Christmas Tag

This is fun to remember some of my Christmas Traditions.....

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, and while I love the look of bows, they usually don't make it on my gifts because I wrap almost everything myself.
2. Real Tree or Artificial? Artificial, we tried a real tree once and the whole Christmas season I kept asking why I did that to myself. What a mess!
3. When do you put up the tree? First snowfall, or the first two weeks in November. It is always a struggle to get past Halloween.
4. When do you take the tree down? After New Years.
5. Do you like eggnog? No Way!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Snow skis, it took two years to get them.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Ryan, because he is so particular about what he wants and usually ends up buying what I was planning for him anyway. This year, he bought it and I got it from the mailman and won't give it to him until Christmas.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Rylee. Can we say dolls, jewelry, and shoes?!
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Only 18
10. Mail or e mail Christmas cards? Mail, and I am proud to say that this year for the first time in forever I got mine sent out.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Used jewelry from an ex trying to win me back.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? Don't know if I have one.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually in October
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Caramels and English Toffee
16. Lights on the tree? White lights only please.
17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel before or after to be with family, but Christmas morning is ours at home with the kids.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Only if I sing the song
20. Angel on the tree top, or star? Star
21. Open presents Christmas eve or morning? Christmas Eve we get to open our outfit for the next day, and then everything else gets opened after we are dressed and fed on Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Angry people, I don't understand getting so stressed out at the best time of the year?
23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? Burgundy and Gold. Must be sparkly!
24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? We have crepes with raspberries and real cream on Christmas morning, but don't have much of a tradition for dinner.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I told my boys that I want a clean house and nice children for Christmas and Tyler said, "But Mom, Santa can't give you humans!" So I guess I won't be getting my gift!

If you read this, you are tagged! Happy tagging!

What have I done?

If you want to play, just copy and paste this list on your blog, and highlight which ones you've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Climbed a mountain
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill.
24. Been to Vienna
25. Was on Television
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Learned a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Crush

So I have had something happen to me this week that has made me go back in time to my childhood and remember what it was like to have a complete crush. Last Saturday night while driving in our car as a family, Eric announced that he was in love with a girl named Bailey from his school. He also said that another part of his secret was that he wanted to marry her. Ryan and I first reacted with stifled giggles, because it was so cute, but then it quickly turned into, "Oh crap, my kids only 7!" It scared me quite a bit because I don't remember having a real crush until 6th grade. His name was JR and I remember it being quite intense, and this is what scared me. (Which by the way Carly, thanks for that trip down memory lane with the blog link!)

Well, I kind of dismissed the thought of it until the next day. On Sunday during primary the leader was talking about things that we can give for Christmas this year to others that don't cost any money. The kids were to write what they were going to give and then tell the primary and put it on a Christmas tree as an ornament. It gets to be Eric's turn and he gets up to tell the primary that he is going to make cookies for Bailey. So tender and cute, but again, he is only 7. I didn't think that boys got crushes this soon, and it made him so big in my eyes. Later that night we had a discussion, he told us that his last secret was that he wanted to be Bailey's boyfriend, and then we told him that the prophets have told us not to date until we are 16 and we made him count out the number of years until that date. Thankfully there is 9 more to go, but if this keeps up we may be in big trouble.

My fears were once again resolved when Ryan told me that night that his first crush was when he was 7 also. He remembered first and last names of the girl, I felt so much better knowing this because Ryan was such a perfect child. I guess now I can say one more time, Eric is just like his father.

I think that I need to calm down and realize that this is a part of childhood and enjoy the fact that Eric is sharing with me. I can't believe how old he is getting. It goes by way too fast.

A Tender Mercy

I have a fetish, I collect something, and this also is something I inherited from my mother. At Christmas time I open a few bins that hold some of my favorite possessions. My Nativities. I carefully unpack each one and place them on the shelves, all while listening to my favorite Christmas carols. This past Thursday, I was doing such a task and had my favorite song on, "O Holy Night". I had unpacked all 17 sets, but not set them up yet, when I asked Tyler to go get the mail. He came back with a box postmarked to me. I recognized the handwriting immediately and couldn't wait to open it. It was a package from my dear friend Jodi. As soon as I had cut the tape, tears began flowing. Her family had just returned from Ethiopia, where they adopted their little boy Jacob. And inside the box was a beautifully crafted nativity from where they had just been. My boys didn't understand why I was crying, and I guess all I could say was, "I just miss Jodi."
Heavenly Father had sent me a tender mercy to remind me that I am not alone, and that someone is aware of me. He gave me a friend that knows what I love, and then had her send it in the mail to arrive at the perfect time to find the best place for it. It was such a simple act, yet every time I look at it I am reminded of the incredible friendship that I have with her, and the love that Heavenly Father has for me. He sent me a gift too. His Son.
It is so wonderful that we can be reminded, at the perfect time for each of us, that we are not alone.

Festival of Trees

So it is now time to post about what my focus has been for this year. It is Festival time again!!!

For those of you that don't know, Festival of Trees is a charity that gives 100% of everything raised to Primary Children's Medical Center. Last year it was able to raise a new record of 1.6 million. This is all because of people that are willing to donate their time, money, and projects to help the children that are in need at the hospital. It runs the Wednesday through Saturday after Thanksgiving every year, and this year it is December 3rd through the 6th. It is open from 10 am to 10 pm every day and holds things for every member the family. There are over 600 trees, centerpieces, gingerbread, and wreaths that are up for auction. A gift boutique, sweet shop (with homemade candy and fudge), scones, sweet rolls, a children's area called Kids Corner, Photos with Santa, and of course Entertainment to top it all off. There are two stages that run groups every 1/2 hour and foyer performances on a grand piano throughout the day and evening.
This year I am the Chair of Entertainment, and it has been fun and stressful at the same time. I have been busy trying to schedule and keep track of over 160 performance groups, and maintain the responsibilities of a committee also. I really love this area and don't really ever want to be anywhere else.
If you have never been or go every year, I suggest you make it a point to go down to South Towne Expo Center and bring in the Christmas season with a bang. Your money will all go to the children at the hospital, and you will get into the grove of the season. It is a great way to bring in Christmas.

Baby Update

I think that she looks like her daddy. You can tell that she has attached ears, and her mouth and nose area look lots like Ryan. He can't see it yet, and it will remain to be seen if that's how she comes out, but it makes me happy to see him in her.

I went in for my targeted ultra-sound today and everything looks great with our little one. She is about 1 lb 2 oz and growing perfectly. So far there is nothing dramatic happening with my cervix, so that keeps me off strict bed-rest for the time. I am trying to take it easy however, but my husband doesn't think so because I hauled three bins out of the attic so that I could decorate for Christmas. I think that I am totally taking it easy because if I wasn't, I would have brought down the other five.

The Crazy Christmas Lady

So yes, this is my title. I have now succeeded in putting up my Christmas trees with only the kids ornaments to go. My basement is decorated in Santa's and Snowmen and the upstairs soon to be decked out with all my nativities. What can I say....I love Christmas!!!!!!!!! In fact, more than the actual day of Christmas, I love the season of Christmas. The sounds have already found a place in my CD player, and my children are busy filling out their lists. What a joyous time to celebrate such a incredible miracle. I love just about everything about it. The sounds, the lights, the smells, the gift wrapping, the family get-togethers, the children's anticipation, the spirit of giving, the sense that Christ is near, everything. It takes just about all of my control to keep myself from totally skipping Halloween and jumping right into the red and gold that I love to decorate in. So yes, I am the crazy Christmas lady, who gets it from her mother, and I will soon be posting photos of my kids handiwork at the tree.

This is Important!

Alright everyone, here is the important news. We are all so blessed to be a United States citizen where we have the right and I feel duty to make our voices heard. So GO VOTE! You can not complain about what is going to happen if you don't take the initiative and vote. So stop blogging and get out there and get your cute maroon sticker and then wear it loud and proud that you did something that many people in the world only can dream about.

GO VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Ryan and I decided that the boys designs were way better than ours. They drew on their pumpkins what they wanted and then we carved them for them. Left to Right: Tyler, Ryan, Me, Eric.

We kind of had a theme this year. My kids were so dang cute in their costumes! Tyler would limp along with his cane just like Yoda and Rylee wore here "cinnabun" hairpiece all night to be Princess Leia. Eric was the man with the force, Luke Skywaker.

Rylee totally got into Halloween this year, she thought it was great that all she had to do was hold out her bucket and smile and people would give her treats. She got a few extra at almost every house.

Eric is smiling funny because he is showing that he is missing three teeth and looks like a pumpkin. Fun for him that on Monday it is school photo day!

Lazy or Busy?

So I can't decide if I should call myself lazy or busy because I haven't posted on this blog for so long. So I think that I will call it both. It is amazing what happens to you when you have three kids and are preggo with number four. It is like my body is rebelling against me and screaming at me that I am getting older. It does not help that five weeks ago I was banned from exercising, so the only way that I know how to get any energy is to go to bed at 9:30 pm and drink Diet Coke. Which every time I pick one of those yummy soul drinks, my husband thinks that I am poisoning our child. I told him that I would give them up when he gave up candy, we both looked at each other, laughed, and decided it was better the way it is. So I guess there has been some lazy things going on with me.
Now to the busy part, my kids are both in different schools, which I have to cart around 2-3 times a day just to take and get them. Eric is in a charter school, and I volunteer at his school every week, and am part of the Halloween parties for both the boys. I also was crazy enough to not want to spend $200 on costumes for Halloween this year, so I sewed them. I am the music leader in primary and we just had our program yesterday (which went fantastic). And on top of that I am the Entertainment Chair for Festival of Trees and you wouldn't believe how much time that I have had to put into that already. This is just cracking the surface.
Before you feel bad for my crazy schedule, notice that most of the items are self-inflicted, so you can't feel that sorry for me. I am beginning to look into the future of next year and know that I have to slim down on some things. I mean 4 kids. I am an old mom with a big family. Time to start saying no.

Look!

Okay, so I'm in too. Want to know what for? Click http://www.handbagplanet.com/

What Species is it?

Okay, so I know that I have probably been the world's worst blogger for the last month, and I am sorry. In the coming days I will try to post some photos and thoughts about what has been happening in our neck of the woods, but for tonight this is all that will be coming.
The title of my post has to do with something that my Grandpa said to me two Christmas's ago. I was pregnant with Rylee and we were at a Holiday dinner. Before we left, my grandpa said to everyone that, "all who were pregnant would have to let him know what species their child was when they found out." Of course we all started chuckling because he had said species instead of sex. He had no idea what mistake he had said, but it became something cute to remember when I think of him.
So to continue with the story...The first of July Ryan and I were planning on going up to Island Park with our family for a vacation. A few days prior to this I started not sleeping very well and generally feeling kind of blah. Well I was awake at 3 am the morning that we were supposed to leave and knew that I couldn't wait any longer, I had to have a question answered. So I grabbed the truck keys (It was hitched to a trailer and I had never pulled anything before, but I figured 3 am was a pretty good time to learn.) snuck out of my house, and high-tailed it to Walmart. There I purchased an amazing piece of science. A pee-stick.
Yep, it had two lines. But then one disappeared, so I didn't say anything to Ryan yet. We got into our truck and headed to Island Park. After another 2 days of not starting my period, I bought another pack. This was the same story. Two pink lines, 10 minutes later 1 pink line. I did finally tell Ryan and we decided that I should probably call the doctor.
A phone call to Machel, my doctor, instructed me to come back down to Ogden because she couldn't believe it either. Number Two pregnancy on an IUD. I don't know what percentage this puts me in but I am pretty sure that it is nearing 1:1,000,000.
So now you know and in answer to the question of what species it is. It is another girl. Two boys and two girls. By the words of my mother-in-law, "You couldn't get it more perfect than that if you ordered them out of a catalog."
Oh yeah, for all you curious folks, She is due sometime before March 12 and I am 15 weeks along.

A Jedi is Born

A few days after we held the boys birthday party, they were being wild and using these new foam dart guns all over the house. They would shoot them at something and a few minutes later the dart would lose it's suction and fall down. Well Eric was shooting at the light on the ceiling and happened to stick one to it. He asked me if I could get it down and I told him that it was too high for me to reach. He then proceeded to hold both hands high above his head with his fingers flexed and stare at the dart. After about 5-10 seconds of this the dart fell down. Then he grabs it, very animatedly exclaims, "YES!!!!! I HAVE THE FORCE!" So now I know what he is practicing when all is quiet in the house. It is good to have a Jedi on your side.

Oh What a July!

We are now back from the crazy month of vacations. It has been a wild trip, but a ton of fun. Sorry about the many photos, but it is the first time that I have had the chance to update. Enjoy!

Lake Powell

The Dad's and their kiddies amazing Lake Powell Castle
Ryan and his sexy talent
Grandpa Hansen with Eric and Tyler inside the Indian ruins up Forgotten Canyon
Tyler and Rylee loved the slip and slide that the men made on the beach

Mommy and her girl
All the kids loved the sand, and I especially love Eric's bandana

Eric and Shae having a blast on "bumper tubes"
This was the shot of the week, taken by Lindsey. Matt was driving the boat and had already sucessfully thrown me off two previous times. On this occasion, he had me out of the wake and was still turning quickly. This caused Ryan to swing over to my side, jump the wake, land on my right side completly flipping me over. It happened so quickly that I didn't even know I had done a flip in the air until I saw this photo and the video. My ears and head hurt for the rest of the day, but it was fun.

Birthday Party

This year we had a combinded birthday party for Eric and Tyler. We invited some of their friends and held an Olympic celebration. The kids got to design their own shirt for their "olympic uniform". Had a candy toss, frisbee throw, water race, and topped the activities off with some major slip and sliding. Of course they all got medals because they were all so cute.

Island Park

This week was tons of fun! We spent many hours on the four-wheelers chasing the boys, hours on the lake teaching them to waterski for the first time, and going on beautiful bike rides. Vacationing is definatly becoming more and more work, but it is so rewarding to watch my children find something that they love and get better and better at it. Here are a few highlights of our trip.

I got tagged again.

I've been Tagged...
4 Places I Visit Over and Over
1. Sandy, UT
2. Shelley, ID
3. Lake Powell
4. Island Park

4 People who call/text/email me regularly
1. Ryan
2. My Mommy
3. Jodi
4. Christa

4 Favorite Foods
1. Fresh Fish
2. Bread
3. Cheese
4. Chinese

4 Places I'd Rather Be
1. Hawaii
2. Fiji
3. Wisconsin
4. Anywhere with my hubby

4 Movies I'd Watch Over and Over
1. Gone with the Wind
2. The Notebook
3. Memoirs of a Geisha
4. Home videos of my kids

4 Bands/Groups I love to listen to
1. Faith Hill
2. Kenny Chesney
3. Tim McGraw
4. Keith Urban

4 People I'm Tagging
1. Carly
2. Erica
3. Lori
4. Shauna

Book Tag

#1 get the closest book: The Slight Edge
#2 find page 123
#3 find the 5th sentence "Become acutely aware of who you are modeling"
#5 tag 5 other people! Clarissa, Ashley P., Mom, Lindsay, Ivy

I just grabbed the first one that I saw on my bookshelf, but I like the fourth sentence on this page, so I am adding that also.

"If you consistently associate with negative people, it's highly unlikely you will succeed at having and maintaining a positive approach to your life."

How's that for a nugget.

Happy Birthday Tyler

So I know that this is a day late, but blogger wouldn't let me download my photos last night, so it had to wait.
Happy Birthday Tyler! Today you are five, and I can't believe that you are growing up so fast. I was thinking back to the day that you were born and how excited we were to have you join our family, and I am pretty sure that it was only yesterday. You have been such a joy to have around. Your laughter and smile are so contagious, that I just can't get enough of them. I love the way that you come up to me and "give me sugar". The spirit that you carry with you is so strong and sensitive, I can tell that you are going to be a huge influence for good. I am so proud of your accomplishments already, and I can't wait to see what else you have in store. Happy Birthday buddy. I love you.

Happy Birthday Eric

I can't believe that you are seven years old today. Every time that I look at you I am so grateful that I am your mother. I am amazed with your many talents. You are such a brillant boy, and such a wonderful big brother. You carry a huge spirit around with you and I know that you were sent to the Earth and to our family to accomplish great things. I am just awestruck that I get to call you mine. I love it when you want to come up and sit with me, one of my favorite things to do with you is to sit and make up stories on the couch. Your imagination never ceases to amaze me. I will love you forever and ever, and I hope that you know that. Happy Birthday my big seven year old!

Sunshine and Summertime

Oh the joys of being a kid in the summertime. Need I say more?

The Widowmaker

Last Friday morning the kids and I headed up to the mountains past Morgan to see their Daddy ride his motorbike. Ryan was competing in a motorbiking hill-climb. The purpose of this is to see who is the bravest and who can get their bike to the top of this mountain the fastest. The event is called the Widowmaker, and to be honest I wasn't real sure if I wanted him to do it based on this name. But I will have to say, when it came down to it, I had a great time watching my husband be tough and manly. He got two tries to make it up the hill and he did it! The hill was much steeper than the photos depict, and he made it up in 13 seconds. Honestly, it was quite sexy.

Singing Time

The last few Sundays have been a whirlwind of activity and I come home from church and lay on the floor and wonder what just happened. A few weeks ago I got a new calling. Goodbye Relief Society and Hello Primary. I am now the Primary Chorister, loving referred to by the children as the new music lady. This is a calling that had me a little nervous, but I was pretty excited also. I just had no idea how much time and effort it would take. It is very intense and a ton of preparation. I think that I have probably spent 30-40 hours on it already. I hope that it pays off and the children learn to love me.
Needless to say, church has now become somewhat of a marathon. Between wrestling Rylee in a church bench for an hour, during which my boys both want me to scratch their backs, or I am trying to take away the markers that have conveniently turned into "light-sabers". Then it is straight onto Primary where I have to sing for forty minutes straight, trying all the while to keep kids attention with many games or pictures. Then to the nursery where I get to sing to 15 small kids that just want to run around, with the exception of a few who lay on the floor. Then back to primary where we finish out closing exercises with a bunch of songs. A lot of which I am still learning myself. By the time that 4 pm comes, I am exhausted and all I want to do is take a nap.
Something that I have learned through all of this.... Never underestimate the intense preparation and time it takes to make something look easy.

The Definition of Love

So the last few days I have been thinking about what makes real lasting love. Is it the never ending display of affection, the gifts that show up on special occasions, the times when he listens to your crazy thoughts, the electricity that screams through your body when you realize he is yours? Or could it possibly also include being willing to do something most unpleasant?
Two days ago it was our anniversary and Ryan came home from work two hours earlier than he told me he would. He came home to help me clean the house for the babysitter so that he could take me away for the night. I was thrilled. A night with just him, and just for fun. We settled in the babysitter and went on our way to dinner. We had a nice private booth with a great waitress at a restaurant in Layton, called Corbin's Grille. Then we headed off to see a movie. After the movie he took me up to Huntsville to a small bed and breakfast at a historical home. It was all such a wonderful evening. Later on in the morning, around 5 am, I awoke to an awful stomach ache. I was very nauseated,cramping, and had a horrendous headache. I had been poisoned by the seafood I ate for dinner. (ps don't go to Corbins) We had to leave the hotel early so I could have a comfortable place to throw up. This sickness continued all day and ended up with me throwing up for the last time into the bathroom sink, which ended up clogging it.
This is where I found out that true love happens in the bathrooms. Ryan quietly came to my rescue and told me to go lie down and that he would take care of it. He cleaned up my puke and put me to bed. That my friends, is the definition of true love.

8 Years!

Well today marks year number eight with the best man in the world. I can't believe that I am so blessed to call Ryan my hubby. I saw this tag on my cousins blog and thought that it would fit perfectly today.

1. Where did you meet? The first time I saw Ryan was in the church foyer at my brother's welcome home. It was just like a movie, where everyone else gets real fuzzy except for "the one". (I know, way cheesy, but true)
2. What was the first thought that went through your head when you met? All I could think was, "I hope that he is one of Matt's friends and is coming over to our house!"
3. Do you remember what he was wearing? White dress shirt and khakis. Later he changed into some wranglers, and I must admit that I was caught way off guard. I remember a conversation that I had with Carly, where I told her that I would never date anyone who wore wranglers. I guess God has a sense of humor, and I will admit I think they are cute now.
4. Where was the first time you kissed this person? On the corner of the houseboat down at Lake Powell.
5. How did he ask you out? We were eight hours apart (me in Cedar and Ryan in Rexburg, so we only got to call each other.
6. Where did you go for your first date? Ryan drove down to Cedar to visit for the weekend, and we went out on a double with my brother. We built a campfire and roasted marshmellows, and of course snuggled and kissed.
7. How long did you know this person before you became a couple? It was pretty intense from the very first second (at least for me), but I don't think that it was very long for him either. The first time that we said the "M" word, was on my birthday.
8. Has this person ever proposed to you? I guess you could say that we proposed to each other. On October 10th, we were laying out on the tramp in Idaho, and I said, "Let's just get married and stop talking about it." So then we set a date. Later on in November he came down to my dance concert, and in front of the whole audience came up on the stage and proposed before my concert. It was elaborate and public, and perfect in every way. I have it on film and it was played repeatedly on the local college news station.
9. Do you and this person have kids together? Three wonderful beautiful children, all of which remind me of Ryan in there own separate ways.
10. Have you ever broken the law together? Not unless you count speeding.
11. When was the first time you realized you liked this person? Right away, but the moment I knew that I was going to marry him, was only the second day that I saw him. I was playing flag girl for him while he was water skiing, and I just heard a voice say, "You are going to marry him." It was so loud that I almost looked around to see who said it. I must say, I was taken quite by surprise.
12. Do you get along with this person ex's? I don't think that he has any.
13. What's the most expensive thing this person has given you? Rylee, she cost $39,000 in hospital bills before we could bring her home. (Good thing for insurance)
14. Where do you see each other in 15 years from now? Kids grown up, one still on a mission another in high school. Retired and playing every day, and living life to the fullest extent possible.
15. Wedding date? June 9, 2000
16. Wedding day memories? My whole life I wanted a garden reception, and the whole week prior to our wedding was nice, but it was supposed to rain on our day. I prayed and asked that if I had any blessings in store that they would come on our wedding day and it would be nice for our reception. While in the sealing room a major storm came through the city and there was lightning and thunder like crazy. The sealer said, "I hope you don't have an outside reception planned." I wanted to cry, but by the time we were sealed and out onto the temple grounds, the rain had stopped and it was overcast. (this was perfect for photos because the rain scared everyone away and no one was squinting) Later, at the reception the sky was blue and there was not a cloud in it. I guess I did have a few blessings in store and I was so thankful for them. The day was perfect, and everything was just how I always hoped and dreamed it would be. It was a perfect start to an incredible life with the man that I love.

I love you Ryan, and hope you know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Visit from Jodi

My amazing friend came for a visit last week. It was so good to see her, but it went entirely too fast. She surprised me one morning by jogging to my house from her grandmother's house in Ogden. We let the kids play on Tuesday and it was as if it hadn't been almost two years since they have seen each other. It is amazing how they can pick up right were they left off. Then the next day Jodi and I went to get pedicures together, then out to Cafe Rio. It was a joy to have her around for a moment, and I am looking forward to September when I get to go out and see her.

Eric's Exciting News!

So I thought that this was worthy of a seperate post. Eric has been accepted into the acelerated learning program at a new school for next year! Along with one other student from his class, he was recommended by his teacher to test for this program. 45-50 other kindergarten kids from the Ogden School District were also submitted to test for a classroom size of 22. Teachers and Parents had to submit evaluations on each child and Eric had to attend two days of testing at a different school with the other children. It was hard for me to wait for the results for so long, but I am so proud of him. It shows you how well he is doing because he is in the top 22 for his grade in all of the school district. Way to go Eric!!!!!!

Graduations!

We have been busy with programs and graduations for my boys. Tyler from preschool and Eric from Kindergarten. It was fun to watch them sing the songs that they had learned throughout the year. I can't believe that they are already this big!

My Friend Jodi

Once in a while Heavenly Father sends someone special in your life to touch it like no one else can. Someone who you have an instant connection with and know that you knew them before this life. Jodi is one of those friends to me. She is the perfect example of the kind of person that I want to be and yet she accepts me where I am at. Almost two years ago she moved away with her family, following a job to Wisconsin, and I still miss her fiercly.
The last few weeks have taught me that true friends stay true friends no matter where in the world they are. And that when you do find those kind of people that come into your life, you need to hold them close and make sure you thank Heavenly Father every day for the gift of friendship.
Thank you Jodi for being such a friend to me. You always lift my spirits.

Shoes and Stairs.....

So the last 24 hours have been interesting to see the new developements in my children that I have to now deal with. Last night Rylee figured out how to climb stairs, it only took about 3 minutes and she was off. For those first three minutes she would climb up and down the landing at the bottom and she must have gotten bored of that because the next thing that I knew, she was half way up. Well I promply grabbed her, which she then thought was a game, and as soon as I put her down she was up the stairs again. I need to now spend some time forcing her to go down the stairs backwards and not turn around and giggle, because I caught her doing that and had to stop her from falling.
Now to Tyler... Thinking that I needed my child to look presentable at school, I banned an old yucky pair of shoes to become "play shoes" and told him that he needed to wear the new ones to school and then he could change when he got home. What I didn't know is that a 4 year old can be kind of sneaky, and for the second time this morning I found his old shoes in his backpack so that he could change at school. One clue to look in his pack, was that he was trying to keep it away from me) Can pre-schoolers minds really work that way? Amazing, and to think what I am going to be dealing with later in life.......

Yea for Spinach!

So Christa told me that she learned a brilliant new idea to get your kids to eat spinach. Make a frozen berry shake and add handfuls of fresh spinach. I tried this for dinner tonight and my kids loved it. All I put in was milk, frozen blueberries and strawberries, ice, vanilla, and just a bit of sugar to sweeten. And I can't forget the three cups of spinach!!!! Even Ryan liked them! I guess I might have to make these daily to get fruit and some veggies into Eric.

Photogenic Kids

While in Phoenix, we took the kids to get their photos taken. These are a few of my favorites.