Pratt Fam

Play!

2012-01-20T06:09:00.000-08:00

This winter has been very mild. Yesterday the kids played in the back yard with jackets on, and on Jan 3, I took JJ to the skate park and it was nice.

Eva loves playing "Prince and Princess", here Cy was her Prince. :)

Cy, getting so big!!! He really loves playing with toys now.

Be Positive, Dont Compare, Complain, Criticize, or Blame.

2012-01-20T05:57:00.000-08:00

Last year for family home evening we tried to focus on some areas we felt our family could improve on. Our main focus was to be positive, don't compare, don't complain, don't criticize, don't blame. While trying to teach the kids these things it has definitely helped us become more self aware. I think it's good to look at your self and find areas that you might improve on. Why am I telling you this? Well I really what my kids to know what a good example their Dad is!!! On Spencer's birthday we dropped the kids off at my Mom's and we went to the Red Iguana for dinner. We were having a great time, until I made a wrong turn and ended up jumping the van over 3 sets of rail road tracks- think bucking bronco and you get the idea. Unfortunately the van got some major damage, transmission, radiator, ect. Needless to say it cost a lot of money to have repaired. Through this whole experience Spencer DID NOT complain, he DID NOT blame, and he "practiced what he preaches", that PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THINGS! I'm emotional just writing about it. I've kind of had a roller coaster of emotions, first I was sad, I cried. Then I got mad (we went back in the day, the road is torn up, it clearly happens often, and why haven't those idiots done something about it. Put up a blinking light for heavens sake!). Finally I now feel really grateful, so grateful for Spencer and his example! Thank you for being a great example! Love you Spencer!!!

Spencer being serenaded at Red Iguana

The tracks must really be seen in person to properly evaluate the situation.

Year in Review

2011-12-30T10:57:00.000-08:00

First of all, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. I know we did, this time of year is so exciting: Parties, Birthdays, Christmas. The only down side, we got sick! On the bright side, I don't feel like doing much, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up on the blog.
Every year I make a photo calender of the previous year. I picked up the calendar the other day, and Spencer commented on how much fun we had this year. Spencer felt that after Cy was born, and especially with his shoulder surgery we have been more limited on our adventures, but looking back on the year we did have a great year!!!
Spencer and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary this year. Since my due date was just before our anniversary we decided to take a trip early in the year. We went on a cruise to the Bahamas. We also went to Hawaii with Glen and Maryann. In June we were able to go to Lake Powell as a family. I am thankful that we were able to get our backyard done this year. The kids love their swing set, and I love that we have a fence! Spencer had shoulder surgery this year, and is on the mend. I recently celebrated my 32nd birthday. AAAAHH!!!!

JJ just turned 6!!! This has been a great year for him! He started Kindergarten this year. He is a great reader, and is rapidly becoming a mathematician. JJ played soccer in the spring and fall, and is currently in gymnastics. He enjoys playing legos, basketball, soccer, and flying his helicopter (thanks uncle Jeff). JJ, is sitting next to me, and he asked that I write that he was not on the naughty list!!! Santa was good to him, he got two basketball hoops! Full court in our front room, I'm convinced that we will never have furniture in there, or else the kids will be SAD, it is our multipurpose room! For JJ and my birthday we got skis! We were able to go on Christmas Eve with cousins, and the 23rd just the two of us, we ran into Mr. C. on the slopes, pretty cool!

Eva had a great year! She turned 3, became a big sister, started preschool, and started ballet lessons. Eva had her first recital two weeks ago. Eva usually plays what JJ wants to play, but for Christmas we got a bunch of dress ups and girly things, it has been fun to see her gain some individuality, she had been practically living in her Snow White dress up!

Cy is ever the model baby! He is a great sleeper, and not the least bit fussy! He broke his first tooth a few weeks ago. He likes to grab his feet and roll to one side or the other, but hasn't rolled over yet. Cy has enjoyed eating solid foods. He really enjoys being talked to, he smiles, and laughs with out any ceremony. He recently has taken a liking to his thumb :).
Oh, and his is OBSESSED with my iPod!

We have had such a great year! We hope that the next will be just the same! Happy New Year!!!

It's that time...

2011-12-07T23:53:00.000-08:00

of year, time to catch up, ect, ect, ect. Life has been crazy lately, but I just love the holidays! Today I took pictures of Jeff, Sarah, and the girls. I was excited to see how they turned out, and it also forced me to download all the pictures I have yet to blog about. I think their pictures turned out cute, I hope they'll be pleased! We had our family pictures taken a few weeks ago, I have Christmas cards made, printed, and about half of them addressed, hopefully I can get them in the mail by Friday.

Here is Eva the night we had family pictures taken, she had rollers in her hair, just like Mom. She totally felt like a Princess!

Here is Cy after pictures. He smiled the most of all the kids. Go figure!?

I was able to attend JJ's feast at school. I just love JJ's teacher, she does a great job day to day, and look how fun their feast was, costumes and all!

Miss Eva's feast was a the same time as JJ's, so I missed it. She just loves preschool, I know she had a great time!

The kiddos FEASTING at Grandma Julia's house on Thanksgiving. YUMMY!!!

JJ and Eva love playing with the "Polar Express!"

This year I started decorating on Black Friday. I usually hold off until December, but being involved in the Festival of Trees always gets me in the Christmas Spirit. Besides, it took me a lot longer to get decorations up this year, I figure I might as well enjoy them a little longer! I just love all the extra light from the trees!

The Monday after Thanksgiving was decoration day. Our tree was "Our Greatest Treasure". Our dedication said: Many thanks to the Dr.'s, Nurses, and staff at PCMC. Thankfully our children have not had any chronic, or life threatening illnesses, but our children have been treated at PCMC, and we are so grateful to have such a wonderful facility to take our Greatest Treasure, our children!
I thought it turned out beautiful, there was a box with each of the Grand kids name on it, one for each of our treasures! I read an article about the festival, it said that last year the Festival raised 1.5 million. And nearly 30 million from the start. I am proud to have been involved in the festival for the past 10 years!

JJ had been asking me to take him to the skate park for a long time. I promised him I would on a nice day, and when kids were in school (so no one would crash into him) . Thankfully we made it before this cold spell came. Blah to the cold! JJ had a blast!

JJ and Eva have made some really good choices lately, and Spencer and I are so proud, we got them a bunch of balloons as a reward. They've had a lot of fun playing with them!

Cy had his four month check up, he weighed in at 16 pounds 15 ounces. He is growing, growing, growing. Man, the infant stage sure goes by fast. I started him on Rice Cereal this week. He's a pretty good eater.

Here is Eva waiting to pick up JJ from school. The bus has been causing JJ a lot of anxiety, so we decided it might be better to pick him up, thankfully Eva has been very patient while waiting!

I confess...

2011-11-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

I have not taken many pictures lately, and by the end of the year I start fizzling on the blog side too. However, just as I have done every year for the past 3 years I will recommit myself to preserving our memories. I've had two blog books made, they cover every post from my first post, Eva's birth, until the first post with Cy. The kids have been looking at them A LOT lately, it makes me happy, they enjoy looking at all the pictures, and I know one day they will enjoy reading all about our lives.

Any how, things have been really crazy around our house. This was the first normal school week in a month, so I actually feel like I was able to accomplish some things, like ironing, laundry, cleaning. Not that things are perfect, because they are not. I found this cute saying on Pinterst, it says:

"Please excuse this mess, the children are making memories." I Love it! The kids have had a "set up" in their room pretty much all week, but they have been having fun, they've even slept

in their sleeping bags. At this Thanksgiving time I just want to say how thankful I am that I can be home with my children, it means the world to me! When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I would often say, A Mother. Best job in the world!!!

Last week the kids helped me make lasagna. We had a lot of fun, we didn't make a huge mess, and the lasagna was yummy! Here are my cute helpers!!!

Eva got her costume for dance last week, she wore it for like 3 days straight, she really lights up when she puts it on!

JJ has been loving gymnastics, he has gotten good a cart wheels and back bends. I really enjoy watching him on the bar, he is so good at it, he seems like a natural.

Cy is getting so big! He loves to watch JJ and Eva, they are always up to something! He loves to be talked to, he smiles a lot, and when he talks he gets his whole body moving, it's so cute! This week he really seems to be enjoying toys. Oh, and he's been slobbering A Lot, I know it's kind of early, but maybe he has teeth coming?.

Spooky Fun!

2011-11-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

Eva started dance class the week before Halloween. She was supposed to wear her costume, but she was so excited she really wanted to wear her leotard. Her teacher let her wear a tiara, so she could be a ballet princess. She loved it, she asks every day, "Mom, do I get to go to dance today?" I love that she enjoys it!

I had a lot of fun making the kids spooky breakfast. One morning I made Ghost Toast, bloody brain (eggs), ghost guts (bananas), and sinking sand (chocolate milk).

We all went to Planet Play. JJ got to play laser tag for the first time, he thought it was great. I took JJ and Eva in the race cars. I ended up going around that track like 100 times. The kids had a great time!

A lady bug that landed on Eva, I love how this picture turned out!

Eva really wanted to paint her pumpkin, and JJ wanted to carve his. The turned out really cute!

Spencer and I went to the Army Surplus store to get a few things to surprise JJ. Spencer has surprised JJ the last three years. The first time JJ was Spider man, and Spencer dressed up as the black Spider man. Last year JJ was Darth Vader, and Spencer surprised him by being Darth Mal. This year we got dog tags made JJ's says "Army General Pratt" and Spencer's says, "Army Private Pratt". JJ thought it was great. I actually heard JJ say, "I don't take orders from you!", which was kind of funny, the first time, but it got old real quick.

Eva was so excited she kept asking me throughout the day, "Mom, it's not Halloween is it?" I would tell her. "Yes, Eva it is Halloween, but it's not time to go trick or treating yet." She would just say "Oh", and then ask me again an hour later.

The weather couldn't have been better for trick or treating. I guess it was the calm before the storm, because the next morning we woke up to snow. At least the kids enjoyed it! :)

JJ recently started gymnastics. Each time he gets his hand stamped. I had pictures scheduled, so I asked his teacher if he could get stamps on his big muscles. He thought it was great! He is really enjoying gymnastics. I think he's a little natural.

When I took the pictures of his muscles he started goofing off, so I just started snapping pictures. I thought it was fun, and I like the results...

A Little Like Mom...

2011-10-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for my Mom. She took care of her sick husband, always had a hot, home cooked meal on the table, had six happy kids, and at times work 3 jobs. I don't know how she did it, but she did. These past few weeks have been very crazy. It started when Spencer had a trip to NYC for work. I'm still getting adjusted to 3 kids, so not having Spencer home was challenging. Last Wednesday Spencer had shoulder surgery. I have added nurse to my daily duties, the first couple nights I would get up to give him his meds, fill up his ice machine, help him get dressed, floss his teeth and more. Thankfully he can go to the bathroom by himself just fine! Unfortunately Spencer can't hold Cy for a while, so I've had to do pretty much everything on my own. After just two week of taking care of every thing I'm a little worn out. I can't imagine what my Mom must have felt after years, not to mention the fact that I don't have to provide for my family too. Much respect Mom, not many Women could do it!!!

It hasn't been all work and no play, we've managed to fit in some fun time.

Cy is not a fussy baby, even during tummy time. I like to call Cy "The Model Baby". because he is the model baby, for about 3 weeks now he's been sleeping through the night, I couldn't ask for a better baby!!!

JJ's soccer season has ended, he finished the season strong. He scored 4 points in his last two games. JJ loves soccer! It's fun to watch him too!

The big kids and I had a chance to go on a little date while Cy hung out with Dad. First we went to Mulligans for mini golf (Eva was not such a fan, we need to work on her form too). Then we went to a pumpkin patch. The kids had so much fun! It was great for me to have some quality time with them!

On Oct 16th we headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon to see the fall leaves. It was AMAZING!!! We had such a good time. Took tons of pictures, these were just a few of my favorites.

The day of Spencer's surgery. The kiddos had fun wrestling and such, something they wont get to do in a long time. When we picked Dad up at the hospital JJ was so sweet, he was very worried. He has been a great help!

Thursday and Friday was UEA, so the kids didn't have school. We went to the Zoo on Thursday, and the Scarecrow Festival on Friday. We had a lot of fun! It was nice to be outside, and enjoy what is left of Fall.

My Mom bought these hand cuffs for JJ, I went to check on the kids. I laughed when I saw that he was asleep with these on. Spencer turned on the light so I could get a picture. Silly Boy! The next morning I heard JJ explain to Eva that when people are in space they have to be strapped down, so they don't float while they are sleeping. Maybe that was the idea?

JJ has been talking about Homonyms in school. He's constantly thinking about it, and he'll tell me any one he can think of. Eva one day says to me, "Mom, you have that soap in your bathroom, and I have the same soap in my bathroom, that's a homonym!" She was so proud of herself! The kids just make me laugh!!!

The cousin's at our annual Halloween/Birthday party. Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2011-10-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

That pretty much sums up my life at the moment. With one kiddo in Kindergarten, one in preschool, and a 2 month old I'm still trying to find out how to get things done, and how to keep a balance, I feel like I'm constantly on the go.

Here are some pictures of our everyday...

I so don't like posting pictures of myself, especially with my glasses without any make-up, but this is how I look in the morning. Truthfully I look this way 80% of the time. By the time I get kids to school, get cleaning done, or get a work out in, I turn around and it's time to make dinner, and I realize that I'm not getting a shower until 8:00. Yep, that's a typical day.

Eva is the messiest eater, and she is constantly spilling milk. This time is was just on her face, and not on the floor!

Smiley Cy! Cy just loves when you talk to him, and you'll certainly be rewarded with a gigantic smile! He's also started laughing too! He is such a cutie!

Eva loves doing whatever Mom does, one day after her bath I wrapped her hair in a towel, like I do, she thought it was the neatest thing in the world!

For girls night out we went to dinner and a movie. At dinner my sister Kelly said she had a surprise for us, the surprise was Ms. Jenner Jo. Jenner is the closest thing I had to a little sister. My Mom tended Jenner and her twinner sisters. Crazy thing is she is a teacher now, and happens to teach Kelly's daughter Kirsten, small world.

Cy is one lucky dude! He has the best brother and sister. You know they love him to death when in the morning I say good morning, and I don't get so much as a hello, until they've talked to their brother!

In our house we have a "No Shoes in the house" rule. Some how Eva thinks it doesn't apply when she's wearing Mom's.

Another self portrait.

Cy looking "Comfy as a Womfy". I don't know exactly where that term came from, but that's what we say when someone is all snugly- "Comfy as a Womfy!"

The whole fam went to the Circus. We had fun, my favorite part was watching JJ giggle at the clowns!

Cy on his blessing day. I realized as I was changing him that I hadn't gotten any pictures, so I took a few. Wish I had gotten one with the whole fam. It was a nice day, we are so lucky to have so many family and friends that were there to support us!

Chillin at Gardner Village

We have not been to Lagoon in several years, we decided to surprise the kids. They had so much fun!

JJ got his Halloween costume this week, he wanted to be an Army guy. I love that he thinks he's invisible when he's wearing his costume. I actually have to be careful not to notice him too quickly or he gets sad. I love that he has a great imagination. I also love that he plays in his costumes, they definitely get use out of them!

I realized I hadn't taken any close ups of Cy's cute little parts. Got to love those little feet! I had to capture them before he gets too big. Last week I took him in for his two month appointment, he weighed 14 pounds 5 ounces, and he is 24 inches!!! He is a healthy dude, which I think helps him get a good night sleep. He usually sleeps from 10-5, bless his heart!!! With that said it's almost midnight, so I will be heading to bed!

Growing Up!

2011-09-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

My lap top had to be fixed, so my blogging has been out of commission for a while. Since my last post JJ started Kindergarten, Eva started preschool, and Cy now smiles and coos. I've been taking lots of pictures, here is a group of pictures of Cy from oldest to the most recent, see how big his cheeks have gotten!

JJ got to go fishing with Dad. Here he's cooling off in the reservoir.

JJ reading to Eva! I love this picture!

My nephew got married on Aug 20th. Congrats Preston and Megan!

Dr Pratt in the house!

At JJ's assessment with Mrs. Bell, JJ is was so excited to start kindergarten!!!

A last summer hurrah with the cousins

Here is JJ doing his tricks!

Eva, JJ, and Lily at their cousins Ella's birthday party!

Kindergarten here we come!

Waiting for the bus...

JJ was really excited to ride the bus, I ended up going to the school to make sure he got on the bus home. Watching it all go down gave me anxiety. Then I had to hurry and beat the bus to the stop. JJ didn't get off where he was supposed to, so I stopped the bus. I called for him, he stood up in tears, he knew he missed his stop. Poor guy. I had a hard time sleeping the first week of school, I worried about the bus so much. Thankfully he's getting comfortable taking the bus, he enjoys hanging out with his bus buddy Alex.

Roasting marsh mellows in our fire pit! Yeah! The landscaping project is finally complete!!! I will post before and after pictures soon.

Eva hanging out at JJ's soccer game, literally!

Eva's first day of preschool!

JJ hustling after the ball.

I told him that he was the best player on his team, but not to tell anyone. We've tried to teach our kids not to compare, and now we get in trouble if we do, but I told him that no one would feel bad since they didn't know. :) His first game he scored two goals, and his team won. The second game they lost.

JJ has been so cute lately. When ever he like what he eats he tells me, "Thanks for your world famous (fill in the blank), Mom!" (carrots, ribs, burritos, banana bread) He's a pretty good eater, I just wish meal time didn't last an hour.

2 weeks & 10 years

2011-08-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked 10 years since Spencer and I got married, and Cy is 2 weeks old. Spencer surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. We met up at the pediatrician's office for Cy's 2 week appointment. Cy is now 9 lb 7 oz, he is one big baby! He is a really good baby, he eats and sleeps, and pretty much only cries when he's hungry. At night I get one good block of sleep, usually about 4 hours- bless his heart!!! After the appointment we dropped the big kids off at Grandma's house and Spencer, Cy, and I went to dinner. We went to Cucina Toscana for dinner, fantastico!!! I'm looking forward to the next 10 years and more! Love you Spen!

Aren't these gorgeous!

Baby Cy!

TOP SECRET!!!

Meet the newest Super Hero, "Netroman"

You may know Netroman's secret identity, please do not reveal to anyone- including netroman himself!

I took a picture of JJ and Eva next to each other when Eva was a baby, I love to see the difference of size, so I had to take one with Cy!

From our little in house photo shoot!

JJ is probably the record holder for the slowest eater. One morning he decided to use two spoons to speed up the process. It actually worked, however he made a huge mess!

Feeding time!

Eva loves playing with my make-up, she is usually good to use only the products I tell her she can use. Not this time! She went really crazy with the pencil. Made me laugh!

Meet the snail, "Outie", JJ found three snails in the backyard. This one got a name, because it actually came out of it's shell! I love that JJ is an explorer!

Intoducing Cy Howard Pratt

2011-08-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome Baby Cy!!! We are so excited to have Cy in the family. Cy Howard Pratt was born at 10:43 am on Thursday July 28, 2011. Coming in at 8 lb. 10 oz. 22 1/2 inches long. I was in labor for about 36 hours, but Cy was by far the easiest birth. I started labor late Tuesday night, continued to labor all of Wednesday. Thursday I was scheduled to be induced and I was supposed to get a call between 5:00 and 10:00 to go in. At about 4:00 I woke Spencer up to take me in. I couldn't wait any more. By the time we got to the hospital my contractions were 5 minutes apart. After 30 hours of labor I was only a 2!!! Aaaahhhhh!!!!! So I promptly got pitocin and the epidural and let modern medicine work it's miracle. Between 9 am and 10 I went from a 3 to 9 1/2, that is a record for me! After a few good pushes Cy was born at 10:43! And what a healthy guy he is, the first thing I noticed was his cheeks! The nurse that weighed him commented on his big thighs. We are just so blessed that he is healthy!

The Welcoming Committee:

Dr Froerer, Daddy, L&D Nurse, & Mom

Our BIG Boy! 8 lb 10.3 oz

We love you Cy!!!

The Whole Family!!!

One proud Big Brother, and one proud Big Sister!!!

Homeward Bound!

Nap time with Mom!!!

Family Time!

2011-07-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks we had the chance to spend lots of time with our family. Whether it was at the family reunion, hanging out with cousins while I had a doctors appointments, or the four of us just enjoying the view from out porch.

The last couple of weeks have been really hot, and I can't say that I enjoy going outside. We've had so many landscapers and such at our house, which also makes me want to avoid going outside. But we have enjoyed sunsets, rainstorms, and cooler temperatures in the evenings. JJ wanted me to get of picture of this sunset.

Cousins hanging out at the Bywater Family Reunion. The kids had a great time playing with each other, and Spencer and I enjoyed catching up with my cousins!

Grandma Julia had a lot of fun things planned for the reunion, crafts, games, and prizes. Eva really loved the squirt gun fight!!! She loved getting people, and would giggle when she got wet!

Hangin' out in the tent. Spencer and JJ went on a hike at about 4:30 in the morning, so it was just us girls!

One of the prizes Grandma had was this bow and arrow set. JJ tried to make a quiver out of paper (didn't work so well), so naturally I pulled out my craft supplies and got to work. JJ loves it!!!

JJ and his cousins have Art in the Park once a week. The projects have been a lot of fun, and the kids have had a blast playing together after!

We went to the Expo Center to preview the floats, the kids had a fun time!

Someone ran into our van a couple of months ago, we finally got things settled, and the van is now in the shop. The rental car is a Dodge Nitro. The kids think it's great going off road. So Spencer and I decided go for a drive on Guardsman's Pass. The views are just spectacular!!!

Funny thing about the rental. Spencer said, "I'll be waiting in the truck." Eva said, "It's not a truck." so I asked her what it was, and she told me very confidently that it's a, "4X4". Well, what could I say, she was right!

We went as a family to Build-A-Bear. The kids had never been, and we decided this would be a good baby's coming gift. They love their bears!

Happy Pioneer Day!

Fireworks at Grandma Julia's house. Almost all the cousins were there. Our baby will be the 21st grandchild for my Mom. If nothing happens this week I will be induced on Thursday, and BOY am I ready!!!

Busy Week!

2011-07-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

Birthday celebrations continued on Sunday Grandma and Grandpa Pratt came over to give Eva a birthday gift. She loves her new barbie and horse!

On the 4th of July we went to Cars 2 in 3D. Then we went to the Sandy celebrations, JJ enjoyed climbing on the rock wall and the bounce houses.

Eva didn't want to go on any of the bouncy stuff, so Dad took her to get her face painted, and she even got a tattoo. Eva really enjoyed the parade. She sat on Dad's lap eating candy, and would wave to all the Princesses. Later we went over to the Truman's house for fireworks. The kids had so much fun playing together, and we enjoyed catching up with Tim and Lori. Tim is quite the pyrotechnic, the fireworks were great!!!

Tuesday night we had a big thunderstorm roll in. The kids loved getting soaked, and playing in the gutters. The thunderstorm was followed by a beautiful rainbow, JJ was determined to get to the end.

Wednesday Spencer left on a quick trip to Tennessee. I decided to invite the cousins over for a sleep over. JJ and the cousins have been begging for one ever since we had one when Spencer went to Peru. The kids had so much fun. Things were not winding down by 11:00, so I turned on some tunes and the kids had a little dance party. It was just the thing to get some energy out. I think all the kids were asleep by 12:00. JJ was the first one up, at about 6:30, he said he was just so excited. Needless to say everyone was a little tired.

JJ's second week of swim lessons. He's really gained a lot of confidence and skill, so proud of him!

Dad got back late Friday night, so Saturday we spent the day together. We went swimming, then we up to Silver Lake, and then to Chuck E Cheese for dinner. We had a great day together!!!

Whenever we have family time we do a cheer, 1.2.3. GO FAMILY!!!

Eva's 3 year pictures

2011-07-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Eva!!!

2011-07-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

Spencer had the wonderful idea of giving Eva a girly day. So for her Birthday we started to day off with Mani/Pedis, then I took her to Cookie Cutters to get her hair trimmed (It was her first hair cut). They styled it really cute. Eva and I went and got some lunch at Kneaders, and then went shopping. I took her to pick out a dress, she tried one on, and wouldn't take it off. Once she was all dolled up I took her to get her pictures taken. Meanwhile the boys were hard at work putting together her bike, getting balloons, hanging signs, ect. After pictures we went home. She was so excited about her bike, that we were actually able to get her to change her dress. She loves her bike, she seems so big riding it. The kids rode bikes all afternoon. After dinner we had cake and ice cream. I am glad I got to spend the day with Eva, she is such a delight! Happy Birthday Eva Pretty!!! We love you!!!

Mani/Pedi

Eva did really good getting her hair cut, she is still worried that her hair is going to turn brown (Thanks Tangled!)

SURPRISE!!!

Crusin'!

Make a wish!

Business mixed with pleasure...

2011-07-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy at our house. We've been working on some major organization projects. Cleaning closets, building storage shelves, ect. Amongst all the work we've tried to squeeze in some fun.

The kiddos enjoyed running in the sprinklers

Heading home one evening, I had to stop to get pics of the sunset. The picture doesn't quite deliver the whole picture. Sunset, valley view, and the little yellow flowers on all the greenery, it was so pretty!!!

We had gone swimming with cousins, and I was dying for a shower, so the kids got to take a bath in the "Jets" while I showered (no worries, I can see them the whole time). Taking a bath in the "jets" is a special treat, they especially like making tons of bubbles!

Last Saturday we spent the afternoon at the Cottonwood Heights Pool, then we took a drive to Oakley. Spencer's Grandma Rosemary had a cabin up there, so he spent a lot of time up there in his childhood. He loves to visit, especially when the rivers are raging. Here we stopped at Smith & Morehouse. JJ told me he really liked that he was able to see what a real flood looked like. There are flood planes everywhere, and there are many cabins in flood waters.

Sunday we celebrated June/July birthdays with my family.

Happy Birthday to William, Cambria, Eva, and Marc.

Monday night we spent some family time at the tennis courts. I think JJ's hand eye coordination is awesome for a 5 year old!!!

We have long awaited for landscapers to start working on our yard. We have many projects going on, but this by far will be our biggest transformation. I will post the "After" shot when it's complete.

With all the workers outside we've been working inside. This pile is 5 years of boy clothes, and 3 years of girl clothes. I think this project took 3 days, I folded and sorted into size and gender everything! I think we ended up with a dozen bins. Yikes!

After all the projects going on at home, I just needed to get out of the house. Friday morning Kristin text me to see if she could bring Eva's birthday gift over, instead I invited her to join us at the aquarium. We are grateful that they could join us! We enjoyed spending the day with the girls!

Happy Summer!!!

2011-06-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

It's officially summer!!! Finally! I really shouldn't complain though, for being prego it's been quite comfortable. I just feel like we haven't got to do many summer activities because of the weather. This week we welcomed summer with swim lessons. JJ loves taking swim lessons, Eva was really disappointed that she didn't get to take swim lessons. I think next summer she'll be ready.

JJ, Mason, and Ethan giving Mrs. Nancy a shower!!!

JJ swimming across the "deep"!

The cutest little spectator!

Friday night Spencer and I went on a date. JJ showed up at Grandma's house as the Green Lantern.

Saturday we sent shopping for bunk beds, the kids had fun running and climbing all over!

Happy Father's Day Spencer!!!

You are an amazing Dad!!!!

Monday Spencer and I put together the kids bunk bed. They love, love, love it!!!

Time Flies When You Having Fun!!!

2011-06-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday we returned home from a week long trip to Lake Powell. Unfortunately my little point and shoot camera died on day two of our vacation, so I don't have much to show for. We had a great time. JJ really enjoyed knee boarding, tubing, and swimming in the deep (with his life jacket of course). Eva had fun tubing, and playing in the water. Spencer really got the hang of wake boarding this time. I enjoyed relaxing in my lounge floaty, and hanging out on the boat. Really, I think for all of us we got some much needed quality family time!!!

Enduring the long ride!!!

Swimming!!!

Hanging out in the boat!

Spencer, JJ, Eva, Korbin, and Kristopher tubing!

JJ, Kristopher, and Korbin tubing!

Last picture before my camera died. :(

The following pictures were taken the week before our trip...

Playing at the park!

Aunt Becky arranged for our family to go horse back riding at Henry and Diane's house. The kids had a fabulous time!!! We enjoyed being able to chat with the fam. Thanks to Becky for arranging it, and to Henry and Diane for their hospitality. And a special thanks to Ali and Hailey for leading the horses!!!

Monkey Bar Maniac!!!

Eva got hurt, so my sweet JJ went and got her stuffed animals to cheer her up!!!

Home made mustache.

The kids were on a crazy paper phase a while back, now it's tape. We use a lot of tape!

JJ's final soccer game.

I think he scored 3 points (oops, it's been two weeks, so I forgot). JJ really got good at following through, and he was constantly breaking away, and he hustled his little bum off! We are really proud of how hard he tried this season!!!

Here we go...

2011-05-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Time to catch up again. Things have been a little crazy around here. On my last post we had gone on a bike ride. That day I was feeling really crappy, but I tried to take one for the team. By the end of the day I was a total grump, and didn't even feel up to making dinner. Spencer took us all out to Olive Garden- bless his heart. Sunday I wasn't feeling any better, and by Sunday night I was in tears when it came time to lay down to go to bed. I slept upright all night, because I had so much pain in my chest. I honestly thought I might have a heart attack. Monday morning I started getting the kids ready, and soon I was in tears again. Spencer took me to the ER, and after many tests, many hours, and I'm sure thousands of dollars later they said I had inflammation in my lungs, caused by a virus. Since I'm prego, I could not take an anti-inflammatory, which meant I just had to get some rest until the inflammation subsided. Spencer was so fabulous and arranged for babysitting, took care of meals, took care of the kids when he was home. Bless his heart, he really took care of me!!! A BIG THANK YOU to all of you that helped out! And many thanks for all the people who offered to help! We really had more offers than we knew what to do with! We feel really loved and blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!!!

With each of my kids I've taken 5,6,7,8, & 9 month prego pictures, I had my hair cut and colored last Thursday, so I figured it was as good a day as any to take my picture. My little princess had to get in on the action. Crown- check, Mom's shoes- check, Dazzling smile- check.

Enjoying some sunshine in the back yard!!!

Yet another silly iPod picture, there were about 50 of them this day.

Every now and then JJ will ask to have his picture taken, this was one of them.

Saturday the boys went on a bike ride. One of the parks we stop at was filled with water. Spencer said JJ had the time of his life playing in that puddle.

JJ has been a real sweet heart to push Eva on the swing, he told me it's kind of fun! :)

Wednesday was JJ's last day of Preschool. It was a great day, we went on a field trip in the morning. Had a commencement ceremony in the evening, then we had both Grandmas and Grandpa John over for a BBQ to celebrate. JJ had a great time! We are so proud of JJ and what a great brother, friend, student he is. It's a little crazy thinking I have a Kindergarten Kid, but I think it will be fun to watch him learn and grow. And he is so over Preschool, he's wanted to start Kindergarten ever since he turned 5.

Eva had a mile stone of sorts this week. We have been really lucky that she hasn't figured it out before now, she learned how to crawl out of her crib. Yikes!!! We decided that we would get the kids bunk bed when she turned 3 (in July). After she crawled out of her crib I thought I really better get going on the quilt I'm making her. So I've been sewing quite a bit this week. The quilt is so cute, I'll have to post a pic when I'm done.

I've also been busy with baby gifts, my neighbor had a baby boy last Thursday. Ryan and Jessica welcomed a boy to their family on Tuesday. And last night Jon and Michelle welcomed their 4th son. Congrats to all!!! All these babies are getting me excited for my little guy!

Struggling!

2011-05-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

Man, I've been struggling. I can't seem to get a whole lot done these days. I've been getting tired pretty easily, so I don't get as much accomplished in a day. I've not been so good in the blogging/photography department either. Here is a little recap of the last two weeks:

Random I Pod picture. I love the green grass, but Eva is wearing warm clothes. Seriously, what happened to Spring this year? COLD!!!

Field Trip at Wheeler Farm

Another great win by the Silver Bullets! I think JJ scored 2 points!

Cinco De Mayo at the Dentist! JJ and I were scheduled for a cleaning. Eva was just along for the ride, she was going to do a happy visit, so she can get used to the idea. No need! She let Chelsea (the hygienist) clean her teeth!!! She later told me how pretty Chelsea is, and that she thinks she's a princess.

For mother's day I put together this frame for Shauna, I took a picture of it, so Ryan and Jessica could get a glimpse at the final product. I think it turned out really cute (just ignore the glare!)

Mother's Day dinner at my Mom's house. After a few, not so subtle hints the guys all got to work cleaning up the kitchen. My sister Kelly thought it was so cute, she had to take a picture of it. They are the only pictures from the day. Next year I want to remember to get a picture with me and the kiddos. After all it is a day honoring motherhood.

After much anticipation we got our swing set put up. JJ loves, loves, loves the swing. Eva loves it too, when she gets a chance to swing on it. She always plays on the glider.

WARNING!!!

(another soap box moment)

This week the Silver Bullets suffered their first loss. Although I don't think it was such a loss, I got the opportunity to talk to JJ about sportsmanship and such. After the game a Mom from the opposing team came and talked to me. Her daughter was on JJ's team last season. The first thing she said was, "I miss our little team from last year." This year she put her daughter on a team with kids from their private school (I will not mention the name), on their team they have two giants, which she admitted are a year older. In addition to the fact that these boys are a full foot taller than the rest of the players, their coach had one in at all times. I thought it was sad that they cared so much about winning. They didn't just win, they clobbered our team, like 14-2. You would think after the first 6 points you could let your star players sit, but no. JJ's little friend from last year played all of 5 minutes. And another girl on their team played goalie once, she was never on the field. This is PRE-K soccer people.

Yes, I get excited when JJ scores, and I like to post how he does, but his success is not at the expense on another team mate. At this age it's about getting the kids involved, not teaching them to cream their opponents.

On a brighter note, here is my little cheerleader Eva!!! She loves cheering on JJ with me!

Yesterday we went on our first official bike ride of the year. We ended up stopping at three different parks. I captured JJ on the climbing wall, and Eva doing tricks on the grass!

This rail road track runs parallel with the bike trail, it has obviously not been used for a long time. So we were letting the kids play by it. Then a light bulb went off, it said go take some pictures. How stinking cute are my kiddos!!! Love em to pieces!

Had no idea that the kids had taken this picture, until I downloaded it. Busted with my I Pod again!!!

Maui!!!

2011-05-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Spencer and I were able to go to Maui, here are a few pictures from our trip...

Hike to Waimoku Falls in the Haleakala National Park. The hike was super cool. Along the way we ran into this amazing "Swiss Family Robinson" tree. We also hiked through a Bamboo Forest, which was eerily cool. You end up at this 400 ft. fall. The falls flow into the 7 sacred pools, which we also hiked past. It was a great hike!!! Thanks to Spencer and Maryann for being patient with this prego chick!!!

The sea side at Haleakala National Park. So Beautiful!!!

Beautiful sunset on Kaanapali Beach in Lahaina!

Luau!

On a snorkeling expedition to Molokini and Lanai, we were able to see a group of three whales, and hundreds of spinner dolphins, not to mention all the fish we got to see while snorkeling!

Play Play Play!!!

2011-05-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

We've had decent weather on and off, we've tried to take advantage when it is nice. Here is JJ trying to coerce the ducks to eat some bread at Gardner Village.

JJ drew this sun on the sidewalk, he also wrote Welcome Summer! We are all ready for the warm weather to stick around!

Eva has really enjoyed playing in Mom's old make-up and jewelery case, remember Caboodles? Mine is full of my old jewelery, lip gloss, and chap stick. She'll sit there for an hour applying layer after layer of lip gloss. Doesn't she look beautiful!

JJ's second soccer game was another success! He scored 3 of their 5 points. I think they won 5-2. It was freezing cold that day, half the team didn't show up, so they only had one sub. JJ loved playing so much. He's such a soccer super star!

Spencer and I were away for Easter, so the week before the kids wore their Easter outfits. Spencer happened to wear yellow that day (one of the few shirt he had ironed, my bad!) They all looked so cute, I had to take a picture.

Coloring Easter eggs!!!

JJ earned another skiing trip with his Dad. This time the weather was good enough that Eva and I drove up to Snow Bird to watch. He's a little natural! Eva got to go down a few times with her Dad. She had fun on his shoulders, but she's clearly not ready for lessons yet. She kept wining that she was going to fall.

The kids and I went to the Jordan River Parkway a few weeks ago, we just needed to get out. JJ loved exploring and riding his scooter. Eva rode her tricycle.

While Spencer and I were away the kids had lots of fun. They got to stay with their Weaver cousins, Dunfield cousins, and both Grandma's. Thanks to everyone for taking care of the kids!!!

Eva always loves dressing up with her cousins!

While we were away JJ learned two things. He became a maniac on the monkey bars. He is seriously so good at it! He also learned how to whistle. He has been practicing at both for some time, now he's an old pro!

Pictures from this week...

2011-04-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

Spider Girl and Batman take down the Jokster!!!

Eva got a kick out of putting on Mommy's shirt. Isn't that smile adorable?

Enjoying the swings!

JJ loves to climb, he usually climbs every where he shouldn't. Scares me, but he enjoys every minute of it!

Go Silver Bullets!!!

In his first game this season JJ scored the first goal, they ended up winning 2-1!!!

Way to go JJ!!!

Random picture I know. JJ got a hold of my ipod again, he took about 30 pictures of his spider man blanket.

We took the kids to Airbourne, a trampoline place. They had a lot of fun! It was a good activity for a snowy day. Snow, snow go away...!!!

Spring Fever!

2011-04-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's all the fun we had this week, or the beautiful weather we've been having, but I've got a touch of the fever! Spring Fever that is. This week Spencer had a mini trip to Louisville, KY. When Spencer is gone I try and plan lots of things, so I don't go crazy.

Here was a quite moment at home, don't the kids look so snugly?

The cousins hanging out in the shower aka the space ship. The next day JJ shows me the live long and prosper salute, I asked him where he learned that, oh course I should have thought about the whole space ship thing.

A trip to the Sweet Candy Factory.

The kids with the "candy maker hats", everyone had to wear one for the tour.

I went to the apple store, you'd laugh if you knew how easy it was for them to fix it. I did. We could go without a stop at the fountains.

Because of JJ's emotional issues we started a "happy chart", every time he had a happy goodbye he got a sticker. He decided when we filled it up we would go swimming. I'm proud of JJ for earning a trip to the swimming pool. I know he enjoyed every minute of it!

Enjoying the weather!!! We've been practically living outside, we've had two picnics, and I am currently blogging in the warm sun. AH! Gotta love it!!!

JJ has recently taken a liking to my ipod, here is a self portrait. He took about 30 pictures of this that and the other.

Today JJ's preschool went to the aquarium on a field trip, Eva loves going and feeling like one of the big kids!

Technology...

2011-03-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

So I don't have very many photos to share this week. Some days I take pictures with my fabulous DSLR, some days I whip out my old trusty digital elph (usually keep that one in my purse)

, and some days I snap pictures on my ipod.

Well, something happened to my ipod, grr! I'm heading to the Apple store tomorrow, but for now this is what I have:

Wednesday JJ had beach day at preschool, for the rest of the week JJ and Eva have played "Beach" at home. Swim suits, towels, flip flops, goggles, dive toys, and a whole lot of imagination. I love it!

Day 2 of beach day. When it was time for their bath the kids asked it they could wear their swim suits. Why not?

Friday JJ's preschool class went to Harmon's on a field trip.

Friday night MaryKay, Didi, Michelle, my Mom, and I got away for a mini Girls weekend. We went to dinner, stayed down town, played games until the wee hours of the morning, got mani/pedis, and went to lunch. Thanks gals, I had a fabulous time!!!

When I got home I found this cute note:

"We Cleaned Up I Love you Mommy"

To cute!!! Thanks to my cute family, it was a relief to come home to a clean house!!!

It's a...

2011-03-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

BOY!!! JJ is sooooooooo excited that he will have a brother!

Saturday was Grandma Julia's birthday. We went bowling, everyone had a great time! JJ got his first strike, and Spencer scored his highest ever, 5 strikes in a row!!!

I went to our RS Birthday Party this week, I brought home some cupcakes, check out this happy face!!!

Running around at the skate park!

JJ got his face painted at a friends birthday party, how cute!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! Green milk, green eggs, and sort of green shamrock pancakes!

Truth be told...

2011-03-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

I was horrible at taking pictures last week. I have been a mean Mom lately, maybe it's the hormones. JJ has had some major separation issues, and it's really taken a toll on my mood. I've just been dealing with life, and not enjoying it, and I don't really have much to show for this last week. The other day I posted this question on FB:
My 5 year old has a serious case of mommy clinging going on. Any advise?
There were numerous "enjoy it" comments. I guess I needed that, yesterday the kids and I had a great day, and when I dropped JJ of at Preschool this morning there were NO tears!!! I guess every now and then we need to be reminded to enjoy life. So thank you for the wake up call!!!

JJ practicing the splits.

My boys playing soccer.

The little spectator.

Family Home Evening.

Enjoying the beautiful weather yesterday!!!

Fun Fun Fun!!!

2011-03-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

JJ has really been into Cross Training these days. He runs around our front room for a while, then drops down and does push ups, then he tucks his toes under the couch and does sit ups. Then repeats, again, and again, and again. Of course he has to work out with his shirt off, because he gets sweaty. ;)

Friday was an especially fun day, it started off with a Preschool Field Trip to Kneaders. The kids loved decorating cookies, but really LOVED eating the frosting out of the bag. Yuck! JJ said his favorite part was to see the big oven. It was pretty cool, I think we could have fit our whole family in there. After Preschool we went over to Aunt MaryKay's house and had lunch and let the kids play. Did the fun stop there? NO! Then we met Jason, Kris, and the girls at the Children's Museum, and later dinner at Rumbi's. Wow, quite an exciting day!!!

Saturday, JJ runs out of his room wearing this, he tells me, "Mom, I'm wearing a disguise." OK, I thought. Then he asks me how he can talk like a girl. What? Well, he really just wanted to be Eva, because she got to go on a "Date" with her Dad.

I took JJ for a date too. We went to Cabellas for over two hours. Shooting Range, Aquarium, Feeding Fish, "Shooting" all the taxidermy with a Pop Gun, Hanging out in the tents. This was definitely all about JJ, he had a fabulous time, in the end he seemed to think that a date with Mom was A-OK!!!

Our Author, JJ!

JJ loves writing stories. His preschool teacher sent this special paper home, so he has room for an illustration, and lines for his story. I love to see his work, I'm so proud of him!

Monday at Preschool JJ learned that Wednesday would be Wacky Wednesday, so he decided he had to get prepared for it. I'm glad I took a picture on Monday, because come Wednesday he had a major case of the grumps, and didn't even dress wacky.

Swingin in the Snow!!! It looks cold, but the sun was out, and there was very little wind, so it was a good chance to get outside!

Yes, this is a picture of Girl Scout Cookies...

Yesterday my sister mentioned to me that she had got her Girl Scout cookies, I was like WHAT? I didn't even know they were being sold yet. Spencer comes home from work with what? Girl Scout Cookies!!! What a surprise, it made my day! To top it off, Spencer had picked out Tagalongs just for me!!! Bless his heart!!!

While I help JJ with "homework", Eva has to color. Looking at her in her Sleeping Beauty dress, and crown I thought even Princess' have to do their homework. :)

This, That and The Other...

2011-02-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't seem to keep up these days. Maybe it's a little because I can't seem to put my Kindle down, oh, and I'm totally addicted to Angry Birds. So I try not to waist the day, I usually dedicate these addictions to the evenings, but I have a problem. OK, I've admitted that I have a problem, now I've got to get my butt in gear. Maybe it's creative avoidance. Like avoiding the ironing that needs to be done, or the taxes I need to prepare for. Tis Life. On that note, here are pictures from our lives from the last week+...

The kiddos opening a Valentines surprise. Hope everyone had a Happy Valentines Day!

I caught Eva checking herself out in the mirror, Our Little Princess!!!

WARNING!

Soap box moment. I bought this luggage two days before our trip, not only did my luggage get delayed on a lay over, but it arrived broken. Grrr!!! Seriously, you'd think if they(Delta) charge to check your bag, they might actually take care of it. WRONG!!! So they offered me a credit voucher for the next time I fly with Delta. Oh, so thoughtful!!! Blah!!!

On a happy note... JJ is a reader!!! He has been doing reading lessons with his Dad for some time now. Over time we've seen amazing progress. One day he said he wanted to read a "real book", so he read Little Star to the whole family. All 469 words long!!! We are so proud of JJ!!!

Tubing at the park!

Saturday, Spencer took JJ skiing for the first time. JJ earned his trip to go skiing by finishing his reading lessons (Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons). Again, we couldn't be more proud!

Sunday Eva spent about an hour brushing my hair. Loved it!!! It was kind of like getting a scalp massage. She loves brushing Barbie, and Dora's hair, Why not Mom's?

Day 2 of skiing. Saturday was a cold and wet day, by lunch time Spencer had had enough, so he promised JJ they could go on Monday. Wow, the difference a day makes, by the second trip JJ was getting on and off the lift by himself, and skied down the mountain without any help from Dad!

Way to go JJ!!!

Yesterday was a chilly day, but there was no wind, so I took the kids out for a bike ride. Of course we had to stop at the park too!

Home, Cruise, Home.

2011-02-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Eva loves to do what I do. When I put on my moisturiser, she wants to too. Of course she loves to see how pretty she is in the mirror.

Last week I was busy preparing for our cruise. JJ and Eva didn't come with us, but it was a lot of work getting my self and the kids ready. Here JJ and Eva are pretending to go on a cruise.

Love the little piggies!

Trying to pack... JJ got a hold of the snorkel gear.

Saturday was a little cold, but there was no wind, so we took the chance to get out of the house. Eva rode her tricycle, and JJ rode his scooter on our favorite trail. We packed a picnic, and stopped at several parks. We had a great time!!!

Sunday night Spencer and I took a red eye for Florida. Here we are on South Beach. We both got a little sunburned that day. My luggage got held up on a connection, so we didn't have our towels, sunblock, ect. Luckily I had packed a swimsuit and a spare outfit in my personal bag. We had a great time despite our troubles!

Relaxing in Freeport Bahamas, the first stop on our cruise.

Nassau, Bahamas

Our third stop was a private island in the Bahamas (cant remember the name). Spencer found this crab on the beach. Here we went snorkeling, it was fun!!!

On Friday we went to Everglade National Park. We saw 25 gators, and a ton of different kinds of birds. It was super cool!!!

We really missed the kiddos, I was so excited to see their smiling faces at the airport. It's good to be home.

Eva got a Princess crown from Lily's Birthday party. She loves it!

Sick of the sickies!!!

2011-02-04T14:44:00.000-08:00

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Tonight (written 1/30) I am missing the monthly birthday party, which I'm totally bummed about, we eat like kings and queens. Not to mention that it's great to visit with my family, and the kids love playing with their cousins.

Since mid-December one or more of us have been sick with something or the other. We've had stomach flu, cold after cold, and I think I now have the flu, not to mention that I've had morning sickness....
Yes I'm pregnant. Here's the little pea:

Due July 27th

So now I'm just hoping with the first trimester over, things will start looking up!

Tid Bits...

2011-01-30T08:33:00.000-08:00

Sunshine!!! Lately every afternoon the kids and I hang

out in their bedroom, they have south facing windows in their room, so it gets warm and toasty, and I love it! I love to lay on the warm carpet and soak up some sunshine! In this picture I was enjoying the sunshine, and little Eva was crawling all over me.

After taking down the Christmas decorations the house looks soooo droll, so I like to put up snowman decor in January. I got thinking that valentines was just around the corner, so I was rounding up the snowman stuff to put away, here's Eva giving the snowman a farewell hug. Now, if we could just get rid of the cold weather, bliss!

Last Saturday we took the kids to the children's museum, JJ loved the climbing wall, he probably went up and down that thing 100 times!

Sunday we had the Truman's over for dinner, I just love the kids ice cream faces!!!

We hadn't been to the library in a long time, probably before the holidays. We went this week, here are the kids enjoying their library books!

Just about every day the kids will ask me, "Do I have a huge mustache, Mom?" Gotta love the mustaches!!! One thing Eva tells me all the time is, "Your my berry own Mom!" Love it!

JJ has been loving Memory. We play it at least 5 or 6 times a day!

Eva dancing!

On friday JJ's preschool class went on a field trip to the planetarium. They even got to walk on the moon!

Saturday morning JJ wanted to take some pictures with my ipod, couldn't do it without taking one of him first!

I was working on this post before my family woke up. JJ woke up, and has been very patient with me, so I gave him a spin on the office chair! Yee Ha!!!

Play, Progress and Perspective.

2011-01-19T21:42:00.000-08:00

My Boy!

One afternoon I was driving home, the drivers in front of me were slamming on their breaks, and there were cars pulled off to the side of the road. Well this Golden Eagle was stopping traffic. It was really quite a site, not something that happens every day!

JJ loves to wave goodbye to his Dad, normally Spencer waves back, but on this day he didn't. JJ was so sad so I took this picture and emailed it to Spencer, it made him feel much better. Bless his heart, he is so sweet, and thoughtful!

My little Eva is growing up so fast, I gave her some crackers, and she counted them 1-2-3. Ah, proud Mommy moment!

JJ loves "throwing a party", it consists of blasting his radio, running around the room, and throwing his stuffed animals in the air. One night he told me, "Secretly I'm going to throw a party at night." LOL!

Yesterday was a little cold, but it was dry, so I took the kids to the park. Eva recently learned to pedal her tricycle, JJ enjoyed riding his scooter.

Tonight I realized I hadn't taken a picture today. I had just been reflecting on a conversation I had with JJ at dinner. I had called the kids "My Most Precious", he asked me what that meant, and I told him that they were my greatest treasures in the world. And as I looked at the desk I thought that, no my house is not perfectly clean, but my children went to bed happy, and loved, and that is more important to me. I thought a lot about my most precious gifts and how terrible it would be to loose them. Summer shared this touching story this week http://jaredandsummer.blogspot.com/2011/01/today-i-watched-new-father-carry-his.html. And in the wee hours of this morning we got an email from Jason about a family in his ward http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=14055644. Reflecting on these events makes me so grateful to have this precious ones in my life, and to treasure them every day!

Life this week...

2011-01-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

Playing Star Wars.

Friday we went ice skating at the Olympic Oval, it was our first time going. JJ loved it, Eva not so much. After we took the kids to the indoor swimming pool. Then we went out to our friends house for pizza and games. What an exciting day!

Ah, my sweet Eva helping me fold. I gave her a pile of socks, and she went to town!

JJ was looking at the pictures on the wall, he said to me that he wants to show his kids what he looked like when he was little, I told him that is why I take pictures of him everyday. He asked me to take a picture of him, but then he got in trouble, so this was the result. :)

I recently got released from the primary presidency, this is the cute Thank You card I got. I missed the whole presentation, JJ threw up in the middle of Sacrament. Eh! Spencer and I have the stomach bug now.
Please let this be the last sickness! Please!!!!!!!!!!

After spending Sunday throwing up, I was so happy that JJ would eat something! I especially love the jam face!

The lizards recently died. Of course it was a disappointment, so Spencer told JJ we could get a fish. We ended up getting a blue beta fish, that JJ named "Goldie".

Eva in her "hideout" at the doctors office. JJ had his 5 year check up, he had to get his Kindergarten shots, poor kid!

Happy Birthday, Christmas, New Years!!!

2011-01-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

Wow, Christmas has come and gone, JJ turned 5, and here we are in 2011. We were super busy in December, so I've gotten behind on just about everything. I think I did a dozen loads of laundry over the weekend, and I'm still not caught up yet. JJ went back to school, so I'm hoping that since we will be back on a schedule life wont be so chaotic.

The kids enjoyed eating their breakfast on the little table.

One of my family traditions growing up is we made a new ornament every year. The kids really love to paint, so they each painted their own gingerbread man.

Cheese!!!

JJ's Christmas program at preschool! He had a Santa painted on his thumb, he was worried about it getting ruined, so he stood there with his thumb up almost the whole time.

On Dec 18th the kids and I went to the Lucia. My sisters family participates every year. The kids enjoyed visiting Santa, playing with their cousins, and dancing around the Christmas tree.

Silly Face!!!

JJ's such a good brother, always making his sister happy, here he's "reading" her a story.

JJ had one homework assignment over the holidays: Make a Snowman. His teacher prepared a cute little bag with the buttons, coal, carrots, raisins, and a scarf. So cute!

One of JJ's friends couldn't make it to his birthday party, so they dropped off a gift before heading out of town for Christmas, He got a Play dough Burger Builder. Doesn't it look yummy!!! Ha! Thanks Maverick!

Do you see the determination?

Mmmmmm! Sugar Cookies! The kids always like helping with these!

On the 23rd we went to Temple Square. It was great family time!

We spent Christmas Eve with the Pratt's. Here are the kiddos in their Christmas Pjs!

Eva on Christmas Day, she got this dress up, crown and purse from Grandma Julia. Thanks!!!

Happy 5th Birthday JJ!!! Opening his scooter from Grandma and Grandpa Pratt. Thanks!!!

My family came over for dinner to celebrate the December birthdays, but mostly JJ's birthday. Thanks everyone for helping make JJ's birthday special!

On the 27th JJ had his very first friend party. He had fun, but he soon wanted to just be alone. He said his favorite part was the pinata. Go figure!

JJ popping a wheelie on his scooter. He got very comfortable on the scooter really fast. He zooms around the basement so fast it scares me.

JJ got two light sabers for his birthday. It's funny when Eva comes at you with one!

My little fashionista. Ha! Eva wants to wear a "Crown" aka headband and a flower every day, sometimes she gets a little carried away!

So I got all my Christmas Decorations put away, then Target had all their Christmas decor 75% off. I am in charge of Festival of Trees for 2011, so it's the perfect time to get the decorations. Here is a sneak peek at what our tree will look like. I couldn't help myself, I had to put it together, to make sure everything looked good together.

New Years Eve we went to our friends Brijesh and Reena's house. They had bought some fireworks, here JJ is hiding his face from all the smoke.

Bubbles! The kids love to get a straw for every meal, but the especially love when they can make bubbles!

New Years Day we all went up Big Cottonwood Canyon for a little tubing. Eva and I spent most of the time in the car, she does not love the snow. Thanks to Spencer for my Kindle I red in the car while we waited. JJ loved tubing with his Spencer. He was disappointed when it was time to go.

Sunday we celebrated Spencer's birthday with the Pratt's. Becky and Grandma Grimshaw were able to join us, which was a special treat. The kids loved playing with Aunt Becky. When Eva prayed she said, "I'm thankful for Becky", how cute is that!

Last night while I was making dinner Eva was pouting, she wanted me to hold her, the next minute she was passed out on the floor...

Ok, so now I am caught up on the blog. Whew! Spencer is so supportive of my efforts to preserve memories of our little family, bless his heart! So I will continue to post a picture a day(weekly of course) through out the year. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

My how time flies...

2010-12-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

Where has the year gone? Spencer and I were talking about how we only have two Sundays left this year. Aaahhh! The new year is upon us. And soon my JJ will be 5. Double Aaahhh! The holidays and birthdays have been keeping me busy, so here are the last 10 days of photos:

BATMAN RETURNS

We have unexpected visitors to our house all the time.

The kids made a mega mess one day, it started out by playing "restaurant" they got out the toys for all the kids who came to eat.

Thursday we went to the mall for the Christmas Concert, the kids enjoyed playing in the Dinosaur play area after.

Once there was a Snowman!

JJ made a snowman mask and got dressed up in white.

On Friday we celebrated JJ's birthday at preschool.

Saturday Eva and I went to a dance program, she was very excited to see Santa, she drug me across the auditorium when I asked he if she wanted to see him.

Sunday we went for a walk, it was a great day for December.

Spencer gave me a DSLR for my birthday. I was playing around with it on Monday. It's been a long time since I used an SLR, I've got a lot to figure out!

On Sunday we celebrated the Pratt December birthdays: Jason, Myself, John, JJ, and Avery. A gift JJ received was broken upon opening, so I returned it to Target and let JJ pick out a toy. It took about an hour, he ended up picking out the toy story bucket of soldiers.

Busy Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

Well life has been crazy. So here are about two weeks of photos:

The kids are getting so excited for Christmas. Eva wore this around for two days straight.

This is Eva's "why can't I go to preschool" face.

This snow capped mountain was beautiful. The picture did not do it justice. Now that we've had plenty of snow and freezing cold temps it doesn't seem so splendid.

The kids have been enjoying painting lately.

There's my smiley JJ!

JJ is so creative, he wanted an oxygen mask, so he taped a cup cake baking cup to his nose. Looks good to me!

Eva and Shoomp.

Thanksgiving started off with my Mom's family. I made a turkey and 4 dozen rolls. Later we went to Glen and Maryann's. I bakes 4 Pumpkin Pies for their house. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. At Glen and Maryann's house Eva fell in love with Chelsey's dog "Shoomp". Shoomp is a good dog, Eva wasn't the afraid of him, thankfully! Usually she gets scared of dogs, and I end up holding her all night.

Congrats to Jeff and Sarah, who were married on Friday!

There's my boys sledding!

Eva LOVES wearing dresses these days, she loved wearing her Christmas dress to church.

Monday was decorating day for the Festival of Trees. This year our theme was "Music Making Memories", we did it in honor of my Mom. My Mom is an amazing person, she's had a lot of trials in her life, but she always had music to brighten her day, and she would brighten our day when she'd burst out in song. Our home was filled with music, laughter, and yummy food. Especially at Christmas music takes me back to my childhood, "performing in the ballet", singing Jingle Bells as fast as Barbra Streisand, listening to music as we made countless treats for ALL the neighbors, ect...

I love you Mom!!!

p.s. our tree was in a bidding war and sold for $1160. which goes to Primary Children's Hospital.

If you get a chance to go, our tree is located on aisle M #8. Read some of the stories if you get a chance- it's very heartwarming!

I've been dying to put up the Christmas tree this year, I think JJ's enthusiasm is wearing off on me. I was excited to get it up.

And finally, many thanks to Lily and Avery for the Advent Calendars, JJ and Eva loved them. JJ said he wanted to sneak another chocolate, I told him I'd know if he did, because a day would be missing. We'll see what happens. Happy December to you all!

The Kids

2010-11-18T16:47:00.000-08:00

JJ and Eva are good at playing together these days... for the most part. Here JJ is taking Eva on a "Zoo Tour". JJ spread out all their stuffed animals, pushed Eva around, while telling her all about the animals on his cb.

Two little monkeys swingin in the tree...

This is my not so little Eva. She loves getting her own water now. She can barely reach it on her tippy toes.

JJ and Eva love to paint and color. The kids use a ton of paper everyday. Good thing we recycle!!!

Here's my cuties on their hut, they made this one all by themselves!

Wednesday Firefighters went to JJ's school. It's revived his love for firefighting!

JJ loves writing notes. Last week he left notes all over the house. Today he decided he wanted to send his cousins notes. I thought it was a splendid idea. He wrote them all by himself, sounding out names, he spelled, I luv yoo frum JJ a dozen times. I couldn't be more proud of him!!!

Last Week...

2010-11-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

My Handsome Boy!!! We went and got our family pictures taken last Thursday.

On Friday we went to the Zoo with some friends. The weather was beautiful that day. It makes me sad to think about warm weather. :(

Friday was PTC at JJ's preschool. JJ is doing so good. He loves preschool and he really loves his Teacher and his best friend Michael. JJ has started, "inventive spelling", as his teacher calls it. He sounds out words and writes them. I'm amazed!!! Here is a little note he wrote...

LUV MOM AD (and) DAD

Saturday we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house the kids had so much fun playing in the leaves!

Sunday we went for a drive. We stopped at Sundance. It was a little chilly, but we had fun.

I pulled out my Barbies the other night. Eva loves the "Pretty" Barbies. She carried around one of the Barbies all day. I think JJ has enjoyed playing with them too.

Me and Eva snuggling. We love to snuggle in front of the fireplace!

Today we went to the Children's Museum with some friends. Thanks Carolina, Marc and Andy!!!

PARTY!!!

2010-11-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Well last week was one party after the next. Monday we went to dinner for our friend Carolina's birthday. JJ had a Halloween preschool party. The kids went to a party for their cousin Italia on Friday. Saturday I took Eva to her cousin Emily's party and then we met Spencer and JJ at the Truman's house for Payton's birthday party. Saturday night we went over to Jason and Kris house for our Halloween shindig and Trick or Treating. To finish off the evening we went to our neighbors house for another party. Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about it! Sunday we finished off the festivities at my Mom's house. We had our annual Halloween Party and we celebrated the October birthday's in my family. Happy Birthday to Jamie, Didi, Italia, Tayor, Mason, Emily, and Jon.

Here is my cutie getting his teeth cleaned, he was so excited to scare the Dentist with his vampire teeth. He was so giggly, it was funny!

Even Darth Vader has a sweet tooth!

JJ decorating cookies at school.

Spencer and I went out while the kids were at a party. The sunset was gorgeous, this picture really doesn't do it justice.

JJ's Jack-o-lantern

Here we are all dressed up... even me!

My Little Giraffe Trick or Treating!

Trick or Treating at Grandma Julia's house!

Things are pretty much back to normal. I really don't have anything to show for this week, I left my camera at my Mom's on Sunday. Oops, no pictures of the day for Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, but there were plenty of pictures from last week.
Now I'm gearing up for Sarah's Bridal Shower.

A little of this and that...

2010-10-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Eva loves to read! I tried to capture ALL the books she had on the floor, but you just cant see how many she pulled off the book shelf. She loves to read out loud, of course it's her own version, but it's so cute to hear her!

Life is about the little moments. One night before bed I turned and rocked the kids in the rocking chair, they had so much fun. JJ still talks about this night, it's the small things that count!

Friday night I went scrap booking with a friend. Spencer took the kids to Chuck E Cheese, they loved the "concert", apparently Eva wouldn't take her eyes off of the characters.

Wish this photo would have turned out better, the Temple is all blurry and the rainbow didn't show as bright as it was on Saturday, it was really beautiful!

Sunday we went to our friends house for dinner, the kids had a lot of fun playing with Marc.

Monday we woke up to snow, and Tuesday. Today we got about 8 inched, yuk, so not ready for it yet.

The kids wearing their Halloween shirts.

Last night the phantom ghost visited our house. They left some fun stuff for the kids. JJ loves these Vampire teeth. He had to wear them with his pirate stuff, because "sometimes they have slimy teeth".

Oct 12-19

2010-10-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday Spencer came home from work early. I hadn't even started on dinner yet, so he said lets go out. Well twist my arm. On the way to dinner we stopped at the park, they kids loved it!

Wednesday JJ played his final soccer game for the season. He played really well, and scored another three points. He was excited about his trophy and soccer cupcakes. He was being a little ham, he had a huge cheering section- Mom, Dad, Eva, Grandpa John, Grandma Shauna, Grandma Julia, Aunt Didi, Kaytlin, Michael, Ethan, and Ainsley. Thanks to everyone for coming, I know JJ enjoyed the attention!

Silly Eva, she'd pretending to sleep. I love her fake snore.

Eva loves taking pictures, like Mom.

Saturday we went for a hike, we ended up hiking up to Suncrest. The leaves were beautiful.

Sunday we went for a little walk. Lots of family time.

Last night we had family home evening at our house. The kids loved decorating sugar cookies. Avery especially loved the frosting.

Today we went to Cornbelly's. The kids loved playing in the corn (go figure). I just enjoyed being outside, it was a gorgeous day!

She's Crafy!

2010-10-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

So it all started with Halloween decorations. I saw this wreath http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2010/09/burlap-boo-wreath-tutorial.htm and had to make it. My version is a little different. But I think it turned out cute. Friday night I went scrap booking with my friend Carolina and my Mom. I got 4 two page layouts finished (that is probably as many as I've gotten done this whole year).

Saturday between conference sessions we took a little bike ride. We always have a great time!

Saturday night while the guys were at the Priesthood session my Mom and sisters and I got together. We made lots of hair bows, and I finished this skirt that's been in the works some time now. I had a bunch of scraps left over from another baby blanket I'm working on.

I was cleaning up all my craft supplies and JJ asked if I would make him a Wolverine mask. Well I managed to make a decent one out of felt, hot glue, and a head band. JJ loves it!!!

We spent Monday afternoon at Gardner Village. The kids had fun feeding the ducks. JJ loved all the spooky decorations, and Eva got a kick out of all the witches, this one in particular she heckled at.

Yet another project. I recovered my decorative pillows for our bed.

Here's my JJ practicing his Wolverine jump.

Spencer going in for a lay up in a rec league. I may be a little bias, but Spencer has been the MVP at every game I've been to, way to go!!!

My Cuties!!!

My Mom has worked my whole life. She had a surgery last month, and has been home recovering. Several years ago she got in a major accident that nearly took her life, she was home during that time, but I was working. This time I've got the chance to spend a lot of time with her. On Friday my sisters and I took her out to lunch, because sadly she went back to work today. I've enjoyed spending time with you Mom!!! Hopefully you can retire soon!

JJ's game was postponed on Wednesday, due to the rain. Saturday he played, and he played well. He scored 3 points and blocked 5 or more shots as goalie. After the game we went and rode bikes at the park.

Swing break!!!

Wrapping up September

2010-09-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Wow I can't believe tomorrow brings October. To me that really means Summer is over. I really love the fall and Halloween, but it's sad to say goodbye to summer.

Last Wednesday JJ tore it up on the soccer field. He Scored four points, and saved two as keeper. This week he didn't score, but he tried really hard, and I'm proud of him. He saved two more are keeper.

Sometimes you just can't pick one picture per day. Love this one!

And this one!

So the day Spencer and I got back from Lake Powell, JJ kept asking me when we could go to Uncle Glen's house. Apparently he talked to him about building a light saber. Here JJ is getting a jump start on it.

Friday JJ's preschool class went on a field trip to an apple orchard. Here JJ was helping show how the farmers use their special apple bag.

Saturday we went on a family bike ride. I put the camera in the trailer pocket, Eva got a hold of it, and took about 50 pictures. I really like how this one turned out, it's definitely her perspective.

Here's a few pictures at the park.

Eva Pretty, as Spencer likes to call her, is so independent these days. She likes to do everything herself. Her clothes are often backwards, trust me it's not worth fighting her to fix it!!!

Enjoying ice cream on a beautiful day!!!

Play time!

A Get Away...

2010-09-22T21:26:00.000-07:00

Last week felt like it flew by, most of my time was spent in preparation for our trip to Lake Powell. We managed to fit in the normal stuff though. Here's JJ dribbling the ball, he has gotten so good, he hustles to the ball, and is getting better at scoring. JJ is one of the MVP's on his team!

Here's my darling little Eva in her Halloween costume. We were at Old Navy the other day and their costumes were on sale, and I had a 30% off coupon, so this costume was $11. Not bad, huh? There were several costumes there to choose from, but it was Eva that ultimately decided on the Giraffe, I think it's adorable, but I am going to put some pink bows on it to make it a little more girly!

Did you figure out JJ's costume? None other that Darth Vader. I had a feeling he would pick a Star Wars costume.

Here we are on our first day at Lake Powell. Spencer and I went on a couples trip with some friends. Thanks to Grandma Shauna for watching the kiddos. Spencer and I got a much needed break!

Last Lake Powell trip I got up on the wake board for about a millisecond. This time I figured it out.

Rainbow Bridge

The sunsets were amazingly beautiful, and the moon shown so bright we had shadows at night.

Here's our after our last dip... :(

Spencer surprised us all on the last day by attempting a Tantrum. That's Spencer for ya, he goes all out.

A Busy Week

2010-09-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Labor Day started last week, but it wasn't the most relaxing holiday. We started off with a bike ride, JJ rode his two wheeler the whole time, he did great!!! After our bike ride Spencer and I worked in the yard, and fixed a sprinkler line. Thanks to Jason and Kris for having us over Monday night (that was the relaxing part)!

JJ's self portrait of his Halloween mask. Any guesses?

Wednesday JJ went back to preschool. He was so excited, he had a great day.

Poor Eva thought she got to stay too. One more year dear!

Eva loves to dress herself these days, she's actually a little crazy and unreasonable about it. She wanted me to help her put socks on this day, but when I put her socks on she just yelled at me, "the blue one, Mom". Her blue is pink. She asks for a blue anything, you can be certain she wants PINK!

Friday night we went up to the Heber Valley Girls Camp with my family. We had a really good time. It was freezing and we had to snuggle really close to the fire. In the morning Spencer and Eva were sitting around the fire, and a spark landed on Eva, and went right through her pj's. Poor thing! Within an hour, you couldn't even tell where she had been burned. That was the only incident, Spencer caught a snake to show all the kids, and he got bit. Good thing I brought the first aid kit!

JJ was hilarious in the morning, he did not want to take his jammies off, because they are camo. He kept saying no one can see me. So I indulged his little imagination by asking, "Where did JJ go", and looking the wrong direction. I love his imagination and innocence.

Sunday we went to some neighbors for dinner. The kids really like to help these days. They love to help make goodies. JJ has been really good to "clean his toy room", and Eva likes to help wipe the table.

My little monkey, always finds a tree to climb, this was in front of the library today.

Where did the week go???

2010-09-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

This week was really busy, I have some catching up to do...

Anything missing???

.....Training wheels!!!!!! Way to go JJ, your a two wheeler now!

My little Eva is so cute! She has a pep in her step that makes me smile, when she walks I think of the term twinkle toes.

JJ started soccer this week. On Monday we bought him some shin guards, he had to wear them ALL day!!!

Another beautiful afternoon at Thanksgiving Point Children's Garden.

JJ's first soccer goal. He scored two points! Way to go JJ!!!

Wednesday we went to JJ's preschool open house, he had to wear his soccer uniform to that too.

Thursday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to watch the Utah football game. JJ wanted to be the bread on a sandwich.

Friday night we went to our ward camp out. We had a fun time!

Saturday morning we walked around Silver Lake, it was gorgeous! We love this time of year!

Saturday we finished the day at the Bee's game.

Enjoying the Great Out Doors!

2010-08-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

Grandma dropped by last week. She came for a little walk on the shoreline trail!

Friday night we went for a little hike at Snowbird!

Saturday we went to the Provo River for a bike ride. JJ and Dad caught a snake, this was a catch and release!!!

Sunday Snuggles!!!

Family Bike Ride!!!

Cousin's comin out of the Bear Cave. Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point.

Fierce Pirate!

Dancin' in Eva's outfit. Silly JJ!

Playin in the rain!

This and That...

2010-08-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Friday we went to the Zoo, again. We have a membership, so we go there a lot! If you ever want to go with us call me!

Thanks to Grandma Shauna for watching the kids for the weekend, so we could celebrate our Anniversary. We went golfing, went to a couple movies, and went to a BBQ. We really enjoyed the time off.

This is our bird friend from the golf course.

Tuesday was our cousins day this week. We tried to go to the South Jordan museum, it is closed until Sept. Plan B? We took the kids to Chick Fil A for Ice Cream and a little play time.

With all the afternoon thunderstorms we've had lately have come some amazing sunsets!!!

Yum Yum, a cooking enrichment group was scheduled for this week. The theme was "Summer Food", I made Gazpacho, a cold tomato soup. Spencer and I first tried it in a beach restaurant in sunny Malaga, Spain. Every time I make it, it reminds me of that trip. Spencer and I have had a lot of fun over the years, and I'm looking forward to many many more years of good memories!!!

Pictures from last week...

2010-08-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

Last Friday my sisters and I went out to dinner with a few friends. We had a great time catching up! Hopefully it wont be another 10 years worth next time!

Saturday we went to Provo Canyon, there is a great bike trail with several playgrounds. We rode bikes, had a picnic, played in the water, and then walked to Bridal Veil Falls. We had a really fun day! I love this picture of Eva, I copied the idea from Adrienne- Thanks! And here's JJ with his bike.

Sunday was beautiful, after church Spencer, JJ, and I sat on the porch while Eva napped. It was fun to just hang out, some of us got a little silly!

Monday night we went on a little hike as a family.

This is the whiny face ... pretty cute!

The kiddos love running threw the sprinkler, after, JJ laid down on the grass and said, "Mom, I think this would be a good picture!" He knows what he's talking about!

Wednesday was our 9th anniversary!!! Happy Anniversary Spencer!!! Thanks for the beautiful roses!

Wild Weekend

2010-08-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Friday I got up knowing I had a lot to do. We were going camping and I had to prepare 18 tin foil dinners for that night. Not to mention all the packing. Spencer was headed to work when he found a major problem. Our basement flooded!!! There was water everywhere. The only thing I could think of was that the sprinklers were on for a really long time the night before. You see two of our sprinkler lines wont turn on automatically, so Spencer had turned them on manually and kind of forgot about it. Well normally that wouldn't be such a big deal, but the end of the dripper was broken, it was like the hose was on and shooting right into our window well. Well it was a big mess, thankfully we were able to borrow our neighbors wet vac, and I used a little duct tape to fix the line, all is well now. One good thing came out of the chaos. As I was opening the windows to air out the basement I found "Crawly", that's right I found the lizard that escaped from the cage into the air ducts. Crawly was still alive, but looked very, very thin. So amongst all the chaos we had to tend to the poor little guy, he is now doing much better, I think he is out of danger. To top it all off I took my car into the shop to get the battery checked, it's been really funny when I start it. Well it was the alternator, thankfully it was still under warranty so we didn't pay a dime. We ended up taking Spencer's car camping, it has problems of it's own, but we made it.
We went to Little Deer Creek Campground in Wasatch State Park. We ate tin foil dinners, and I made cobbler with my Dutch Oven. Spencer gave me the Dutch Oven for Christmas and I've been excited to use it. The cobbler was yummy!!! The next morning we woke up to the sound of a pack of Coyotes. It was really cool to hear their calls, not something you experience everyday! After breakfast we took off to the Uintah's, and we spent the day at Tea Cup Lake. Spencer and the kiddos swam, and the Uncles and cousins spent the day fishing. We had a great time!!!

Here are the picture/s of the day:

My basement

Crawly's Back!

Campin Cousins!

Teacup Lake

Who knew "cleaning" the cooler could be so much fun!

JJ picked out a Star Wars book for completing the Summer Reading Program, he was so excited! Eva picked out a Dora book.

Cousin's Day at Gateway. We took the kids to play in the fountains. They had a blast!

Poor little Eva fell off her chair at dinner, she wanted to sit on my lap the whole time. JJ asked me to get him something, so I moved Eva off my lap. She cried and cried, then JJ offered his lap to her, that did the trick. What a nice brother!!!

Twice this week Eva wore under ware, no problem. On Tuesday I let Eva pick out her very own under ware at Target thinking she'll love wearing the ones she picked out. Wrong! She doesn't want anything to do with them. This morning I put them on her head, just to be silly, and hoping that she would be interested in them. She's wearing pull ups for now, but I told her that when the pull ups are gone she has to wear her under ware. She is definitely ready for it. I don't remember the last time I had to change a poopy diaper.

Pioneers, Parade, and a Picnic

2010-07-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

Last week we celebrated Pioneer Day, we had a great time at the Buttlerville Days. We went swimming all afternoon, then went to the parade. After a dinner break we went back to play on the bounce houses, the kids got their face painted and got balloon creations. The night ended with Fireworks of course, we had a great time! In keeping with the pioneer theme, I hosted Book Club at my house. The book this month was Fire of the Covenant. It is historical fiction about the Willie and Martin handcart companies, it's a good book, gave me a better appreciation for the pioneers.
We are grateful that Jason and Kris had us over for a picnic on Sunday. I was excited to see Sarah's ring, that's right if you hadn't heard Jeff and Sarah are getting hitched! I wish I got a picture of them or the ring, but I didn't. Congratulations Jeff and Sarah!!!

POTD:

JJ would not do many art projects at school, his teacher encouraged us to work on projects at home over the summer. I don't think he likes getting messy, but he seems to be enjoying it more.

The cousins waiting for the parade to start. The kids got tons of candy, and had a blast.

A yard in the neighborhood that we often walk by, it's so beautiful!

JJ, Elli, and their sand art from Art in the Park!

My cute little family got kicked out of the house for book club, they didn't go far though, they had a picnic in the back yard. After dinner they went grasshopper hunting. They caught about 20 grasshoppers, 4 praying mantis, and 4 potato bugs. This year JJ has become quite the bug catcher. We started catching them for the lizards, but now he just does it for fun. BTW- one lizard died, broke JJ's heart, and the other one escaped into the cool air intake- I tried to catch it but I failed. :(

At Grandma Julia's house

I love this picture. This was from our walk tonight. My boys admiring the view.

The Whines

2010-07-22T22:27:00.000-07:00

We go for a bike ride, he whines. We go fun places with cousins, he whines. He gets to be in a parade, he whines. Now it's my time to whine. Is it a stage, or am I doing something wrong? JJ has been super whiny lately, and I'm sick of it. He doesn't get his way when he whines, sometimes his whining lands him in time out, yet he still whines. Any advice?

So this week was a lot of fun, JJ and I got to ride on a "float" in the Draper Parade, it was for his Preschool. Of course we got to go to fireworks, which is always fun. On Wednesday we had our cousin's play date at This is the Place Heritage Park. Did you know they have $2 admission on Wed.? It's $2/person to get in, and you get to do three activities for free. The kids got to go on a pony ride, a train ride, stamp leather, and make a candle. We had a lot of fun, but decided we will go again in the fall, it was HOT!!!

Grandpa Del gave JJ this "hat" after the parade. There are no picture from the parade.

(Cough (Spencer) cough)

Picked up a new bubble gun, man I love bubble guns. I don't know why, but I stink at blowing bubbles.

This was a fun crib moment this week. We had a real stinker this week. Yesterday I had put Eva down for a nap, I heard her talking and talking, for some reason she just wouldn't go to sleep, so I went in and what did I see? POOP. The little stinker had wiped it everywhere- EEEWWWWW!!! Man that was one of the best Mommy moments.

Kiddos in front of a monument for the handcart companies. I just read The Fire and The Covenant, it's based on the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies, I really enjoyed it.

Two of my neighbors had a baby this month. I made them these blankets, wrapped in a headband with homemade flower clip. Cute, huh! I thought so.

Aunt Kris has made each of my kids a blanket, and we just treasure them, so I wanted to try my hand at it. This is a smaller version and there are some flaws, but I really enjoyed making them.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

2010-07-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Where has the last week and a half gone? For that matter, the last year? Everyday this week I've intended to post, but the days just kept slipping by. This week was busy, mostly we had fun. Sunday marked the one year anniversary since we moved into our new house. After sitting vacant from April to July the yard was in really bad shape (I wish I took pictures). Last summer I spent all summer weeding. The weeds at one point were about 3 feet high. I still spend a lot of time weeding, but it's normal weeding. Our lawn on the east of out house was fried, that is looking much, much better with a little tlc. We have a lot of work to do, but we hope it will look fabulous by next summer.
As I've mentioned when we moved, we decided not to get cable tv, and our tv is so old we don't have reception on it. We have Internet access, so I watch some shows on Hulu, and we rent movies from time to time. Thanks to John and Shauna for always letting us come watch the big games at their house. We last enjoyed watching Spain win the World Cup!!! For the most part my entertainment this last year came from reading. I read 33 books over the past year. Out of curiosity I added up how many pages I've read, the total is 14,800. I'd love to get any suggestions on what to read next.

Anyhow here are my POTD:

I like to call this the First Date! Last Monday we went to the Truman's for dinner, I thought these two looked so cute eating dinner together. After dinner Tim set off fireworks. We had a lot of fun, Thanks guys!!!

One of JJ's creations, he always wants to take pictures of them, and leave them up until Dad gets home, so he can see them.

Every Wednesday we get together with the cousins, last week we went bowling.

JJ's PB&J sandwich face. JJ loves PB&J, he could probably eat one every day. They always must be cut in triangles, he always ends up with a messy face.

Friday night we went for a bike ride, the sunset was so pretty, it was a great night for a ride!

Silly JJ!

Superman!!!

This was the beginning of some very silly costumes, after I took this picture they kept adding layer after layer of costumes.

Swimming buddies!!! JJ had more swimming lessons this week.

Another Wednesday with the cousins, this week we went to the Herriman Reservoir, it was a lot of fun!

Happy Birthday Eva!!!

2010-07-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Eva turned 2 on July 2nd! Eva is such a cutie! I wrote down a few things about her on her second birthday.

Nickname: Tiki (she'll even refer to herself as tiki)
Evaisms: Later, Later = Se you later Alligator
While, While = in a little while
Eva loves to sing.
Mostly sings I am a Child of God, Jesus Said Love Everyone, and Once there was a Snowman
Eva loves her two stuffed animal dogs, but she will hold as many as she can get her hands on.
She loves real dogs too, unless they are within 3 feet of her, then she panics.
She loves to slide, swim, and read books.
She loves JJ, and wants to do whatever he is doing.
Eva takes one nap a day, and is a very good sleeper at night.
She will eat just about anything, except peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, raspberries, and blueberries. She would snack all day, if I let her. If she sees anyone eating she wants a bite.
Although Eva can say just about anything she still whines for things. I'm always reminding my kids to use there words.
Eva is not fully potty trained, but she will go #1 &2 on the potty!

Eva is such a joy. She is really sweet, but a little fiery too. Our home would be really quite without her.
Happy Birthday Eva! We love you!

Birthday

July 2, 2009

July 2 2010

Lake Powell

2010-07-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

JJ was really brave and went knee boarding and tubing, and he loved getting out in the middle of the lake to swim. Eva didn't love swimming in the middle of the lake, but liked to play on the shore, she did enjoy a tube ride (once we got moving). I usually water ski, but I had to try wake boarding, I managed to get up a few times, but I think I'll need some more practice.

Eva said, "Ooh, pretty water."

High fives from Kalee, for the super knee boarder!

Spencer and I

Here we are on a fun little hike.

JJ took flagging responsibilities very seriously!

Snuggling!!!

That's me wake boarding

JJ was so tuckered out he fell asleep right there waiting for our tinfoil dinner to cook. He didn't even wake up when I put his pjs on and put him to bed.

Celebrate

2010-07-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

This week we had many reasons to celebrate. We spent most of the week at Lake Powell. Friday Eva turned two! Saturday we celebrated Grandma Grimshaw's 85th Birthday. And of course we celebrated Independence Day.

JJ and Eva on the drive to Lake Powell, we stopped and got donuts for breakfast, I loved their chocolate faces!

This is what we woke up to!

Eva didn't like the sand much, she is sitting in a chair playing. She loves to play in the dirt at home, but doesn't like the sand, silly girl!

All four of us slept on a king size air mattress, there was a lot of snuggling going on.

Spencer helped JJ catch lizards, I wish I had a picture of JJ when they caught the first one, pure delight! We brought two home. They are JJ's first pets. This one's name is Crawly. The smaller one hides a lot, I couldn't get a picture, and it's name has changed a few times, we'll see what sticks.

Waiting for fireworks with cousins

The weekend was so busy we really didn't get a chance to celebrate Eva's birthday. Sunday I made cupcakes.

Growing Up

2010-06-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

This week started out with a cousin's trip to the zoo.

Star Wars mania is in full force. This week we made an awesome Space Ship, complete with controls, wind shield, and artillery.

This picture was taken August of 2008, I remembered how big the difference in their size was. Eva might pass up her brother some day.?

Eva uses the potty quite often, she's not officially potty trained, but she's on her way. She started telling me this week, "I don't want to wear diapers no more." She will wear the Princess Pull Ups.

Spencer and I went on a date Friday night, when we pulled in to Grandma's house the kids were extremely disappointed. JJ was climbing the tree and Eva was walking around with the stroller. They were having so much fun they didn't want to leave. Spencer saved the day by climbing in the tree with JJ!!!

My little Fish!!! Eva LOVES swimming!

Eva will turn 2 this coming Friday. Thanks to Jason and Kris for the fun gifts! She wont set the baby down.

Snuggling. JJ told me I needed to take a picture. :)

Making a Splash

2010-06-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

Everyday last week JJ had swim lessons. He loved, loved, loved it! On Friday I told him it was his last day, he cried. :( I am going to sign him up for another week. Friday after swim lessons we went to the Draper Pool, so the kids could practice. It was a little cool that day, but we had fun. It was the first chance Eva has had in the pool this summer, she loved it! She is a little fish, she did not want to leave, luckily I came prepared with food, that was the only distraction that could get her out of the pool. We are all looking forward to our next pool day.

May the force be with you!

Many of you know that we can not watch tv at our house. That doesn't me we are without entertainment, we have to be a little more creative about it. Since JJ has been obsessed with Star Wars, Spencer and I decided to watch all the episodes. We have watched 1-4, it had been a really long time since I've seen the originals, it's been fun to see them again.

Many thanks to our neighbors who gave us this slide. The first thing Eva says every morning is, "I wanna slide". It sounds a little like I want to go outside, it took me a few times to realize what she was talking about.

We like to ride our bikes to the flight park.

JJ has gotten so good at holding his breath under water, I was taking pictures during his lesson, and he actually requested that I take one of him holding his breath.

We look forward to our bike rides, we try and do it every weekend. All week JJ looked forward to Saturday because Dad promised to help JJ ride without his training wheels. JJ got his chance when we got home from our family ride. He did really good, but it's going to take some practice.

Happy Father's Day Spencer!!! Your an amazing Dad!!!

The adventures of Bat girl and Robin!

Summer?

2010-06-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

The weather has been a little wild here in Utah. One days it's 90 degrees, then it's rainy and 60. Today JJ started swim lessons, I was a little worried about the temp, but the pool was nice and warm, he had a great time!!!

Cooler rides!

Sidewalk Chalk! JJ is getting so good at his letters.

Thanks to Grandmas and Grandpa who came to lots of T-Ball games!

JJ and his cousin playing Santa & his reindeer, the couch was the sleigh, they had so much fun, but wow what a mess!

We didn't know Draper had so many trails when we moved here, we've really enjoyed the recreation available in our "back yard"

Eva can be a little crazy. She was dragging this dog around crying. Helping her usually escalates the problem, somehow Grandma made it all better.