cut herself, and a little tiara.

The Beach Disneyland part two

2008-03-05T14:56:00.003-07:00

We always go to Crystal Cove State Park. There isn't a ton of people here and the old little cottages are so cute. The water was pretty cold- it being February and all. The boys ran right out into the water following the other kids without even testing the temperature and Ryan gets knocked over by a wave first thing. They loved it though, and stayed in it most of the time. (Its a good thing we were with their Aunts and Uncles who didnt mind being out with them because there is no way I was going in.) Adelle hated it. She would chase the water after it receded and throw handfuls of sand at it, and then run screaming when the waves came back in and water started to approach where she was standing. It was Adelle against the ocean and she was trying her best to fill it up with sand. We explored the tide pools and showed the kids anemones and snails. Usually there are little crabs too but we didnt see any this time.

After a very long, exhausting day we went back to the hotel and took baths to get all the sand out of various uncomfortable parts. Jeremy went to the store to pick us up a case of water so we wouldnt have to pay $3 a bottle at the parks, and a Birthday Cake for Adelle.

Dinner was pizza in Grandmas room, and boy was it crowded. Then we sand Happy Birthday to Adelle and had cake.

Jeremy detests shopping so he took the kids back to the room for bed while I went with some of the adults to Downtown Disney to browse the stores. When I got back, they were all sound asleep, and Jeremy didnt even remember me getting in. We had a 2 queen bedroom. Jeremy and I in one bed, Cameron and Ryan in the other, Kenadee in a crib they provided, and Jeremy pushed the 2 armchairs together and that is where Adelle slept. Kenadee slept for 5 hours and then 4 hours, so it was the best night I had with her for a couple months.

Flight - Disneyland Trip part one

2008-03-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

Every other year or so we have a Leavitt family reunion at Disneyland. We went last week, and it was so much fun, I cant wait to go back.

So after the mad rush to pack everything we got a few hours of sleep before we had to wake up and get ready for our flight Wednesday morning.
We left the house about 8 a.m. following Eric to his work to drop off his truck. After a quick stop for breakfast it was off to the airport. We got there a little later than I had hoped so we dropped off our check in luggage with the SkyCap guys, and Heather and I took the kids and our carry-ons to start heading through security while the guys parked our cars in the furthest parking lot available (aka cheapest.)
Now usually whenever we have gone to the airport to drop off or pick up someone, there has never been a line- This was not the case today however. The line was about an hour long and even then the guys just barely got there before our turn came to have to take practically everything off and everything out of bags so they could inspect it all. After about a half hour we finally made it through the security check point and it was a mad dash to our gate as the plane was supposed to leave in less than 5 minutes. we made it there in time for the final boarding call, and somewhat hectically got everyone and everything on the plane.
The flight was pretty uneventful, we got to see Las Vegas as we flew over it and show the boys that is where Grandma and Grandpa lives- they thought it was cool to see everything look so small. I had made the kids Disney coloring books that I put in 3 ring binders, bought cheapy little handheld games and downloaded a couple of shows onto my phone to keep them entertained. Adelle sat next to Heather and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (her favorite show) and Little Einsteins. Cameron sat next to Eric, and got to color and bug his Uncle the entire time. Ryan especially liked flying, every few minutes he would look up at Jeremy and say- "I love you Dad" "Thanks for flying on an airplane!" Kenadee was even pretty good and I only had to feed her 2 times to keep her from crying (it was nap time and she wanted to be nursed to sleep.)
After we arrived it took us a few tries of loading and unloading the elevator to get to the right floor. We then waited for awhile in the wrong section for our shuttle that took us to the rental car place. After missing the first shuttle because of this we finally called and asked where we were supposed to go and what shuttle we were looking for, and finally ended up in the right place like 45 minutes later.
We used Google Maps on my phone to give us step by step directions from LAX to Disneyland, and it was great! Easy to follow directions and being able to see the map and our current location on there saved us from getting lost, and was a big improvement on how we usually get to Disneyland- (10 car motorcade where the leading car doesnt really know where they are going and gets over at the last minute so they wont exit and by the time you realize it you have already taken the exit so they have to wait for you, and then because you are the last car and the person in front of you isnt very good at following you get lost and have to call the leading person to ask where to go, etc...)
We got to our hotel (Canturbury Inn) across from the Park, unpacked changed into warmer weather clothing (we came from around 30 degrees to around 75- big difference!) and went to the beach.