Takin' It One Day At a Time

Healthier desserts, drinks and salads!

2011-02-09T13:29:00.000-08:00

I sent a friend these healthier recipes and thought I would go ahead and post them on here as well if anyone is interested in trying them. Let me know if you try them and what you think! :)

Healthier Chocolate Syrup

1 ½ cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup olive oil
1T vanilla
½ cup carob powder
Blend and refrigerate.

Freeze some bananas after
the peelings are removed.
After frozen, put ½ banana
in a bowl and add some
chopped almonds, coconut
flakes, strawberries, whipped
cream (sweetened with agave)
Then pour the sauce over it.

Healthier no bake cookies

Almond Butter
Pure maple syrup
Coconut
Coconut oil
Oatmeal
Carob powder
A little all natural peanut butter

Mix it all together until
It looks and tastes like no
Bake cookies. If its too dry
Add more gooey things and if its
To gooey add more dry things.

Healthier Caramel Dip

Almond Butter
Pure maple syrup
Coconut (optional)
Whip the almond butter with
The maple until it looks like caramel.

Dip apples or bananas in it.

Healthy Banana Shake

½ C almonds or almond butter
1 C water
4 ice cubes
1 banana (frozen)
3 dates (pitted)
Blend together in blender and enjoy!

Lemonade

For glass full:
2 Tbs. lemon or lime juice (1/2 lemon)
2 tbs. pure grade A or B maple syrup
12 oz purified water

For pitcher full:
½ C lemon juice
½ C syrup
48 oz. water

Green Smoothie

2 handfulls fresh spinach leaves
2 apples cut and cored (don’t need to be peeled)
1 banana
1 ½ cups water
Combine all ingredients into a high power blender and blend until smooth!
Add a little agave to make sweeter if you desire!

*You can do different variations of the fruit you put in this. We also like adding a few frozen strawberries and one less apple, or adding a splash of orange juice, grape juice or pineapple juice for more sweetness/flavor.

Yummy strawberry/orange smoothie

Handful of frozen strawberries
½ can orange juice concentrate
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1 tray of ice
1 C water
1 C milk
Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth!

Healthier French Salad Dressing
Blend the following in a blender until smooth:

1 ½ C. olive oil
3-4 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp. mustard powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
5 Tbs. honey
Mix together and serve over salad!
(Good on salad with all kinds of veggies, olives, avocado, feta, etc.)

Red Onion Dressing
Blend the following in a blender until smooth:

¼ red onion
1 C agave or honey
2 tsp dry mustard
½ tsp salt
½ C red wine vinegar (make sure vinegar doesn’t
have sugar or high fructose corn syrup in it)
1 C Olive oil (I usually use grapeseed oil because
I don’t like the flavor a lot of olive oil. Grapeseed oil
Is very mild in flavor and is a good oil like olive oil.)

(Good on salad with bacon, craisins, feta cheese, and slivered almonds or pecans.)

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
Blend the following in a blender until the consistency you desire (this one is good even if it’s a little less blended . . . it depends on what you prefer):

¼ C lime juice (about 2-3 juicy limes)
¼ C rice vinegar (make sure it doesn’t have sugar or high fructose corn syrup in it)
4-5 cloves garlic
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp agave or honey
1 C oil (olive or grape seed)
½ C roughly chopped cilantro (stems removed)

(Good on Mexican type salad with black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, etc. Also good on fish tacos as a marinade).

Asian Salad Dressing

¾ C oil (olive or grapeseed)
¼ C honey
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/3 C rice vinegar (no sugar or high fructose corn syrup)

(Mix together and put on salad with shredded cabage, chicken, chopped almonds or cashews, and chopped green onions)

another reminder

2011-02-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

I get to enter the drawing everyday I do this until Mon, so here it is again if you want to enter the drawing for Disney on Ice tickets. www.utahcoupongals.com

Give Away!

2011-02-02T16:21:00.000-08:00

If you are a Utah resident, enter a drawing to win 4 tickets to Disney on Ice. Go to www.utahcoupongals.com
Good Luck!

Soccer Fun?

2010-11-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

Back in September we decided to finally put Cade in a sport! We chose soccer and put him on the same team as a little boy in our neighborhood/ward named Sam. He was very excited and loved getting his uniform and cleats! His team was called the Tigers and his Coach was named Federico.

Here is a picture of Cade and Sam right before their first game . . .
Here is Cade's team during his first game. . .

After Cade's first game he said he had a lot of fun and loved getting a snack after the game . . .
He chose jersey #6 because that is how old he is . . .
Well as the season went on and the weather got colder, Cade decided that he was not so fond of this sport. He started to complain about going to practice and even going to the games. Luckily it was a short season and we made it to the end. Below are some pictures from his last name and he wasn't very happy to be there . . .
After his last game, I said, "Maybe we could try another sport next time that you might like better" and his response was, "I want to play a sport that where you don't have to run!" Lol! Well, I guess there is Gold, Bowling, Swimming, hmmmm I guess that's about it! Hopefully we will find something he likes. Maybe he will even like soccer someday! :)

School Days!

2010-11-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

I used to write in my journal and in my kids journals regularly and then I started this blog and stopped writting in our journals while saying, "it's ok, I have a blog." Well, lately I haven't been doing either! I am going to try to catch up a little and document stuff for our "Journal". So, here are the kids on their first day fo school! Ambree is in Pre School and she loves it! Her teacher's name is Ms. Angie and she is so sweet. She told me yesterday that Ambree is always so happy and reminds her of Sunshine! That was good to hear because sometimes I worry that Ambree will struggle in school because she tries to make everything fun, even if it's not supposed to be. So, I worried that she would always be trying to play and talk instead of listening and following directions. Well, according to her teacher she is doing great. Hopefully this will continue in the future! :)

Ambree wearing her clothing of choice ont he first day of school . . .
Excited to have a big girl Princess backpack . . .
back view . . .
Cade started kindergarten this year and loves it too! He goes to Columbia Elementary School and is in morning half day kindergarten. His teacher's name is Ms. Weenig. He didn't seem nervous at all on his first day of school . . . just very excited! He has made lots of friends and is very social. A little too social at times. :/ He is at the top of his class in academics and loves to learn and create! :) Here he is on his first day of Kindergarten, wearing his clothing of choice . . . buzz lightyear shirt of course!

Sporting his Buzz Backpack . . .
Back view ..
Playing on the kindergarten playground . . .
Waiting in line for his teacher . . .
Cade with his teacher Ms. Weenig . . .
Proud little sister Ambree excited to pick Cade up after his first day of school. . . Looks like the sun was in their eyes. Lol.
After almost 3 months of school both kids still love it! And it's a nice little break for me. :)

I think this is a sign . . .

2010-08-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

That I either need to clean my fridge out more often, or teach my children how to eat a whole apple! I found all of these in the fridge the other day as I was cleaning it out. I guess it's better than finding them all over the house!

Ambree's first dance pictures and recital . . .

2010-08-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

I decided to put Ambree in a ballet class this year and she loved it! The studio is called C&C Ballet Company and her teacher was Ms. Tanjee. Here is her professional photo. . .

Group Photo . . .
I decided to take a few pictures at the studio after the professional photos were done . . .

She was so excited to be dressed up and to have a little makeup on that she just kept posing! All these poses are all her. I had nothing to do with any of them! Lol! I just kept following her around and snapping pictures. :)

A week after her photos was her recital. She was so excited and not nervous at all! It's a rare occasion to see Ambree act shy or nervous. I think I have seen that maybe two times in her whole life! Here she is waiting with all her little dance friends . . .

Drink break . . . and why not climb into these cubbies while we are at it. Ambree is all the way to the left . . .

Getting ready to start . . . Ambree is all the way to the right . . . They did a little dance to "Just a Spoon Full of Sugar" from the Mary Poppins Movie.

Ambree is a little off from the group. :) She was focused on watching the teacher right next to her! I have a video, but it is on our video camera and I am not sure how to put it on here. I will try to do that later.

We gave her some flowers after the recital that she loved. Here she is with her daddy walking out to the car . . .

Ambree with her supportive brother Cade . . .

The cute little dancer striking another pose! I can't wait for the next recital! :)

A question . . .

2010-07-29T20:03:00.001-07:00

It looks like Blogger changed some things and now I can't figure out how to change the font colors on my blog. Can anyone tell me how to do that? I would greatly appreciate it! :)

June Birthdays . . .

2010-07-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

June is a busy month for us, with Craig's birthday, Father's Day, Our Wedding Anniversary, and Ambree's birthday. . . But it's a fun busy! :)

For Craig's 30th Birthday I surprised him by having one of his good friends from optometry school fly out for the weekend. The look on Craig's face, when his friend, Jeff walked around the corner to the backyard (which is where Craig was at the time that he arrived to our house) was priceless! He was so confused and surprised! We had a fun weekend visiting with Jeff, and to celebrate Craig's actual birthday, we just got together with Family and had a little party in the great out doors! Here is some of the company . . . Cade, Ambree, Jacob (nephew), and Leila (niece).

Cade and Dallin (Craig's youngest brother)
Adam (craig's brother), Andrew (craig's brother), Jeff (Friend), and Dallin (brother)
Cade and Andrew
The lunch . . . Tin foil dinners . . .
The Cake! This is the first cake I ever made from scratch and it was delicious! I have never been too much of a cake fan. Now I realize it's because I always used a box mix! :/ If you want an amazing choc. cake recipe, use the Hershey's choc. cake recipe. The frosting was homemade too. It was just a basic butter cream recipe and I added about a cup of peanut butter. Sooo good!

The little family! Happy Birthday Craig!! :)

For Ambree's birthday we did a Princess themed party. Here she is with some of the guests/princesses . . . Macy and Beth. . .

A yummy pizza dinner (Ambree's request) with red punch (not sure what I was thinking there)! Luckily we only had one spill all night.

The Castle Cake that I slaved over! Lol! I was worried for a while about it turning out, but it actually turned out pretty well in the end.

More of the guests and the cake . . . Apparently hardly anyone wanted to look at the camera! :/

The Castle Pinata . . .

Blanket from Grandma Carol . . .

Ambree seemed to have a great time at her party and felt like a real princess! Happy fourth birthday Ambree! :)

Cade's a graduate!

2010-07-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

At the end of May Cade graduated from Pre School! He has had a great year in the Little Discoveries Pre School with Ms. Heather as his teacher. I tried to up load a video of him saying what he wants to be when he grows up (An Astronaut), but it didn't work. :( Any tips on how to up load vidios on a blog. It's been so long, I think I might be doing it wrong.

Funny side note: Cade has been saying he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up for a couple months now (I'm sure it's because of Buzz Lightyear). The other day I said that we needed to clean up the living room before dad gets home. Cade asked why and I said, "would you like to come home to a messy house after working hard at work all day?" He then said, "Do you think my kids will clean the house for me after I have been out flying in my spaceship all day and walking on the moon?" Lol!

Here is the handsome graduate in his cap and gown. . .And the diploma . . .

Here he is with his teacher, Ms. Heather. She was so nice and good with the kids. We absolutely loved her! I am sad that she isn't teaching next year. I would have loved for her to be Ambree's teacher as well. :(

The graduation cap cookies that I made for the celebration! They were super easy and everyone thought they were so cute! It's just mini reeses peanut butter cups stuck to choc. covered grahm cracker cookies. Just stick them together with frosting and then use frosting to make the tassels. I have also seen people make the tassels using licorice rope, which was cute too!

Here is Ambree being the supportive sister by getting ready to eat a cookie . . . I think she is happy about it!

Cade has loved Pre School this year and made some great friends. His best friend in Pre School was Diego. Cade thought it was cool that Diego knew Spanish, just like the Diego in the cartoon! :) He also had his first kiss with a little girl named Emma! He said she chased him and kissed him. I asked if it was on the cheek and he said no, it was on the lips! He acted as if he didn't like it, but then a few days later he said he chased her and kissed her! So, I gave him the talk on not kissing girls until after his mission. Do you think he will listen? Let the fun begin! :/

After Cade's last day of pre school, which was a swimming/pizza party I asked him if he was going to miss his teacher and kids in his class. He said, no, I will get new ones when I start kindergarten! Well, I guess that's a good way to look at it. He must me a boy! Lol!

The truth has been exposed!

2010-05-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

The Past - Part One

2010-04-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

I was a very bad blogger during the months of October, November, and December. We just had so much going on, so I put the blog on the back burner. I decided that for posterity sake I would document some of the things we did way back then, so here it is. . .

At the beginning of October we went on a little vacation to California. Even though it was October, we had to got to the beach! The kids didn't seem to be affected at all by the chilly weather!

They played in the water . . .
Played in the sand . . .

Walked along the pier and looked at the fish people caught . . .

We also went to Disneyland while we were in California!

We met some of the fairies. I hope that this one didn't mind that Ambree was petting her chest. Lol. :) The little girl with my kids is Charlotte, their cousin.

We watched a parade and the kids even got to participate in it . . .

Ten min. after we got in line to see the Princesses, Ambree fell asleep. So, we let her sleep until it was almost our turn to see them. We woke her up right before and she was not very happy! Lol! I am sure the Princesses thought it was odd that she didn't seem very amused to see them. If it was under different circumstances she would have been thrilled! Here she is asleep in line with her Aunt Bethany.

Here she is half way asleep while Belle gives her a hug. . .

A half hearted smile with Jasmine . . . At least she sat with her. She refused to even go up to Aerial who she usually loves.

We met Lightning McQueen . . .

We tried to take the sword out of the stone . . .
We went on lots of fun rides . . . here we are on the tea cups . . .

Ambree and I on the Toy Story ride . . .

We enjoyed seeing all of the cool Halloween/Fall decorations . . .

Later in the month of October we enjoyed some Halloween fun!

Here are Cade and Ambree in their cute costumes . . .

Here is Cade with his teacher, Miss Heather, and his classmates at his Pre School Halloween Party.

On Halloween day, early in the morning Craig took Cade to the ER after he was having trouble breathing, due to a really bad cough. He was admitted to the Hospital and ended up having to stay the night on Halloween! :( I thought well, maybe he won't realize it's Halloween, but sure enough, he said, "Does this mean I am going to have to miss Halloween?" Awe, poor boy. I felt so bad for him. I mean really, out of all nights to have to stay in the Hospital!

So, while Ambree and her cousin were doing this . . .

Cade was doing this . . . He ended up being diagnosed with the H1N1 Flu Virus and Croup. . .
A week after Cade was in the Hospital, we did a Mock Halloween night! We had a spooky dinner . . .

Cade and Ambree dressed up in their Halloween Costumes . . .

And so did their uncles Dallin and Andrew . . .

And they went trick or treating! My wonderful Mother in Law went around to a bunch of her neighbors and explained the situation. She gave them candy and asked if they would be willing to give it to the kids after they knocked on the door. It was great! Cade was thrilled and didn't seem phased at all by the fact that no other kids were out trick or treating too! :)

I still have November and December, so stay tuned for a couple more posts of the past!

Happy Spring?

2010-04-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

With all the snow that we have right now it's hard to believe that it is actually Spring! I am glad that I took some pictures of my kids last week in their Easter clothes when the weather was actually nice. I am picturing taking pictures of them in a few days doing their Easter Egg hunt in the snow with snow clothes on! Lol! I was pretty happy with some of the shots I got. You never know with kids how the pictures will turn out. Bribery worked for us! :)

I hope you all have a great Easter Weekend, despite the weather!! :)

Silly Kids!

2010-03-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well, even though I have been a blog slacker, I have still been writing down funny things that my kids say. I have put some on Facebook, but i want to document them on here. So, here are some of our conversations over the past month or two. It's funny what kids think and say! Enjoy! :)

Cade and Ambree playing prince and princess

Cade: Mom, Ambree and I are going to play prince and princess and do an organic play for you!
Me: Organic huh, what do you mean by that?
Cade: Oh, I mean romantic!

Cade: Mom can you blow up this balloon for me (long skinny one)
Me: I don't think I can.
Cade: Dad did it before.
Me: Oh, then go ask dad to do it.
Cade: Oh, can he do it and you can't because he is younger than you?
Me: Lol. Oh, maybe. Do you think I am too old to do it?
Cade: Well, I don't want to make you feel bad, but . . .

While getting Ambree dressed for the day. . .
Me: Ambree, these pants are getting too small. You need to stop growing.
Ambree: But I want to grow up!
Me: Why
Ambree: Because I want to marry someone very handsome!

Ambree: I don’t think it was very much fun when I was a baby in your stomach.
Me: Why not?
Ambree: Because I don’t like eating food with your spit on it!

Me: Cade, you have been watching a lot of TV today, so it is time to turn it off.
Cade: At least I have been sitting on the floor though. I do that so I won’t become a couch potato!

Cade: Mom, when am I going to die?
Me: I don’t know, but I hope it’s not for a long time because I would sure miss you.
Cade: well, I have already lasted a long time huh.
Me: Yep, but I hope you last even longer.

Me: Ambree, you need to eat all your vegetables so you can grow up big and strong.
Ambree: But it just doesn't work because I am still small!

Ambree: Mom, when we kill the chicken we need to take out its spirit first.
Me: What are you talking about?
Ambree: Well, we don’t want to eat people, and the spirit is a person.
Me: First of all, we aren’t going to kill a chicken. We will let other people do that for us.
I then proceeded to explain that the spirit automatically leaves when an animal or person dies and animals have animal spirits, not people spirits. Lol!

After Cade threw something at Ambree . . .
Me: Cade, don’t throw things at Ambree, she could get hurt.
Cade: Ambree, you’re not hurt are you?
Ambree: Nope, I still have all my bones and my spirit!
Me: How do you know you still have your spirit?
Ambree: Because I can feel it in my knees!

Cade: (while pushing around 2 baskets full of dolls and stuffed animals) Hey mom, doesn’t this remind you of Octomom because I have so many babies?
I didn’t even know he knew who Octomom was! Lol

My Excuses and Family Photos

2010-01-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

Wow! Two months since my last post . . . I think that's a record for me! I do have good excuses though. :) For those of you who haven't heard the news yet, I am about 14 weeks pregnant and have been feeling pretty lousy. Luckily I don't throw up, but I do feel like I am going to almost all the time. . . hopefully the sickness will end soon! :/ Also, as many of you also know we bought our first home about a month ago and have been doing various home repairs, painting projects, ect. to get ready for hosting my side of the family for the holidays. Oh, and then the business of the holidays in general, and doing all the general mommy/wife tasks. I plan on catching up on the last couple months soon . . . no promises though. :) Back in October we took a little vacation to California and got some family pictures taken at La Jolla Beach. Here are some of my favorites . . .

This last shot was at the very end of the photo session when we got a little too close to the water and a big wave got us pretty good. Luckily we were at the end of the session! :)

By the way, our photographer for the session was Nathan Petty, who works out of San Diego. In addition to family sessions, he also does weddings, individual shoots, etc. His work can be found at: http://www.nathanpetty.com. He is an excellent photographer, and I think he travels, as well.

give away!

2009-12-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

If you are into running or working out, head on over to fit me pink for a give away! http://fitmepink.blogspot.com/

Picking and carving pumpkins . . .

2009-10-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Last week we did our traditional trip to the pumpkin patch to let the kids choose pumpkins. Although it was pretty cold, they still had a lot of fun!

Each of the rows of pumpkins had a street name. Here are Cade and Ambree by John Deere St.

So Excited . . .

The kids thought this trailer filled with hay was pretty neat. Can you tell they haven't been raised on a farm! :)

The kids had fun riding the tractor . . .

Rolling the big pumpkins . . .

Using the kids sized wheel barrows . . .

And going through the corn maze . . .

When we got home, we got right to carving the pumpkins. The kids were very helpful, can't you tell by the following pictures. ;)

Daddy and Cade made a pirate ship . . .

Ambree and I made a regular old Jack-O-Lantern face . . .

The kids on the front porch posing next to their carved pumpkins . . . It was a fun night! :)

Adventures in Neverland . . .

2009-10-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

For Cade's 5th birthday he decided that he wanted a Peter Pan Party! So, I looked around for Peter Pan decorations, etc. and couldn't find anythig except this cardboard stand up. So, I got it and then just did pirate and green decor with it. It worked out fine and Cade loved it! We had it at Craig's parents' home, since they have an ideal yard for Neverland. We had a yummy lunch with pizza, salad, and fruit before the party fun. All the girls got fairy wings, and the boys got pirate hats and swords (gotta love the dollar store)! Here are some of Cade's cousins that were there . . . oh, and his sister . . .

In the picture below: Ambree, Addie, Cade, Jacob, Aiden, and Samantha.

Other guests at the party: The Bird Family, Grandma Carol, Grandpa Bill, Uncle Dallin,Uncle Andrew, Uncle Bryon, Aunt Danielle, Aunt Amy, Uncle Tyler, Cousin Leila, Grandma and Grandpa Clegg, and mommy and daddy.

Here is Cade (since he and Ambree were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell for Halloween last year he just wore his costume to his party) trying to pose just like the Peter Pan figure!

The Peter Pan figure came in handy for tracing "shadows" of Peter Pan to put around the yard. . .

And for a game of "Pin the sword on Peter Pan". . .

Of course I had to make a Peter Pan themed cake! I really need to take a cake decorating class to learn all the tips and tricks, instead of trying to figure them out on my own and taking way longer than I should! In the end I was pretty happy with it though, and so was Cade!
Cade blowing out the candles/cannons . . .

The happy birthday boy enjoying his cake . . .

Ambree (aka Tinkerbell) enjoying her cake . . .

Opening presents . . .

I think he was pretty excited to get this one (even though it was a Peter Pan party, he still requested a Toy Story Toy)!

Other gifts he recieved: Disney Cars Glitter Glue Pens, Toy Story book for his leap pad, 2 Peter Pan books, Peter Pan figurines, Toy Pirate Ship, Toy Story Toy, books, swimsuit, spiderman toy, color explosion book, toy gun that shoots suction things, Toy Story Puzzle, Toy Story shirt and sweat shirt and Towel, a few other misc. toys, and lots of love! :) Thanks to everyone who came to the party and gave him gifts.

One of the most exciting events at the party was the treasure hunt . . . Here the kids are on the hunt for the treasure. . .

Searching for another clue . . .

Cade and Aiden running to find another one . . .

The treasure was being guarded by Captain Hook (Uncle Dallin). Peter Pan (Cade) had to fight him with his sword to get the treasure from him. Peter Pan won, of course, and all the fairies and pirates got their treasure (little bags with gold coins, ring pops, and Mardi Gras necklaces). Yay Peter!
Here is a little video clip of Peter Pan and Captain Hook fighting over the treasure . . . Enjoy!

Playing Dress Up . . .

2009-09-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

My kids love to play dress up! I really don't know why I even bother having them put on normal clothes in the morning because by the time we are ready to go somewhere they are usually in a costume. Of course they don't want to take off their costume, so usually I just say whatever and take them as they are (If we are just running errands or something that doesn't really matter). It's funny because I usually don't really think about the fact that they are dressed up, because I am so used to it, and then I wonder why everyone is staring at us. Oh yeah, it's because my kids look like they are ready for Halloween and it's the middle of the summer! Should I be worried that my children always want to be someone different than themselves? Well, not always, bot very often! Hmmmmm. Here are a few Dress up Highlights from the week.

Ambree is usually a princess or something girly, so it was pretty funny to see her dressed like this. I am sure it was Cade's idea!
Here is a funny mix up that Ambree came up with all by herself!

Of course when Cade saw her and saw that I thought it was so cute and wanted to take a picture, he had to do a funny mix up too!

The other day, to kill some time before we had to leave for swim lessons, I put Toy Story on, and a little while later I saw them like this . . . wearing their Woody and Jessie hats/clothes with their swim suits . . . Silly kids!

I hope they grow out of this phase someday. I could just imagine the problems they would have in highschool if they went to school dressed up everyday! :)

Goodbye Summer . . .

2009-09-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

I know, I know I have not blogged forever! I think it has been a month or so. We have just been having too much fun out in the warm sun this summer! I have been hearing so many people say how happy they are that the weather is cooling off and fall is around the corner. I don't feel that way at all. I would be perfectly fine with summer year round! :) I guess it's because I was raised in California, and really I never heard anyone say they love fall when I was growing up. . . funny how your upbringing really does influence your life! Here are some of the things we have been up to this summer . . .

Going to the Tracy Aviary.

Cade making a peacock out of his hands.

Playing at the "Beach" (It's a man made lake/beach that is about 5 min. from our house and it's free)!

Swimming Lessons at the South Jordan Rec. Center.

Lots of swimming at Uncle Mike's neighborhood pool (see pic. below), The Veteran's Pool in Provo (where my sis is a lifeguard and got us in free), my friend's neighborhood pool in Eagle Mountain, and various rec. centers around Utah.
Celebrating my nephew, Jacob's b-day at the Murray Rec. center.
Gong to the Hogle Zoo.

Ambree kissing a snake . . . Ewe!

Cade and Ambree showing some love to each other . . . this is a rare occasion. :)
Riding bikes and playing outside.
Look at that form!

Blowing Bubbles and playing dress up!

Family Reunion in Idaho where we camped, went boating, went in the canoes, went swimming, and just had a lot of fun with my dad's side of the family!

Little girl cousins sun bathing in the canoe!
Picked apples at Grandma and Grandpa Clegg's house.
Spending time with cousins.
Samantha (cousin) and Ambree playing on the slip and slide at Samantha's birthday party.

Cade getting sprayed in the face at Samantha's birthday party!
I hope everyone else had a great summer too!

When mom's away, the kids will . . .

2009-08-13T08:44:00.001-07:00

Eat Frosting!!

Cade . . .

Ambree . . .

My kids probably love it when I am gone and daddy is watching them because they get to do fun things like this! I guess that's what daddy's are for . . . to let kids have a little messy fun once in a while! Oh, and daddy's are for a lot of other things too! :)

Kid Talk . . .

2009-08-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Like all kids, my kids say funny and cute things often. I have been writing some things down and decided to finally put it on my blog before the paper gets lost!

CADE

While I was reading Cade the scripture story about Joseph being sold into Egypt as a slave.

Cade: What is a slave?

Me: Someone who has to do whatever you tell them to do. Like cleaning, or getting you food, etc.

Cade: Oh, so you are my slave!

Me: Uhhh, not quite. . . although sometimes I feel like it. (I didn't say that last part to him though).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cade: Mom, when dad was out hunting for a wife, how did he find you if you were in California and he was in Utah? (Doesn't that make it sound like he was a vampire out hunting for me! I just had to laugh when he said that, and then explained how we met. . . Funny kid)!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cade: When I grow up I want to be Heavenly Father.

Me: Why is that?

Cade: Because he makes people feel better when they are sick. (I think this idea came to him because when my Aunt passed away we told him that she won't be sick anymore and will be happy living with Heavenly Father).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cade: Mom, who am I going to marry?

Me: I don't know, but it will be someone you will love very much.

Cade: Oh, like Ambree!

Me: Well, we don't marry our sisters.

Cade: Oh, then I will marry you.

Me: Well, we don't marry our moms either.

Cade: Oh, then I will marry daddy.

Me: Well, we don't marry our dads, and boys don't marry boys either. (I guess that's not really true now days, but . . . )

Cade: Well, those are all the people I really love!

Me: Someday you will find a girl that is not family, but is your friend, and you will really love her and want to marry her.

Cade: Oh.

AMBREE

Me: Ambree, you have a cut on your lip.

Ambree: I know, but I don't need medicine, I just need to dance! She then proceeds to stand up and dance around in circles.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ambree: Mommy, a rainbow doesn't have a bow in it!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ambree: Life is so hard! While Crying about her sore finger.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ambree: I want to go swimming at Aunt Kathy's pool today.

Cade: Aunt Kathy is dead Ambree.

Me: That's OK, we can still swim in her pool because Uncle Mike still lives there.

Ambree: Yeah, and Aunt Kathy will just come out of the pool and wont be died anymore!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ambree: Pointing to one of her books, I don't like that book!

Me: Why not?

Ambree: Because there are boys in it.

Me: You don't like boys?

Ambree: No!

Me: Cade is a boy.

Ambree: Yeah, but he is my brother.

Me: Daddy is a boy.

Ambree: Yeah, but he is my father . . . I just like boys in this house!

God Bless America, Land That I Love ...

2009-07-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

I know this is pretty late, but I wanted to post some pictures from the Fourth of July. We went up to Midway, UT to celebrate the holiday at Grandma and Grandpa Clegg's house. They live right across the street from Memorial Hill, where they put on a great fireworks show every year. It is perfect because you don't have to drive in a bunch of traffic, and try to find parking, and then walk forever carrying all the chairs and blankets and then have tons of noisy people all around you to watch a firework show. This is the second year we have done this and I think it may be a tradition for us. . . It was a fun relaxing day to reflect upon all that we have been blessed with, especially being able to live here in America and have all the freedoms that we have.

Cade and Ambree sporting their red, white and blue...

Part of the group just hanging out . . .

Ambree giving kisses to her cousin, Leila . . .

Cade, Jacob (Cousin), and Ambree watching daddy do fireworks before the big show. Their expressions say it all . . .

Sparklers . . .

Ambree and mommy waiting for the big firework show to start . . .

Ambree, Grandpa Bill, Cade and Uncle Andrew in awe, while watching the fireworks . . .

I hope you all had a great Fourth of July!!

The Bike Ride

2009-07-06T06:49:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 27 Craig participated in the Bike MS event, sponsored by Harmon's Grocery Store. The ride was a two-day event in which participants bike up to 175 miles in order to raise money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis. The Saturday part of the ride had courses of 40, 75, or 100 miles, and the Sunday part had courses of 40 and 75. I only rode on Saturday, so as to be able to spend Sunday with my family at church, but I was able to complete the 100 mile course . . . in 6 1/2 hours.

My Number:

The night before the ride:

At the starting point . . . with my boss, Dr. Sargent (who talked me into participating):

After the ride, enjoying a sno-cone:

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during to ride - I was concentrating too much on keeping up with the more experienced (in-shape) riders; not to mention the pain developing in the region of my body that was in contact with the bike saddle all day:)

I do want to express thanks to the following individuals, who donated money to the cause: Matthew Gunter, Martin & Suzanne Kempton, Ray & Barbara Hickman, Terry & Vicky Dickens, Bill & Carol Poulter, Cameron Poulter, Dustin Krassin, Bryon & Danielle Poulter, Marc & Tricia Crosby, Autumn Hickman, Cal & Calene Hall, Steve & Marcia Vreeken, Dennis & Georgia Dawn Clegg, Matthew & Marilyn Baumueller, Jeff Clark, Justin & Tara Williams, and Keith & Carol Clegg. The goal was to raise $250, but we actually raised $400: $340 on-line and $60 in cash & checks. Thank you to all who helped out!

Four days of celebration . . .

2009-06-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

June has been a pretty eventful month, especially the 20th through the 24th. We had 4 days of celebration in row! It was fun, but busy!

Day 1) Our 6 year wedding anniversary

Since Craig had to work, we didn't go anywhere too exciting, but Craig did surprise me with these. . .
And I surprised him with some sparkling apple cider and these . . .
And we went out to dinner without kids and ate this . . .

Day 2) Father's Day

What would father's day be without honoring the two cavemen in my life . . .

My dad and I, at a Young Women Halloween Party. I am still trying to figure out how I got away with wearing this costume to a young women activity and how are my legs so tan and my face so white? :/

My hubby and I at his school Halloween party about 11 years and 2 kids later!
For Father's Day this year we had crepes for breakfast . . .
and the kids made paintings for their grandpas and their dad . . .

It was a great day to remember the wonderful fathers and grandfathers in our lives. I appreciate all they do for us! :)

Day 3) Grandma and Grandpa Clegg's 80th birthday celebration

Craig's grandparents both turned 80 in June, so to celebrate, all of their children and grandchildren that live nearby and have temple recomends went to the temple as a group and did sealings (done by grandpa). The following week, which was day 3, a bunch of us went to their home in Midway, Ut and did service for them in their house and their yard. They are always doing so much for others and are so giving and generous to all of us, it was fun to give them a little in return.

Grandpa Dennis Clegg

Grandma Georgia Dawn Clegg

Craig cut down a lot of old tree branches . . . here he is trying to figure out how to get down . . . He was pretty high up, but it's hard to tell in the picture because the house is in front of the tree.
We did lots of painting (Aunt Carol and William) . . .
We cleaned windows (Cameron, Bryon, baby Laila, and Danielle) . . .

The kids played in the sprinklers (Jacob, Cade, and Ambree) . . .
And of course we had a yummy meal . . .

Day 4) Ambree's 3rd Birthday
Ambree really wanted a Tinkerbell theme, so of course I had to make her a cake with Tinkerbell and all her fairy friends on it. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it, but it was ok and Ambree loved it, which I guess is what really matters!

I also made some white choc. flower/pretzel wands to hand out as party favors, which were fun and yummy, but very time consuming . . .

Since she is still so young and I didn't want to be in charge of a bunch of her little friends, we decided to just do a dinner at the park with family. It ended up being a really nice night at the park, with perfect weather. Here are some of the people at the party . . . (Mike, Becky, Tyler, Aiden, Sammy, Addie, and Amy).
(Ambree, Dallin, Laila, Danielle, Rebecca, Cade, Jacob, and Andrew)

The best picture I got of Ambree's Tinkerbell shirt. It has Tinkerbell in a plastic covering, and she lights up when you touch her. Ambree thought it was pretty neat!
Ambree with Grandpa Bill . . .
Ambree loved her cake . . . can you tell?

Happy Birthday Ambree . . . We love you!!!

Call me crazy . . .

2009-06-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Last week, during all the crazy rain, I heard that "This is the Place Monument" (a museum/park that is a replica of how things were when the pioneers first settled in Utah) was free to the Public on Thurs. So, I called up my sister in law and asked her if she wanted to take the kids. We decided to go, even though it had been rainy on and off all week and even that morning. Well, it was pretty clear on the way there, and then it started to pour right when we got there! At this point, we were already there, and the kids were excited to be getting outside and using their little character umbrellas, so we stayed! It was very wet and quite the adventure, but the kids didn't seem to mind the rain or the cold at all. Over all it was fun, although I did think to myself that I was crazy a few times that day! One of the times was when Ambree slipped and fell in the mud. She was soaked and wet and I didn't have an extra pair of pants with me, luckily my sister in law had an extra pair for her little boy, and lent them to us! Another time was when we were waiting in line to ride the ponies and it was pouring rain. We were standing in a combination of mud, hay and maybe a little manure and it was really cold. Luckily the ponies were under a shelter, which gave us shelter for a few minutes.

Here are Cade and Ambree on the ZCMI wagon . . .

An attempt at getting a picture of my kids with their cousin Jacob all together . . .

Cade and Ambree were pretty fascinated by the drinking fountain coming out of a big barrel . . .

A train ride . . . we are finally out of the rain!
Jacob, Leila, Danielle, and Ambree . . . Just a little wet.

Dallin (Craig's little brother), Cade, and Me . . .

Even though it was cold and rainy, we had to get our free ice cream cones, which the kids enjoyed very much!

There were a lot more things I wanted to see and do, but it was just too hard in the rain. Hopefully we can go again soon when the weather is a little more cooperative! :)

One year older and wiser too . . .

2009-06-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

My hubby turned 29 last week . . . He is getting so old! I can say that because I am older than him. :) We decided to have a little party for him at his parents house, and when his mom said she would make tacos, I remembered this "football" chip dip tray I saw in a magazine a while back and decided to make it. It turned out great and was really easy and tasty too!

Well, since I already had a football dip, I decided to stick with the theme and make a football cake too . . . Oh, and Ambree "helped" me make his cake . . .

The finished product . . . luckily before Ambree got to the frosting! :)

Our little family . . .

Blowing out all 29 candles . . .

Playing football . . . of course! :)

The birthday boy, piled with gifts . . .
Opening the gifts . . . that sure is a surprised look on his face for someone who already knew about most of the things he was getting! :)
Happy Birthday Sweetie!! Thanks for being such a great husband and father . . . We love you!!

Character Friends . ..

2009-05-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

A while back, Cade wanted to hang up various pictures of himself with his "Toy Story Friends" on his wall, so we printed up a few and hung them up (see below). Well, Ambree was not too happy about the fact that she didn't have any pictures of herself with character frinds (She was sick when we went to Disneyland last summer and didn't get to ge). Anyway, there were a few times that Ambree would take the pictures down from Cade's wall and try to put them on hers, or hide them all together! S000 . . . . . . . . .

Craig used his photoshop skills and made some pictures of her with one of her favorites . . . Dora!

We hung these on the wall above her bed and we haven't had any problems with her taking Cade's pictures ever since! :)

I think we have a little artist on our hands . . .

2009-05-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

From a pretty young age, Cade has enjoyed coloring. Now he has taken up drawing. He asks for plain white taper and his box of markers and will draw whatever is in his little mind at the time. He will draw multiple times a day for like an hour at a time. Often he will be in the middle of watching a show on tv and will ask me to pause it so he can draw a picture. It is usually something pertaining to the show he was watching. He really surprises us with some of the things he comes of with. Here are a few of his recent drawings . . .

Mr. Clown

If you give a mouse a cookie

Slinky from Toy Story (of course)

Woody

Buzz Lightyear (notice the light shining off of him)
Zurg with Buzz in the back ground. And of course the smoke and fire . . .
Peter Pan (looks like he was in a crayon mood when he did this) Pirate
Lots of characters from Aladdin (his new love)!

Maybe this kid will make us some money someday with his artwork! :) Know of any good art schools that don't cost a fortune? :)

What Trenda Won't Post on Her Blog

2009-05-12T20:05:00.000-07:00

As a followup to my personal "Biggest Loser" accomplishment from earlier this year . . .

(actual results may not be accurately depicted in the previous photographs)

I decided to train for the MS 150 Bike Ride, which raises money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis (held on June 27-28 this year - feel free to make a tax-deductible donation through the following link) . . .

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/UTUBikeEvents?px=6320803&pg=personal&fr_id=9532&et=k2Hl-Wnk0QhwftmpibBNbQ..&s_tafId=89812

Trenda let me spend a bunch of money on some Specialized Allez Elite Bicycles . . .

And even let me get a pair of those spandex bike shorts . . .

So I took the kids out for a couple rides myself . . .

And on the second ride we took as an entire family . . . Trenda ended up in the doctor's office

With a fracture in the head of the radius bone in her right forearm

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00073

Since I was ahead of her when the accident happened, I'm assuming it was because she was distracted by my shorts:)

Frustrating Mommy Moments . . .

2009-04-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

Often throughout my day things will happen and I will think, I should write about that on my blog, but I usually don't. So, Today I am following through! :) Here are a few frustrating mommy moments I have had recently . . .

1) The other day I went to Rite aid. Right when I got there I took both of my kids to the restroom so I wouldn't have to deal with it while I was shopping (I never went into restrooms in stores before I had kids, now I do almost every time I am at the store with my kids and sometimes more than once)! They both went potty and we started shopping. After getting everything we needed, we headed the checkout stand. I was using coupons and the person was taking forever ringing me up and trying to get the coupons to work. In the process of all this, Cade starts saying, "I have to go poo, I have to go poo" over and over, and then Ambree proceeds to say that she does as well. So, both of my kids are yelling that they have to go poo and the lady is in the process of telling me she needs to get the manager to help her. I am feeling desperate so I say, "well, I have to take my kids to the bathroom before they stink up your store by going in their pants . . . I will be right back". SO, I leave right in the middle of getting checked out to take my kids to the bathroom again! Anyway, very embarrassing, but not quite as embarrassing and annoying as it would have been if they both pooped in their pants!

2) About a month ago the kids and I were all very sick. After a week of sleepless nights because of coughing so much and getting up to sick kids, etc. I finally went to the doctor and took the kids with me because Craig was working. Even though they were sick, they were running all over the place, getting into everything. Finally when I went to see the doctor, he said that he would check their ears and throats too, which was very nice of him. Well, Ambree refused! She was arching her back and screaming and then started flopping around on the floor saying no, no, no! Next we went to Walgreens to get my prescription filled, which cost way more than I expected and after waiting for it and trying to entertain the kids while I was feeling awful myself, we went out to leave and I realized I locked my keys in the car! By this point I am so drained from the previous week and all that had happened I was in tears. I called Craig and luckily he was on his lunch break and was able to come help me out, but I was so done!

3) Today I put a video on for the kids, so I could take a shower in peace without them pounding on the door. Apparently Ambree wasn't that into the video because five minutes after I had gotten in the shower she came in the bathroom (I usually lock the door for this very reason, but forgot today). She had the camera in her hands and was trying to take pictures of me through the glass door! I told her to go put the camera back and to go watch her video. She left for a minute and then came back in saying she had to go potty. I told her to go by herself (which she knows how to do), but she insisted that I help her! Just what I want to do is get out of my nice warm shower while I am naked and dripping wet to help her go potty when she knows how to go by herself. Anyway, she proceeds to wet her pants and then she is standing outside of the shower crying about it! Ugh. Soon after this I am done with my shower and as I am getting out I realize she has my lip pencil in one hand and a wad of toilet paper in the other and there is lip stick smeared all over the wall. "Ambree, what are you doing"? I asked and she said, "I am just trying to clean it up before you get mad at me". Can't a girl just have a shower in peace!?

I am sure I could go on and on, but this is good for now. Hopefully if my children are raising their own kids and are feeling frustrated, they can read this and realize they did it to me too, and I know I did it to my mom! What are some frustrating mommy moments you have had lately?

Easter pictures in action . . .

2009-04-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

Me: Alright kids, smile for a picture!
Cade: Oh no, there's a bee on that flower . . . stand back Ambree, I will protect you!
Ambree: Are you sure that's a bee?

Ambree: That's not a bee silly, it's just a fly!

Cade: Oh, ha ha, my bad!

Me: Ok, now that we have that all sorted out, smile for a picture!

Me: Uhh, I am over here . . . hello!?

Me: Ohhh, much better, thank you! Now let's get some individual shots!

Me: Ok, Ambree, can you give me a smile!?

Ambree: Oh mom, I just want to play! I don't want to pose for more of your silly pictures!

I just want to climb rocks . . .

And pick flowers . . . after all, it's such a nice day!

Me: Could you at least look in this direction?

Me: alright, that's a little better, now look at me!

Ambree: Gosh mom, you ask for one thing and when I do it you just ask for more and more!

Me: Someday when you look at these pictures you will wish that you were looking at the camera.

Ambree: I thought you wanted me to look at you.

Me: It's all the same!

Me: Alright, let's see if Cade is willing to cooperate.
Me: Ok Cade, show me your best pose!

Cade: How about my muscle man pose?

Me: That was cute, now can I see just a normal Cade pose?

Cade: Ok, how's this?

Me: Wow! That was great. Maybe there is hope for Ambree's posing skills after all! :)

I haven't done a tag for a while and I got tagged, so here it goes . . .

2009-04-01T17:55:00.001-07:00

5 things I was doing 5 years ago:

1) I was just getting over the first trimester and bad morning sickness while pregnant with Cade.

2) Working on my last semester at BYU-Idaho . . . lots of elementary ed stuff.

3) Enjoying and adjusting to my first year of married life.

4) Trying to figure out what we were going to do for the summer before Craig would start optometry school.

5) Getting very anxious for warm weather (kind of like now)!

5 things on my to-do list for today:

1) Lots of laundry and cleaning.

2) work out

3) watch American Idol

4) Get out of the house!

5) Dress kids, feed kids, wipe kids bottoms and noses, clean up after kids, play with kids, hug kids, kiss kids, and put kids to bed. . . just like every day!

5 things I would do with a million dollars:

1) Buy new cars and a new house and pay in full.

2) Get all the clothes, jewelry, home decor stuff, etc. that I have been eyeing.

3) Save for kids college, mission, etc.

4) Invest and travel

5) Help my family and close friends that need certain things that they can't afford.

5 places I have lived:

1) California

2) Idaho

3) Utah

4) Portugal

5) Africa

5 jobs I have had:

1) Hostess at Black Angus Restaurant

2) Clothing store called Tilly's

3) Grazianos Pizza Restaurant

4) BYU Idaho Cafeteria

5) Potato Plant in Idaho

5 things I want to be doing in 5 years:

1) Enjoying a body that is more healthy and in shape.

2) I used to think I would have 1 or 2 more kids, but after today I don't know about that.

3) Living in a bigger home with a big fenced in yard.

4) Serving others

5) Feeling more confident, happy and at peace in all aspects of my life . . . Relationships, spiritual, physical, financial, mental, etc.

Ambree . . .

2009-03-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

Ambree got a hair cut! I cut Cade's hair, and then thought I would give Ambree a trim. Well, that trim turned into about 2 1/2 inches because I kept trying to straighten it out! I was a little sad, but figure it will grow back. It is still long enough to do most of the hair styles I do on her hair, and it will probably be nice for the summer! I don't have any before pictures because I wasn't planning on cutting so much off, but I thought her reaction was funny after she saw the hair on the ground, so I took a few pictures. She just stared at her hair and said, "What's that?" When I told her it was her hair, she was very fascinated and had to look at it up close! :)

While I am on the topic of Ambree's hair, I thought I would share some of the fun hair styles I have done with her hair in the past few months. She is at the stage where she really likes me to do her hair and then look at it in the mirror. She loves wearing bows and loves being "pretty" although we try to remind her often that it is her smile that makes her pretty, not just her bows! :) A few of these are originals, but most of them I have found on various hair blogs that I have links to on my blog if you are interested.

The Concert!

2009-03-17T21:45:00.001-07:00

I have heard from more than one person that I haven't updated my blog for soooo long! I don't want to disappoint any more people, so here it goes . . .

Here are a few pics from the Rascal Flatts concert I went to a few weeks ago. The ticket was a birthday gift from my hubby . . . Remember?

The main man . . .

My sister Jenny was going to go with my sister Brittany and me, but couldn't go at the last minute, so my sister in law Bethany graciously took her place. Wasn't that nice of her? :) We had a lot of fun.

Bethany, Brittany, and Me

My little sis. and me

Thanks Craig and girls!We'll have to do it again soon! I know this wasn't the longest post ever, and there were no pics of the kids, but it is late, so I PROMISE I will post again soon. I bet you can't wait! :)

I can't believe I'm 30!

2009-02-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

On Feb 16th I hit a big milestone in my life. I turned 30! My husband did such a good job at making my birthday special and memorable. He's the best. (I know I may be a little biased) :)

Craig was on call for work on Sunday, and got paged around 8:30pm. He said he had to go to his office for an emergency. This has happened a couple times in the past, so I didn't think anything of it. Well, around 10:00pm I heard the garage door opening and just figured Craig was home, but instead of Craig walking in the door, it was Janell (my best friend from California, who I have known since we were kids). I was so confused and shocked! Come to find out, Craig flew her out for my birthday as a surprise! Well, I definitely was surprised! :)

So, on my actual b-day, Craig told us to just go out and do whatever we wanted all day, until 6:00pm and he would take care of the kids! Uhh, ok, I'm not going to pass that up! So, we went and got pedicures, went out to lunch, went to a movie (Confessions of a Shopaholic . . . which we really liked), and we went shopping!

Here we are just before our girls day out . . .

Here we are with our baby girls . . .

While we were gone, not only did my husband take care of the kids (without ever turning on the TV) What!? He made three different types of cheese cake (my favorite dessert) from scratch and a choc. cake. He also made dinner which consisted of a big salad bar with all the fixings (my favorite food)! There was a bunch of family over to celebrate and I had a great time! What a sweet hubby I have!

The dinner spread . . .
He even typed up the salad options available . . . too cute . . .

The dessert spread . . .
My cute hubby and me . . .
Our little family. Ambree was mad because I made her take off her swimsuit for pictures. What a mean mommy!

After dinner and dessert, it was gift time. I received some jewelry, gift cards, money, books, a GPS system from my in laws (they know me well), and my hubby gave me Rascal Flatts tickets for me and my sisters, and he surprised me with a DVD he got professionally made with pictures of my life from my birth until now with sweet songs. I loved this song he had on it. I had never heard it before. So sweet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr-Ff8us0Hg Now I need to plan something really good for his 30th. Any Ideas? Luckily I have a little over a year to plan (yes I am older than him) :) Anyway, all of the fun festivities made turning 30 more sweet than bitter! Thanks to all who helped in anyway!

On Valentine's Day . . .

2009-02-19T11:33:00.001-08:00

We ate yummy heart shaped waffles with fruit and whip cream for breakfast . . .
We put up a few decorations . . .
Some were even homemade by the kids . . .
I did a cute "heart" hairstyle in Ambree's hair . . .

Craig got me some beautiful roses . . .

The kids and I got him a couple gifts . . .

And balloons . . .

The kids also made him cards . . .

Cupid left cute teddy bears and some candy for the kids . . .

We tried taking a few pics of the family . . .
And Craig and I got a babysitter, while we went out to dinner and watched a movie at home in peace and quiet! Although we didn't do anything too original or exciting, we spent quality time together and had a great day! Happy late love day to all!

On a lighter note . . .

2009-02-09T19:51:00.001-08:00

This is what Cade does to play dough when I am upstairs doing other things, and not paying full attention. . . He mixed it all together and added water . . . fun to clean up!

And this is what Ambree does to my diaper bag when I am downstairs doing other things, and not paying full attention . . .

Do you think Ambree will forgive me for putting her in Hulk pull ups? Cade was done with them and I just couldn't let them go to waste! They worked just fine for their purpose. :) When I first put them on her she was a little confused and said, "This is Cade's". After I told her the Hulk was so cool, she looked down at him and said, "He is so cute". LOL.

Oh, and here are a couple ways to make food a little more fun for the kiddos . . .

Butterfly Sandwich . . . pretty self explanatory.

Snowman on a skewer (use pretzel sticks for arms . . . I didn't have any at the time). The hat is an apple piece and blueberries. The nose is a little sliver of a carrot and the eyes and buttons are chocolate chips.

Celebrating Kathy's life . . .

2009-02-09T09:28:00.000-08:00

This past week has been filled with so many emotions. All week, I have been going back and forth from my home, to Orem, helping with funeral preparations, as much as possible with two kids. I have seen lots of family and friends that I haven't seen for a while, which has been fun. On Friday I helped decorate at the church for the funeral, I put a scrapbook together for people to sign at the funeral, I cleaned, I cooked, and we had a family get together with all of our family that was in town. We had a nice dinner and spent 2 1/2 hours just sharing memories about Kathy. We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we danced (some famous Kathy dances), we watched a DVD with pictures from Kathy's life, we stayed up way too late! I didn't get home until almost 1:30 am. Luckily my wonderful mother in law had my kids Friday and Saturday. On Saturday morning, we headed to Orem for the viewing. I thought I would be OK, since I had already seen Kathy's body the day before at the funeral home, but no such luck. I lost it the moment I saw her. I lost it when I watched the video at the viewing with footage of her singing, footage of her wedding, etc. At 10:00 we headed into the chapel for the funeral, and It was amazing. The overflow area had to be opened up to accommodate all the people. There were beautiful musical numbers, and the speakers were wonderful. Although it was a very emotional experience, the spirit was so strong, and I could have listened for hours more. I could definitely feel Kathy's presence, and I know she is at peace. I am so grateful for the gospel and the perspective it gives us on death, and what happens after death. I know that the teachings are true and that I will see Kathy again.

Here is a copy of the program (front) . . .
Back of the program . . .

Inside of the program (in case you weren't sure) . . . :)

A few pictures from the burial . . .

Me with my siblings. . .

Me with my cousins, Shanna and Lyndi . . .

Kathy's husband, Mike, saying his last goodbye . . .

Although Kathy will be missed by many, I know that we all feel very blessed for the time that we had to be with her here on earth. We love you!

Till we meet again . . .

2009-02-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

I was hoping for a miracle, but it looks like Heavenly Father had different plans for my Aunt Kathy. She passed away in her sleep early Tuesday morning. I am very happy that she is no longer in pain, but I will miss her so much. I feel like a big piece of my life is missing.

This is me when I was two years old sitting on the bride, which is Kathy's lap. This was her marriage to her first husband, Ty. On the far left is my aunt Irene, and on the far right is my mom, Joy, in the middle is my aunt Diane, and Ty is to the right of her. All the children are cousins.
Here is my aunt at my wedding, with her second husband, Mike.

Aunt Kathy with my kids and her grand kids, Aiden and Samantha. She loved playing with the kids!

My aunt holding Aiden, and my mom holding Cade. This was at my cousin, Tamsyn's wedding luncheon almost 4 years ago.

Some of my memories about Kathy . . .

-She was my own personal beautician. She owned her own nail and facial shop in Orange County and did my nails for every special occasion I had. She also gave me facials, pedicures, waxed my eye brows, highlighted my hair, and got salon hair products for me with her discount.

-She took me to my first Broadway musical, which was "Cats".

-She taught me how to play "Nertz" card game and she was the queen of the game. We played it all the time.

-I stayed many weekends with her and Tyler and she would take us out the dinner, to the movies, to the beach, to the pool, etc.

-She loved BBQ chicken and salads and made them for us a lot when we went to her home. Maybe that's why those are two of my favorite foods.

-My mom would usually meet her at her shop to drop me off for sleep overs and she would always get us doughnuts and orange juice from the shop next door.

-She took my brothers and I on an over night ski trip and we stayed in a cabin.

-She lived in a community in Irvine and had access to the lake, the lagoon, lots of pools, the bike park, etc. I have lots of fun memories with her at those places.

-She would play in the water with us at the beach and always buy us Popsicles to eat on the way home.

-She was an amazing singer. She sang lots of solos at various church events, including my missionary farewell and homecoming.

-We were always making deals with each other to help us stay on our fitness and eating healthy routines. She still owes me $15.00 :)

-When I was in high school she said she would give me $100.00 if I could go a year without chocolate, and I did, and she paid me.

-She was always genuinely happy to see me and very interested in my life and what was going on with me.

-She was very easy to talk to and loved to talk and listen.

-She was the life of the party and had a contagious laugh. If Kathy was going to be there, you knew it was going to be fun.

-She was always thinking about others, and what she could do to make their lives easier and to make them feel more loved and appreciated.

-She was a pro at knowing all about color personalities and we had many conversations about this when all the family got together.

-This past summer I went to her community pool in Orem almost every week. It helped so much with my transition from Calfornia to Utah and it was fun to visit with her.

-A few months ago, we took a road trip to Rexburg for my cousin's wedding. It was just Kathy, my sister, Brittany and me. It was fun to talk the whole way there and back. I learned a lot more about Kathy's life on that trip. I am so grateful for it.

-She attended every major event in my life and a lot of minor ones as well, like choir concerts, sporting events, dance competitions, etc.

-She was very knowledgeable of the gospel and often would bear her testimony to me through conversation, weather she realized it or not.

-She was a second mom, a best friend, and my Aunt.

I love you so much Aunt Kathy, and I can't wait to see you again!!

I love you Aunt Kathy!!

2009-01-31T21:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't been the best blogger lately, but I have a good excuse. One of my best friends, my Aunt Kathy, was diagnosed with cervical, uterus, lymph node, brain cancer and isn't doing very well. All of a sudden things that seemed worth blogging about haven't seemed too important and I have been preoccupied thinking about her and helping her when I can, since she is living in Orem, Utah.

Due to a tragic brain aneurysm her first husband of 4 months passed a way when she was only 2 months pregnant. She lived in California, a little less than an hour away from us when we were growing up and she was raising her son. She loved us like her own children and my mom babysat her son, Tyler quite a bit. Needless to say, my siblings and I have a very close relationship with our Aunt Kathy. She is such a fun and outgoing person. She is very friendly and makes everyone feel welcome. She is very positive, and a great leader. And she is a spiritual giant. I love her so much and can't bear to see her going through such a hard time.

Ever since she started her Chemo treatments a few weeks ago, things have just been going down hill, and she has been in so much pain. After various trips to the hospital, etc., etc., she and her family (she remarried 6 years ago) have decided to stop chemo treatment and to go home with hospice care, and try to be as comfortable as possible. The doctors say she has a few days to about a month to live, so it's been difficult for all involved, but I can't help to think that miracles happen. If the Lord wants her to get well and live, she will, if not, he has another plan for her, and she will be dearly missed. It is a comfort to know about the Plan of Salvation and Eternal Families, especially during times like these. So, please offer a prayer, or many, for my sweet aunt and all that are involved in this difficult situation.

And the winners for "Pay it Forward" are . . .

2009-01-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

Jenna Steed, Joanna Salmon, and Kathryn Osmond!
I am not sure what I am making yet, but I will figure it out soon, and hopefully get it to you before 365 days have passed! Don't forget to do the same thing on your blog and send homemade gifts to the first three people to leave comments. :)

Pay it Forward . . .

2009-01-22T07:32:00.000-08:00

The Rules

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Good thing there is glass between them . . .

2009-01-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

I was planning on posting a few funny videos from 2008 that I never posted in the past, but I am having problems with them uploading! Here is one, maybe I can get the others up later . . . we'll see! I don't know what's funnier in this video, what you can see, or what you can hear from me yelling! :)

Christmas Festivities . . .

2008-12-29T14:14:00.001-08:00

Zoo Lights:

A couple weeks before Christmas we went to the Hogle Zoo to see the zoo lights with Craig's family. We figured, why not, we have season passes. Well, come to find out, the season passes didn't work for zoo lights. What?! We still went, because we were there, and the kids were looking forward to it. The lights were really good . . . lots of animal lights, but it was really cold!

Family Christmas Parties:

Craig's mom's side (Clegg) of the family has a family Christmas party every year where they act out the nativity, and have family members in the orchestra for it. We also have a dinner and gift exchange.

Ambree was an angel, Cade was a Shepherd, and Craig was a wise man. I didn't have a part this year, so I was the photographer, and part of the choir.

I think Ambree stole the show with her "singing" with the angels. It was pretty funny! Not to mention the fact that one of the wise men's gifts to baby Jesus was a bunch of necklaces in a little chest. She decided that they were hers, and took them on and off during the whole nativity. At one point she got them all tangled with her pig tails and halo. LOL.

Christmas lights at Temple Square:

We took the kids on the "train" down to temple square. They thought the train was pretty cool, but they seemed more interested in playing in the snow than looking at the lights!

Christmas Eve:

For Christmas Eve, we have a tradition of opening two gifts . . . pajamas and a book. They got matching girl/boy versions of gingerbread pajamas and Cade got a Toy Story Christmas book and Ambree got a Dora Christmas book. They both loved their gifts!
So excited for Santa to come!

After opening presents, we had dinner and hot chocolate for dessert. We then put out cookies for Santa, talked about the true meaning of Christmas, read their new stories and went to bed. . . the kids at least . . . we were up a little later. ;)

On Christmas morning we woke up to a very white and snowy Christmas! It was snowy all day! Above is a picture of our big window, covered in snow! Below is a picture from the next evening after all the snow.

The kids waiting patiently on the stairs to see if Santa left any presents for them!

Looks like he did . . .

The kids seem pretty excited about the things that Santa left!

This was our first Christmas with just the four of us. It is nice to do a big, noisy Christmas with a lot of relatives, but it was also nice to just spend a relaxing evening and morning with our little family.

Tis the season for . . .

2008-12-16T08:22:00.000-08:00

Lots of time with family and new Christmas clothes!

for cute hair styles and Christmas bows!

Tis the season for lots of yummy food!

It may be fattening, but it puts you in the holiday mood!

Choc. mice: Dip maraschino cherries with stems for tails in dipping chocolate, attach Hershey kiss for face and peanut halves for ears. When it is all dry, use frosting gel (in little tube) for the eyes and nose! Too cute to eat! :)
A healthy Christmas appetizer: Cut whole wheat pita bread like a pizza, to make triangle shapes. Add pretzel to bottom for the stem, guacamole and diced red pepper for the tree and ornaments. Yummy!
I really like eggnog, but it is so fattening and a little too thick. A came across this this season, and I love it! They make a version that is just eggnog, without pumpkin, which is really good too!

Tis the season for the weather to be cold!

and for stories to be told . . .

about all the ornaments hanging on the tree!

Tis the season for sitting on Santa's knee!Tis the season for Christmas decorations all around!

And for family traditions to be found!

But most importantly, tis the season for remembering Jesus.

His birth . . .

His life . . . and all that he teaches!

Merry CHRIST-mas!!

coupon search!

2008-12-04T14:54:00.000-08:00

OK, this is random, but I have been trying to get into couponing. It's been going pretty well, but my 10 weeks of getting 4 Sunday papers at a time is almost up and the amount I have to pay is going up as well! I am having a hard time figuring out if the amount of the papers is more or less than what I am saving by couponing, not to mention the time it takes! Anyway, I am just wondering if any of you know a way to get a good rate on a newspaper. Right now they want $2.30 per week per paper, which isn't bad if you only get one paper, but when you get four, it adds up! I have heard that some people get one paper for $1.00. Anyway, just wondering if there are any tricks that I don't know about. Also, if you live by me and get the Sunday paper, but don't use the coupons, maybe I could just buy the coupons from you for $1.00. Just let me know! Thanks!

Thanksgiving and Andreason Family Reunion . . .

2008-12-03T22:45:00.000-08:00

It seems like I am always pretty late in posting about holidays. At least I didn't title this one, "Oh yea, we did celebrate Thanksgiving". :) We went to St. George for Thanksgiving, to celebrate with my mom's side of the family, which is the Andreasons. Ever since I was a baby, we have celebrated Thanksgiving in St. George with my mom's side of the family. And then we would usually do Christmas with my dad's. This year we had close to 50 people at Thanksgiving Dinner, which we did at the church, since there were so many people. It's hard to believe that when we were young we did it at my grandmas little town home! Funny how time changes things. My cousin Lyndi, who lives in St. George arranged the whole thing, and it was beautifully decorated and the food was delicious! Thank you Lyndi!! Since we would travel from California every year for Thanksgiving, we would stay a few days and make a family reunion out of it. Sometimes we had a lot of people there and sometimes not very many, but we almost always had games at the park, a pinata, and a talent show! So, we did the same thing this year with the next generation and it was a lot of fun! Check out Cade and Ambree showing off their talents!

I took a few pictures of my kids, but they didn't turn out, so, here are some pics of me with my siblings, minus Justin, who wasn't able to be there . . . we missed you!

Jenny, Derrick, Brittany, Steven, and Me!

Sisters! Ignore the fact that there is bad lighting on this one and I am sandwiched between two young (18 and 20) girls! If I look older than them, it is because I am! I am almost 30 you know! :)

I love Thanksgiving, and the time to reflect on all our blessings. I am so blessed and thankful for all I have! I just hope I can remember this tomorrow when my kids wake up at 6:00 am and fight with each other, and throw their food and plates on the floor, and make messes all over the house . . . yes, I am thankful! :)

I'm wild and crazy . . .LOL

2008-11-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

So, last Friday I decided to be a little different than my normal 29 year old, motherly self. I went to a "Twilight" party with a bunch of my girlfriends around 8:30pm to eat dinner and play games. We then headed to the theater around 10:45pm to watch the midnight premier of Twilight! Our group consisted of about 20 girls. We sat in a packed house with around 580 seats, 7 of whom were men (we gave them a round of applause)! To clear something up, I have read all of the books and I thought they were entertaining, but I'm not obsessed by any means. It is fun however to let out the teenage girl every once in a while and have a fun girls night out! I thought the movie was pretty good . . . much better than I expected.

Here we are at the "Twilight Party". Yes, some of us made Twilight shirts to wear, for $3.50, why not add to the fun of the night! :)
The theater at 11:00pm . . . just tons of girls . . . and a few men! Every theater was sold out!

The parking lot at the theater at 2:00 am . . .
Although I was kind of regretted doing this the next day when I was trying to function on three hours of sleep, It was something fun and different and I'm glad I went. Thanks girls for inviting me!

It's that time of year again . . .

2008-11-22T11:01:00.001-08:00

The time of year where the two biggest college rivals that I have ever encountered duke it out on the football field! In honor of the big BYU vs. U of U football game . . .

My best attempt at a "Y" in Ambree's hair . . .
And, my kiddos sporting their BYU shirts . . .gotta teach them when they are young! :)

Go Cougars!!!

How sweet it was . ..

2008-11-19T02:03:00.001-08:00

When Ambree sucked her thumb and therefore went down for bed and her naps with no problems, went to bed and woke up in the morning at a reasonable hour, and slept through the night just fine from an early age. People always commented about her sucking her thumb like it was a bad thing . . . "oh, you better get her out of the habit of that now, maybe you could put some bitter tasting oil on her thumb so she won't do that, oh, she is going to need braces, etc, etc." Are you kidding me, she was such a good baby because of it! Why would I ruin a good thing?!

Fast forward to the present:

Yes it is three o clock in the morning and yes I am awake because Ambree has decided that after almost 1 1/2 years of sleeping through the night she doesn't want to anymore! For the last two months or so, she has been waking up a couple times a night crying and wanting to be held or wanting food, or wanting her diaper changed, etc. She has a hard time going to bed and doesn't usually go until like 9:00 or 10:00pm. She usually wakes up around 6:00am. We have tried letting her just cry and she will stand in her crib yelling and crying for like 30 minutes until we get her, and by this time she has usually woken up Cade! The reason she is like this is because she was sick about two months ago and couldn't breath out of her nose for like a week, therefore she was unable to suck her thumb! She must have gotten out of the habit because of that, and now she doesn't suck her thumb at all and doesn't seem to be able to soothe herself to sleep when she wakes up or is going to bed! I knew I had good reason for not minding that she sucked her thumb! I would rather have her suck her thumb until she was 10 and have to get her braces, rather than deal with this! I have read all kinds of books for training a baby to sleep through the night, but not a toddler. Does anyone have any ideas? Maybe I just need to go to the library and get some books on this topic, because it is driving us crazy!

Oh Yeah . . . Halloween!

2008-11-11T00:14:00.000-08:00

Introducing . . . Peter Pan and Tinker Bell . . . Cade really wanted to be Peter Pan this year (are you surprised he didn't want to be a Toy Story character)? I was! But he was Buzz last year, so I guess he wanted something different. My wonderful, talented mother in law made his costume and he loved it! Since he wanted to be Peter Pan, I suggested Tinker Bell to Ambree, and she gladly accepted the offer!

I love that he is at the age where he will actually hold still and pose for a picture . . . most of the time! :) Gotta love a "man" in tights! :)
My mother in law heard about a Plant Nursery that went all out for Halloween with decorations so we decided to go and get some pics of the kids in their costumes. It was really cool. There were lots of pumpkins, neat decorations, and hay maze, and toy train, a ship, Halloween characters, etc.

My mother in law, Carol, cousin Jacob, Cade, Aunt Bethany, Ambree . . .

Wagon Ride . . . I'm not sure what they are looking at, but obviously something interesting.

The kids on the pirate ship . . .

Watch out Captain Hook, here comes Captain Peter!

Cade wasn't sure what to think of the drinking skeleton Pirate . . . neither was I!

Ooooh, SCARY! This is Cade's "Scared Face" . . .

The little Fairy Princess . . . I got Ambree's costume on E-bay and was actually pretty disappointed with it. It was too big, and not as cute in real life as I had thought it would be, but after some altering, it turned out OK. She thought it was great, so I guess that's all that matters, right?

Yeah, she is going through the cheesy smile stage! :)

She had to give the pumpkins "love" . . .

We had a fun Halloween in St. George this year with my cousin Lyndi and her family. The kids, of course loved trick or treating! Ambree didn't quite understand that you get more candy in the long run if you go quickly from house to house instead of sitting in every yard to try to eat the candy you just got! Oh well, she was enjoying the moment!

I voted . . . thank you very much!

2008-11-04T22:27:00.000-08:00

Craig is subbing for an optometrist in St. George for two weeks. We didn't want to be apart for two weeks, but I didn't want to be there for two weeks with the kids in a condo with no "kid stuff" either, so our conclusion was to drive up later in the week with the kids and my awesome sister in law (to help with kids and to keep me company), stay through the weekend! So, I have been in St. George since Thurs. and was planning on coming back today to vote, but due to bad weather, enjoying vacation too much, etc. I thought about not coming back until tomorrow, but then my conscious got to me and I knew I had to practice my "right" to vote! So, it may not have been until almost 6:00pm on my way home from St. George, and I may not have known much information about all the local candidates, but I voted! Thank you very much! :)

A few of my favorite things about California . . .

2008-10-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Back in February, my mother in law gave me a card for my birthday that said she would pay for the kids and I to fly to California to visit my family. Well, A couple weeks ago I finally took her up on her offer and the kids and I went to California.

Disneyland: I love how Disneyland is decorated for the holidays. When I was younger I never realized this because we always went in the summer. They had some really neat Halloween decorations and shows.

My dad and Cade posing in front of the "Corn" :)

Even the characters were dressed up in fall/Halloween colors . . .Cade giving Minnie some love!

Cade couldn't have been happier when we realized they had a "Woody's Halloween Roundup" show!

I think that Cade would have been content to just watch this show over and over all day long and do nothing else. Here he is watching . . .

Guess who they called up to help with the show . . . Cade! This lady sang to him and then he got to stay on stage for a while. He loved every minute of it!

Ambree was sick, so just Cade, my dad, and I went. It was so relaxing without a kid under four! Later in the evening we did meet up with my brother Justin, and his family, and my brother Steven, which was fun too.

Cade already had a picture of himself with Buzz and Woody, so for his birthday he asked for a picture of himself with Jessie. My brother in law, Bryon, photo shopped one for him, but Cade knew it wasn't real. Now he has a real one . . . yay!

The Beach: I was surprised that the weather was nice enough for us to wear swimsuits and play in the water a little bit! My sister Jenny, cousin Brogan, and my Dad went with us. We didn't want to leave! :)

My mom bought each kid a kite, and my dad made a kite, so we had four kites up at once. Not to mention, a few flying away! Luckily some nice people rescued them for us. I guess that's what we get for letting a 2, 3, and 4 year old fly their own kites!

The kite my dad made . . . He is always creating something! YES on 8!!

My Family: Last but not least! We had a lot of fun visiting family. I just realized I didn't get any pictures with my mom. She must have been avoiding the camera . . . maybe next time!

Grandpa Dennis with his granddaughters . . .

Grandpa Dennis with all four of his grand kids . . . Cade, Ambree, Britlyn, and Brogan. I can't believe they are all actually looking at the camera!

Cousinly love . . . Cade and Brogan . . .

We had a great time and can't wait to visit again!

The Pumpkin Patch!

2008-10-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

I've been a mom for 5 Halloweens now, and this is the first time I have ever taken one of my kids to the pumpkin patch! I always had intentions of going, but for whatever reason, it didn't happen. So, this year I really wanted to take them and made sure it happened! They loved it! They couldn't believe how many pumpkins there were . . . it was pumpkin heaven for them!

Here are 6 attempts at getting a cute shot of both the kids together . . . an almost impossible task! :) It is so hard to get both of them to hold still, look at the camera, and smile at the same time . . . Is that too much to ask for? I think the first one is probably the closest to my request. . . Not too bad.

Notice Ambree's little pumpkin that she claimed right when we got there. She loves her "baby" pumpkin!

She still has it in this picture, it's just kind of hidden.
Cade was more partial to the bigger ones, too bad they were to big for him to carry!

He settled for one that was a "little" bit smaller, but not as small as Ambree's, because he isn't a baby like she is . . . in his own words!
He was pretty disappointed, though, when his stem broke! He decided that he needed to choose another one that wasn't damaged, even though he did it. Is that dishonest to break the stem on a pumpkin and then to leave it there and buy another one that isn't damaged? I hope not!

King of the pumpkin tower!
The kids in the wheelbarrow, right before it tipped over with them in it . . . yeah, that was fun. Luckily they didn't get hurt too badly.
Of course they had to get up on the tractor, and of course I had to get a picture! Luckily they didn't fall of of this! It would have been a lot longer of a fall!
Now we have pumpkins to carve and paint and decorate with. Hopefully we'll get it done before Halloween!

Reason 101 that we don't have a dog and don't plan on ever getting one . . .

2008-10-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

I love crocs for my kids in the summer time. They are so easy for them to put on themselves, they don't need socks with them, they can get dirty and we and you just clean them off . . . they are great! Well, Craig had just bought Cade a new pair because he pair from last year were giving him blisters because they were too small. After having them for a week or two they disappeared! I thought maybe he left them at grandma's house or something, but no. So, one day while I was outside and so was the neighbor boy I asked him if he had ever seen them in his sand box that Cade plays in quite often. The neighbor boy's eyes got big and he walked over to the side of the house, and brought me the shoes you see below. "Are these the shoes?" He asked. "I think my dog ate them." Uhhhh, ya think!? So, that was the end of Cade's crocs for this summer! Hopefully he learned his lesson about leaving stuff outside and will understand even more my many reasons for not wanting a dog!

Side note: they had jibbits and straps on the back that are completely gone now! I told Cade that technically they are still wearable, but he wouldn't put them on! Oh well, it's a good thing the weather is turning to tennis shoe weather anyway!

I love to see the temple . . .

2008-10-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Craig's cousin, Natalie, got married at the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. Craig's mom sent us these pics she took of the kids. I thought they turned out pretty cute!

Ambree looking at The Angel Moroni with Cameron (Craig's brother).
More fun with Cameron . . .
Cade is finally learning how to pose! Hooray! He even has a normal smile! :)
Muscle Man!

Cade turned 4!!

2008-09-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

Cade had his four year old birthday party! He really wanted a Toy Story cake (surprise, surprise). He even suggested that it be a cake that looked like Andy's (boy in Toy Story) bedroom with all the "guys" from Toy Story. So, with some help from the Internet, this is what I came up with. . . . I used a regular sized cake pan for the bottom layer and a bread pan for the bed. I just used regular frosting for the "floor" and marshmallow fondant for the "bed" and the stars and the name. I got all the little "guys" on e-bay since I couldn't find them anywhere else. Oh, and in case you are wondering . . . NO ONE sells Toy Story party supplies! It would have been a lot easier if Cade loved Spider man or Cars, but of course it had to be something difficult to find! Oh well, things worked out and he LOVED his cake and the toy decorations of course! :)

Side View . . .

Make a Wish!

An attempt at a family picture . . . Looks like I'm the only one looking at the camera! :)

The food . . . Pizza from "Pizza Planet" (in movie) of course! Craig came up with this and decorated all the boxes of pizza! Cade of course loved that too!

Here's Ambree, wishing it was her birthday! She actually did a really good job at not being too jealous.

We just had a small family get together at the park . . . Here are some of the members of the Bird Family . . .

Grandpa Clegg (Craig's Grandpa), Carol (Craig's Mom), Andrew and Bryon (Craig's brothers)
My cousin and his cute family . . . The Vongsawads!
My brother Justin and his family happened to be in town this week, so he came and brought his cute little boy Brogan . . .

Cade was pretty wiped out after the party and fell asleep in the car on the way home. Usually when this happens at night time, we just carry him to bed and he goes right back to sleep, but not this night! Right when Craig picked him up, his head popped up and he said, "I want to play with my Toy Story Guys!" Sooo, we let him and he didn't get to bed for another hour or so, but he loved it!

A few things about Cade . . .

He's loved Toy Story for about two years now.
He can quote lots of lines from the Toy Story movie.
He loves to look at books, do puzzles, color, draw, etc.
He loves to play on the computer and can navigate his way around sites like http://www.nickjr.com/, and http://www.pbs.org/ for over an hour without any help!
He loves his family and gets so excited when we go on a family outing!
He is starting to be very sweet with Ambree and talks her with this cute, high voice.
He is very sensitive and gets very sad when I barely raise my voice to him.
He is very intuitive and can tell right away when someone is sad.
His favorite T.V. shows are, Super Why, Word World, Little Einsteins, and Diego.
He loves the park, children's museum, the zoo, the pool, the beach, and Disneyland!
He knows the first four Articles of Faith by memory.
He loves fruit, juice, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
He tells Craig and me that he loves us often, just out of the blue.
He loves to sing and has very good pitch.
He loves to cuddle and always wants us to tell him stories that we make up.
He loves playing dress up and imaginary play.
He is very friendly and will often tell me he made a new friend wherever we go.
He's very gentle and not too aggressive (we'll see how this goes when he starts sports).
He is very ticklish.
He is doing much better with potty training . . . thank goodness!
He is our little Cadester Badester and we love him soooo much and couldn't imagine our lives without him!

Potty Training . . .

2008-09-19T23:25:00.001-07:00

I think we are making progress . . . Cade is finally putting his pull up on all by himself!! LOL

Some firsts and lessons learned . . .

2008-09-19T22:37:00.000-07:00

Pony Rides

-When you go to Thanksgiving Point on $2.00 Tuesday, it will be very crowded!

-You will have to wait in line for over an hour for a 3 minute ride!

-Of course while you are waiting your son will find a mud puddle!

-It's never fun having to entertain kids in line, especially with lots of people everywhere!

-At least you had a friend to talk to!

Hike "Y" Mountain in Provo, Utah

-Don't attempt to do this again without the husband!

-At least I was smart enough to go with my cousin and his two kids, and my sister and her friend.

Aiden, Samantha, Cade, and Ambree with smiles on their faces because the hike has just begun!

Still Smiling! Cade actually did a great job and had lots of fun with Aiden!

This one on the other hand was smiling at the beginning and running, but . . .

about half way up started doing this . . . and I had to hold her about 60-70% of the hike!

-Just because a 2.5 mile hike isn't too hard for you, don't assume the same for a two year old!

My sister, Brittany, encouraging Ambree to walk . . . Thanks Brittany!

We made it to the top . . . now we've got to get down! Ugh!

Fishing
-Cade will think fishing is fun for like 10 minutes, until he realized you just stand there and don't catch anything . . . not that day anyway!

-Ambree will be more interested in the dirt and water than in the fishing . . . surprise, surprise!

-Cade will soon join her after the 10 minutes of fishing!

-They will both end up wet and very dirty!

-Our "fishing" trip will very quickly turn into a "hiking" trip!

Bowling (Ambree's first time, not Cade's)

-Ambree will insist on holding the ball all by herself!

-She will try to run up the lane and throw the ball wherever she desires!

-You will have to chase her all over the crowded, stuffy bowling alley!

-She will want to bowl whenever she isn't running around, even if it isn't her turn!
Cade will love it and take turns graciously . . . two years ago, this wasn't the case, so maybe there is hope with Ambree! We'll see!
It's funny how things almost always turn out differently than you picture in your mind! Oh well, I guess that's what makes life exciting right!?

Funny Cade Conversations . . .

2008-09-10T22:34:00.001-07:00

It's amazing how much there is to teach children! Everyday Cade asks so many questions and carries on so many conversations with me that cause me to think and to teach. I am grateful that he is so curious and wants to learn, but sometimes I just want to sit in silence. I don't think that is going to happen for a while, especially now that Ambree is joining in his jabbering. Here are some conversations from the past few weeks that turned into teaching moments.

While "trying" to have family home evening . . .

Me: OK, it's time for the opening prayer . . . you need to close your eyes.

Cade: But, this is the opening prayer, so we need to keep our eyes open!

Then had to explain about opening and closing prayers and why they are called that.

Me: Cade, maybe we should have your birthday party at a pool.

Cade: I don't think that's a good idea.

Me: Why not?

Cade: Because we might get gasoline on the cake.

Me: How would we get gasoline on your cake at the pool?

Cade: Because there is gasoline in the pool water.

Me: Oh, you mean chlorine.

Cade: Yeah, chlorine . . . I don't want to get chlorine on my cake!

Proceeded to explain what the difference was between gasoline and chlorine.

While on a bike ride with daddy, passing Mc Donald's . . .

Cade: Daddy, what is a nugget?

Craig: Nuggets are little pieces of things, like chicken nuggets, gold nuggets, etc.

Cade: Oh, so Dino Nuggets are little pieces of Dino?

Craig then explained that they aren't really dinosaur pieces, just chicken shaped like dinosaurs.

Cade: Mom, I can't wait until Christmas when Baby Jesus will be born again!

Of course, I then explained how we just celebrate when Jesus was born, etc.

While playing in the backyard . . .

Cade: mom, that two headed bug is trying to get me!

Me: What two headed bug?

Cade: Right there on the wall . . .

Me: Oh, uhh, that's not a two headed bug, it's just two bugs that are touching each other.

Cade: Oh, well they are trying to get us!

Me: They don't look like they are trying to get you to me!

That's all the explaining I did on this one! ;)

Splash Park Love . . .

2008-08-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

It seems like Cade get's in trouble quite often for being mean to Ambree, so when he was being cute and loving with her at the Splash Park the other day, I just had to get some pictures! It also helped that Ambree was letting him be loving, instead of pushing him away . . . too cute! Hopefully they will start to do this more often and quit all the fighting! The fighting doesn't make for very cute pictures! :)

We did celebrate the Fourth of July!

2008-08-16T07:18:00.001-07:00

I haven't been blogging much lately for two reasons . . . First of all, nothing too exciting has been going on around here. I mean, we play a lot and visit with friends and family, etc., but nothing that is really new or different (hence the 4th of July pics from a month ago) :) The second reason is I have been using my free time to do important things like watching shows I have saved on the DVR and reading Breaking Dawn (still have about 100 pgs). What do you think of it? Anyway, I am going to try to do better, because I know you are all so curious about my life! LOL!

The kids hanging out in a tree in Grandma and Grandpa Clegg's backyard!
Can you believe that I don't have festive bows in Ambree's hair? We went swimming prior to going to Craig's grandparent's home in Midway for a picnic and fireworks and I FORGOT to pack the bows! What a bad mom I am! ;)Roasting Marshmallows . . . Cade was quite intrigued by his black marshmallows . . . He's still learning how to do this!

Of course, the fireworks! We did some of our own, and then watched the show from Memorial Hill, we had the perfect view from the Cleggs front yard! The kids loved them this year!

A trip down memory lane . . .

2008-07-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

I've seen this on a few blogs and thought it would be fun to play. Here are the rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I have had together. It could also be a memory of you and Craig. It doesn't matter if you know us a little or a lot, anything you remember.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. (If you leave a memory about either one of us, we'll be sure to write one about you).

3. Remember, if you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all ☺

4. Consider this a Tag: if you've read it, you have to do it.

Just for fun!

2008-07-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

A few of my friends have had this on their blogs and I thought it looked fun. You are supposed to go through the list and BOLD everything you have done. Quite the list but fun to think back on your life. Try it!200 Have and Have-nots!

1. Touched an iceberg

2. Slept under the stars

3. Been a part of a hockey fight

4. Changed a baby's diaper

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Swam with wild dolphins

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a tarantula

10. Said "I love you" and meant it

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise

15. Seen the Northern Lights

16. Gone to a huge sports game

17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Bet on a winning horse

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Taken an ice cold bath

28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Ridden a roller coaster

31. Hit a home run

32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

33. Adopted an accent for fun

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment

36. Loved your job 90% of the time

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Watched wild whales

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach

41. Gone sky diving

42. Visited Ireland

43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited India

45. Bench-pressed your own weight

46. Milked a cow

47. Alphabetized your personal files

48. Ever worn a superhero costume

49. Sung karaoke

50. Lounged around in bed all day

51. Gone scuba diving

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Done something you should regret, but don't (should I admit this?!?!)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Been in a movie(Does self-made work?)

60. Gone without food for 3 days

61. Made cookies from scratch

62. Won first prize in a costume contest

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Been in a combat zone

65. Spoken more than one language fluently

66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone

67. Bounced a check

68. Read - and understood - your credit report

69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy

70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did

71. Called or written your Congress person

72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

74. Helped an animal give birth

75. Been fired or laid off from a job

76. Won money

77. Broken a bone

78. Ridden a motorcycle

79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph

80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing

82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

83. Eaten sushi

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read The Bible cover to cover

86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about

87. Gotten someone fired for their actions

88. Gone back to school

89. Changed your name

90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands

91. Eaten fried green tomatoes

92. Read The Iliad

93. Taught yourself an art from scratch

94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt

96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

97. Been elected to public office

98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream

99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you

101. Had a booth at a street fair

102. Dyed your hair

103. Been a DJ

104. Rocked a baby to sleep

105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours

106. Raked your carpet

107. Brought out the best in people

108. Brought out the worst in people

109. Worn a mood ring

110. Ridden a horse

111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap

112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe

113. Buried a child

114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play

115. Been inside the pyramids

116. Shot a basketball into a basket

117. Danced at a disco

118. Played in a band Does junior high band count?

119. Shot a bird

120. Gone to an arboretum

121. Tutored someone

122. Ridden a train

123. Brought an old fad back into style

124. Eaten caviar

125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need

126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant

127. Published a book

128. Pieced a quilt

129. Lived in an historic place

130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage

131. Asked for a raise

132. Made a hole-in-one (Does mini-golf count?)

133. Gone deep sea fishing

134. Gone roller skating

135. Run a marathon

136. Learned to surf

137. Invented something

138. Flown first class

139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite

140. Flown in a helicopter

141. Visited Africa

142. Sang a solo

143. Gone spelunking

144. Learned how to take a compliment

145. Written a love-story

146. Seen Michelangelo’s David

147. Had your portrait painted

148. Written a fan letter

149. Spent the night in something haunted

150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane

151. Ran away

152. Learned to juggle

153. Been a boss

154. Sat on a jury

155. Lied about your weight

156. Gone on a diet

157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget

158. Written a poem

159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox

160. Gotten food poisoning

161. Gone on a service, humanitarian, or religious mission

162. Hiked the Grand Canyon

163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks

164. Gone to the opera

165. Gotten a letter from someone famous

166. Worn knickers

167. Ridden in a limousine

168. Attended the Olympics

169. Can hula or waltz

170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books

171. Been stuck in an elevator

172. Had a revelatory dream

173. Thought you might crash in an airplane

174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert

175. Saved someone’s life

176. Eaten raw whale

177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint

178. Laughed till your side hurt

179. Straddled the equator

180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing

181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival

182. Sent a message in a bottle

183. Spent the night in a hostel

184. Been a cashier

185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

186. Joined a union

187. Donated blood or plasma

188. Built a campfire

189. Kept a blog

190. Had hives

191. Worn custom made shoes or boots (does my dad making them count)?

192. Made a PowerPoint presentation

193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course

194. Served at a soup kitchen

195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube

196. Know CPR

197. Ridden in or owned a convertible

198. Found a long lost friend

199. Helped solve a crime

200. Commented on a friend's blog today.

You take the good with the bad (Williams Reunion, Edition 2)

2008-07-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

We have a family reunion on the Williams side (my dad) of the family every summer. This reunion always takes place in Heyburn, Idaho at my Grandma Williams home. She lives right on the Snake River, so we have a good time. . . most of the time! Last year I did a post about the "good and bad" of the reunion, so I thought I'd do the same thing this year . . . good = green, bad = blue.

We celebrated Ambree's birthday again . . . along with Uncle Brian's birthday.

The cake had major issues with not cooking all the way through, sinking, etc. Oh, and I ran out of frosting . . . needless to say it wasn't very pretty, but it sure tasted good!

Due to so many people and much room in the house, we slept in a tent outside!

I don't mind camping, but our air mattress had a leak, the sprinklers were on all night and they were noisy, and birds start chirping really loud at like 4:00am!
We had a beautiful view of the Snake River and very convenient access to it (this is the view from my grandma's backyard) there are steps that lead right down to it.

I did worry often about my kids drowning!

There was a huge yard for my kids to play in!

We got to go boating!
Cade got to go tubing behind the boat for his first time! Here he is with his Aunt Brittany.

Ambree went tubing behind the boat for her first time too! Here she is with her daddy! Yes, I was a little nervous!

Ambree loved this and didn't want to get off!
We decided to go on a little hike up by a lake and have a picnic.

Unfortunately there was snow blocking the road, so the hike started a little earlier than planned!

We had fun anyway! Nothing like hiking in snow while wearing shorts and T-shirts! :)

We enjoyed the beautiful scenery!

And found a trail without snow!
Cade pooped while we were hiking.

Fortunately he was wearing a pull up.

Unfortunately I didn't have an extra one with me.

Fortunately, we were close enough to our starting point for my sisters to run back to our car to get one.

Unfortunately, there were not trashcans around, so I had to carry the poopy diaper with me on the rest of the hike.

Fortunately I did have a zip lock bag to put it in!

We had lots of fun with family! My dad, Dennis, Ambree, me!

The whole trail wasn't snow free, however. My cousin lost her shoe on the way and I rescued it for her!
Ambree was able to practice her modeling skills!

And so did Craig! ;)

We did a little kayaking!

One of the kayaks got a hole in it!

No, Ambree didn't really wear this life jacket . . . she was just playing with it!

The picnic after the hike happened to be the meal that Craig and I were in charge of.

We bought the food, packed it up, loaded it in the car, carried it to the picnic tables on the trail, and right before we were going to eat, a storm came, so we decided to pack up the uneaten food, take it back to the car, drive home, unpack the food, and then we ate the food in the same kitchen that we packed it up the first time . . . if only we had known, we could have saved ourselves a lot of time!

We had a fun talent show and talked about memories of Grandpa Williams.

Right before it was time to leave my kids found a mud puddle . . . Once again!

We made a lot of good memories and can't wait to go back next year! Gotta love Family Reunions!

Just Another Day in Paradise?

2008-07-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

I finally had a "free" day today. Free is a very loose way to put it, but basically I had no errands to run and no place I had to be. Sooo, I decided to use today to catch up on laundry, clean bathrooms, prepare my talk for Sunday, and to do all the other tasks that raising children involves. Well, as I sit here (taking a break) I have showered, but still no make up, the bathrooms are still dirty, the laundry is half way folded and laying on my bed, and I haven't even attempted the talk! The funny thing is, I have been "working" all day! So, what is it that I have done you ask?

Worked out, made breakfast, cleaned up breakfast, gave the kids baths, got the kids dressed, showered and got myself dressed, did this one's hair . . .

Worked on keeping this one's underwear dry and poop free . . . an ongoing task! I still clean up messes daily!

Tried to keep this one's diaper and pants on . . . she has discovered how to take them off on her own . . . at least there wasn't any poop involved in this one . . . let the FUN begin!
Found this one's hair, that I worked so hard on earlier in the day, looking like this after her nap . . . really what is the point?

Made lunch, cleaned up lunch, played with the kids for a while, cleaned up various messes, did some laundry, did the dishes, made a veggie tray for a family dinner tonight, and now here I sit.

Many people ask when we will have another child and I say, "when I can keep up with these two", but I am beginning to think that may never happen, so why not have another?! Then I see this picture of when I was pregnant with Ambree and my uterus hurts just from looking at it!

Why oh why would I ever want to put myself through that again? I guess there is the positive side to parenting (what was that again)? Oh, and the commandment thing! Maybe we will try for another one after all . . . some day! Oh, by the way this is NOT an announcement! LOL!

Ambree's 2!!

2008-07-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ambree turned 2 on June 23! She shares her birthday with her Great Grandpa Poulter, her Great Great Grandma Clegg, and President Hinckley! A little document of the festivities . . .

The Shirt . . .

The Girl . . .
The Cake . . .

The Presents . . .

The Cake being devoured . . .
The Family . . .

What more could you ask for?! Ambree seemed to have a lot of fun, so I guess the party was a success!

A few things about Ambree:

She is very social and will go to anyone.
She loves to have a good time and is always on the go.
She loves Dora.
She loves to sing really loud.
She has no fear of things like fire, water, fast rides, people, etc.
She talks a lot.
She loves blankets and to cuddle.
She is a great sleeper and sometimes asks for her nap.
She loves the color pink.
She loves to wear shoes and her swimming suit.
She loves to go to nursery.
She loves corn on the cob, fresh raspberries, and marshmallows.
She is the life of the party.
She is very independent and wants to do everything herself.

Happy Birthday Sweetie . . . We love you!!

Happy 5 year anniversary to us!

2008-06-24T08:01:00.001-07:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been 5 years! When I look at these pictures, it seems like we were taking them yesterday, but at the same time, a lot has happened since then! Last year I posted pics from our actual wedding day, so I posted pics from our second reception a week later this year! Don't we look young!

I think I surprised Craig when I put the cake in his face. He didn't even see it coming!
awwww . . .

This is my brother Justin!
Craigs dad, Bill, his mom, Carol, Craig, Me, My mom, Joy, my dad, Dennis.

For our anniversary we decided to try something new, so we went to a nice sushi restaurant in Park City. I was a little nervous to try sushi, but it was actually really good! We also went to a bed and breakfast that was a ways past Park City. It was nice to get away for a while and celebrate. Hopefully the next 5 years will be just as enjoyable as the last. With Craig as my husband I'm sure they will be!

What is there to do in Utah?

2008-06-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Go to Grandma and Grandpa Clegg's house in Midway and enjoy the beautiful views! You could also feed the cows while you are there!

Or partake of some of the endless supply of ice cream that is always there. This is always more fun with friends of course! (Cade, Macey, Sydney, and Ambree)

There is also a farm in Salt Lake called Wheeler Farm, which is a lot of fun to take kids to. They let the kids milk cows, feed chickens, and go on wagon rides.
Eating, of course, is always at the top of the list of things to do, especially without utensils. There is Park City, which is a big tourist attraction around here. Our friend Jeff Clark came and visited with us for a few days, so we decided to take him there, and we just had to ride the Alpine Slide! It's a little pricey, but it was fun.
Cade loved the slide, which is on a luge-like track and you control your own speed. You do need to be careful, though, because people have been known to fly off . . . my brother-in-law actually did last year. Luckily he just ended up with a few scrapes on his arms and legs . . . nothing too serious.

And then there is Ambree who was just barely too young for the slide (you have to be two), so she played in the mud puddles instead! A few minutes after this picture, she ended up doing a belly flop in this mud puddle! Yeah, that was fun . . . luckily we were about to leave and I did have a change of clothes for her.
Also, while we were at Park City, Cade picked a bears nose! LOL!

There are a few water parks close to us that have water that shoots out of the ground and out of toys, etc. Too bad my kids would rather play in the mud . . . what is it with them and mud?
Oh, and you can't forget all the great places to camp in Utah, even if it does snow while you are camping in June! This was at the Father's and Son's Camp out a couple weeks ago. Looks fun, huh!

There are lots of malls . . . we especially like the Gateway outdoor mall, which is also where the Discovery Children's Museum is! We went there a couple weeks ago, and my kids begged me for ice cream. They were sick of me shopping, so I figured it would keep them quiet for a while. It worked, but boy were they messy . . . especially Ambree. It's a good thing I'm not OCD about my kids getting messy! Last weekend we went to a Miller Motor Sports Park in Tooele with Craig's co-workers. I didn't think there was anything out there, but there was! It was a cross between real car racing and bumper cars, but we were not supposed to hit the person in front of us. We weren't on tracks, which was a little scary. I almost skidded out a few times, but overall we had a good time!

Start your engines . . . And they're off!

So, Utah may not have the beach, but I have discovered that there are some fun things to do here! I'm on a mission to find even more!

Happy Fathers day!

2008-06-18T05:41:00.001-07:00

In honor of Father's Day, I decided to ask Cade a few questions about fathers and a few others. This was the result:

Me: What's Father's Day?
Cade: Father's Day is when you give fathers prizes.
Me: Why?
Cade: Because they're special!
Me: Who is your father?
Cade: Daddy . . . to you it's father, but to me it's Daddy!
Me: Do you have another father besides Daddy?
Cade: Yeah, Heavenly Father.
Me: Who is Heavenly Father?
Cade: Heavenly Father lives on a big rock and Heavenly Father's daddy is Jesus!
Me: Um, actually, Jesus is Heavenly Father's son, just like you.
Cade: Oh.
Me: How do you talk to Heavenly Father?
Cade: We say prayers?
Me: How do you talk to your Daddy?
Cade: We talk.
Me: What do you like to talk about with Daddy?
Cade: Lots of stuff. . . if he wants to play with me or color with me.
Me: What are your favorite things to do with Daddy?
Cade: Go and play with my friends and we like to go to the park and play hop scotch.
Me: So, you've played hop scotch with Daddy before?
Cade: No, but I like playing with him.
Me: Do you know what Daddy does for his job?
Cade: Going to school.
Me: Well, he used to do that, but do you know what he does now?
Cade: Works at work . . . he's an eye doctor.
Me: What do eye doctors do?
Cade: They check people's eyes so they can be healthy.
Me: Do they do anything else?
Cade: They run!
Me: Oh really?
Cade: yeah.
Me: Do you know where Mommy and Daddy got married?
Cade: In your tummy.
Me: I think your getting confused with where babies come from.
Cade: Oh.
Me: Can you tell me what a prophet is?
Cade: President Hinckley.
Me: Well, it used to be President Hinckley, but it's someone else now. Do you know who?
Cade: President Beuford! He He He!
Me: Your silly . . . It's President Monson now.
Cade: Oh.
Me: Do you want to say anything special to Daddy?
Cade: I love him!

Here are a few pics from Father's Day . . .

Gimme a kiss!
From the time Ambree was very young, she struggles and grunts, while trying to get out of her car seat. . . Here she is attempting to get out!

And this is what we found when we reached our destination . . . looks safe huh! Crazy girl!Happy Father's Day to my wonderful dad, my father in law, my hubby, and all you other great dad's out there!

Happy Birthday to my Hubby . . . a little late . . .

2008-06-05T15:26:00.001-07:00

On June 3, 1980, Craig decided to surprise his mother, by coming into this world 5 weeks earlier than she expected him to arrive. Because he was so early, his lungs and heart weren't fully developed, which caused some complications. Because of these complications he had to stay in the NICU for 8 days. After his release, there were no further complications and he was a healthy baby boy! While looking through his scrapbook from his childhood I came across his pseudo birth certificate. After admiring his cute little baby picture, I read the bottom of the certificate and had to laugh at what it says. It may be too small for you to read, so, here is the interpretation: " In Witness Whereof First Foto and said Hospital certify that this Baby is uniquely wonderful and will become an outstanding individual". Well, in Craig's case, I believe that he is uniquely wonderful and an outstanding individual, but do you think there have been any babies born at that hospital that weren't . . . hmmmmm. . . I wonder. . . :)

In honor of Craig's birthday and his recent graduation from Optometry School, we had a little celebration a his parents' home. His sister made him a cute cake . . .

After cake and ice cream, my kids discovered the mud! I knew I shouldn't have left their church clothes on them . . . oh well, they sure had fun!

A few days later, on Craig's actual birthday, we played "Pin the Glasses on Daddy". Cade really enjoyed this game and wanted to play it over and over again!

All in all, I think Craig had a pretty good birthday! Happy Birthday Honey!

What happens when we take a road trip to California for a week and a half?

2008-05-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

-We remembered how much we LOVE our portable DVD Player and Dora!
-We get to stay the night in St. George at my cousin Lyndi's beautiful home, for which we are grateful.
-Our kids enjoyed visiting with cousins Madison and Max and playing with their toys.

-We get to go to Craig's cousin, Kacey's wedding at the St. George temple.

-Craig tries to take a little nap while waiting for the bride and groom to come out of the temple. The kids just have to join him . . . too bad they didn't really fall asleep!

-After chasing the kids around at the church for almost an hour, trying to keep them out of the water cups, butter, centerpieces, utensils, etc. at nap time, we left before the luncheon was even served and went to Cafe Rio! We then came home and everyone had a nap!
-My wonderful cousin babysat our children while we went to the reception that evening! Thank you Lyndi!
-We were able to relax and enjoy adult conversation at the reception, while watching everyone else with children trying to keep them out of the three pools, the stream, and the waterfall!

(Craig and I with Craig's cousin, Denett)

-We went to Disneyland and actually had good weather!

-We chased kids around, put them in and out of the stroller, gave them snacks, changed diapers, tried to keep them in line, and were exhausted by the end of the day!
-The kids had fun with this huge ball with water on it. Ambree thought it looked like the perfect thing to lick! Yuck!

-We met up with my brother Justin and his family, and our boys had so much fun together!

-We watched the Pixar parade at California Adventure and Cade LOVED it!

-We even practiced our letters! "A" is for Ambree and "C" is for Cade!

-Cade got a picture with Buzz.

-And went on the "Buzz Ride" three times!

-We got to spend many nights at my parents house, in my sister, Jenny's room! Thanks for the sacrifice Jenn!
-Pro to that . . . we saved money not needing to get a hotel and got to visit with my family.-Negative to that . . .we had to sleep in the same room as our children.
-We got to visit with our friends from our time in California!

-I locked my keys in my car twice in one day! If that doesn't tell you anything about my state of mind that day, I don't know what will!

-We got to go on a dinner cruise for Craig's end of the year banquet without children! Thanks for watching them Mom!

(The Girls: Jennie Barney, Lindsay Palmer, Me)

(The Boys: Weston Barney, Jeff Clark, Craig Poulter, Matt Palmer . . . It was an all white or tropical theme . . . kind of looks like a baptism to me).

-We had a yummy meal and time to reflect on the last 4 years!-My husband's title changed from Student to Doctor in a matter of hours!

-Craig gave a great inspirational message at his graduation and was even asked by leaders of the California Optometric Association if they could publish it in their magazine!

-I was planning on warm weather, so that's how I packed . . . needless to say I was very cold during the ceremony, due to cold, rainy weather!

(The SCCO class of 2008)!

(Our Little Family)

(All the family that attended the graduation ceremonies . . . Bill Poulter (Craig's Dad), Carol Poulter(Craig's Mom), Craig, Cade, Ambree, Me, Joy Williams (my mom), Dennis Williams (my dad).

-We went out to eat at the Cheese Cake Factory the night before graduation and to Souplantation the day of graduation. . . yummy!

-We made it to the beach . . . it was a little cold, so we didn't go swimming, but we still had fun playing in the sand!

-We got to visit with my Grandma Andreason in St. George on the way home and stay the night at her house.

-Cade threw up partly in the car and on Grandma's drive way right before we were going to leave. . . luckily that was the only time . . . I was kind of worried.

-We now have sick kids and I feel it coming on too! Blahh. . . oh well, we had fun, but it's good to be home!

Catch up #3, Derrick is a college grad!

2008-05-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

My little brother, Derrick, graduated from BYU! Boy do I feel old now! :)

What a good little school boy. . .

Yeah, let's PARTY!!!

We had to make special stop to take a picture in front of this sign . . . It's just the thing to do!

We ate dinner at Tucanos Brazilian restaurant after the graduation ceremonies with some friends and family and it was yummy! Cade, Holly (Derrick's friend . . . not much more at this point, if anyone is interested . . . he's a good catch!), and Derrick making funny faces.

Cade with his cousin Aiden, making more funny faces! They are a day apart in age and have so much fun together!

An attempt at getting a picture of the kids all together . . . not too much success!

Ambree, Cade, Aiden, and Samantha in front of Tucanos.

Another attempt with kids and pictures and again, no such luck! I guess the girls weren't too excited about Derrick graduating, but you can tell Derrick sure is!

Congratulations Derrick! We love you and are excited to be living so close to you now! Good luck with all your new endeavors!

Catch up #2, A new baby in the family!!

2008-05-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

My brother Justin, and his wife Tara, welcomed their second child into their family on April 8th! She is a beautiful, healthy baby girl. They named her Britlyn Mae! Congratulations Justin and Tara!

Catch Up #1, Wedding in Vegas Baby!

2008-05-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

Back in March I took the kids and drove to Las Vegas for my cousin Brandon's wedding. Unfortuantely, because of work, Craig couldn't go, but my brother Derrick went with us and helped a lot with the kids. I wouldn't have gone otherwise! The kids actually did really well and even though it was a very quick trip, it was a lot of fun to see family and to witness the sealing of my cousin to his beautiful bride!

My cousin, Tyler, Brother Derrick, Sister Brittany, Sister inlaw Tara, Sister Jenny, me, Brother Justin. All of my siblings were there, except Steven! We missed you Steven!
Cade hanging out with his cousin, Brogan (Justin's son). They have so much fun together!
My cute mom with Brogan!
My cute dad with Cade!Tired Ambree with Grandma!
Even more tired Ambree with Uncle Derrick! Looks like Derrick is pretty tired too! Welcome to the life of taking care of children, Derrick! And you thought playing football was tiring! ;)

We're Back!!!

2008-05-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

We finally have internet now! It was kind of an ordeal to get it becuase the builders of the home didn't leave any exposed pipes for the wiring of the internet, so we had to do some digging and find a sprinkler pipe for it. This was after the internet guys came to install and they couldn't. We then had to re-schedule the installation and wait. Anyway, it is done and here we are! I know you have all missed us so much. LOL!

We found a park just up the road from our house. It is pretty nice, but nothing compared to Craig Park in California! Boo hoo! They only have one baby swing, but it fits both the kids . . . they thought this was pretty fun. . .

Side note about Ambree's matching pants and hat. About a year ago, I found this Old Navy hat at a thrift store and bought it. Then, just about a month ago, I found these matching Old Navy pants at a different thrift shore and bought them! Funny huh!
Lately the kids like being wrapped like "burritos" They will lay there for a while and then they will try to escape the tortilla! And then of course need to be wrapped up again. Funny kids!
There are quite a few of you who have been inquiring about our situation. I guess I have been kind of vague about it, so here it goes. Craig is finishing up his last rotation (internship) in Sandy, UT. He will then graduate from Optometry School at the end of May and has a job lined up in West Jordan, UT, starting in June as a tech and in July as an Optometrist. The Doctor he will be working for is a good friend of Craig's family Optometrist, who referred Craig to him. If all goes well, Craig will work full time as an employee for a while, and eventually buy half the practice and then all of the practice when the current doctor retires. Although I am struggling a little with the idea of living in such a cold climate, away from my family and the beach, I know this is a great opportunity and blessing for our family and it is where we need to be.

Instead of renting an apartment and then moving again into a home, we decided to just do a rent to own situation. So we are renting this home in now and hope to buy it within the next year. We are really enjoying being in a home, and would love to have visitors if you are ever in the area. Here are a few pics. . .

Our backyard isn't too big, and the grass needs some help, but here it is. We are planning on getting a fence at some point, but right now it is nice for our kids to be able to use the neighbors sand box and swing set (they said it was OK.) :)

Living Room (Still need to do some decorating, like curtains, wall hangings, etc.)
Kitchen . . . I love the matching appliances and neutral colors of the floor, counters, and carpet that don't show up dirt, etc. that easily.

View from the dining room to the stairs. . .
View from the kitchen/dining room area into the living room. . .

no internet yet!

2008-04-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

We don't have internet hooked up in our new home, so I am having internet withdrawls! Luckily I am at my inlaws right now and they have it! Yay! We are finally settled into our new home. Just a few more boxes to unpack and then decorating. That's the fun part! Of course it would be more fun with unlimited funds, but I'm not complaining, because I have a garage and a basement and three rooms, and my own home! We have met a few people in the neighborhood that seem really nice, and we are looking forward to meeting more and learning our way around the town a little better! Hopefully soon I'll have internet and I'll be able to do a post that is a little more interesting with PICTURES of something! I hope you are all doing well.

Our last week living with Craig's parents . . .

2008-04-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from Monday morning . . . . APRIL 7th!! And yes, I had to drive to work in it! Luckily the school wasn't too far away. I remember at the beginning of March we had a few nice weather days and I thought it was the end of snow until next year, and I thought, OK I think I might be able to handle 3 months out of the year of snow and cold. I was sooooooo wrong. It has now been 5 months and apparently it sometimes even snows in may. Oh, and in JULY!! Yes, it is true . . . it has been known to snow here in July. Wish me luck!

Good news of the week . . . Cade finally pooped in the toilet for the first time in like 7 months! Soooo, we had a poo poo party! Do you like the "poo" inspired candy for dessert?! I am so cleaver. . . LOL!
Will Cade ever tire of these toys? He LOVES them! I think he might choose them over me if he had the choice!

Cade has been quite the climber this week, which is not very characteristic of him. Maybe he is just getting more brave as he gets older . . . he climbed into the sink in the bathroom and . . .

On top of the shed in my in laws backyard!! He must have climbed up the fence near the shed and then onto the shed. . . I'm not quite sure, but this is where we found him!

I LOVE Dora!! She is my babysitter all the time . . . uhh, I mean, every once in a while. I thought this was sweet of Cade and Ambree watching TV. Cade fell asleep and Ambree was leaning her head against his. . . awww!Ambree loves all the fun toys at grandma and grandpa's house! Apparently she thinks she is a baby and likes to climb into the doll crib. I don't know what she is going to do when we move and she doesn't have all of these toys to play with everyday that she has become so attached to. Luckily she has a birthday coming up!

OK . . . now it is on to packing for our move on Saturday. I am excited to have our own home, but not looking forward to our 7th move since we've been married for a little less than 5 years! Luckily this time we have most of our stuff still packed up in storage, which will make things a little easier. Hopefully this will be our last move for a while!! Wish us luck!