I'll Never be my Grandma!

With Conference and the RS Broadcast still being fresh in my mind, I have been asking myself what can I do to be a better wife to my husband and mother to my children!

I constantly feel inadequate about the things that I do and don't do for my family. I love my family, don't get me wrong, but I know there are many MANY things that I can improve on!

I won't make a list of all the many many things that I fail at daily, but let's just say the list is long! :)

I joke with Chris quite a bit that "I'll just never be my Mother" but today I learned that I will also never be my GRANDMA!

Today in Sacrament Meeting the bishop was announcing Super Saturday this coming weekend and he said "So husbands, plan to have your wives gone for a couple of hours, and well...you'll have to get your own lunch." I looked over at Chris and he was kind of laughing, and I said..."So what else is new??" He just kind of chuckled.

My Grandma has made my Grandpa lunch probably everyday of their married life! And I'm not talking about a little sandwich with a few chips and a nice diet Pepsi...I'm talking Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, fresh carrots, AND dessert! Apparently our Bishop is used to such pampering as well! My husband...not so much! He sometimes gets a sandwich while I'm making Bubby's lunch!

So there is another thing I guess I need to improve on! Good Grief! The list gets added to every day! Maybe I should have just never asked the question!

6 Months and Still Going Strong!

Yesterday I went to Dr. Bertin's office for my 6 month check-up. This is an x-ray of my new hip. Pretty cool huh?

I still can't believe that it's already been 6 months since I had my hip replaced!

In so many ways it seems like it was just yesterday, and in other ways, it seems like it was an eternity ago!

I still thank my Father in Heaven every single day for the miracle that happened to me 6 months ago! Thankfully our brains don't remember pain, but I do remember the limitations that I had 6 months ago.

It was so hard to do the simplest things everyday! Now I hardly think about doing the things I used to dread from day to day!

I still can't believe how easy it is to climb my stairs more than twice a day, to go grocery shopping, to chase my child, to go on a walk with my friends! It just baffles my mind some days!

Chris has said many times, that since my 24/7 pain has been taken away from me, I am a different person! I'm much happier, and much more the girl he married. I think he's right, because I FEEL happier! :)

I get stronger everyday! My limp is pretty much totally gone. It comes back if I'm really tired, or have worked too hard that day. The other day Keric took off running and much to my surprise AND his, I RAN after him, and caught him! Maybe he has finally met his match? haha

I will truly be forever grateful for Dr. Bertin and his staff, for my sweet husband and children for taking care of me for so long, and for my Father in Heaven, who knows me and who answers not only MY prayers, but the prayers of so many family members and friends!

Here is to another great 6 months...and MANY MANY MORE!!!

Brownie Supreme!

This will in no way be as exciting to anyone else as it is to me, but since this is MY blog, I get to blog about whatever I want to...so I'm going to blog about this! :)

At the beginning of the month I signed up to participate in a month long contest over at Brownie Scraps. The prize was a three month guest spot as a Brownie Supreme. A Brownie Supreme is a person who gets to scrap layouts with ALL the kits that are sold at Brownie Scraps. Basically you are on the creative team for the whole store, versus being on a creative team for one or two designers who sell at the store. These layouts are then used all over to advertise scrap booking products that are sold at the store.

The contest was REALLY fun! There were probably 40+ people who entered the contest, and it was all based on "votes" from store customers and also the designers themselves. The layouts who got the most votes for that week, got a certain number of points, and the 5 people with the highest amount of votes at the end of the contest were offered guest spots on the team for three months.

I felt pretty good about my layouts. I worked really hard on each one of them. We had a challenge every week, and I really had to "stretch" myself in some of these challenges! They were NOT easy!

The first week our challenge was to scrap our "everyday life". The catch was, the ONLY words on the page that could be used, were lyrics from a song that described our life! Um...my life consists of laundry, cleaning, poopy diapers and scrap booking! Not real exciting!! So I looked through what felt like HUNDREDS of songs, and finally found one that I felt like described my life: "Blessed" by Martina McBride. This was my week one layout:



The Second week was an even HARDER. This week we had to scrap a body part, and we could only use three words to describe our picture. This was my layout for the second week:



The third week we had to scrap someone or something we loved and then make a page that looked like a traditional scrapbook page! So basically a page that you could scrap with actual paper supplies. This was hard for me since I was really never a paper scrapper, but this was my page for the third week.



Each week we could get a possible 6 points per layout, depending on the votes we received. By the end of week 4, I only had 5 points! :( I was so sad!

By the end of the challenge I was pretty much down towards the bottom of the list, and figured I had lost my chance. Yesterday however I got an e-mail from Romana, who is the owner of Brownie Scraps. She said that all the designers "loved my layouts" and she wanted to offer me a PERMANENT position on the Brownie Supreme team!

I was so excited I actually screamed out loud! It's a huge deal to be on a store Creative Team, and I am totally flattered that the designers chose ME to advertise their products!

So I have been scrapping away, and having a great time, as you can probably tell! :)







Anyway....that's my big fun news for the week! My life is a little boring, so I get excited over silly things I know....but...I'm pretty excited! :)

The Legend Lives On!!

They say that if you wait long enough, despite your best efforts, you will see yourself turn into your parents one day. While there are many aspects of BOTH my parents personalities that I would love to wake up with there are always those occasional odd things that my parents did while I was growing up, that I laugh at and tell myself...I just can't see myself doing/saying that.

Well...one of those things happened last night! When we were growing up and we wouldn't eat our dinner, my Mom and Dad used a number of methods to convince us to eat. The two that I remember most were my Mom telling us that our spaghetti, peas, beans...whatever it was we were refusing to eat, would cry, if we didn't eat them. I think I remember her even actually telling us she could HEAR them crying. Well...being the "guilty conscience" person that I am...that generally worked on me when I was little, or at least until I realized that my Mom really couldn't hear my peas crying!

The next tactic was one my Dad used. He would tell us that if we didn't eat he would have to get out the "Big Spoon". Lucky for us, and probably lucky for him, none of us ever had to HAVE the big spoon. I don't know what was so scary about a big spoon, but NONE of us wanted to see my dad heading towards us with a big spoon in his hands. My Dad has since admitted he really didn't HAVE a big spoon, nor does he remember why he thought of this as a threat, it just for whatever reason seemed to work, so he stuck with it. It's been something we have all laughed about for years!

Well...I have since been blessed with a child who on a good day eats maybe one meal a day, and the things that he will eat are embarrassing to admit! He is worse than a picky eater...he is just simply NOT an eater!

Last night was no exception. We had taco salad for dinner, and he normally likes taco's, but he decided last night that he didn't like them. We were all finishing up, and Keric still had more than 3/4 of his dinner left on his plate! The next thing I knew I heard "Do you want Dad to get the big spoon!?" come out of my mouth!

Well it was bad enough that I had said it...but I wasn't about to also not HAVE a big spoon, so I told Chris to go and get the big spoon! Poor Chris..it probably should have been "Do you want MOM to go get the big spoon", but being the good husband that he is, he followed through on my threat, and got the big spoon.





It sadly wasn't as effective as I hoped...he did take a couple of bites from the big spoon, but not enough to make much of a dent in his plate.

I guess I will just have to keep holding to the Dr.'s advice of "He'll eat when he's hungry" and try not to stress out about it.

But until then...I DO have a big spoon, if anyone wants/needs to borrow it!

What happened??

I used to be such a blogger...and I have really slacked off lately! My excuse...well I don't have one, I can only say that I'm sorry for being such a slacker, and I say I'm sorry mainly to Chris who seems to be my only reader! :) Oh well...at least I know ONE person misses me when I'm gone from the blogging world.

This past month has been somewhat of a hectic one! It started out with Cam and Reag heading back to School and then Chris leaving to the Philippines for a couple of weeks to start his "new job" with Amazon. I guess with all of that, time just got away from me, and I haven't kept up the blog! :) I have scrapped some of the pictures I took this month, so I guess I'm not THAT horrible.



I was a little nervous about being home with Bubby for two weeks, so I took the chicken way out and threw Bubby in the car and drove out to see my Mom, Dad and Cicily. The car ride itself wasn't too bad, but I was more than happy to get out of the car, and so was Bubby!



We had a GREAT time, and it made the 2 weeks really FLY by! :) While we were in Wyoming, we rode along with Mom, Dad and Cicily up to Washington to attend Berlynn's blessing. I never truly appreciated how LONG of a drive it is from Powell to Moses Lake! I used to kind of think Boppy was a wimp for complaining about it so much, but I have to say...it is one MISERABLE drive!! I feel for ya Bops! Never again will I think you are a wimp! :)

One of the great things to do in Moses Lake is to go to the Farmers Market. Washington really does have an amazing selection of produce! I'm totally NOT a fruit lover, but I have to say the apples my Mom bought there were AMAZING! I could learn to like apples if those were the ones I was eating all the time! Keric of course was horrible at the Farmers Market. I didn't bring my stroller, and so that meant he was "free!" By this time he had figured out that Daddy was no where close, and he was really pushing my buttons. My mom of course saved the day and bought him a bag of Kettle Corn as big as he was, and that kept him entertained for the rest of the shopping time! :)



It was so much fun to meet Baby Berlynn, and also to see Roman and Iree. Keric loved playing with his cousins, even if he and Iree are both a little too head strong for their own goods! He asked where they were several times after we got back to Powell!







We also got to see Danna and her family, which was fun too! It was kind of like our own little mini reunion!

After getting back from Washington we spent a few more days in Powell. I got to see some good friends, and also go out and visit my Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa Hopkin of course made it a point to take Bubby out to see the animals. Seeing the animals has kind of become somewhat of a tradition I guess. :) Bubby loved the chicken's and the cows! He made sure to even talk to them very loudly I might add, in their own language. The funniest part was, they usually mooed and bak baked back at him! haha





It was a nice relaxing few days before we had to get back in the car and make the long journey back home!

Sadly, however we DID have to get back in the car, and make the long trip back home. I learned quickly that Icee's and "Race" made the ride a lot more bearable for both of us! I didn't think I could listen to Cars one more time...but as long as Keric was happy and quiet, I lived through it!



Chris came home the next day. We went and picked him up from the airport. It was so nice to see him home safe and sound! Keric was so excited to see his Daddy, he couldn't even say anything! He just sat in his seat and kicked his legs frantically! It was so cute!

We picked the kids up after school, and Chris of course showered us all with tons of gifts from the Philippines! It was nice to have the whole family back together again...until the NEXT time Chris has to leave the country, but guess we won't think about that today!

New Lights!

I have been wanting to replace some light fixtures in our house for a long time, and thankfully I have a husband who is nice enough to humor me and my silly requests. Poor guy has been gone ALL week long, and I know buying light fixtures and installing them was probably #99 on his list of top 100 things to do, but I'm grateful he did it for me anyway! :)

Last night we went on a "date" to Home Depot, and bought some new light fixtures! I was so excited! I guess that is when you know you are TRULY an adult! When you get excited over light fixtures! haha

I should have thought to take before AND after pictures, instead of just after, but trust me...the ones before were ugly! They were brass and old, and just didn't go with my stuff!

So...Chris let me pick out some new ones, and he put two of them up last night. The third one goes in the stair well...and we are still trying to figure out how to get him up there without breaking his neck! :) I'll post pictures of that one when it gets done.

So...here are two of my new light fixtures! I know they aren't the best pictures...the sun is kind of bright right now, so I may have to take some more and replace these, but you get the idea for now!

Kitchen:




Piano Room:





Thanks Honey!!! I love you! :)

Lesson Learned!

So I learned a very valuable lesson yesterday! I guess in all fairness I usually learn at least one, probably ten lessons everyday, but this one was one I had not expected.

The lesson was: Don't mess with Bubby and Daddy's "Depot" dates!!!

Maybe it was all the "dates" that Chris and I went on to Home Depot when I was pregnant, or maybe it's just simply that we, and by we I mean CHRIS, has been working on the basement since before Bubby was born, and therefore has made many a trip to Home Depot, but Keric has ALWAYS loved Home Depot!


(December 17, 2009)

Often times there are days when we just don't really leave the house much, if at all, and Bubby gets antsy and wants to go "bye-bye". This often times means a walk around the block, or a quick trip to Maverick or Wal-Mart. The funny thing is sometimes he will specifically ask to go to Depot.

Because he loves it so much, Chris will often times take him when he goes, and they kind of have little "Daddy Bubby dates" to Home Depot. Apparently Bubby takes this time with his Daddy very seriously!

Last night Chris had to go to Home Depot, and asked if I wanted to come and look at light fixtures. So I rode along. When we got there, I could tell that Bubby was kind of fussy and upset. Chris put him in his little race car cart and we headed towards the light fixtures. Every time I would try to push the cart, or even TOUCH the cart, Bubby would scream "NO MOMMY!" Then he would start to cry for his Daddy!

Chris was the ONLY one who could push him in the cart, and if there was ever a time when we were kind of by ourselves and Chris was looking at something, Bubby would push me and say "NO Mommy! Go!"

It was very OBVIOUS that I had crashed a party, and was not wanted! I was a little hurt and offended that he was so upset that I was there, but I have to admit that it kind of warmed my heart a little. I know he is little, but I LOVE that he has a special little place that he considers just HIS and DADDY'S!

I guess next time I'll just stay home! :)

Quiet Little moments

Last night Mama Anne invited us all up for dinner and Smore's. I had YW last night, so I didn't get up there until about 9. By the time I got up there I could HEAR Keric screaming in the back yard when I got out of the car! One can only imagine what he is screaming about on any given day!

I went inside and found him standing at the Hot Tub crying and watching the other kids "swim". Swimming lessons may not have been such a great idea after all.

The rest of the night consisted of lots of chaos, frustration, and yes...screaming from Keric.

When we got home, it was late, and Chris and I both commented on Keric's behavior and "what are we going to do with him?!"

The kids went upstairs to get jammies on, and I got Keric ready for bed. I was cleaning up and trying to get everyone in one spot so we could have family prayers. When I went into Keric's room, I found him kneeling at his little bed saying his prayers! He's never said his own prayers before. Sometimes he will repeat what we say to him, but tonight he was doing it all on his own. I could only make out a few little words, like Mommy, Daddy, Chompie, and Nae (Cameron and Reagan) but it brought tears to my eyes.

He said his big hearty "AMEN" and then grabbed his puppy, jumped in his bed and pulled the covers on top of him. I think it was only then that he realized I was standing in his doorway watching him. He gave me a BIG toothy smile, and then closed his little eyes real tight and said "Nigh Night".

He is such a big boy now, and all in all, such a SWEET boy! I know I have my moments with him, and there are days I wonder if my future holds days in Principal's offices and nights of curfew violations, but once in awhile there is a quite little moment where I am reminded of just how sweet he really is and just how lucky I am to have him!

"This Too Shall Pass"

I've had somewhat of a hard week, and a hard day. I maybe shouldn't use my blog to talk about it, but who better to support you in your times of sadness then the people who also support you in your times of joy?

I have had the phrase "This too shall pass" going through my head all day long. The funny thing is that this phrase "haunted" me my whole teenage and young adult life. I hated it when my Dad would tell me that, but I also knew he was right. The most comforting part about hearing it in my head all day, is that I not only hear the saying, I can hear my Dad saying it! How I love that man!

This WILL pass, and I WILL be OK, maybe just not today! :)

Last Day of Swimming! We Passed!!!

Today was Bubby's last day of swimming lessons, and I have to say I'm not all that sad. :) It was a fun week and a half, but I was ready to be done. Even though our lessons were at 9 a.m. it seemed like by the time we did lessons, came back home, showered, got dressed and ready for the day it was already basically noon, time for lunch and then time for his nap! So I sort of felt like that 45 mins took up my entire day!

Based on his performance the first day of swimming lessons, I would never have predicted that he would turn into such a little fish by day 9, but he has. He LOVES the pool, and loves playing in the water! He has gone from being petrified to get into the pool, to almost having no fear!

There were a couple times when I thought about just skipping lessons, but every morning when he would wake up he would say "Mommy, a water?" How can you say no to that, and how can you say no to that little face!?!

When we would pull up and get out of the car, he would RUN all the way into the pool with the biggest smile on his face!

He learned lots of songs and lots of new tricks. It was so funny to watch him in the bathtub doing his tricks.

He got really good at blowing bubbles, although he didn't always do it when the teacher asked him to do it, of course. He learned how to kick his legs in the water, and even move his arms once in awhile. He hates being on his back, he doesn't like having his head in the water, but even that he was getting better at. He learned how to push off from the side of the pool and "glide" in the water (with help obviously). He learned how to throw the little diving stick toys into the water and pick it up from the bottom. I was amazed at how he could contour his little body enough to pick that thing up without getting one part of his head or face wet, but he did it! :) His FAVORITE part though was jumping in! He LOVES to jump anyway, and he got pretty good at jumping off the side and into the water. He still won't let go of my hands, but he jumps in like a pro as long as he can hold on to me. He stands at the side and counts down and then when he lands in the water he yells "I did it!"

Since today was the last day, they let the kids play in the pool for the last 10 mins or so, which basically means they turned on the water slide. I was adamantly opposed to going down the water slide with him! In fact last week his teacher took him down because I refused to.

It wasn't so much that I am scared of the water slide. I can handle going down it alone, but going down with a little kid is scary!

Several years ago when Chris and I were first married we took Cam and Reag to the pool. She was a little older than Bubby, but not much if I remember correctly. She wanted to go down the slide with me, and like an idiot I agreed to take her. I still remember going down and that feeling of "Holy crap this is going fast, how am I going to slow down!" I don't know who freaked out first, me or her, but long story short, we both ended up being sucked under the water and I remember hitting the bottom of the pool and swallowing a lot of water! Well...that was the end of the slide for poor Reagan. She was traumatized and so was I! She didn't ever want to go down the slide with me again, and I didn't blame her.

Well, try as I may, I wasn't getting a lot of support in my decision to not go down with Bubby! In fact Mama Anne called me this morning and offered me $20 to go down the slide with him! Well...$20! That can go a long way when Payless is having their $5,$7 $9 sale! So I told her I would do it.

I asked his teacher and a few of the other mom's what the trick was to going down and not getting sucked under. They gave me a few pointers, but all in all it boiled down to how much you weighed. Well...I'm a LOT fatter now than I was when I took Reagan down, so I thought if weight is the issue, I had this one in the bag for sure!

We walked up the stairs and I sat down with poor Bubby. I told myself I was fine and we could do this, but in the back of my mind I kind of knew it wasn't gonna turn out well. I had total control until the last turn. We got thrown way up the side of the slide and I couldn't regain my balance! Of course it's the last turn and I could see the pool coming. I held onto Bubby for dear life, and tried to lift him up so he wouldn't get pulled under, but it was no use. Down we went!

I will never forget the look of total shock on his poor little water soaked face when we came back up! I grabbed him and tried to make sure he was ok. At least I had hung onto him, so I knew he hadn't hit the bottom or anything like that! I was sure he would start crying and making a huge scene because he had to have swallowed as much if not more water than I had. But leave it to Bubby to turn any situation into a comedy...he looked right at me as serious as can be and said "Mommy, again?"

Needless to say we did NOT do it again, but I at least feel no guilt for not taking him down the water slide, and I also know now that no matter HOW much I weigh, I'm just not built to take kids down the water slide! The next time he goes will have to be with his Dad, or when he is tall enough to go alone! :)

We got dried off and his teacher gave him his little report card.



We passed the Mommy and Baby class, so he can now go onto the pre-school class next year, which thankfully I will not have to do with him! :)

I'm glad he has learned to love the water, and not be afraid! I'm glad I forced myself to sign him up against my "better judgement" (ha ha) and I'm also glad that I swallowed my pride, got into a bathing suit 9 days in a row and took the class with him. It was fun to spend that time with him, and fun to watch him learn!

Congratulations Bubby on passing your swimming class! May you pass many many more and become a MUCH better swimmer than your Mommy!! Truth is, you already may be! :)

First Day of Swimming Lessons

Today was finally the day of Bubby's first swimming lessons. I have been a little nervous about it, but I decided that I would make myself excited so that he wouldn't be scared.

I put on his new swimming suit that he got for his birthday, only to find that it was WAY too big! After taking a few steps, the thing was around his ankles, so I dug out his old size 12 month swimming suit, and thankfully it fit! Poor kid is just WAY too skinny. I wish I had that problem! :(

While we were driving to the pool I told him about swimming and about getting to be a little fish. He seemed pretty excited to go by the time we got there. We walked in and found our little class. I took his hand and headed over to the pool. We got to the edge, and he all of the sudden started to panic. He was trying to get away and was screaming "NO!" I picked him up and we went into the pool together. He was far from happy about being in there and cried and hung onto me for probably the first 5 mins! I was sitting there thinking why in the world did I sign up for this? But I know in the end it will be good for him and for me! :)

We were in the shallow shallow end, like 1 ft deep or something, so it was basically sitting in the water and getting them used to the water. The first thing they wanted them to do was to blow bubbles. I thought Bubby would like this since he LOVES "Baubles" so much, but he was having nothing to do with it! He liked watching the other parents and kids blowing them, but he didn't want his face to get wet and he for sure didn't want it in the water! Oh well...maybe he'll try it tomorrow.

Then we did the back float. I had a hard time getting him to lie on his back, but eventually the teacher and I found something on the ceiling for him to look at and he floated a little on his back. We parents were supposed to keep them on their backs and then walk around the perimeter of the pool with them floating. He didn't fight me too badly, but the poor kid was shaking like a leaf! I couldn't figure out if he was COLD or SCARED!

We sang some songs, and did some little games in the water. She had us put them up on the edge and have them jump in the water. Keric actually started warming up to jumping in. He LOVES to jump, and he was able to touch the bottom when he jumped in, so he had fun doing that. He never did let go of my hands, but at least he jumped. By the end of the two weeks I'm betting he'll be jumping like a pro which may or may not be a good thing! I just have visions of him jumping into some pool with no one there to catch him!

The last game we did was with some little diving rings. She gave each of the kids a ring and we were supposed to throw it in the water and see if they would try to pick it up off the bottom. Keric LOVED this game! He was pretty tricky in figuring out how he could pick up the ring WITHOUT getting his face wet. He liked it so much that he wouldn't give the ring back to the teacher! It was time to go, and I had to pry it from his little wrinkled raisin fingers!

All in all it was a pretty fun little class. There are only 5 parents and 6 children in the class. One poor mom has twins! I felt bad for her trying to handle both of them, but she didn't seem to want any help from the teacher, so whatever?

Supposedly by Friday the kids are going to get to go down the big water slide with their parents. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, mainly because I myself don't really like the water slide, but maybe I can talk Chris into taking him to lessons on Friday?? haha

This is what happens when....

You are only surrounded by "big kids"! You start to think you yourself are a big kid, and that you should be able to DO all the things that they do!



Keric is 5 years younger than Reagan and 8 years younger than Cameron. He of course doesn't understand this, because to him, he is just as old as they are and should be able to do all the things that they do!

I'm sure my sister Cicily can relate to this kind of situation better than anyone! Poor girl was the youngest of 7 and the closest one in age to her was 8. I still remember all of us gathered around the kitchen table doing our homework, and Cicily bringing her coloring books and crayons up to the table to do her homework too! This may be just SOME of what poor Keric has to look forward to!

This morning while we were out working in the yard Keric was busy playing along side us outside. He had been following Chris around with his bubble lawn mower, but when I looked up from watering the flowers, I found him in the garage trying to put on his "hat". He had gone into the garage and found Cameron's bike helmet, and he wanted to wear it. He kept putting it on his head, but when he would go to run out of the garage, it would fall right back off and he was getting frustrated. So I asked him if he wanted me to put the hat on, and he said yes. So I turned the helmet around and snapped it on. He was very proud of himself running around with his "hat".

When I turned around again, he was in the garage trying to get Cameron's old scooter out. Of course he couldn't and he was in the garage screaming, which isn't generally a pleasant sound. So I went to see if I could help him. I don't know why I continue to try and reason with him, but I do. I tried to tell him that the he was too little to ride the scooter and I tried to put him on his little motorized "ride" as he calls it, but he was bound and determined to ride that scooter! He wanted NOTHING to do with his own "ride".

So off we went to ride the scooter! Chris even humored him and put the handle bars down as low as they would go, since there was no WAY he would ever be able to reach them, and he even tried to show him how to ride it a little bit.

Poor Keric must have worked on riding that thing for a good 15 minutes before he started crying and finally gave up. I felt so bad for him! He really wanted to ride that scooter like the big kids around our neighborhood do, and he just couldn't understand why he wasn't able to make it work! He was even smart enough to make sure he had his "hat" on before he rode it!









I was scared to death that he was going to fall and hurt himself or at the very least scrape his little legs and knees up really bad, but I was also pretty proud of him for trying, and for trying time and time again! The kid definitely has that Wexels determination and stubbornness! Ok maybe some of the stubbornness comes from me too, I just maybe don't like to admit it!

Poor little guy! I guess maybe he needs to have some more interaction with kids his own age other than just every week at Nursery!

4 years ago today!

I can't believe that it has already been 4 years since Chris and I got married! In so many ways it seems like just yesterday we were taking these pictures, and then other days it seems like we have just always been married! :) Sometimes I say 4 years and think...surely that can't be right..we've been married for longer than that haven't we??

A Wednesday is kind of a hard day to celebrate, but true to form, Chris pulled through anyway! He surprised me with breakfast in bed this morning, and then this afternoon he brought me the prettiest gerber daisies, the same colors as in my bouquet!


So sweet huh?? I got a little teary eyed when I saw them! They are so pretty! He also brought me Cafe Rio for dinner, and followed all that up with a movie! Pretty good for a Wednesday! :)

Yeah...we may have our ups and downs... but I ended up with one great husband!

I love you Chris! I'm happy that I get to be with YOU forever!

A cry for "HELP!!"

It wasn't that long ago that I was trying desperately to get Keric to say "Mom" or anything that semi resembled mom! Eventually that day finally came and I was thrilled! Slowly but surely he started to talk more and it was fun to hear him learn new words and repeat the things we said. Talking was even one of the things that his Dr. said he was AHEAD in at his 2 year check up, and Bubby being ahead in something really isn't something we are used to hearing!

Lately Keric seems to learn a new word every day! I am amazed still at the phrases he will say to me. The other day he walked into Reagan's room and was looking at her fish. He came running out pointing into her room and said "That's a fish!"

However just like anything else in life with the good also comes the bad. I'm not exactly sure when or where he learned the word "HELP!" but I am not entirely thrilled with this addition to his vocabulary.

The first time I heard him use it was when we went out to dinner with Mama Anne before her surgery. Keric was being his usual rowdy self and Chris had taken him aside and was trying to get him to calm down. All of the sudden I hear Keric yell "HELP!" Chris and I looked at each other in total disbelief! I just kind of shrugged my shoulders...I don't know where he learned it, but not only did he say it clear as day and loud enough for anyone around to hear he seemed to understand what it meant!

A few days went by and I didn't hear him say it again, and then we went to church. As you all know, church has never been a favorite place for Keric! He lasted about 10mins and then he was up trying to escape like he does every week. I grabbed him and told him to sit down and fold his arms. I picked him up to sit him back on the bench and yep, you guessed it...he yells "HELP!" in the middle of sacrament meeting!

I am fairly sure that this new word is going to earn me a visit from DCFS! He yells it all the time now when he is mad! He was mad at me in Wal-mart today and so sure enough the "HELP!" comes out. I of course got a few dirty looks from people standing in the aisle next to me.

When we came home I put him down for his nap. I guess he didn't think it was nap time yet and wasn't too happy about going down. I shut the door and he started in with the "HELP!" He was in his room yelling "HELP!" for like 5 minutes.

I keep waiting for someone to knock on my door or call and ask me if everything is OK! I'm sure the neighbors can hear him yell, he's not exactly quiet!

I have always been told, and have always believed that every baby is born with their own personalities. I suppose there was a time when I myself would be in a store and see a little boy or girl acting up and wonder to myself "What is wrong with their parents? Don't they know how to control their kid?" Well now I am the one who has the out of control kid and I'm sure there are people who look at me and wonder why I don't do something to make him behave.

I love my little bubby dearly, but he is honestly ALL boy, and he comes fully equipped with his very own, very STRONG personality despite the parenting that Chris and I do and have done!

I'm sure someday his persistence, stubbornness, and determination to get what he wants WHEN he wants it will serve him well in his life, but for right now...it's giving his Mommy a lot of unwanted grey hairs and anxiety attacks!

So the next time you see a Mom in a store trying to deal with a temper tantrum, or running down the street chasing after her child, don't look at her in disgust instead give her a big smile! She'll appreciate it, trust me!

Cameron's Birthday

This year Cameron officially became "old", he is now in the double digit age group!

With every passing year Cameron gets harder and harder to buy for! I think the real problem is that he has everything a kid could want, so there really is nothing left to ask for. This year was really not any different. We went to Wal-Mart and to Toys R Us looking for "ideas", but he couldn't seem to find anything he wanted.

Just as we were about to leave the store Chris asked him if he would like a Wii or as my sister in law Denise calls it a "divorce in a box" for his birthday. All I could think was heaven help me!! I thought we had dodged this bullet already! Apparently not! Before I knew it the two of them had decided that Cameron needed/wanted a Wii for his birthday. I think the truth is that CHRIS wanted the Wii, and since Cameron didn't seem to want anything for his birthday, he jumped at the opportunity to finally get one.

Now before anyone gets upset at me, or tells me how fun a Wii is, I need to clarify a few things. My parents have a Wii at their house and we have played it many times! One of my favorite games is Rock Band, so I know how FUN a Wii is. My only "problem" with getting one now, is that we simply do not have the room for it! The only place for the Wii is in the family room. I told Chris that I didn't mind if we got one one day, I just thought we could wait until our basement was finished and we could have it downstairs. That way if someone wanted to play the Wii, they weren't taking away from someone else wanting to watch TV. So that's my defense...I'm not a party pooper, I just thought it would be nicer to have some room so we could HAVE games like Rock Band to play. Anyway....

Cameron of course is ecstatic about having a Wii at both houses now. I guess at least now he will be somewhat easier to buy for. Just get him a video game!

For his cake he asked for a Pokemon ball of some sort. I don't know much about Pokemon, but in looking at the picture of this weird little thing, the cake looks just like it! I made him a lemon cake with lemon frosting and cream cheese filling, and obviously Chris did the decorating.




The following Monday we took the kids to the Natural History Museum up at the University of Utah campus. Every 1st Monday is family night, and your family gets in free. So that's what we decided to do for his birthday activity. When I was looking on their website, they mentioned that it would be easier to take Trax to the Museum because of the limited parking that would be available on Free Family Monday. So I suggested we do that.

Cam and Reag have asked several times if we could ride Trax, and Bubby has been into "choo-choo's" lately, so I thought it would be fun for them to get to ride Trax up to the Museum.

It was an experience for sure...I'm glad it wasn't crowded, because, well Bubby is far from a quiet shy boy, and lets just say he made his presence on the train known!





We walked around the campus for a little while, and Chris showed the kids all the places he had gone to for classes. They seemed to have a fun time walking around campus. The Museum was kind of fun, but quite honestly I was glad we didn't pay any money to go!

It was in a really old building, so there was NO air conditioning and it was hot!




They had some sort of neat things to look at, but like I said, it was hot and crowded and I think we were all kind of glad to finally get out of there!







Happy Birthday Cam! We love you!

Mommy and Bubby's Adventure

A few weeks ago I convinced Chris that it was a good idea for Keric and I to drive up to Wyoming for a few days to go to my cousin Tori's wedding.

I was a little nervous about the long drive and how well Bubby would do in the back seat all by himself, but the trip actually wasn't bad at all.

I got everything all packed and ready to go Sunday night and we left early Monday morning. We left in the rain, and by the time we got to SLC it was snowing. The snow wasn't sticking to the ground until we got to Park City and then by the time we got to Evanston it was a total white out! The joys of driving to WY in May! I was honestly about ready to give it up and turn around and go home, but then Chris reminded me that I would just have to drive in the snow for another 2 1/2 hours so I may as well just keep going and see if the weather got any better. Thankfully it did about a half an hour later. We had a few little rain storms here and there, but no more snow! Whew!

Bubby was actually really good in the car. He slept for a little while here and there, and when he got sick of being in the car seat I would pull over and we would get out for a little while. We got to Riverton and he was really tired of the car and really wanting to be done, so I stopped and got a redbox movie and put it in the DVD player. He liked watching the movie and he watched it a couple times, but at about Cody he was just DONE with the whole trip thing and so he literally screamed the entire way to my Mom's house! Well...about 5 mins from my Mom's house, then he fell asleep! Of course! We got to my Mom's house around 5:45 or so, so we made pretty good time, and once Keric got out of the car, he was fine.


Bubby watching his Sponge Bob redbox movie.

I was surprised to pull in and find Kimball and Elaines car parked in front too! It was so fun to get to see them and little Danny. Keric wasn't to sure about Danny at first, but they ended up being pretty good little friends towards the end.

Most of the week was wedding stuff, and it was fun to see some of my extended family and meet Tori's new husband Chris. Now we have 2 Chris' in the family! I guess it's only fitting that Tori marry a guy named Chris. She has pretty much gone her whole life being called Natalee! My Grandma insists that she reminds her of me, and even looks like me, which I say is more of a compliment to ME than it is to her, so I guess she didn't have much of a choice...she either needed to marry a guy named Chris, or the guy would just be called Chris! :)

The wedding was really pretty. Kind of small since they got married on a Wednesday, but they looked very happy and Tori of course looked beautiful as always! :)



Keric had a great time running around on the Temple grounds, and being his usual loud self! Good thing he had other kids to play with and be loud with.







Keric and I left on Friday morning. I had all the things that I thought we would be able to do before we left, but of course we didn't get half of them done. I am apparently not a very good time manager. Guess I need to work on that!

We did however play "Rock Band"



and play with Bubbles, or "Baubles" as Keric calls them!




The drive home was good. My Mom sent Keric home with lots of movies to watch, so he was well entertained. The drive home he didn't take ANY kind of a nap, so he was a little more grouchy on the way home, but we thankfully didn't have any screaming episodes that lasted a half an hour! We also didn't have any snow, but this time we got WIND! There were all sorts of wind advisories on the roads, and all kinds of semi's pulled off to the side, which is a real comforting sight when your driving a long way all by yourself, but we were just fine, and we made it home in good time.

Chris was happy to see us, and was sure Bubby had grown in the 4 days we were gone. Who knows...maybe he did! :)

We had a great time in WY, and I assured my Mom that it would probably not be the last time I get brave and drive home again. I hate not going with the rest of my family, but maybe once in awhile when they can't go, Bubby and I can sneak up for a few days.