Something Stanton

Late Night Antics

2012-01-31T14:00:00.000-05:00

I said that Bri is in a big girl bed now. That means that she has the freedom to get out when she wants. Last night John and I heard some noise coming from upstairs while watching a movie. I came upstairs and found this:

She found my makeup drawer. And nail polish too. Close up.

And face shot. Love the dark eyebrow.

Killer Instinct... Sort of.

2012-01-28T16:36:00.001-05:00

We have mice again. They are, fortunately, limited to our basement, and the walls and ceilings upstairs. Which means it's time to set out the traps again.

So a few days ago I came down the stairs and I hear this weird rattling sound. I turn the corner and there is Kitty-Boo. Dangling from her mouth is a big fat mouse. And dangling from the mouse is a fully sprung mouse trap.

She'd gone in the basement, found the dead mouse in the trap, and was dragging it to her food room. Obviously I didn't let that happen. But ever since it's like this killer instinct has been awakened in her. You can tell that it's on her mind. You walk by the door to the basement and she is there. You twiddle a piece of string in her direction and she pounces. You chase her from room to room and she runs. She has tasted blood, and she likes it!

Gross side note - instead of disposing of the bodies properly, John just threw them out in this bucket on the back porch. I happened to look down when I was poking my head out the back door and there they were. Floating mouse bodies frozen in water like fruit in jello. Ick.

Sledding

2012-01-20T16:31:00.002-05:00

Today we went to a friends house to go sledding. And it was cold. There hasn't been much snow here this winter, but she had enough on the hill in front of her house for us to have a go.

Cambria kept saying, "I mummy!" because she was so bundled up. Sye would yell out "Up, up, and away!" when he'd take off, and lift his gloved fist in a wave goodbye. I even went down with them a few times, even though snow flew up the back of my coat and then melted down my pants (not a pleasant experience, let me tell you. You can imagine where that freezing water ran...). And then Bri was ready to go in because she was cold and couldn't move much and Sye could have stayed out all day if I let him.

Never you mind my over exaggerated laugh in the video. I stole that laugh from my dear brothers back in Utah, and I use it to get my kids excited about things. It really works!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T16:41:00.000-05:00

We Love You All!

-The Stantons -

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-23T01:42:00.000-05:00

We made gingerbread houses the other day. The kids loved it so much. Sye had such good ideas on what he wanted it to look like. Bri liked it too, but she mainly just liked eating the frosting and pouring it all over the plate.

Cambria's House.

Sye's House.

My House.

I love our tree. All lit up and pretty.

This is the first year I've been able to put up all of my Christmas Houses. So pretty and fun.

Dickens Christmas

2011-12-20T16:09:00.000-05:00

I miss how when I was a kid Christmas was so magical and wonderful. Once I got married (no offense, John) that all kind of went away. But I was given some sound advice that the way to make Christmas magical is to have fun traditions.

I've taken that to heart. So this year we went to the Lights on the Lake (for those of you in Utah, you basically drive along a lake where they have tons of light displays set up), have Christmas music playing all the time, made Christmas cookies, chocolates, gingerbread houses. The works.

And here was another we did. In a town called Skaneateles (pronounced skinny atlas) they have a yearly shindig where volunteers dress up as characters or people from the time period of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. They have all kinds of activities and displays and you basically walk along this long idyllic street and run into people who talk and act and are dressed old fashioned. Like this:

But hold on! That's not the only thing you'll see. You'll also see sheer awesome, like this:

It was lunchtime, so we headed over to a little place called Valentino's, and it has AMAZING food. We got some macaroni and cheese for the babes (although, admittedly, John and I stole bites because it was so yummy), John got a huge calzone, and I got a delicious panini sandwich. (see below. YUM!)

When we finished eating, we headed over to where Father Christmas was. Sye has been SO excited about Santa this year that he just kept asking when we could go see him. I honestly don't know why I don't have a single picture of him smiling, because he was ecstatic about seeing this jolly old man. And Bri was too, as you can tell.

Free balloon from Santa's Sister!* (see story below)

Chug Chug Chug! Free eggnog. Her whole body got into it.

I love this picture. Partly because I love this street so much, and mostly because I love this little girl so much.

And this little man too!

Crows? Geese? Whatever they are... Pretty!

We stopped and listened to carols sung by a barbershop quartet. Sye was mesmerized.

Bri really liked the "princesses" that watched the carols with us.

Just some cool scenery down by the water processing facility.

We did a scavenger hunt in this old art gallery and they had this vintage tree set up in front. I love it! It's literally dripping with ornaments.

*After we get home, John is getting all of their gear off of them and so unties Sye's balloon. He assures Sye it will be fine, let's go, and they both watch as it reaches the ceiling, bounces once, and pops.

Sye's face immediately fell and he started to cry, "You popped my balloon! It was very special. Santa's Sister gave that to me!"

** Side note. Bri is now in a big girl bed! With her being potty trained, the crib just wasn't working. She's doing great now!

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-18T17:49:00.000-05:00

Christmas Cookies! Check out Sye's Diinosaur cookie he made. And Cambria's snowman next to it. So cute.

Time for Chocolate

2011-12-15T17:16:00.000-05:00

It's that time again. Time to make chocolates for Christmas.

I decided to recruit some of my household slaves to do some of the frivolous labor. So John, Sye, and Bri rolled truffles while I tempered chocolate and got ready to dip it.

Christmas Girl

2011-12-12T20:13:00.000-05:00

I can't help it. She's just so beautiful. Every once in a while as I take a picture I just know it's going to be one of those. And this was one of them. I don't know which I like better. Color or black and white. But seeing her sweet face makes me grateful for life.

Ice Cream Partay!

2011-12-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

What do we do when the babies eat all their dinner? Celebrate with Ice Cream of course! And what better way to bring in the Christmas spirit than with a nice family sit down to watch "Elf." Sye was so mesmerized by it that he didn't even eat his ice cream. It just melted into a big soupy mess. Bri, on the other hand, ate every bite she could get.

Early Warning Signs

2011-12-05T20:34:00.000-05:00

Sye frequently makes us laugh during his prayers, not because he is trying to be funny, but because he really means what he prays for. The other night he thanked Heavenly Father for Santa, but his best prayer yet was yesternight when he said the family prayer.

I quote an exact line:

"...and thank you for momma...and thank you for dada... (then in a low slightly devious voice) and thank you that they can't defy me!"

Thanksgetting and Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T17:55:00.000-05:00

John decided to start a new tradition the day before Thanksgiving. It's called Thanksgetting. It's when the boys make the meal and clean it up and we just have a grand old time. We also decided to do the Nog 'Stache competition then too.

Since most of us didn't have mustaches, Rick and Emily (who were staying with us for the week) went out and bough fake mustaches. So a whole bunch of us were able to participate this year!

Deviously thinking...

And it begins.

Drink Drink!

Guzzle Guzzle! John, you're disqualified for leaking out of the cup!

Sammi wins!

And that was the end of Thanksgetting. The next day was Thanksgiving, and we went over to the farm for a quick family picture, which I can't post because Mark is wiggity wack about putting pictures up of his family. And then home for a yummy lunch provided by Jo and then dinner at the farm later that night.

But this is what I look forward to every year. Coconut Praline Pie. It is SOOOOOOOOOO delicious. Yum.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Grateful

2011-11-24T17:52:00.000-05:00

Today I'm grateful for these guys:

and then him:

and that we were married in one of these :

And that we will be together forever because we were.

Garden Cleanup

2011-11-22T23:13:00.000-05:00

Cleaning up the garden. I said, "Don't pull up the raspberry bush! (Yes, it is still that green out here.)

What the what? Look at the size of that honest nest! It's bigger than a basketball, and right outside my upstairs bedroom window!

Chase Pictures

2011-11-16T22:03:00.000-05:00

Going through pictures and found some I took of Chase. I totally miss this boy!

Also, Bri is now potty trained. Hurray! I think she was more ready this time. But I still plan on her having accidents. She gets so involved in what she's doing she sometimes forgets.

Potty Attempt #2

2011-11-14T08:32:00.000-05:00

Trying for number 2 (pun) on potty training again. I think she's more ready, since she's been peeing in the potty at night for a couple weeks now. We'll see how it goes...

Ballerina

2011-11-11T21:56:00.000-05:00

Cambria has decided she likes to be a ballerina. I love her little tippy toes.

Sye decided to be a robot.

Yogurt 'Stache

2011-11-08T21:46:00.000-05:00

Sye found a new way to wear his yogurt.

Run

2011-11-06T01:01:00.000-04:00

Run, Kitty-boo, run! Cambria is coming to get you!

(She's not supposed to be outside, but she sneaks sometimes. And now all my pets have fleas. It's AWFUL. Maybe more on that later. Or hopefully not, because hopefully I'll just get rid of them and never have to think of them again.)

Once a Kitty, Always a Kitty

2011-11-02T01:04:00.000-04:00

When doing Bri's face paint for her costume, I didn't have any black eyeliner, so I just grabbed a black magic marker and drew it on.

In she trots today, marker in hand and says, "Ine a kitty! (high pitched now) Neow, neow!"

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T00:49:00.000-04:00

We started out our spooky celebrations by carving up our pumpkins.

Sye helped Cambria brainstorm on what her pumpkin should look like.

John tried to cut Bri's pumpkin. It was not happening. She took mine instead.

Sye braved the pumpkin innards.

So did Bri. But then, she's never minded having stuff on her hands like Sye does.

Sye drew his face on his pumpkin while Bri finished up gutting hers.

He's such a little artist.

This is serious business, guys.

Bri finished drawing hers.

We cut it out following the lines she made.

And Sye's too.

Hurray for pumpkins!

Halloween time.Sye the mummy. Bri the kitty.

Let's do this!

First say hi to the cousins (and other kitty costumed kid).

Now get the candy!

Success! Cambria definitely had more fun than Sye, but he still had a good time. Although he did walk like a goon because his wrapping were falling off the whole time due to his puffy coat. Oh well. I have loads of candy to eat. I mean, let them eat...

After a lot of trick or treating, a whole cookie jar full of candy, and lots of happy faces to see our kids running around, we finally lit our pumpkins... in the kitchen. But we lit them, right?

Side story. Sye has learned to manipulate. Today I told him he had to take a nap to go trick or treating. About a half hour into his nap, he told me he didn't want to take a nap. I reminded him about trick or treating and he said "I don't want to go trick or treating" with this snarky face that I wanted to slap (not really, but you know what I mean). After a bit of that back and forth, I stormed out and told John. John went in and Sye told him he was saying that to hurt my feelings. Nice. It's started. And he's already good at it.

Gearing up for Halloween

2011-10-30T00:26:00.000-04:00

With some scary teeth!

What the Snow

2011-10-28T00:20:00.000-04:00

We had a snow storm last night. The first one of the season and we woke up with a few inches of snow over everything. The kids of course wanted to go out in it. So we bundled up and played in the snow on this sunny day.

Caramel Apples

2011-10-24T23:07:00.000-04:00

Last night we made Caramel Apples with some of the apples we got from the apple farm last week. I decided to go full out with the complete gourmet caramel apples. So I set out marshmallows, m&ms, walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon, and chocolate. Then I made the caramel (it only took about four hours. Grrrr...), dipped the apples, and then handed it to the babies to dip whatever they wanted. It was so cute. They had so much fun and are so excited to eat them.

Their final results.

LEAF PILE!

2011-10-21T00:01:00.000-04:00

Do I really need to say anything?

Then a little break.

Munching on the grapes from the grapevine. Sye thought it was hilarious to squeeze and pop the grapes into Cambria's mouth.

Autumn Landscape

2011-10-18T22:46:00.000-04:00

I am so crammed with photoshoots that I don't have time for anything else. But look how pretty the leaves are out here. It's really starting to get so beautiful.

Fall at the Farm

2011-10-16T22:50:00.000-04:00

Took some shots after a session at the farm the other day. Look at those colors!

Nieces

2011-10-14T14:34:00.000-04:00

One of the saddest things about moving to New York was leaving my sweet little nieces behind. We'd always lived next door to them once Sye had been born and so we got together all the time to let the kids play. Sye and Chloe are best friends and they all play so well together. Plus I just love these little girls so much!

So now that I'm not there to take pictures of them all the time we went out to get a few of them while we had the chance. Here are just a few of my favorite ones. Do you not just want to squeeze Elle? She is so adorable in all her chunkiness (and polka dot bikini)!

Apple Fest Failure

2011-10-11T17:36:00.000-04:00

Sunday was the last day of the Apple Festival. The weather was sunny and warm, my booth was adorable, my finished products were praised. But not purchased. I am now calling this whole mess the Apple Fest Failure. I felt really good about this whole venture until about three hours into the first day when I realized that no one was buying anything. And not just from me, but from everyone else too. All the other vendors had just as bad a time as I did. I guess it's the economy, but still. I guess I can walk away knowing that everyone that saw them said they were cute and I even sold a couple of things. (mainly to family. Sad.)

So if anyone wants some really cute boutique clothing for ages 12m - 5T, I'm selling skirts and vests for $12 and dresses for $20 if you mention this blog. And then maybe I can recoup my unmentionable debt I got into by making all this stuff.

Apple Festival Merchandise

2011-10-07T17:34:00.000-04:00

The Apple Festival is tomorrow. I went out a couple days ago and took some pictures of the kids in my gear. It didn't go so well. But I did get a few cute shots. So this is what those lucky people who stop by my booth have to look forward to. If I finish everything on time, that is.

Chained

2011-10-04T17:11:00.000-04:00

I am currently sewing like a mad person and chained to my machine. The Apple Festival is this coming weekend and I still have LOADS to do!

But in the meantime, a picture from our family picture trade with good friends, Sean and Heather. They are a good looking family, aren't they?

Goodbye Chase

2011-09-30T19:42:00.000-04:00

The past two weeks we were out in Utah visiting. The main (and most time consuming) reason we were out there is because my little brother, Chase, left to serve a two year mission in Fort Worth, Texas for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We went out to spend his last couple weeks with him and see him off to serve and spread the gospel.

We were so busy spending time with him and family that we didn't have any time to see friends, or even family outside of my immediate. I'm sorry to anyone we couldn't see and to anyone we left hanging out to dry while our plans changed and moved around to accommodate him. I was full of guilt the entire time about if I was making someone feel left out, and honestly had a breakdown or two because of it. So just know I'm sorry, and we'll have to make time next time we're out to visit.

I took some pictures of his last day as he scrambled to get everything packed. I really need to get a more convenient camera for these type of things than my heavy duty one, because if there is no light I can't get a picture. Hence this blurry one. (notice me in the background. I'm saying hi.) But I at least wanted something of him getting ready to go.

Sad face at me. That's a nice tie though, right? We gave it to him. That's why.

Meanwhile, Camma passed out in the front room from all the late nights and missed naps and running around and cutting two molars.

More pictures were taken, but not by me. But I know that what Chase is doing is the right thing. I know that spreading the gospel is the most important thing he can do, because the church is true. I know because I've put in the study and prayer and over a long time, and a lot of ups and downs, I've slowly built my testimony and faith until I know for sure that it is true. I challenge you to do the same, and I know that as you plant that seed and nourish it you will find joy and peace in your life and know that our Heavenly Father has a sacred plan for you. I know that is true. And I know that those that Chase brings the gospel to will find that happiness as well.

So good luck, buddy. I love you!

Home At Last

2011-09-28T19:13:00.000-04:00

We just got back from a long (and honestly, totally not relaxing and quite stressful) trip from Utah for two weeks. I'm too tired to do anything right now, but here are a few pictures of hanging out in the airport on the way there. They were pooped from us telling them to run back and forth for the entire layover.

And the story:

Yesterday on our way home we had a real short layover in Chicago. I had gotten a little airsick on the bumpy flight before so John ran off to get the kids and me some food. He came back with a fruit and yogurt parfait cup for the kids.

Now I have to mention that Cambria has this tendency to store food in her cheeks. It doesn't matter if it's something she likes or something she hates, she just holds it in her mouth until it turns to mush and then will most likely spit it out.

So John was hurriedly feeding the kids this dinner, with a spoonful for Sye, a spoonful for Bri, etc. etc. Cambria couldn't quite keep up with the pace, and by the end she still had a mouthful of yogurt and granola she was working on. But it was time to board, so John quickly put her up and on his shoulders as we watched the "A" group start to go through the gate.

Suddenly, John here's "Achoo" and this guy in front of him lifts up his hands and goes, "Ah" with a little ironic smile on his face. Cambria had sneezed! And when she sneezed she sprayed her yogurt/granola/mush all over the back of John's head and the people walking in front of her. Then she leans over and just lets the rest of the much ooze out her mouth and onto the back of John's head.The thick purply mess drips down his hair and down the back of his neck while I scramble to find a napkin or wipe of something.

It was awesome. Although, I'm not sure what is up with us and the Chicago airports.

Business Access

2011-09-17T16:15:00.000-04:00

Sye sees this sign on the ground and starts laughing. Then he turns and says, "Mama, look it! He's sitting on a toilet!"

Raspberry Picking

2011-09-09T19:07:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again. Fall raspberries are in and ready to be picked. So we headed down to our local Pick-Your-Own farm and gorged ourselves on big fat raspberries.

Remember last year?

And then I whipped up some delicious raspberry freezer jam. Again, like last year.

Anyway, here are some of my favorites. I love love love them. These kids just make me so happy.

Zig Zag Spider

2011-09-06T22:24:00.000-04:00

I almost peed right in my pants when we were out picking raspberries today and I noticed Sye leaning against a huge spiderweb. I told him to back up and when he did THIS gigantic thing came scurrying down.

I looked them up online later and they are called the Black and Yellow Garden Spider or Writing Spider. Supposedly nontoxic to humans, I took a good long look at those mandibles or fangs or whatever they're called and would NOT want to be bitten by those bad boys. Not to mention that this thing was probably bigger than my thumb. *Gag/Pee*

After that first encounter (which was missing like three of it's legs, by the way. Ick!) I kept a weather eye out for more zig zag webs occupied by gigantic spiders and saw at least three more. This was wasn't even the biggest, it was just closest to my car when we were leaving. I just pray that I never see one of these in my garden or that hobby will be dead before it even takes off.

Sye's Bike

2011-09-03T19:12:00.000-04:00

So Sye got a bike for his birthday. It was the bike that John and all of his brothers used when they were just kids. My father-in-law fixed it to the point where he could at least ride it and gave it to Sye.

John was determined that Sye could do it without training wheels, because apparently that's what he did when he was a kid. But I know my son. He has a lot of my clumsy genes and fear of pain, so I had a pretty good idea that it wouldn't go quite as planned.

So off they went.

Cambria and I hung back in her little car. She was still pretty excited about the robot costumes from Sye's birthday party, so she was dressed up in that.

Here's Sye, not steering. And on that second to last picture, "Hey mama! Look at me! Not steering!"

So Bri took a turn and did about as good as Sye did. And he didn't really care at all.

Then they were pooped. So Dadda gave them both a ride home.

Sye's Turned Four

2011-08-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

Today is Sye's Fourth Birthday. It's weird that my little baby boy is really a kid now. He's a child, not a toddler. And that's made more evident each day as he becomes more independent and develops more of his personality. But even still, if I had to describe Sye in one word it would be: Sweet. He is so sweet. He is happy to give hugs whenever I ask, he is so good about listening when I tell him to do something, he's pretty good about not fighting with Bri too much. He's just a sweet little boy, and I love him so much.

So today we had a little party for his birthday. He wanted a robot theme, so I tried my best to stick to that. But first we had food. I made homemade pizza, punch, and cut up a watermelon. Oh, and party mix too.

It was quite a crowd. It was his first party where he wanted to invite friends.

We took empty paper grocery bags and cut holes in them for the head and arms and let the kids decorate them as they wanted. I just had to take a picture of Cambria struggling to pick up her plate of pizza because of her robot costume.

Sye and his buddy, Jonathon, from church. Sye talks about him all the time. Probably because it's his first friend that's a boy.

Then we played some games (those pictures are lost somewhere...) and it was time for presents. And boy, did he walk away with a bunch of loot this year. Everyone was so kind and generous with their gifts! (Take a look at how excited Jonathon was for Sye. That was one of my favorite things about tonight. HAHA!)

Cake time! I found this cake recipe for a robot cake on the Betty Crocker website. It turned out so cute!

But unfortunately Sye couldn't have cared less. In fact, he never even had a piece of his cake, because he was too interested in playing with his new toys.

And then the Robot Pinata. Everyone took a turn blasting that thing before scrambling to pick up the candy and toys. It was a lot of fun and Sye had a blast. Happy Birthday Sye!

Catch Up

2011-08-28T20:58:00.004-04:00

I am so proud of this hairstyle on Bri. I had to share. It looked so beautiful. The top row was what it looked like freshly done, before church. The second row was after church. I cannot wait to use this hairstyle on some of my sessions for my sewing, and I wish I could do it on myself. Alas, it's not something I could do on the back of my head without a mirror.

Today she was terrified to go to bed in her own bed. She said she was scared of the rain and would cry sadly when I tried to leave her in there. So I took her into my bed and rubbed my nose across her cheek until she fell asleep. Her skin is so soft and she smelled so good from her bath and her little arms wrapped around my neck filled my heart with joy.

So it has been FOREVER since I did a real post. (I just backdated a whole bunch of posts from right after Sye's birthday, so go check them out.) The thing is that I have been so darn busy. Every spare minute I am sewing or cutting or measuring or cleaning or taking care of the babies, or editing pictures or doing a hundred other things that are taking precedence over updating this blog. But hopefully I'll be done or close to done soon.

So other things we've been doing. Pulling things out of garden, like sweet succulent corn like I've never eaten in my life. Or tomatoes as big as my fist. Or carrots that are sweet and yummy.

The weather has been great the last few days. Lots of rain, a pretty awesome thunderstorm, and just nice cuddly weather. The thunderstorm happened in the middle of the night. It went on for a while when suddenly we heard storming feet and Sye comes running into our room terrified at the thunder. He got up in bed with us and snuggled for a while until the storm stopped. Then I finally went and put him in bed so that I could sleep.

Other than that, we've been driving around on our four wheeler, blackberry picking, planning for Sye's birthday, going to the park, and dealing with the kids being sick. We've had a lot of fun, or rather, the kids and John have been having fun while I've been sewing.

Last of all, we're heading out for Utah in a few weeks! So excited to see friends and family. And if you've been wanting to get new pictures done for upcoming Christmas cars, let me know and I'll try to squeeze you in.

Gasp

2011-08-25T20:13:00.000-04:00

Cambria has just recently been trying something new in baths. She's been laying down into the water, where before she didn't like it if I made her do it. But now she'll lower herself slowly into the water, gasping every few seconds because she is getting her ears wet. And now Sye is joining her. So cute.

Shake Face

2011-08-22T20:24:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was my brother in law's birthday. He and a girl friend (separate words. Not girlfriend. Girl. Friend.) came over and hung out with use for a little while. After some delicious corn from our garden and some chocolate chip cookies, we thought it would be fun to do some shake facing. Don't know what that is?

Shake facing is when you shake your face back and forth real fast and let everything fly. Then you take a picture. You can see more here from a few years back of my sister, Carlie, and me. So enjoy the laughs that will come as you look at these.

Sye wanted to give it a try too.

Bri was just like, what the heck?

2011-08-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

Sye is taking his newfound skills for drawing monsters and such to a whole new level.

One we're not necessarily so happy about.

Cutting

2011-08-18T00:28:00.002-04:00

Sye has been so creative lately. The boy who loathed crayons, scoffed at markers, and turned up his nose to chalk now loves do play with just those things. And he's branching out into other forms of creativity too. From pretend play to drawing monsters, he's sure growing up.

The other morning I walked into my craft room and found this.

Sye had found a pair of scissors, grabbed a few pieces of paper from my scrapbooking supplies (at least someone is using them...), and proceeded to cut out shapes and make paper robots and monsters. What the heck? (Sye's new catchphrase.)

It was so cute how when he started to cut he'd get so intense he'd start to shake. After a few attempts to cut some paper he put it down and says to me, "I can't do it! I keep on shaking!"

But that didn't stop him. He finished up with five different shaped monsters/robots complete with arms, legs, mouths, and eyes. At least for most of them. And now they are displayed proudly on our fridge.

Happy Birthday John!

2011-08-15T23:23:00.002-04:00

John turned 29! I can't believe that is my age range now. I remember when my mom turned 30, and it seemed SO OLD. And now John is just one year away from that.

He said he had a good birthday, so I hope that's true. First he tried to go to the DLD to get his license renewed, but they needed an original birth certificate (information not provided on their website) so he wasted an hour or so there. Then he had to work for a little bit, and then that's where the fun started. Tom watched the kids while we went out and saw the last Harry Potter movie (which was awesome!). Then we came back home and I started on dinner and his "cake" while he got insurance quotes and hung out (he said that was what he wanted to do. Weird. On my birthday, I wanted to sit around and do NOTHING.). Then, after his favorite dinner of chicken tetrazinni, we had his family over for presents and "cake."

He got some fun things, like bullets, a couple basketball shirts, and a nice pair of b-ball pants, and of course money is always awesome, but my present really took the cake. I got him a weighted vest that he has been eyeing for ages. He wants to add 10 pounds to his shoulders when he playschurch basketball (crazy). So he sat and played with it while I went and dished up the brownies and homemade banana ice cream he wanted for his birthday. And it was delicious. There's nothing better than homemade banana ice cream. It is creamy and cool and just scrumptious. Add a fudgey brownie to the mix and you have a little bit of heaven.

I'm so lucky to have John as the love of my life. He works so hard for our family, and worries to much. He is so good with the kids and they just love to wrestle and play with him. And he is so patient and loving to me (most of the time). I'm so lucky to have been blessed with such a great guy. I love you, John!

Obstacle Course

2011-08-10T20:08:00.000-04:00

Cambria got a hold of a dispenser of tape. And decided to create her own obstacle course with the tape across the whole room.

More creativity

2011-08-08T20:04:00.000-04:00

Sye has been up to more creative antics lately. He's been building "castles" with his blocks, and his new favorite, drawing monsters and dinosaurs on the chalkboard.

In this case, a monster.

BREAKTHROUGH!!!!

2011-08-07T18:21:00.003-04:00

Holy cow! Today we get home from church and all of the sudden, Sye picks up a piece of chalk and starts coloring. COLORING! And not just that, he starts coloring something specific. He started coloring a picture of dinosaurs. And not just one dinosaur, but a whole family of them, complete with teeth, legs, tail, and eyes. It is awesome. He's suddenly made one of those brain leaps that kids make where all of the sudden they can do something they didn't ever do before.

Working Hard, or Hardly Working?

2011-08-05T20:20:00.000-04:00

Bloody Noses

2011-08-03T20:17:00.002-04:00

Poor buddy keeps getting bloody noses with all this crazy weather we've been getting. Even at night. Poor little dude doesn't know what to do with himself.

Where Have I Been? (POST EDIT)

2011-07-31T18:03:00.000-04:00

Didn't you know? I had a baby.

[PHOTO HAS BEEN REMOVED BY AUTHOR]

Haha! Just kidding. This is my new niece, Natalie. She is SO adorable, and I'd love to post more pictures that I took of her, but I'm afraid of her dad getting after me. Unless I get the okay from her mom (secretly, most likely) then this is all I dare.

Cambria's Party

2011-07-28T17:36:00.007-04:00

I had a fun party for Cambria's birthday. Since there were no friends for her party, I decided to go all out and throw a cute party for her. All the family here in town came in. We pulled out our chairs and set up in the back yard.

I made these fabric pom poms for fun decorations.

Then the yummy food. First, mandarin chicken salad.

Delicious Zucchini bread.

Fruit salad.

And the best part. Fresh fruit tart. This stuff is SO scrumptious.

Cambria kept stealing the chips. And watermelon.

Then it was present time. Just take a good look at her face in these. She is so excited.

She literally squealed when she opened her two presents that were kitty themed.

After she opened this one she didn't put it down.

Bri saying thanks to Gma.

Bri thanks Old Fart.

I made her a chocolate layer cake with white buttercream rosettes iced onto the cake.

She was so excited to blow out her candles that she tried blowing them out before she even got close. And then when she was done she wanted to blow them out again.

She is so good with a fork.

I look like a hot mess, but that's what happens when you don't have time to get ready because you're in the kitchen all day. However, I sacrificed so that I could actually have a picture with my little girl.

Cambria Turns Two

2011-07-25T15:17:00.001-04:00

Today is my beautiful daughter's second birthday.

She is a fiesty, independent little thing. She is a girl who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to run after it. She is not shy at all. She goes running up to anyone and will say hi and ask them questions. She is fearless when it comes to doing new things. And she can throw a tantrum like you wouldn't believe!

She's also very sweet. She loves to snuggle, but you're lucky to get a kiss. She loves kitties and gets excited when she sees them. She loves to color on everything, including walls and windowpanes and floors and fridges.

To Cambria, I hope you always stay as headstrong and sure of yourself as you are now. I hope that you know that your Heavenly Father loves you and that you are of utmost worth to him. I want you to know that you are a special person and are a wonderful spirit. I love you, my baby girl!

Harestables

2011-07-22T14:40:00.002-04:00

I harvested some things from my garden.

Zucchini

Snap Peas

Green Beans

Sales

2011-07-20T14:33:00.002-04:00

I just received word today that I have been accepted to sell the clothes and things I make at the Apple Festival in October. Which means I will be making and sewing like crazy for the next two months. If you live in the area come and visit!

Raspberries

2011-07-18T14:04:00.004-04:00

We have been spending our time wandering around the farm and the surrounding countryside on our four wheeler grabbing and picking buckets full of wild raspberries. It has been awesome and delicious. There are black and red ones that are absolutely scrumptious. We can't stop eating them, and the kids are in heaven.

What My Kids Do

2011-07-16T11:21:00.001-04:00

One thing that I find absolutely fascinating about having two kids is that they come from the same gene pool but are so completely different. Besides how they look different, they have REALLY different personalities and different things they like to do. For example...

Cambria likes to color. A lot. The first thing she does in the morning is say, "Anna Cowo!" (I want to color.) Then she goes to the table, gets her crayons and proceeds with coloring for the next few hours.

Sye, on the other hand, has NEVER liked to color. His thing is reading. We come home from the library and he gets all his books out and reads through them for hours. Bri rarely is interested in reading.

Garden from July 6th

2011-07-14T08:43:00.002-04:00

Some pictures of our garden I took on July 6th. It has grown extensively since that time. I'll probably head out and take some more pictures in a couple days.

Grapes

Zucchini and Summer Squash (and Sye being silly while being my reference point for size.)

Bri sad for whatever reason. Probably something Sye did.

Zucchini

Wild Raspberries. I found these all along the edge of our property. Whoopie! I love raspberries. We've been going out and picking them at the farm, so it's nice to have some in our backyard too.

More silly Sye.

Tomatoes. That one in the middle is seriously as big as our four wheeler. It has at least 75 tomatoes on it. I've never seen anything like it.

Bean plants. These are harvestable now.

Corn. Which is now taller than John and is in the pollination phase.

Carrots

Snap peas. Oh so delicious.

Apples

Pears.

Curse Words

2011-07-11T23:56:00.002-04:00

I lost my phone for like five days. I feel like I am drifting away in to the abyss of solitude, and I'm surprising okay with that. I'm sure it will hit me and I'll suddenly be wanting to talk to someone other than my kids.

Some funny things. Well, the beginning part isn't funny, but the solution was.

Sye has been taking the Lord's name in vain. I have NO idea where he learned it, or even where he heard it. We don't ever watch T.V., he only watches little kids shows, and no one we associate with says it either. It just came completely out of the blue.

The first few times I explained that we don't use Heavenly Father's name disrespectfully and that it makes Him real sad when we do. But then today he said it again. So I had a full discussion of why we don't use his name that way. Instead of using Gods's name, we came up with all kinds of different exclamations or curse words he can use to express himself. Here were some:

Oh, Pumpkin Patch!

Oh, Pillow Juice!

Oh, Beetle Juice!

Oh, Pillow Patch!

Oh, Blanket Juice!

Oh, Pumpkin Juice! (He really liked the juice ones...)

Oh, Pocket Window!

Oh, Toe Juice! (Ew.)

Oh, Pillow Face!

Oh, Pumpkin Face!

etc.

My kid is hilarious. And naughty. And so sweet. How can he be so many things all wrapped up in one?

he really DOES love me

2011-07-08T09:29:00.000-04:00

Last week John comes up to me and says, "There's something for you in the mailbox." I leaped up from where I was weeding and went excitedly to the mailbox. I opened it up and inside was a slip of white paper mounted on a bigger slip of pink. I picked it up and read it.

"Pink is my color, a memory I keep

Of the three princesses on me, one fell asleep"

I immediately grinned. John had been up to something, and this had to be it. It sure sounded like a scavenger hunt to me.

I immediately thought of some of the princess things I owned and headed up to my closet, but stopped in to say how sneaky John is. Then I saw another slip of paper on a pink princess frame that holds a picture of my family from a trip to Disneyland. The next clue was:

"I was pulled from the barn, a new job I did need

Now I sit on a perch and distribute seed"

I knew instantly that was the bird feeder, so I booked it outside for my next clue.

"I have a secret compartment and live where you sleep

You fill me with things that are made out of sheep"

This ones stumped me for a minute. I thought it was my pillow, but that doesn't have a secret compartment. Then John gave me a small hint of, "It's funny, because we were actually talking about this the other day." That was just enough, because I went to my sock drawer and started rifling through it. When that brought up nothing it hit me. I opened up the secret compartment in our dresser and pulled out the next clue:

"To this group you owe all your deepest of loyalty

As seen they are all wearing the color of royalty"

After going to our family pictures in the living room I found the next one.

"I am a singer, though not by profession

Be careful or I can become an obsession"

I laughed at that one and went up to my craft room. Next to my Singer sewing machine was the next clue:

"When the family's around me I heat up pretty quick

From there all you need is some treats and a stick"

Of course anything with marshmellows is going to grab my attention. I headethd back to the fire pit and found:

"I am meant to assist kids in their quest to be bright

But more often I'm used to give Sye extra height"

This one gave me a few guesses. It could be a stool of some sort, but that didn't keep with the getting bright bit. I looked up at our house from the yard and it hit me. I found the next clue in the desk in Sye's room - the one he uses to look out the window. Along with that I found a bag of lifesaver mints. Yum!

"Here you can see four people we miss

When with them we laugh so hard that we pee-pee"

I knew instantly that this was the picture of our best friends we have hanging up. But John had gotten tricky, and I had to actually pull the frame off the wall to find my next clue.

At this point John was following me around with a big grin on his face. He was loving this. And truthfully, so was I!

"Starving's not fun, though some think it's a game

At least that's what is implied by my name"

Ran up and found the next clue inside my book "The Hunger Games."

"You view me as scentless and above all the rest

Though it's been long since that has been put to the test"

This one took me a long time to figure out. After about 5 minutes wandering around thinking of stuff that doesn't smell but that I like, I went into the bathroom and randomly opened up the medicine cabinet. There was the next clue, resting next to my lotion bottle. John used to give me foot massages using that lotion, but that pretty much stopped after we got married.

"More miniature beings should walk on my floor

Though often I'm forced to put up with much more"

I was stumped on this one. I looked in the basement, I looked on rugs, but I could not figure it out. Eventually I begged a clue from John. He said that the miniature beings were replicas of something. What? That didn't help me at first, but eventually I figured out that it was the doll house in Bri's room.

"My children are often referred to with fear

I'm tall and thin and most known for my ear"

I found that clue in among our corn in the garden.

"I bear the mark of love for an unknown

My bark is well known for it's similiarity to stone"

That was another fast one. I knew that meant this pot I made back in high school that looks like a stump. I had carved into the side a heart with my initials in it and then a bunch of other initials scraped out. I was ever realistic that I knew one day I wouldn't want a pot with some high school crush's initials carved into it. Inside the pot was a can of cashews and the next clue:

"I grew up below, and into me you blow

Those within earshot your presence will know"

We have a conch shell that we got on our trip to Hawaii so many years ago, and inside was a bag of tub color tablets for the kids and the next clue.

"I am something for which the kids frequently ask you

Not because I'm the best, but the easiest to get to

Stumped? Second clue on the back.

Named after two men, my flavor is sweet

At Gmas house the kids have me for a treat"

I figured this was at the farmhouse, so we loaded up the kids and went over to the farm. Under her candy jar, I found the next clue:

"I am very well known for how well I run

Though when I'm not running the kids still think I'm fun"

I thought this was either a tractor, or a horse. So I asked Gma's advice, but she wasn't much help. So John gave me the tip that farmer's think this. And I knew I was on with the tractor. Where I found the next clue.

"I'm always watching my weight as my belt runs below

You learned to use me before John, you know"

I went and found the next clue on my father in law's bagger machine, along with a couple packs of Extra mint chocolate dessert gum.

"Lucky shoes I do frequently wear

My name with a past president I share"

I immediately knew it was Truman, the horse. When I went over to his stall I had a hard time finding the paper. I searched it over three different times before I finally found it tucked into the corner.

"I am Canadian, and made for a bed

Though once alive I'm most certainly dead

Need help? Ask Old Fart"

I assumed this one meant the Canada Goose that are around or a pillow or something, but I couldn't be sure. I didn't want to ask Old Fart (John's Grandpa) because they said he was grouchy, so instead I called up Tom and asked him what was Canadian on the farm. He told me the bags of sawdust that Old Fart sells for horse bedding are all from Canada. Sure enough, when I got there, a clue was waiting along with two awesome foam swords for the kids (which they instantly began fighting each other with. Best gift ever.)

"A striking resemblance to Paul Bunyan's friend

My horns are different and so is my end

Stumped? Ask Don"

I didn't need help with this one. I walked right over to my father in law's truck and got the next clue.

"Weeping is most often thought with my name

Though here as a boy John played many a game"

Again, this was an easy one. I ran over to the gigantic willow tree by the barn and read my next clue.

"I currently grow ten fee in the air

Not because of my height but my start points up there"

When I figured out John was up to something it was because I walked in while he was working on these riddles and he quickly closed it before I could see what it was. However, I did catch a few words; they just didn't make any sense to me. One of those was the word "Pumpkins" so I knew that was going to be in the hunt. And this was the clue. So I hiked up to the manure hill where we planted our pumpkins and red my next clue.

"Geometry among the trees

Made with stone and not with ease"

What? I could not figure this one out. I walked back down to one of the outdoor riding rings where the kids were playing in the sand with John and told him I was stumped. By this time we'd been at it for about two hours. It was past the kids naps. I hadn't thought about the fact I'd be running around all over so didn't wear sensible shoes. And I think we were all super thirsty. So John did the hot and cold game, until I realized it was our fire pit we made at our attempt at camping a few weeks.

It was way back in the woods, so we put the kids on our shoulders and hiked back up in there. He'd even left me arrows in sticks and leaves in case I forgot which way to go. In our old ashes I found the last clue.

" The final clue, so I've been told

Is already given, written in bold"

I'd noticed that certain letters in the clues were bolded, but assumed he'd just made typos or it printed weird. I figured it out and it said John. When I asked him for my final clue, he just gave me a kiss and said I love you. What a perfect ending to my fun little scavenger hunt.

Only it wasn't the end! When we got home and ran upstairs, he had left one more present for us. Including this awesome water toy for the kids.

I was so sweet and a lot of fun. And I just always want to remember these little things that make me so lucky to have the husband that I have. I love you, babe!

One Month Sugar Free!

2011-07-06T23:51:00.002-04:00

A month ago I started a bet with John. I said that if I could go a whole month without sugar (for the most part), then I would get $50. I could only have sugar on holidays (the fourth, which I ate surprisingly well during despite the only chance to binge on treats) and then one servings of something on the weekend.

I'm happy to say that I made it, and I lost six pounds with only that change. Pretty sweet, huh? So I've decided to extend it. It now is for two months and at the end I will get $75 instead. Which is a TON of money to spend on myself. I know I can do it. Hopefully I'll lose another six pounds and my body will get even more free when it comes to wanting sugar. You should all do it too! It's hard but it does feel oh-so-good to not be eating sugar all the time.

FISHING!

2011-07-01T12:02:00.003-04:00

Lately we've been going fishing with John's brother, Mark. It's been loads of fun. I'm a big fan of fishing (although I'm not great at casting...). We went a couple nights ago and let the kids swim in the (freezing) water of a nearby lake. John braved the cold with Sye, while I sat on the beach with Cambria where we ate our weight in salt and vinegar chips.

As the sun neared the horizon, we decided it was time to fish, so we headed to a quiet alcove and busted out the poles.

I hate baiting my hook. They always have this little tub full of worms in dirt. To bait your hook you have to pick up one of the worms (with your fingers!), and then, because you can't put the whole worm on your hook you have to RIP IT IN HALF! If you manage that without freaking out (which I cannot) then you have to take the (still wriggling) worm bit and stab it onto your hook (still wriggling, remember.). I cannot do this. It literally turns me into a squealing baby girl.

Anyway, that night, since I was failing in my casting, I asked John to do it for me and then I would reel it in. While he did that, I decided to finally bust out my camera and take a few pictures of people. John handed over the pole to Sye to reel in while I took pictures.

My sister in law, Sarah (background) who is like nine months pregnant but you can't even tell, and her sister, Emily (foreground.) who is hilarious.

My beautiful niece, Alanna. (Am I going to get in trouble for putting this up here?)

These are the only type of pictures I get of Bri. Either from the side, or from behind. She won't look at the darn camera!

Suddenly, John yells out. Sye caught a fish! Look at it putting up a fight!

He reels it in, all on his own. He has his (adorable) concentration/concerned face on the entire time.

At first he is totally grossed out by the fish and doesn't know what to think about it. See how concerned he looks?

However, we successfully convinced him to at least grab onto the line and hold it up a little.

Part joy at his catch, part disgust at his catch. He's complex, what can I say?

Then all the kids gathered round to look at the slimy fish. But Sye would not even consider touching that slimy thing.

When we went last week I caught four fish! I haven't been fishing since I was like 11. John has a video on his phone, but I highly doubt that will ever make it to this blog, so I wanted to document it for myself. I caught four fish. Remember that, Self!

VOTE!!

2011-06-28T21:12:00.003-04:00

I entered the babies in a cover contest for Parents Magazine. They do a weekly win too where it's based on votes. I noticed the Bri is like number 6259 in the rankings because I did hers so much later, but Sye is pretty close - only 1600 or so! So go and vote for Sye and Bri and hopefully we'll win! The weekly winners get $250 and if they go all the way we'll get $10,000! Which means goodbye debt!

The link for Sye: http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/950424/46

The link for Bri: http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/943005/46

You can vote once a day per computer so if you can do it as much as possible we will all love you forever! (Although, we probably will anyway...)

Not Playing Catch Up

2011-06-26T21:00:00.004-04:00

I've decided I'm not going to try to catch up on what happened this week. I will simply leave you with a few pictures of the babies in their Easter outfits. Enjoy and love!

These were the last pictures I had of Sye with his long beautiful hair. Right after we took these pictures we went home and I buzzed it all off. But he looks good either way, I think.

I Love It When It's Not Hot

2011-06-17T17:58:00.002-04:00

I love a nice cool day. I don't like being hot, and I really think that it should never get over 75 (my sister and I both share that opinion). The beginning of this week was a nice 65 with sporadic showers. And it was lovely. After the 80+ degrees we've been having it was wonderful to just stay inside and play with toys and relax.

The kids played surprisingly well together. I didn't ask Sye to pose at all for this.

And I did do a bit of sewing. I made this skirt for the kid's friend's birthday. I wanted to keep it I thought it turned out so cute. But I always want to keep the things I make so I convinced myself to give it away.

Which brings me to a question for anyone that may happen to still be reading this blog. Let's pretend you can't sew, you have a decent amount of money on hand, you want a cute boutique style skirt for your kid, and there isn't a stay-at-home mom every other house trying to sell them. What would you pay for something like this? I've been thinking of selling them at some of the fairs and festivals they have up here but while I have some ideas, I'm not 100% sure on pricing. There's not really anything like this up here so it's not oversaturated like it was in Utah. There is a bit more of a demand. What do you think?

Camping Attempt #1

2011-06-17T00:04:00.003-04:00

We attempted to go camping this weekend. I say attempted, and I'll tell you why.

We drove up to the farm and up to the manure piles. "Left or right?" John asked and I said it didn't matter since we were on an adventure. We four wheeled it up in our (awesome) jeep until we reached a nice place near a stream. It had a perfect clearing for us to have a fire and still see the stars.

We began to clear out the land and gather rocks for our fire pit. As I started to pull out a plant I stopped and looked closely. I recognized those leaves. Huzzah! We had a real honest to goodness raspberry patch right in our new camping spot! A few weeks from now we can head up there and gather them all up. Yum!

Once we got the fire going I threw on dinner. Tinfoil pizzas and garlic bread. They didn't really turn out.

Meanwhile, John set up the tent, and the kids had a blast just playing in it for a while.

So at first, all was fun and new. We ate dinner, we roasted marshmellows, I roasted pineapple (I'm not eating sugar for a month) and then around 9:15 we put the kids in the bed. For the next half hour the kids just laughed and rough housed while John and I listened from the fire. Suddenly we hear "Dadda! Da TENT!" Somehow those kids completely tipped the tent on it's side.

We decided to join them in bed, hoping our presence would calm them down.

Fail.

We spent the next two hours with the kids not just awake and laughing, but literally crawling all over us. Through in the fact that half way through that Montezuma decided to take out it's revenge on John, which then Link ran through and tracked back to our tent, and the fact that I was having a full blown allergy attack, it wasn't going well. Finally, at 11:45 I sat up and declared loudly, "Okay! We're done."

We packed everything up and went on home, where we all had a glorious, allergy (and kid) free night's sleep.

Summer Fun

2011-06-12T23:37:00.003-04:00

We got this patio furniture from a local garage sale and it's sitting on our back porch. It is awesome to just sit outside, in the shade, watching my adorable children play in water.

Oh. He's so handsome...

Carlie, I like the pink.

So fun to watch these kids.

Out and in. That's all she did.

John ambushed Sye and dipped him in the freezing cold water.

Memorial Day Celebration

2011-06-11T22:32:00.001-04:00

For Memorial Day this year we just had a fun day together. First thing in the morning we headed out to the local parade. It was only about 15 minutes long so it was the perfect length.

Our local fire engines.

For some reason Sye was waving like a goob. I don't know where he picked it up from.

John was there.

They gathered candy.

Carlie was visiting. It was fun.

Cambria ate the candy without unwrapping it.

My sister in law Sarah and Alanna were there for some fun too.

Water Table

2011-06-10T09:01:00.005-04:00

For Christmas my dad and stepmom sent out a fun new toy for the kids. And it's been a wonderful gift now that it's summer. The week that Carlie was out we broke out the water table and pool because it was so hot. They have so much fun just dumping around water and having a cool time.

This girl is fearless about dumping water on her head.

A Conversation with Sye

2011-06-04T16:44:00.002-04:00

Sye - pointing to his lego robot: "Dis is a p orn." (space provided to prevent spam.)

Me: "What?"

Sye: "Dis is a p orn."

Me: "What is a p orn?"

Sye: "A p orn makes da robot feel better."

Me: "Oh dear."

I am a big fat liar.

2011-06-04T16:20:00.002-04:00

Don't worry. This isn't the first time I've said one thing and it turns out to be a big lie. And it probably won't be the last.

In this case? Bri. She's totally not potty trained. Don't get me wrong, she could be. But that would involve me asking her, "Are you dry?" and then, "Okay, let me know if you need to go" every two minutes while stuffing her with liquids and staring at her crotch for accidents for the rest of my life. Um. Not worth it.

I figured this out a couple days after I posted she was done (PREMATURELY!). A couple days after she'd peed in her pants every single time, even after I'd just sat her on the potty. So I gave her one last chance to try again, but alas, she peed, she failed, and she landed herself back in diapers. Not that she cared in the least.

I had no posts this week because my sister, Carlie was in town and we were having to much fun doing what we do. I'll post on all that later.

Six Years

2011-05-28T08:24:00.002-04:00

Time goes by so fast. I just browsed all the posts that have been made on May 28 since I started this blog. I also read the posts before and after to see what point we were at in our lives. Last year we had just finished potty training Sye. That's an odd parallel. The year before, I was taking pictures like a madwoman and felt as big as a whale. The year before that, I was getting used to a new job and a new destructive puppy.

This year we have a big changes. We've moved away from my hometown and moved to his. We've started a new life full of trees, tractors, and horse manure. There have been times I've cried and wanted to go home, but not for a while.

That's because I've figured out that home isn't necessarily where I grew up or where I'm the most comfortable or where my mom and dad are (sorry guys). Home is really wherever John and I can be together.

Most of you know that I used to have horrible anxiety attacks. Before I married John these attacks were frequent. I'd become incapacitated by my own fear and emotions. I would become so worried about everything I couldn't control (mainly myself or someone else getting sick) that I myself would become physically ill.

Then about a year into my marriage I realized I didn't have them anymore. Without even meaning to, John and brought a sense of peace to me. I knew that I would be taken care of and loved and that everything would be okay.

So John, that's what you are to me. You are the love of my life. You are my best friend. You are the father of my lovely children (and hopefully one day a few more). You are my sanity. You are my home. I love you and I look forward to the rest of our life and eternity together.

It's Done

2011-05-26T23:12:00.000-04:00

As of today, Bri is officially potty trained. I probably could have made the call yesterday, but I still did it today to make sure she really got it.

This time was SO much easier than when I tried with Sye. I don't know if it's because of her personality, or because she has Sye as an example of what a "big kid" does, or because she's a girl, or just because she was really ready, but whichever way it was, she did it and did it well.

On the first day we woke up and put her in her big girl pannies (I'm so excited I get to use that word now! Mainly because John hates it.). We do the three day potty training program so I basically stayed by her side all day and tried to get her to go pee in the potty instead of her pannies (tee-hee). By mid day, she was going by herself and telling me when she had to go. She even pooped too!

The next day we had a rough patch in the morning where she went through three pairs of underwear in two minutes, but after that she went only in the potty. Until we broke from the program and went to the farm, where she had an accident.

Then today she went straight through on the first pair of pannies we put on in the morning. The only accident she had was that she pooped in her bed after her nap. This was my fault, because I was busy making dinner and didn't go get her in time. When I went in she was standing in the corner of her crib, as far away from her mess as possible, saying "Yucky," over and over again.

So it's done. I know there will be accidents for the next little bit, but she's basically got it down. She's even doing naps, which Sye only did like a month ago because I was scared to do it. YAY!

And now a photo mess of pictures. (Is reading on a potty a bad habit to teach her? Probably...)

There is just something so sweet about the back of my little girl's neck. It's just so little and cute. I kiss it all the time.

Hell Week

2011-05-23T17:17:00.002-04:00

We are beginning attempt #1 on potty training Bri tomorrow. I remember what torture it was last time. If you don't hear from me in a few days, don't worry. It's just been because I've been institutionalized.

Heaven help us.

Watch Out Bad Guys! There's a New Super Hero In Town!

2011-05-21T17:14:00.000-04:00

(He made it all up on his own. I just provided the theme song.)

The Reason I Love Parks

2011-05-18T23:12:00.004-04:00

Sure, the scenery is nice. And yeah, the kids have fun. But this is the real reason.

And she is is fully asleep. It was awesome.

It's Raining. It's Pouring. And We Have No Water...

2011-05-15T08:50:00.009-04:00

We had a busy weekend. We gardened. We worked. We toiled. We got real dirty. And then, suddenly, last night we found ourselves without water.

I don't really care much for Sunday mornings. I have to race to get the kids ready, the bags packed, my lesson finalized, and then I'm always scrambling to get myself presentable too. So throw the inability to take a shower at your own house into the mix and this morning was a real treat.

But I'm not going to dwell on that. Instead, I'm going to show you our garden. The first stages:

Let's see. We've got two rose bushes, a bunch of tomato plants, a gooseberry plant, a jumping jack pansy, coneflowers, lily of the valley, gladiolus, calla lilies, a hanging basket of flowers (my mother's day gift), two raspberry bushes, and watermelon.

Side note. We hit up a garage sale on our street on Friday and walked away with a set of patio furniture, a chalkboard, jewelry, a kids chair, a toy gun for Sye, a shoe rack, and these two awesome trunks for under $35. Just the trunks alone would be worth more than that in Utah.

So to start out, John roto tilled the part of the lawn we'd set our for our garden. About 12 x 30 patch.

While he did that, Bri gathered the clumps of cut grass and brought them to me. She would grab a handful and walk to me determinedly, all the while swinging her arms wildly.

Sye shot at things, including me and my camera, with his new toy gun.

In case you haven't noticed from the past 50 pictures of me that have made it here, I have a new personal trend.

a.) glasses

b.) no makeup

c.) hair up in messy bun or ponytail

Anyway, back to the better things.

Link kept a close watch on the kids. So close that he kicked Cambria in the face when he was getting up from a tummy rub.

When John finished with tilling the garden, we started to head inside. But not before Bri made a pit stop to do her new favorite thing. Pick up anything on the ground and throw it around. In this case, rocks from our driveway.

Then Sye joined her.

The next morning John went to the farm and came back with a tractor and the spreader full of Seven Year Gold. For those of you who don't know, Seven Year Gold is a compost that John's dad, Don, started a company selling. John is also a salesman for them right now. But the reason we snagged a spreader full of Seven Year Gold is because this stuff if awesome when it comes to gardening. It's pure horse manure that has been sitting and composting for at least seven years. This allows it to turn into a rich and hearty soil, with no weed seeds, chemicals, or anything that's bad for your garden in any way. And it really makes a big difference on your garden.

Anyway, Bri hopped up on the tractor with John as he prepared to spread the compost on our garden.

For those of you who don't know what a spreader is (and I'd be surprised if more than a couple of you do) it's a big machine that is used to spread stuff around. Hence the name. You put in your product, such as sawdust or compost, go to where you want it spread and start the engine. The product is on a circular conveyor belt that slowly pushed the product to the end where spinning fin like blades wait to help dispense it more evenly and knock up chucks.

Like so:

I guess Bri was being naughty up on the tractor, because she was soon kicked off. And she wasn't happy about it.

Sye threw a tantrum because Bri got to ride the tractor and he didn't, even when she got kicked off. I asked him to help me clear out the mini garden we have, but he went inside instead. No amount of coaxing got him to come out, but I caught him peeking out at us.

Meanwhile, Bri was still upset.

After we spread the compost, John took a garden rake and smoothed it all over. Later he also roto tilled it all in too. Bri helped by wandering around the garden and playing in the dirt and getting herself good and filthy.

And now we have a garden. This week is supposed to be all rainy and wet, but as soon as we can we have loads to plant. First up, strawberries, lettuce, raspberries, and the gooseberry bush.

Play

2011-05-13T08:09:00.002-04:00

The weather has been beautiful. Every day we've gone outside. To a park. To the farm. To our backyard. And in our backyard we have about a gazillion yellow dandelions sprouting from our freshly mowed grass. So I decided to make Bri a little wreath (garland?) while they ran around. And this wasn't your usual, make a hole in the stem and push another stem through it kind of garland. This was a full on braided official one.

So cute. She even left it on until we went inside.

Then I locked Sye outside because he would not. Stop. Whining.

A week or so ago we got a lovely new addition to our house. John's Grandma gave us a beautiful piano. It's one of those awesome electric ones with volume control (a must for practicing), recording, and of course, different sounds. Which the kids love doing.

I am loving it too. I took piano lessons as a kid, but I've lost all of my sight reading ability. Now I don't really have the desire to learn that, as of right now, but I am having fun learning songs I love, such as "Dawn" from the newer Pride and Prejudice, which we all know is one of my favorites. I love all the music from that movie.

Some Additional Facts... Oh, and a Family Picture!

2011-05-11T07:21:00.005-04:00

Haha! My husband is funny. But what he says is true. Yes, I caught a chicken on my first try. And then I sat around and listened to details on how difficult it was to catch one, which obviously by the story, was news to me. However, John forgot to include some additional information in his post.

That picture you saw? That wasn't my first chicken I caught. That was the second. See, after hearing how amazing it was that I caught one, I had to prove that I could catch another. So off I went again, slowly working my way through the chickens. But they were on to me this time, and so my first few grabs ended with my ears ringing with the sound of loud guffaws (most likely from John, pleased to see my failing at a task he couldn't achieve) and the brief squawking and flapping of wings from the poultry I was trying to capture. It didn't last long though. A mere three tries and I had in my hands a real bonefied chicken. Sparing it from the ordeal of raising it in triumph over my head, this time I gently held the (surprisingly) calm chicken slightly away from my body, and insisted on a picture to prove my accomplishment.

Moving on.

Mother's Day was a hit. I didn't do anything (which I found is my activity of choice on my days off) but read my book, play the piano, play games, and hang out. Then for dinner we had John's Mom and family over, and I instructed the men on how to make dinner. And they did a great job! A delicious ham with mashed potatoes and biscuits and finished with gooey delicious no-bake cookies. They made everything but the last of the potatoes, which Sarah jazzed up and mashed, and the cookies, which have been perfected by me so who better to make them?

Finally, we went on a little family hike up at Clark's Reservation on Saturday. It was beautiful and we all had a lot of fun. We barely missed the rain, and just enjoyed sunshine the whole time.

We found this cool spot and decided to try for a family picture using the timer on my camera.

Attempt #1

Attempt #2

Attempt #3

Attempt #4

Eh, not a ton of success, plus other hikers were trying to come through so we gave up and moved on. Where we saw a snake (the kids' first in the wild).

A gorgeous view (from atop of some scary, butt tingling cliffs).

Pretty flowers growing out of a rock.

Sye had to have a look at them.

So then of course Bri had to have a look at them. This is her sniffing face. Hilarious.

Then for some reason they both decided to blow on them. Like they were candles or something.

And that was our hike. Lovely. I love it out here with all the outdoor activities that are there to take advantage of.

I feel you are underestimating the sneakiness, sir

2011-05-09T14:22:00.003-04:00

Let me tell you how I lost $10.

We were at a BBQ at my brother Mark's when Sami randomly turns to me and says, "I want to catch a chicken." Having chased many chickens in my day, and knowing how difficult it is, I decided to make her an offer she couldn't refuse. I reached in my wallet and pulled out two five dollar bills and said "I will give you this ten bucks if you can get one."

Her immediate response was, "What good does it do me to get money from you? It's all mine anyways." This was an expected response, but I know my wife well and knew that even though she thought the money was hers, having it in her possession would be even better. So it only took a few seconds of contemplation and off she set on a chicken hunt.

I turned to my brothers and said with a big smile and all the sarcasm I can achieve, "Watch this, Sami is gonna try to catch a chicken."

Everyone turned and watched as Sami walked up the slope toward where all the chickens were gathered. She started to walk slowly then as she approached the group she switched to baby steps. It took a while for her to even come close to the group because she was moving so slow. Then as if in slow motion, she reached down for a chicken that was preoccupied eating. There was nothing fast about it until she got her hands around the chicken, then that poor unsuspecting thing got the jolt of its lifetime. In one quick jerk she grabbed a hold and raised that chicken up above her head. She spun around with the biggest smile on her face and yelled "I got one!" as she shook it above her head.

I couldn't believe it. She not only caught one, she caught the first one she ever tried for on the FIRST TRY! I reluctantly gave her the $10 and sat sorely disappointed that she didn't have to dive and get covered in chicken sludge. She didn't even get pooped on when she shook it above her head. Oh well. Sneaky sneaky Sami.

The Adventures of Bri

2011-05-06T07:20:00.001-04:00

My little girl has been changing a little bit lately. Oh, don't get me wrong, she's still my sassy, confident, independent, sweet little girl, but she's not quite the same. Number one: she is starting to mellow out a little more. She's not quite so.... high strung, I guess you could say. Number two: before now it was just whatever Sye was playing with - cars, guns, legos. Now she's started to suddenly show an interest in girly things. The last two days she's been dragging around a baby doll and I am loving it! But that's not all.

Allow me to introduce (*dramatic pause*) the tutu.

Last week if she saw this tutu, she immediately had to put it on. It didn't matter what else she was already wearing, she wanted it on and she wanted it on now.

So when we headed to the farm for a little nature walk, the tutu came along.

When we got to the barn, Bri watched Sye climb the ladder all by himself.

He's full of coordination nowadays, that boy.

She gave it a whirl. But she reached the first rung, and was stuck.

With a little help from John (not pictured) she managed to get to the top rung and climbed on over.

She was immensely pleased with herself.

And then began to follow him again. In her tutu.

Entertainment

2011-05-03T07:40:00.002-04:00

While Sye does this (he's watching a movie):

Bri does this - a much better option if you ask me:

And doesn't eat her noodles...

Leap of Faith

2011-05-01T07:07:00.002-04:00

Easter Day

2011-04-28T20:02:00.000-04:00

After we got back from church we looked for our easter baskets. Sye was excited to find a transformer (which he then pretended to be for days afterwards) and a triceratops in his basket. (I made their Easter outfits this year. They matched, but I've still to take pictures of them in their clothes. So watch for it. Bri's dress was my best yet.)

Bri could have cared less about anything but the candy.

Then all of John's family came over and Jo brought an awesome lunch for us. Afterwards we had a little (and I mean Jo brought about 50 eggs for three kids, two of them under 2) and had a blast watching the kids go looking. Sye, of course, found the most.

The cute thing is that we explained about the Easter Bunny and how it hides eggs. Sye then started looking for his eggs by pretending he was a bunny, hopping around looking for eggs. So he'd hop a few steps and then sniff around, like he was sniffing for eggs.

Then, Alanna took her first steps on her own. YAY!

And Bri found one egg, busted it open, and ate the candy.

After Easter, and the kids opened the adorable bags stuffed with goodies from Grandma, we took a nap and then headed to the farm for a delicious dinner and another egg hunt. It was so much fun and we've definitely made ourselves sick eating their candy.

Easter - Decorating the Eggs

2011-04-28T17:03:00.000-04:00

This year we had a fun time doing Easter. The day before Easter we got out our eggs and started decorating. I had bought this little kit that was for decorating your eggs like dinosaurs. I showed it to Sye and he was like, "Oh my goodness! That is so great." with perfect pronunciation.

He was really good at putting the eggs carefully into the dyed water. Bri did the same thing, with a little help.

She thought they looked good before the dye...

But look at how pretty they were after!

Look! I exist!

The rain washed away the dead bodies on my porch

2011-04-26T22:36:00.002-04:00

This morning dawned a beautiful day. The sun was golden pink as it rose and the fresh smell of spring rode the clear breeze. "A day to be outside!" we declared and stuck short sleeves and shoes on the kids.

I walked out back and gasped in disgust. Crawling and sunning themselves along our porch railing were jumpy black flies. This just would not do. Lacking a proper fly swatted, I picked up a dirty rag from the laundry and marched outside.

With every thwack of the towel and pull at my shoulder a handful of orange-butt flies would fall to the deck. I swung with fury and furor, thinking that with every fly dead I'd spared us from ten more in the coming months.

They seemed partial to the corners, so I approached slowly and readjusted my grip. Smack! Went the towel as it struck the black gathering. Fling! As the momentum of my arm brought the towel flying back at me. Splatter! It finished, as it left some of the remains of it's victims slimed across my arm.

I made at least four trips out to the railing with my trusty towel and my whipping arm. The porch was littered with the carcasses of dead flies (I even found one decapitated remain down my shirt) and I just knew the birds weren't going to clean that up.

Cue the rain.

A short storm later and my porch was clean and green again. The moisture also succeeded in chasing the flies away... even if it's just for now. So I'm grateful for the rain. For cleaning the porch and helping John sleep deeply and most of all for the loveliness it invites back after a long colorless winter. Welcome Spring!

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Poor Sick Bri

2011-04-23T22:46:00.002-04:00

Yesterday when Cambria woke up crying hard I had a small thought that something was wrong.

When she just wanted me to snuggle her and didn't really want to sit in the high chair I started to think something was wrong.

Then when she threw up all over herself and me and only whined a bit before falling asleep in it, I knew something was wrong.

All day yesterday my little girl just wanted to be held and snuggled and she fell in and out of sleep all day. I'll admit that I loved the snuggles, but I felt bad that she felt so yucky. We've been dealing with Sye, and now Bri, (and I'm afraid I won't be too far behind) with this awful croupy cold. Sye is pretty much better (two weeks later) but Bri seems to have got it bad.

This was what happened when we tried to put her down for a minute.

10 seconds later...

And then she zonked out during dinner (which was a cracker, and she didn't even eat it).

But she seems to be on the mend. She slept 17 straight hours last night and woke up a new woman. Back to her happy, vivacious self. And while I'll miss the snuggles, I sure won't miss the puke.

Babies at Breakfast

2011-04-21T22:53:00.001-04:00

Favorite meal, by far, in this house is breakfast. They just eat it up (no pun intended). Sye even sings while he eats it makes him so happy.

Bird Watching

2011-04-19T22:41:00.002-04:00

John came home and announced to the family, "I'm gonna build us a bird feeder."

And so he did, using some rusty old metal stuff I'm sure he found laying around at the farm. He strapped it all together and stuck it out on our back porch so we could enjoy the birds while we eat.

It's lovely. Watching these cute little birds come up and eat our of the little cup is our new favorite thing to do. We even had a squirrel come up and eat on our porch.

This little puff ball is my favorite one:

I scared them so I could catch them mid-flight.

Is this a cardinal?

And we aren't the only ones birdwatching.

Family Visit - Dirt Biking

2011-04-17T19:17:00.003-04:00

At my birthday party we had some fun dirt biking. First up is me (Did it on my first try, thank you very much), then Chase, then Matt, then my dad (Who popped a wheelie. Guess he raced dirt bikes as a kid. Who knew?!)

Family Visit - Church Sites

2011-04-17T11:56:00.000-04:00

While my family was out here we decided to drive the hour or so up to Palmyra to see the church sites. Matt and Chase had never been, so we were excited to use that as an excuse to see everything again. The last time I was up there was when I came out to meet John's family and we took a quick trip up so I could see it, but I felt like this time was even better.

On the drive up my dad set the mood by reading to us different prophecies either given by or given about the prophet Joseph Smith. I was absolutely fascinated. Some of the things that were prophesied and came true were astounding. It made me more interested in reading about Joseph's life.

Our first stop was Cumorah's Hill. It's crazy to think that somewhere on that hill Joseph Smith found the gold plates that were later translated into the Book of Mormon. I learned that Joseph Smith came back four times because each time he had to prove that he was completely ready to listen to the Lord's directions. It goes to show how important the gold plates were.

We ate lunch at the top of the hill and then went over to see the monument. It was pretty chilly up there on top.

This monument tells why the Hill Cumorah is a special place.

The love of my life.

Chase. We are such buds. I sure miss him.

Bri did so good, despite not getting a single nap. She was just happy to be outside, I think.

This is the monument found at the top of the Hill. This represents Moroni calling forth everyone to read the Book of Mormon.

My kids really do love each other, sometimes.

It was time to head to the next place, and Ann had to dash down the steep hill to catch up.

John and my dad.

Matt and Chase.

We went next to the Smith Farm. We went to the framehouse first and then went back to the log house. When you stand in the second floor you actually are standing in the same place that the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith three times in one night.

Then we were able to go to the Sacred Grove. The Sacred Grove is the place where Joseph Smith, as a young fourteen year old boy, went to the woods to pray about which church he should join. As he prayed, a pillar of light appeared above him, and Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father appeared to him. It was there that they told him to join none of the churches, that none of them had the full truth. From there the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was born. Because of Joseph's Smith faith, we were given the fullness of the Gospel and through it can return to live with our Heavenly Father again.

For more about the Church of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and our beliefs, you can visit the Church Website.

We walked in solitude at first. There is a wonderful peace in the Sacred Grove that you just don't feel in other woods.

Lastly we went to the Grandin Press to see how the Book of Mormon came to be published. It really goes to show how much sacrifice when into bringing us this wonderful book. I am so grateful for Joseph Smith and the others who helped to bring it to us.

Birthday

2011-04-15T19:46:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago it was my birthday, and it was one of the best I've had that I can remember. It's so weird that I'm a quarter of a century old now. I still feel as young as I was when I met John. I feel more experienced, but I still find myself thinking that I'm still only like 19 or 21.

But the day was great. I woke up. I stayed in my pajamas. And I didn't have to lift a single finger to take care of anyone all day. John even cooked for me!

Then we headed out to Olive Garden for dinner and John gave me my presents. He gave me a beautiful pearl necklace. It was one I had been eyeing at the CNY Blooms (which I'll post about one day...) and he sneakily went back and bought it without me knowing. I love it! Then he also gave me an adorable new iPod nano in blue. I was so surprised!

After that we headed to Friendly's to get some ice cream, but they failed. They never came to take our order and my ears were killing me so we just bought a couple quarts and went home. We ate our ice cream and watched "Practical Magic" and snuggled on the couch. It was glorious. I was sad when things got back to normal the next day.

I insisted we take a picture together since we never do that.

While my family was in town we also had a little celebration. My family and John's family went up to the farm to have a fire and barbeque. We rode dirt bikes and four wheelers and even shot at some things. Then we made up some smores and John stuck a candle in my marshmellow so everyone could sing for me. It was a blast.

I opened up my presents and I got the Nike Fit to go with my new nano and the new running shoes I got from my parents. Then I was given loads of money and love and awesome memories from everyone too. It was a wonderful, wonderful 25th birthday.

Tears

2011-04-13T18:45:00.002-04:00

There are two reasons that I haven't been updating this last week or so. Number one is that photoshop is acting up and so I can't convert my pictures to jpeg so I can put them up here. Number two is that my dad, stepmom Ann, my brothers Chase and Matt came out to visit and I was way too busy having fun with them to think about blogging.

It was so fun having them here. We went to the church sites on day, had a fire and birthday party for me another, stayed up late making candy, went shooting, went on walks, rode dirtbikes and fourwheelers, and pretty much had a wonderful time together.

I'm not much of a crier, but as soon as I dropped them off and I watched Chase look at me and then hang his head in sadness as he walked away, I bawled like a baby. Like gut wrenching, heart hurting sobs. I cried the whole way home, and then every time that Sye or Bri would ask for "Grannpa an Grannma Cee" I'd start all over. It was so much harder to have my family at my home and then have to see them leave than to visit them and leave them behind. I don't know why that is.

So today I miss them and I have a messy house and I just sat around despondently and ate white chocolate toffee until my stomach hurt. Then I went for a run (with my new birthday presents I'll post about later!), made dinner, and responded to a text from my sister demanding I put a post up today.

So here are some of the silly antics of Bri. She is a busy little thing...

Afraid of Snakes

2011-04-11T12:28:00.003-04:00

This is what happens when John and Tom find a vine in the woods.

Watch Out. She Bites...

2011-04-10T23:50:00.002-04:00

One day while I was in Utah I was wrestling Cambria into her car seat and she was not happy about it. Suddenly I felt this sharp pain in my arm, and I realized that she latched onto me with her sharp beaver teeth!

I froze.

I didn't know if I should smack her mouth, bite her back, or put her on timeout. Time out it was, but alas, it did no good.

The biting has become a regular thing now. Only now it's not just me that has random bruises, it's the poor little man that bears the brunt of this burden. One misstep and she rears up and bears down, leaving perfect red crescents or sharp little nibbles. Sye has started to yell in terror when she gets upset, "She's trying to bit me! She's going to bite me Mama!"

I'm thinking of coating his skin in tobasco sauce so it will burn her mouth and she'll stop doing it. That'll work, right?

New Pictures

2011-04-07T23:47:00.003-04:00

Hurray! I finally updated the pictures in my dining room. From when we went apple picking. Yes, I realize it was forever ago. I need to update these more often. But for now, I am very happy with it so it might be up for quite a while.