sims family

First Day of School!

2011-08-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

Serious Happy Dance Time. First day of school!!!!

San Diego 2011

2011-08-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

So handsome!

Maybe the only time they played together without fighting?

Yep that is me. I had a ball boogie boarding.

Brandon and Harry at LegoLand

I'm sure Sally will love me putting a pic of her in a bikini on here.

"If you are good on the way home we can stop at Logans in Yuma."

Grandma's 88th Birthday

2011-07-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

We were super excited to have Cassidy in town for my grandma's big 88, so when Sally showed up {SURPRISE!} we had a big party!

Alexas Ears!

2011-06-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Look really closely. Notice those little hello kitty earrings? She finally talked me into it. (And Ryan doesn't know yet. Let's see how long it takes him to notice.)

The Big Fathers Day Winner (And our big debut on TV)

2011-06-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

The kids and I entered Ryan in a Fathers Day contest through our local TV station and WON! Woohoo!
We love him and are thrilled he gets to enjoy this awesome experience. He gets to ride the Karts at Bonderant Super Kart School. It's over $300 value and those karts go from 0 to 100 in 5 seconds! Wow! They said they are faster than the corvettes they have on site. Happy Fathers Day!

Click HERE to see our video on channel 12 Arizona Midday.

Check them off the list!

2011-06-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

While Ryan was off at scout camp this week (who do you feel worse for? Him or me?) we had a blast checking things off our list!

We made a list of 70 things to do this summer!

1) We went hiking

2) We went swimming at Grandma's (and a bunch of other places, too!)

3) We worked on our dives. Brandon had diving lessons all week and Ainsley is on the diving team again.

4) we put raspberries on our fingers. Actually, that isn't on the list, but she looks so dang cute.

5) We harvested a ton of tomatoes.

6. We went to the Science Center (and attended the Lego contest)

This is the fun line I waited in. Without my kindle. The kids took off with Ryan to check our the rest of the exhibits while I waited. and waited. and waited.

Other items we checked off this week:
Build a huge fort.
Make cupcakes
Have a lemonade stand. (we made over $10!)
Go to the movies. We saw the dumb Clifford movie at the Harkins cheapie flick this week. It was really lame, but kind of touching to hear John Ritter's voice right before he died. I loved him.

And as an extra bonus, here is a shot of Ainsley after her best dive ever, coming in at 4th place

Can't you tell by looking at her face?

Try again

Actually, the reason she is so grumpy is because they totally forgot her. We were all standing waiting for the results. They get all the way through up to the top 3 and she was so excited thinking she was top 3. Then top 2. Then first place. Oops. Not her. SLAM! I had to go up to the judges and inform them of their error. She took it personally to say the least.

Here is her first dive of the night:

New tradition on the last day of school!

2011-05-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

Ice Cream Sundaes for Breakfast!!

(Happy last day of school!)

Easter Fun

2011-05-11T13:19:00.001-07:00

3 years old. Wow.

2011-05-11T13:15:00.001-07:00

This cute thing is three now and I can't imagine where the time went. She loves to ride her new bike (a tiny little thing with training wheels I got at a garage sale) She also loves riding her scooter. She is always getting into trouble, but with that face who can get mad?

She always has the dirtiest feet!

I am often asked if she cut her own hair. Nope!

She comes up with the funniest thoughts. The other day we were sitting out on some cushions in the middle of the back lawn, pretending it was the ocean and we were on a boat. I acted scared and told her there was a shark. "AAAAAH!" she screamed as loud as she could. Then she calmly looked at me and said, "It's ok now mom. He pulled out his teeth and turned into a dolphin."

Alexa's Minnie Birthday Party

2011-04-21T08:41:00.001-07:00

Alexa's birthday is on Saturday and she is so excited! We won (big surprise) a birthday party pack of printables from MooMoo's and Tutu's and decided on a Minnie Mouse Party! We invited a couple of friends over and had a great time!

Amy brought over their bounce house which was a HIT!

The girls hanging out

mmmm cupcakes.

Do you love the Zebra decor? Remember a few weeks ago when I won the CJane motherload? One of the gifts were these totally awesome zebra striped satin sheets. The pillowcases made a great table runner! :)

If you are wondering, yes that is Alexa with unbrushed hair. And yes, it was her party. Don't judge me. :) It wasn't worth the fight.

We had a fun easter egg hunt

I made all the girls these super cute capes to wear with their initials

They were reversible

And I made these cute Minnie hair clips

I found the idea for these clips at Funky Polka Dot Giraffe and was actually planning on buying them, but her shop was closed so I made them myself. Not too bad. :) By the way, she has the cutest hair clips I have EVER seen.

Here is her banner and another cape

We had a GREAT time and a fun party!

New Endeavers

2011-04-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

I have decided to separate my creative ideas, recipes and home redo's from my family blog. This blog will stay specifically to journal my family life.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE if you came by my new blog to check it out! It's called Turbo Bubble Gum and it's full of fun! I will be working with a couple of other crafty chicks, so stop by and say hello!

We will be having a blog warming party with giveaways and easter ideas next week! Come on by and win some cool stuff!

Scouts!

2011-04-11T08:45:00.001-07:00

B-dog in his scout shirt (Thanks Cassie!)

Brandon just started scouts last week. He is absolutely LOVING it! He has already finished the belt loop for chess and is working on video games. haha.

And a little story about B-Dog. Yesterday he told Ryan he never wants to leave Arizona and will stay living with us forever. Ryan said, "Don't you want to grow up and get married?" He said, "How am I supposed to do that? You never taught me how!"

Alexa got into my make-up today

2011-04-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Brandon's LEGO Birthday party

2011-04-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

Brandon really wanted to have a LEGO birthday party this year. There are a lot of lego parties out there in blog land, but this was our fun fun party. First, I found this cute picture here and added text to it on picnik.com. Then I printed it at Costco for what... 13 cents a pop? Super cute! (Stickers added because you didn't really want to see my address and phone number, did you?)

Here is a picture of his cake. I baked a small rectangle and used the rest of the batter for 6 cupcakes. It worked great, but after I saw some cute ideas for large marshmallows, instead. That would work, too!

We made some juice box labels to look like legos, and drew circles on the plates with sharpies. Idea found here. We also used mason jars filled with Duplo blocks for balloon weights and to make the table look pretty.

Ainsley and I made these cute mashmallow pops found at Living Locurto. Technically, they are cake pops, but I wasn't feeling that ambitious. So I bought some yellow candy melt at JoAnn's with my 40% off coupon. I cut two small marshmallows and placed one half (sticky side down) on the top of a large marshmallow. Stuck a stick in, and dipped! After they dried we used black cake gel to draw faces. It was really fun!

I was, however, perplexed at how to display them. I see cake pops everywhere, but I didn't know what to do with them! I bought some craft styrofoam stuff at the dollar store by the flowers. I chopped it up and put it in mason jars. Then I took strips of brightly colored paper and wrapped it around the inside of the jar. Not perfect, but it worked for me.

The left over candy melt covered some strawberries. Brandon LOVES chocolate covered strawberries.

We had a guess how many legos are in the jar game. Wow. 8 year olds are really bad at estimating. Really bad.

It's funny how Ainsley made sure Brandon wasn't in the house for her party. But she sure made her presence know at his. Couldn't get her out of our faces for a minute! lol

We played a few games like: who can make the highest tower in 3 minutes. Who can build the strongest bridge, who can build a spaceship, etc. I had a bunch of bags of legos on the table. I had a bowl full of candy bars and the winner for each contest chose a candy. I think everyone got a prize for each contest because we only had 5 boys there. I just used different awards like "most creative" "Fastest time."

We also did a relay race outside with legos in a spoon.

For party favors, I bought 8 packs of legos for $20 on Amazon.com. Super deal! They put their candy bars in the bag as the won prizes. I also bought some mini lego figurines at lego.com on clearance for like 75 cents a piece.

It was a small and inexpensive party, but just perfect for Brandon! We had a great time and Brandon was thrilled!

Fun things with the Grandparents in town

2011-03-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

We had such a blast with all of our visitors last weekend!

Can you believe Ainsley got Mike to do Just Dance? I heard he kicked some butt, too!

Brandon with my mom and grandma

Brandon and his Grandpa

Brandon with his Great Grandparents

Saturday, after the baptism, we went to the Goldfield Ghost Town

Brandon loved the car graveyard

There were some awesome people to see. Whew!

A couple of kids got put in jail

We brought our little neighbor, Callie, to keep Ainsley in line

It was a super fun day!

Brandon's Baptism

2011-03-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a very special day for our family. Brandon was baptized. We were so lucky to have his Grandpa Mike and his Great Grandparents come down from Utah. It made it so much more wonderful to have them all there. We are so proud of Brandon for choosing this. He has been very aware of his choices and actions since the baptism. He is trying so hard to be so good. He is also SO excited to finally be a cub scout.

My mom and our friend Morgan were also there.

Ryan and Brandon before the ordinance was performed

The three of us

Ainsley's Teeny Tiny Tenth Birthday

2011-03-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Ainsley had her teeny tiny tenth birthday and to be honest I was a little worn out from the trip before it ever began. So I didn't quite give it my all, but it was fun. Definitely fun.

We made a cute mini sign for the door

All the cute girls

Bacon cupcakes. Yes you read that right. She wanted bacon cupcakes. We also had mini hamburgers, mini sodas, mini cookies and a few other mini snacks.

We made shrinky dink jewelry. That was seriously fun and definitely the hit of the party!

We played the fun candy bar game using mini candy bars. That was hilarious to watch!

We seriously had a fun time! A few of Ainsley's friends gave her Doritos for her birthday, which I thought was strange. I asked why and apparently she talks about Doritos all day long! One girls said she has a dream that she is walking in a world made of Doritos and eats the whole world. Weird? I would say so! :)

SURPRISE!

2011-03-03T09:19:00.003-07:00

Ainsley was a little bothered (to say the least) that she had to cancel her birthday party for a funeral trip. Thank goodness for good friends! Debora Deden (a friend from our old Utah neighborhood) stepped up and offered to have a surprise party for Ainsley with her old friends. She was totally surprised!

Some of these cute girls didn't even remember Ainsley, but came anyway, bearing gifts and love. I have to admit, it took me a while to recognize a few, also! They all have grown so much!

Debora had pizza, cupcakes, mad libs, nail painting, everything you could ever want at a 10 year old party.

Ainsley had so much fun, she is still telling us she wants to move back to Utah. Thanks to the DeDens for a wonderful birthday Ainsley will never forget!

Grandma Joy's birthday party for Ainsley

2011-03-03T09:08:00.003-07:00

Ainsley had been praying for an actual snowstorm ON her birthday and she got it! I peeked outside bright and early on Saturday and saw about 10 inches. I woke up Ryan. "Honey, I think you should get up and plow the driveway for your dad." He mumbled, "plow or shovel?" "PLOW! I's horrible." He grumbled and rolled out of bed. There was a LOT of snow!

After the driveway was cleared, Ryan's Grandma Joy invited us over for a birthday party breakfast for Ainsley. She is so thoughtful that way.

Katie taught the kids how to build a snowman. They seriously didn't know!

The saddest family picture ever.

Utah, viewing and funeral

2011-03-03T08:50:00.005-07:00

All of Ryan's family was there for the funeral. I can't think of one missing cousin. It was amazing.

We even saw Shantel, Ryan's cute sister that lives in Florida. We haven't seen her in like 6 years. (She's sitting next to Julee's husband Aaron and Alyssa.)

Ainsley and her cousin Katie at the viewing

Ryan and his cousin Chris

Brandon started a poker club both at the viewing and the funeral. Usually it was in the way, right in front of the body. He didn't know he had so many boy second cousins. They were all so cute!

Alexa and her great-grandpa Phillips at the graveside services. It was snowing and so cold. Ryan dedicated the grave.

Here are all the boy grandsons as pall bearers

Ryan's dad, Mike, and his pretty wife, Lori

This is what we don't miss. Driving in the snow staring at the Utah State Tree. (The orange cone.)

Ryan faking a smile while driving in the nasty storm to Larkin Mortuary.

Ryan's Aunt Jennifer with her granddaughter Brooklyn

Ryan's cute cousin Tracy with her darling little boy, Cohen.

Whirlwind Trip to Utah, Day 1 (or 2?)

2011-03-03T08:34:00.003-07:00

Last week Ryan's grandpa, Don Sims, passed away. He was 84 and had been sick for a while. He passed on Wednesday evening and the funeral was scheduled for Saturday (Ainsley's birthday.) That didn't leave us much time to prepare, we don't own any coats, gloves, etc. (or even socks for that matter!) but we hopped in the car after school on Thursday and started the 13 hour drive. I was on the phone a lot cancelling piano lessons, Ainsley's birthday party, our family pictures session, and all the activities we had planned for our weekend. Oh, and can someone feed our cat? Our friends were great enough to lend us some coats.

We stopped in Cedar City at about 1:30 am to call it a night.

The next morning we discovered Ryan forgot his suit pants. Oops. Luckily we found a Kohls and picked some up along with gloves and socks for Alexa.

When we FINALLY made it up to North Salt Lake. The kids were in heaven. Alexa has never seen snow and the other two haven't seen it in YEARS.

this is me. freezing. Coat? All I had was a leather jacket so I stayed inside most of the time.

Ainsley is the instigator of all fights. Thus, she began a snowball fight as soon as we got out of the car.

Brandon was so cold he wouldn't go out unless he was covered head to toe.

Alexa was surprised. It's WET! and it BURNS!

Ainsley's funny comment

2011-02-14T08:55:00.003-07:00

Yesterday during sacrament Ainsley made me laugh so hard I almost spit out my bread.

We were chomping on the sourdough that somehow was the sacrament bread of the day. She looked at me with THAT FACE. You know the one that says this is so gross?

After she swallowed she said, "I guess I should be grateful Jesus didn't set up spaghetti noodles to represent his body."

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T08:13:00.003-07:00

Before I get going on our fun valentines morning, I want to say something.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY RYAN! Ryan is the best husband and father in the world. I love him so much. You should all be jealous and stop rolling your eyes at me.

OK, that said, this morning we had our Valentines breakfast, once again using Grandma Dalton's china.
YUMMY! Heart shaped pancakes with warm strawberry sauce and whipped cream. I can't forget to mention the fancy orange juice. (OJ and sprite left over from last night's dinner.)

While the kids were chowing down, I cut the sandwiches into hearts with a cookie cutter and threw some valentines from me in their lunch boxes. Hope they don't get eaten!

Can you see Ainsley's cute heart hair?

I also gave the kids their gifts. A little candy (of course) and this year I gave them shirts to wear on V-Day.

I had trouble finding boys love shirts, so I made this out of heat transfer paper and my silhouette. Brandon loved it. Ainsley and Alexa were easy. I found some cute Valentines shirts and ironed on some xoxo's in silver heat transfer to personalize them just a tad. I also got Ryan a nice springy tie and xoxo'd the tag on the inside. It is supposed to remind him that I love him when he wears it. I know a tie isn't really romantic, but he's a practical kind of guy.

Happy Valentines Day! I love you all!

Pre-Valentines Dinner

2011-02-14T08:04:00.002-07:00

Some friends of ours invited our whole family over for Valentines Dinner this year. We were surprised and excited!

So, we decided to have our Valentines dinner on Sunday.
Our menu:

lobster tails and butter

Roasted potatoes, onions and peppers

Asparagus

Valentines punch (Sprite and food coloring)

and some delicious microwaved popcorn chicken dipped in ranch for the less distinguished eaters (namely Brandon and Alexa)

Actually, Alexa ate all her lobster. I'm sure it had something to do with the butter. I don't know what happened to Brandon. On the cruise a couple years ago he ate duck, snails, lobster. Lately, it's go-gurts and top ramen. Weird.
We had a great time eating on my Grandma Dalton's china she got in the 1920's. They are a little chipped, but we treat them so special and with love. We also pulled out the real crystal classes. For some reason no one could get the glasses to sing this time. The kids thought I switched them out for fake glasses. I'm not sure what we were doing wrong this time around!

What we've been up to...

2011-02-14T07:59:00.003-07:00

Well, to be honest, we haven't been up to much at all lately! The weather has been nice and that's about it! Ainsley and I made a bunch of pompoms to decorate for Valentines and they are so cute I think we will keep them up until her birthday party. And maybe Brandon's. And maybe Alexa's.Speaking of birthday parties, we have been preparing for Ainsley's 10th. She has decided on a teeny tiny party. Here is a picture of her 2 inch tall invitation.
What's that? You can't read it? Of course not. It's so tiny, I'm not kidding. It says something about

Please come to Ainsley's teeny tiny tenth birthday.

She has so many fun ideas planned, so we will post later after the party.

Winner of CSN Giveaway and info for your own giveaway

2011-01-30T09:13:00.003-07:00

Thanks so much for all of you that entered.

I chose a random winner from Random.org and the winner is...

Lytles

Yay Cassie! I will send you a message with your code for CSN.

Marley (the contact from CSN) said I could pass along her info if you would like to do either a review or a giveaway on your blog. Interested?

Contact Marley at CSNPromoTeam@csnstores.com

Another Giveaway on my blog!

2011-01-25T16:38:00.004-07:00

Hi everyone! The super generous people at CSN are giving away another gift of $25 to one of my readers! Thank you Thank you CSN!

I'm sure you have heard of them by now. They sell absolutely everything, and at great prices, too.

Let's say you are trying to redecorate or update your dining room. Look at their Modern Dining Room Furniture!

I love these glasses!

And wouldn't your table look beautiful with this linen on it?

So here's your chance to win a one-time-use $25 gift certificate to use on any one of their 200+ sites. (US and Canada only!!)

All you have to do is leave me one note. You can say anything you want. You can tell me my kids are cute, or you think I'm rad. Anything. Just make sure you leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win.

And show CSN some love by going over to their website and browsing around! Please!

Contest is open until Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 12:00 midnight. I will pick a winner Sunday morning. :)

Dormitory

2011-01-22T20:57:00.002-07:00

We decided to turn Brandon's room into a dorm.

After too many nights of no sleep for me, I was desperate for change. Tuesday morning I was so tired I almost fell asleep driving Alexa to the burn center.

All three kids are in my room EVERY NIGHT. Alexa climbs in our bed. Brandon and Ainsley wake us up claiming bad dreams, or whatever. I have not awakened one time in the last 2 weeks without all three in my bed or on my floor. And they aren't quiet about it, either. Kicking the bad, the wall, my head. Ryan and I decided enough is enough.

We moved all three beds into one room. No being scared or lonely anymore. It's like a sleepover every night. We constantly wonder why we need such a large house when all we really need is a 2-room bungalow.

BONUS: All three. In bed. Asleep. 7:30 pm. Saturday. Woohoo!

Celebrating Alexa's last burn apt with Disney on Ice

2011-01-19T21:51:00.003-07:00

Yesterday we had Alexa's last burn apt (for a while, anyway.) While we were leaving the burn center a "burn survivor" was in the lobby handing out tickets to the Disney on Ice performance. Free tickets to families of burn survivors! Yay! We were super excited, as expensive trips like that are few and far between. We were so high in the nose bleeds. I think there were only 2 rows behind us.

(Smile kids! Pretend you like it so Alexa doesn't grow up too fast!)

We told them it was over at intermission and took off. We can only take so much.

Perfect Weather

2011-01-19T21:37:00.006-07:00

We have had the most amazing weather here lately! Saturday we took Brandon, Jake and Alexa to the park to fish, mess around and have a picnic.

Alexa gets to wear a Big 'Ol Hat anytime she is outside now.

Oh, the things we find...

2011-01-19T21:30:00.003-07:00

The kids were out and about on Friday, so Ryan and I decided to snoop around their backpacks. This is what we found.

Hers
Four (yes, four!) reading books, various small pieces of candy canes, a stick (mini hp wand?), and an empty carton of chocolate icecream. Later we were told the carton was a reminder of the best day she has ever had at school. Ever.

His

Crumpled artwork, half eaten tootsie roll, 2 starbursts, a dum-dum, 2 random lego pieces, a plastic bug, and a pencil sharpener.

I know this doesn't mean much to any of you, but it is so funny to us. I know I will look back some day and laugh out loud.

Summary of the last few weeks (and an actual pic of the scar)

2011-01-11T18:12:00.005-07:00

The last few weeks have been crazy busy and fun, so I thought I would throw in a few pictures in no particular order. (Including a few, but not by any means all) fun presents we are enjoying.

*Please note my favorite camera (my Lumix) is now in the graveyard and I am so sad. So bear with my pictures from now on.

Ryan's sister and her family gave the kids a gift certificate to a pottery studio and they LOVED that gift so much, they eat from their bowls any chance they get.

I found a bunch of cabinets and a countertop on Craigslist and paid someone to install them one day while Ryan was at work. I'm just kind of like that. SURPRISE!

Ainsley got an Air Hockey table for Christmas. Fun for the whole neighborhood!

Today Brandon and Ainsley were home sick. Ainsley and I kept busy making this cute door hanger for Valentines. It turned out DARLING! We got the tutorial for the balls from Heather Bailey and just tied them to an empty picture frame.

Do you like my new kitchen appliances I got for Christmas? There is a dishwasher, too!

Brandon LOVED his new wolf hat het got from Aunt Sally

Alexa was equally thrilled to receive this pillow pet from her grandparents.

And a "FUN" shot of the healing scar for those of you wondering. :)

Christmas Eve, 2010

2010-12-27T16:14:00.003-07:00

This year for Christmas Eve we bought a TON of Mexican food from the Mexican Costco (Rancho Market) including tamales, salsa, tortillas, rice, guacamole, etc. Then we headed to our house for a party! We had a fire pit and told stories, etc. Brandon put all the parts of the nativity into a bowl and made us draw our part. He then gave us any costumes he had planned. Lucky grandma got camerman and narrator.

The shepherd and narrator

Mamo was the angel

Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus

The three wisemen

(side note: I am having so many problems with blogger lately! Anyone else having issues?I can't center the text or anything!)

Like you know she's my daughter...

2010-12-27T09:32:00.003-07:00

Last night I was having a conversation with Alexa that went something like this:

Alexa: Mom, I like went to my room and the doll was like on the bed. So I was like, "Baby, why are you on the bed? You like need your pajamas on!" And she was like, "I'm cold." So I like put on her pajamas.

Does this demonstrate that her mom is from California or what?

Our Christmas Miracle (Well, ups and downs)

2010-12-27T09:12:00.002-07:00

I wanted to share our experience at Alexa's burn appointment last week.

First of all, two weeks ago when Ryan and I went we were told it would be around 3 more months of Silver treatments and twice a day cleaning. We weren't expecting much more than that this time, as well. But when the Dr. looked at her face she said it was amazing! She said we are now all done with Silver and are now only using Aquaphor on her. Ryan and I were shocked! Alexa has been telling everyone who asks her about her burn that Heavenly Father is healing her, and she was absolutely right! We were thrilled to have this miracle, we knew it was due to faith and prayers.

Unfortunately, a couple nights before she was complaing aboout a stomach ache. Well, not exactly complaining. More like screaming and writhing in pain. All night. Every night. They suggested calling her pediatrician because it could be caused to the ibuprofin usage.

I called Dr. Duke and she aggreed, thinking it was due to her sensitive stomach and the ibuprofin. And just so you know, it was only once a day and she hadn't had it for about a week! So we put her on prevacid, but it takes days to kick in. We tried every kind of immediate help - pepto bismal, tylenol, rolaids, tums, restricing fatty foods. Guess what - nothing worked. At all. For around a week I got no sleep. One night I actually sternly told her that I was sorry she hurt but if mommy didn't get SOME sleep she would die. Finally, at that point, Ryan took over. It was crazy! She has a really high pain tolerance and never complains, but this was different!

After 5 doses of prevacid and no relief, I spoke with my friend, who is a pediatrician. He said she shouldn't be in so much pain still and suggested some other causes. She also said to call the Dr. back and have Alexa checked out. But it was Christmas Eve. I put in a call with the answering service anyway and talked with her on the phone. It was so upsetting to me. She said the problem may be psychological, like PTSD or something. She also suggested that Alexa may not know what hurts and it may be something else all together. Well, that is just silly. I agree that some 2-year-olds may not know their body parts or how to communicate, but Alexa is exceptional. She can communicate it all!

I was so frustrated. But (oddly enough) she stopped crying that night. And hasn't since. I honestly don't know if the meds finally kicked in or if it was some stomach virus, but it made for a nice Christmas Eve!

Santa Clause is comin to town

2010-12-22T09:59:00.002-07:00

Ahhhh, the perfect day

2010-12-18T19:57:00.006-07:00

Today was one of those perfect weather days. I woke up in a bear of a mood because I didn't get any sleep. Alexa was up all night crying about her tummy hurting. Roar!!!

But the weather was SO NICE! I couldn't stay grumpy for long. We went to the park and played for a while and just enjoyed the sun.

Alexa started to chase the ducks, but when she scared them and the started flying away it scared her to death! She turned right around and ran back to me!

I have to enjoy these days of winter because before we know it I will be whining about the summer. :)

Barf-fest, 2010

2010-12-12T14:29:00.003-07:00

This is how the night began. Nice, beautiful, warm.

We invited some friends of ours to visit the Mesa Temple with us and see the lights. We were having a lovely time until we walked into the visitor's center.

We decided to see the 6 minute long movie Luke 2. We walked into the theater and sat down. As soon as the sister missionary began talking, it began. Alexa's weeks worth of undugested food. It just kept coming and coming. And coming.

Ryan was holding her. What does a dad do when a kid upchucks? He holds her out, so as not to get dirty. It worked, but I saw the vomit projectiling towards the ladies head in front of me.

What does a mom do when a kid pukes? She holds her in. So I grabbed her and ran out the door. Barf everywhere. down my shirt, on my leather jacket, all over my feet (I had flipflops on), my pants, my hair. You name it. Of course, the Visitors Center locks all public bathrooms during Christmas time. As she was STILL throwing up in the hall and I was obviously covered, a sister ran to get the keys. Wow is all I can say. We had to leave our friends at the temple and drive home with a naked baby wrapped in a leather jacket and mom completely covered in barf.

Did I mention it's a 45 minute drive to our house?

After a night with no sleep (It continued ALL night), we woke to a sick Ainsley. Her turn. I can't tell you how much barf we have cleaned up this week.

Anybody jealous?

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

2010-12-10T12:48:00.002-07:00

Todays Mama and Gamestop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I am sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?

I am hoping for a peaceful Christmas where there is no fighting and lots of happy children.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition?

We make some yummy breakfast the night before and pop it in the oven first thing. Then it cooks while we open presents from Santa. We eat, then open the rest of our presents. Not too exciting, but we like it!

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?

I Would ask Santa to paint my kitchen cabinets so I won't have to do it. Oh, and to maybe landscape my front yard. :)

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?

We read a different Christmas story every night from a book our Primary gave us years ago. And the kids LOVE decorating.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up?

Growing up we played handball on the garage door, and Intellivision. Pitfall, to be specific. Yes, I am old.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?

We always had a program on Christmas Eve where we sang and read Christmas stories and read from Luke 2. We do a similar program now, but for some reason my kids won't sing.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?

I would say Utah. But I would want to throw some skiing in there. We miss the snow (but just a very little.)

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

Just Dance 2, Just Dance for Kids, and Michael Jackson the experience. (That's for me, not the kids.)

Christmas Tree, and other musings

2010-12-10T07:52:00.002-07:00

Last night as I was on my way out the door to attend a Relief Society Christmas dinner, I snapped this photo of our tree. Our sad tree that I can't get half the lights to work on. What is the point of "pre-lit" if it looks like this?

And what about that angel on top who doesn't want to man her post? She is constantly falling off.

Our third issue with this tree is the location. Since we have choir practice in our living room every Sunday, we couldn't put it there, so it is up against the window in our family room. It's kind of a weird spot.

Anyway, so I was one my way home from RS, thinking about this tree and my daughter, Ainsley. The two aren't related, that's just what was on my mind. :) I had this strong feeling as a gentleman was speaking about Mary that I needed to tell Ainsley how much her Heavenly Father loves her. I'm sure I've told her, but maybe not one on one serious, just pure love. It was a strong inspiration.

So I walked in the door and smelled something weird in my fresh, newly cleaned home. Couldn't put my finger on it.

Walked into Ainsley's room and did my thing. She was so happy and smiley. Then she said, "Brandon barfed."

Oh. That was the smell.

I went upstairs. Not only did he barf, but it was all over my brand spanking new, beautiful comforter. Dry clean only. Too big for my washer even so. I tried. And it was my side of the bed and carpet, too. Ryan did his best to clean it up. ~sigh~ At least it was on sale.

Merry Christmas! Have I told you lately that God loves you? He does!

Monday's Appointment

2010-12-07T14:33:00.002-07:00

Just for the sake of documenting this whole burn process, I thought I would write a little about yesterday. As I stated before, Dr. Peck told us to email him a picture of Alexa's face every 3 or 4 days so he could check on her progress. Yesterday morning I sent him a picture and he is quick. He responded within 5 minutes. He said come in today. Call now. We need to do surgery.

Ugggh. I called and they said come now. So I called Ryan and told him to meet me there and hopped in the car with Alexa. The entire 45 minute drive to the Maricopa Burn Center I prayed. We have been fasting and praying, but this time I was very specific. I was praying that the doctors would be guided and led to make a good decision and that I would accept that decision.

I really didn't want surgery.

I felt as if enough time for a miracle hasn't past. I needed more time. So I prayed that they would be inspired.

After we arrived and started the check-up, Dr. Peck and Dr. Prathana began to waver on the surgery. They were torn. They explained that scarring would be less if they performed the surgery now, but the grafting would be more obvious. Waiting a year would have thicker, but more natural scarring. There was fatty tissues around the wound and they said it was more 3rd degree than they thought. It was not looking good.

Finally, Dr. Peck said he felt that we should wait. So did Dr. Pratha. They said to only see Dr. Pratha in the future, no other doctors and to keep sending them updates. (The other doctors may be a little more scalpel happy.)

I felt like this was really an answer to my prayers.

This morning there was so much blood. So much it was dripping. That's good! Blood is good!

So we are feeling confident in this choice, but worried about the thick scarring. I guess only time will tell.

An Update - looking much better

2010-12-01T16:50:00.003-07:00

Ryan called and begged me to post a new picture of Alexa. He said people are grossed out by the last one. Well, I understand! I was too!
So here is one I took 20 seconds ago.

Hair still in face. You would think I would learn

As you can tell, her swelling is down. She is looking SO much better.

Yesterday after lunch she started talking about throwing up and her fever spiked to 101.9. I freaked out. I called the burn center but they were not nearly as concerned as I was. Well, let me rephrase that. The nurse was, but the doctor wasn't. They asked if it looked infected or red around the edges. No more than usual. So they suggested I call her pediatrician to narrow out the stomach flu. mmm? ooookay.

So I called the pediatrician. She asked how long she'd had the fever, etc. About 20 minutes. Yeah, she was nice, but was like, "how can I narrow out the stomach flu? She needs to be sick longer than that. Call me tomorrow."

About an hour later the fever disappeared and she was fine. But I was a nervous wreck all afternoon.

We also went to Kohls to spend some Kohls cash on some shirts that can easily fit over her head. She begged my mom for some little ride on toy and my mom was suckered into it. How can you say no to a little cute thing with bandages that never complains?

She is still acting wonderfully. She is happy and rowdy as ever. She never complains or cringes when we clean her wounds twice a day. Really, she is a blessing.

Thanks for all your well wishes and love. You have no idea how much it means to us.

The Day after Thanksgiving, Alexa style

2010-11-29T21:07:00.003-07:00

I know this picture is too much. As I am typing, looking at it, I am crying and feeling sick to my stomach. That has been the way I have felt for the last few days. Since Friday around 1:00 pm, to be exact. And what kills me the most is the smile on her face. It is constant. Constant.

My thanksgiving post is this one. The one where I share how grateful I am that things are as good as they are. That my baby is as safe and well as she is. It could be worse.

Friday we were having a terrific time pulling out the Christmas village and other decorations from the garage. We had the neighbors over and the kids were loving every detail of all the buildings. Alexa really loved the Santa and Mrs. Claus that are about 2 inches tall. The week before I got a free Glade candle, so to be festive and make the house smell nice I lit it and put it on the kitchen table. And then I forgot it. I just totally forgot it.

About an hour later I went upstairs to take a shower, leaving Alexa downstairs with Ainsley and our neighbor Morgan. I was distracted for a moment by the computer. Thank heavens. All of a sudden I heard screaming. Like life or death screaming. The kind from a horror movie. I ran downstairs as fast as I could. Ainsley was standing there next to Morgan screaming. I looked accross the room and saw Alexa standing on the table in flames. Her hair and head were on fire. She had climbed onto the table and bent over the candle to smell it better when it caught her hair. I ran over to her and was thinking I would need to smother her with my shirt, but when I got there I found a towel right at her feet. I grabbed it and smothered the fire quickly. I took another towel, dampened it, placed it on her head and ran outside. My neighbor, Teri, is a nurse. I had seen her out just a few minutes before.
Her husband was standing there with their son.
"Is your wife home?" I said. "My baby is burned and I need her!"
He ran and got her. I asked if she thought I needed to go to the hospital. "Yes," she said. "Go." "I'll watch your kids."
So I took off right then. I called my mom first. "Mom, come over now." I hung up. I couldn't say any more. Then I called Ryan and the flood gates opened. He met me at the emergency room where we wated for 2 1/2 hours before we saw a doctor.
I am apparently one of those moms who needs constant reassurance. I was texting my good friend Ashlee and her husband, who is a pediatrician, asking for advice the whole time.
Finally we saw a doctor who sent us to the Maricopa Burn Center. We would have gone instantly, but we had to wait another 45 minutes for our paperwork.
We drove into Phoenix. I have read about this hospital so many times. I read NieNie's Dialogues. But I never thought I would actually be there myself. With my 2 year old. Absolutely freaking out.
They were fast and wonderful. They reassured us she would be ok. They told us she wouldn't scar. They gave us private phone numbers to call with any questions. But I still felt like crap.
Alexa kept telling everyone that she had the best sister in the world because she blew out the candle after the fire. Then she would say, "I'm so sorry mommy. I'm sorry she threw away your candle." "Oh baby. I didn't love that candle. You are so much more important to me." Over and over. "I'm sorry mommy!"
The bad news. Some of the burns around her face are 3rd degree. They looked white and had no liquid. Other parts were 2nd degree. But as more people came to look, we kept hearing over and over again. This is way worse than we first thought. Way worse. I had the presence of mind to bring in the TV from the car and as she sat there having layers of skin removed from her head, she sang to the Dora movie.
"This is bad news," said the nurse. "She should be able to feel this." She shouldn't be singing about the stick the stick the magic stick.
But finally, lucky for us, they sent her home with instructions on caring for her burn and a prescription for tylenol with codeine.
We came home and Ryan picked up the kids from my mom's on the way.
Ainsley got out of the car and ran to me crying. (very out of character.) "This is my fault. I shouldn't have let her on the table. I should have put out the fire. I just panicked! " During the course of the day I hadn't even considered her feelings. She witnessed the whole thing. And she was visibly shaken. I cradled her in my arms and comforted her. "I am lucky you were there, Ainsley. If you were gone, or hadn't screamed, or weren't paying attention it would have been a lot worse." And I said many things to calm her down, and I meant every one of them. I pray she will heal from this as well.
Next we called a friend to help with a priesthood blessing and went to bed.
But they forgot to tell us how swollen she would be when she woke up. See above picture. It freaked me out. I called immediately. The said to bring her in. I drove the 45 minutes out there, to be told it's totally normal. Whew.
The whole drive there and back came the thoughts. Why did I light that candle? Why did I leave it lit while I went upstairs? How could I be so careless? And those turned into more questions. Did the burns on her head happen when I put out the fire? By smothering her hair, was I pushing fire onto her skin? Is this ALL MY FAULT? I burst into tears at the burn center. DID I DO THIS? The Dr was very kind and told me there was no way smothering a fire could have caused that much damage on her face. It was already burned when I got to her. I needed that same love and understanding as Ainsley. I don't know if she was just trying to help me feel better, or if it was really my fault, but it worked. A little.
Yesterday, we went to church, but I wasn't comfortable letting her go to nursery. I was afraid she would get knocked in the head, or try to itch, or take off her bandage. So she stayed with me. As we walked in primary, I held back tears a number of times. The kids stared. They whispered. They pointed.
I know they were worried. I know they were curious. My kids would have done the same thing. But it's my baby they are staring at.
"Why are they staring at me? I'm just winkling." (Alexa's word for winking.) "They aren't used to seeing you look different, sweetie."
But the thoughts kept coming. Is this what she is going to deal with for the rest of her life? Is she going to be stared at and ridiculed forever? Answers only time will tell.
Today was her second apppointment. Dr Peck, the director of the burn clinic, came to check her out. Good news and bad news. He was definitely not as optimistic as the first Dr. about scarring. He said we had 2 choices. Do surgery now or let it heal for a year on its own and do surgery then. But it definitely will scar. Badly.
What?
He suggested waiting. I took it and ran with it.
The good news? First he said I don't have to scrape off the yucky yellowy stuff when I am cleaning the wound. {insert breath of relief here because it is nasty} Also, I use the term "I" loosely. Ryan does most of the cleaning. Second, he cancelled our next appointment and we don't need to come back for 2 weeks. It must be healing well. I do get to text him pictures every 3 days. Oh how I love the technology these days.
And how is Alexa holding up? She is so happy. Dancing around the house, smiling and laughing. Talking up a storm about the accident to anyone who will listen. The swelling is going down. She can now open her eye and see.
I am feeling a bit better today. I can talk about it a little without crying. I'm sure tomorrow will be better.
Thanks for your prayers and love. We will keep updating this blog with Alexa's progress.

Brandon FINALLY rides a bike

2010-11-25T11:11:00.002-07:00

Brandon has not wanted to ride a bike for so many years. He refused to even try. With a little bribery (a Harry Potter lego set), he has finally learned! We are so proud of him. He really overcame his biggest fear. Yay Brandon!

Deathly Hallows

2010-11-19T11:15:00.002-07:00

Me and a couple of girls named Hermione got to attend an early showing of Harry Potter 7 yesterday afternoon. It was SO fun! We loved the movie. The girls left absolutely grinning from ear to ear. They received so many compliments on their attire and were in heaven the whole time.

I had mixed feelings about seeing this movie with a couple of nine year olds, but no worries. It was not inappropriate at all. Seriously, whomever came up with the nudey shots ideas left me feeling disappointed! :) There were none! It was definitely a little too intense for Brandon to go see, but I was glad I chose to bring Ainsley and Haley. They had a ball and WE LOVED THE MOVIE! Can't wait for the next one.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-11-15T08:10:00.002-07:00

the day we got engaged

Today marks 13 years since Ryan and I have been married! Last night as we lay in bed we reminisced all of the dates we could remember that we went on before we were married. Any special times we had BEFORE we tied the knot. It was so fun to just talk about life so many years ago.

I can't believe how fast the time goes by. Happy Anniversary, Ryan!

Halloween.

2010-11-02T20:29:00.004-07:00

I don't really like Halloween on sunday. The kids think it's almost as good as Hannukah. (They are always wishing they could celebrate 7 days of fun instead of only 1.) Well, Halloween on Sunday is THREE LONG DAYS of {fun.} oops nice closed eyes, Ry!

First off, the kids always want to carve pumpkins tha Monday before Halloween. Ryan warned them the pumpkins would rot. Oh well, we did it anyway. And they did rot.

This was the first Halloween Alexa can remember. She LOVED sticking her hands in the goop.

So, nominate me AGAIN for the mother of the year award. With a huge party on Friday at my moms ward and a huge party on Saturday at our ward. Plus a kids club thing on Thursday for Alexa. Oh, and a school day full of parades and parties. Guess what? No photos. For the record, Ainsley was Hermione. And a GORGEOUS one. She really looked great. Brandon was a dementor and did the part well. Alexa traded between a cat and a pumpkin and was cute as a button. Just trust me.

Here, in Arizona, Sunday is Sunday. I remember in Utah we trick or treated on Saturday when Halloween fell on Sunday. Not here. We decided to be super mean and nix the trick-or-treating. (Keep in mind they trunk or treated TWICE.)

So we set up the fire pit and handed out candy. Brandon wanted to play on the computer the whole time, but we forced him to have fun with the family, dang it!

Alexa kept telling everyone she was the candy girl. She loved handing out the candy to all the kids. It was WAY more fun for her than collecting it.

It was a fun weekend, but ~whew!~ we need a break from our weekend!

Cute, not smart

2010-10-20T13:24:00.002-07:00

Today we were at a store and Alexa was talking up a storm. Her favorite question is Why? The lady checking us out commented that Alexa speaks so well seemed very smart.

Alexa looked at her and said, "I'm not smart. I'm cute!"

Today while I walked away from the computer...

2010-10-18T21:54:00.002-07:00

Ainsley dedcided to play a trick on me. She said it was October Fools Day.

She turned everything into Japanese, but had no idea how she did it or where the button was. I have to be honest. It took me a good 20 minutes to figure it out. I clicked on every button I could find until something worked.

She is always playing little jokes on us, that stinker!

Our Last Minute Trip to Utah

2010-10-18T21:02:00.010-07:00

Last week we decided to take a trip to Utah to visit the family. We had the whole week off for Fall Break and we really miss having that non-existant-in-Arizona season. (Fall.) We stayed with Ryan's dad and his wife, Lori. They have a beautiful house and I was so excited to see this view from their front. It's been a really long time since I've seen trees change color. And the weather was so perfect. I could walk outside and breathe the cool air. Aaah. Heaven. We enjoyed our Sunday evening with Ryan's Dad, step mom, grandma, Aunt Leslie, Uncle Randy, Julee and a few of her kids.

(and again, I love the colors!)
Monday we met my little sis and headed to Mt. Timpanogas. It's always great to see her. We remembered to old days when our dad took us hiking up Timp.

I can remember getting to the top of the mountain as a child and my dad feeding us a snack and heading back down. I had no idea they did tours and you could actually ENTER the mtn.

So we did the tour. It was so interesting. Ainsley recently visited Kartchner Caverns with school, so she knew everything the ranger told us. It was fun to listen to her tell us about it. She has such a great memory.

That night we visited our friends from our first house in West Valley.

I can't believe these girls are so old!

Brandon got to eat under the table. Between that and the cute girls he was in heaven!

Tuesday we visited my friend Cassie and had a great time. (See the kids pics in the previous post.) Her kids are so nice, I kept thinking they were going to be tainted by my smart mouths.

Wednesday we visited all of Ryan's great grandparents. The Sims and the Phillips. My kids LOVE their Grandma Joy.

They are all smiles when we are there.

Look at that HUGE pumpkin Grandpa grew! The kids got to roam the pumpkin patch and pick tons of pumpkins and gourds to bring home. I love decorating the house with them.

(just a beautiful flower in their garden)

Children of the corn

Brandon was trying to look scared like he was lost in the corn field. :)

That night we met up with my brother Joe. (No pics???? What was I thinking!) He took us to the nickelcade. Holy Cow. The kids LOVED that!! Brandon's favorite part of the trip was spent at the Nickcade with Uncle Joe.

Megan, Ainsley, Emma, Malissa, Claire and Alexa

The girls decided to visit Gardner Village while the boys went fishing to Strawberry. I met Cassie and her girls there, along with Julee, Megan, the twins and Grandma Joy. Wow! It was almost as crowded as Disneyland.

We also got to visit with the Parkers. (Again, no pics????) It was fun to see how the kids just jumped right into their friendships when they were so young when we moved. Another great family we were so glad to visit.

We had a great trip and are so sad for school to start again tomorrow! :(

Thanks everyone for playing with us and letting us enjoy your beautiful weather with you!

Family Pics

2010-10-16T20:07:00.003-07:00

While we were in Utah we visited my good friend Cassie who has a photography business. She did a mini session of my kids at the park in front of her house while we were waiting for dinner. I absolutely LOVE how they turned out! Click here if you would like to check out her photography blog.

Thanks Cass!

Pics just because...

2010-10-04T13:23:00.001-07:00

Finished Living Room

2010-10-04T13:19:00.003-07:00

Before: After:

Another project because I don't have enough

2010-10-04T13:04:00.004-07:00

Ryan is ready to kill me. I get these inclinations to do something and quite often dive in head first. Then when I start drowning he has to rescue me. :)

But here's the story. My grandma had this room in her basement. Maybe your grandma had one, too? It was SO SCARY! The Black hole. Her laundry room had this freaky hole in the back and my cousin Aaron would draw pictures of the monster that lived in the hole. Then he would leave the pictures around the house for us to find when we visited. If we had to get anything from the basement, it was as fast as possible and usually included screaming.

Well, we have that room here. It is (ironically enough) also the laundry room. The kids won't walk in it. Alexa screams at the doorway and makes someone pick her up to cross it.

It's dirty. Filthy. There are moldy patches on the walls. The ugly linoleum is peeling all around. Except the part the previous owners GLUE GUNNED to the wall. There are random huge gaping holes all over the walls. And I was SICK of it.

(my first cut patch of drywall with bleach spray close at hand to kill the mold.)

So I started by cutting the moldy patches out of the drywall one day when Ryan was at work. I tried to cover it with a laundry basket but it didn't work. He noticed. Wasn't happy.

Then I went to Lowes and got a lesson on patching drywall and did it myself. :)

Then I started peeling back the floor. I couldn't stop. Moved the washer/dryer.

I am hoping to have a finished picture for you by the end of the week. Hopefully...

Hot Dogs soaked in Tuna Juice and liver

2010-10-04T12:57:00.003-07:00

Ryan and Brandon decided to do some male bonding the other night. Fishing in the Dark. They caught these awesome catfish with bait of hot dogs soaked in tuna juice and liver. Nasty!

Brandon had a great time, though. He is already talking about going this Friday, too!

My polka dot sicky poo

2010-09-12T09:24:00.005-07:00

Poor little Alexa has some random sickness that is appearing all over her body. These pics are the beginning. It's WAY worse now. I guess it's some viral thing. She feels fine and is running around like normal. The dr. says she's not contagious, but we're not taking her out. I can just imagine the stares.

Winner of the CSN Giveaway

2010-09-12T09:15:00.002-07:00

Using Random.org, the winner of the CSN $35 giveaway is #5 Suburban Prep

I hope you have fun with it! Thanks everyone for entering, I wish you could ALL win!

Ainsley's School pictures

2010-09-10T16:12:00.001-07:00

Here's just two versions of Ainsley's school pics. Doesn't she look grown up? I can't believe it.

2010-09-09T21:43:00.004-07:00

Alexa has been into gymnastics lately.

She's not in a class or anything. She is only two for Heavens sake. And we all know that only the first child gets to do stuff like that at age 2. :) But it is so fun to watch her.

*And I do have to add a little something about the diaper in case you are wondering why the heck it is hanging off of her like that. I sent Ryan to buy diapers. She's not actually a size 6. Case closed.

Brandon's school picture

2010-09-09T21:37:00.005-07:00

This year instead of buying pictures, I only purchased the CD. I figured it was cheaper to do that and print them off at Costco. The CD is hilarious. Same photo, so many options.

Question: Do people really buy these crazy backgrounds?

My cute new key chain from Magnificent Metal

2010-09-09T21:32:00.003-07:00

About 2 months ago I attended this really fun blogging breakfast/shopping trip called Tour de thrift. It was so fun, but being in the middle of a move, I never posted about it. I had a blast and am totally going again next year.
I won a gift certificate to Magnificent Metal and finally cashed that sucker in for this darling key chain. What do you think? I have to tell you, this was made, sent and received in less than a week. It came in the cutest boxes and I love it! It was exactly as I pictured it. If you are in the market for some handmade jewelry I would definitely try them out!

Ice Cream Party

2010-09-04T07:45:00.004-07:00

For my CSN giveaway click here

We have always had a house full of children. I can't remember ever NOT having at least ten kids over.

Since we moved, however, things have changed. It's just us. I would describe it as serene. Refreshing. The kids will describe it as boring.

I get that. I know how it is to want - no NEED - friends to come over. It's an important part of growing up. So Ryan told the kids they could have an ice cream sundae party and invite kids from school, church, and the neighborhood. (Easy enough for him to offer! He's at work! :) )

So after much beggin and pleading, I agreed. Here is the set up. Ainsley and I used my new Silhouette to conjure up a million fun things like invitations, banners, and hanging cones and popsicles. (Have I not mentioned that I bought one of those fun toys? I will have to post about that soon!)
Here is the low-down on the food. (minus 5 gallons of ice cream and 2 cans of whipping cream.) Sprinkles, Gummy Bears, cookies, strawberries, cones, chocolate sauce, caramel, and some sort of random cupcake sauce. mmmmm.

We hosted this party right after school so anyone who wanted to walk home with my kids could. Of course they were all hot and starving! We ended up with over 20 kids! I was shocked and pleased. They all stayed and played (and tore apart my house and terrorized the cat) for about an hour. The neighbor kids stayed till dinner and I officially call it a success!

Bye bye peace and quiet!

Another CSN Giveaway! They love you guys!

2010-09-04T07:12:00.006-07:00

CSN has offered up another giveaway for my readers. They are giving away a $35 gift card to CSN Stores! Haven't heard of them? They are incredible! They sell everything you can even imagine. If you click here you can see amazing prices on Corelle . All the prices are amazing, really!

Let me show you what I did with my $40 gift card they gave me...

Do your pots look like mine? I have a few nice pans, but my pots are old and probably unsafe!

First, I bought this little diddy. It's called the Danico Tiger 2 qt saucepot with glass cover. And it was only 19.99. You know me, I found sale items!

I also bought this sweet Emeril 1 qt saucepan for 19.99. I am LOVING this pot! It is my favorite of all the pots and pans I own.
All this for $40! What a great deal, and I really needed these pots!

So, here's the deal. Just leave me a note telling me you want to enter the giveaway! That's it! Make sure you leave me your email address so I can reach you if you win. One entry per person/email address.

This giveaway will be open for 1 week (Until Saturday, September 11). 12 o'clock midnight. I will pick a winner the next morning from random.org and post the lucky ducks name! I will give my contact your email address and she will send you a gift code to use on CSN.

This giveaway is open to US and Canada, only.

Good luck, I love you guys!

Some things I like, some I hate

2010-08-28T16:41:00.005-07:00

I wanted to do I quick list of some GREAT things about our new house, and some things I HATE LIKE: the rounded door as seen in this shot of the cupboard under the stairs. (Also the only wall in the house currently painted to our liking. We painted it a couple days ago.)

HATE: The kitchen. Not enough drawers, ugly cabinets and old white appliances. I spent an entire day cleaning the mold out of that fridge and still won't let anyone drink out of the water dispenser. (As a side LIKE, Ryan and I put in the microwave and a new RO system. I didn't trust the old one. They are awesome.)

LIKE: my piano has her own room

LIKE: the transom windows above a few of the doors. (This is my master door)

HATE: The ugly paint and unprofessional job. (This is also my master. How long do you think we can stand it before we redo? I am still trying to decide on the perfect shade.)

HATE: Other people boogers. I honestly found this on the wall upstairs and decided to thoroughly gross you out with more insight to my life.

So, what do you all think?

Brandon's First Day of School - THE WORST DAY EVER

2010-08-28T16:32:00.002-07:00

So, I'm not a mom who is on the ball. I admit it. I forgot to take pics of the kids on their first day of school.

But here is the low-down.

Ainsley loved it. Brandon hated it. If anyone know Brandon, you know he has a tendency to be fairly negative. I think he gets it from his dad. He says the same about me. Anyways, every day is THE WORST DAY EVER. No joke, every day.

Unfortunately this was really pretty bad and it was all my fault.

First, we were in San Diego for meet the teacher night. Being a new school, I wasn't aware of the lunch schedule. I didn't know he ate at 10:15. Seriously. 10:15! So I didn't send him with a snack. By the time 3:05 came around, he was a total disaster.

Secondly, the night before school I was lecturing Megan (my sister) about how she HAD to go to the store and buy Jake some school supplies. She was under the impression they weren't necessary and the teachers should buy them themselves. She is too poor. I gave her a big speech about Jake needing to feel confident and not having supplies is embarassing, etc. She caved and went to Wal-Mart.

Brandon came home furious about having no school supplies. "I was so embarassed!" he whined. I had to raise my hand and tell the teacher I didn't have a pencil. Everyone stared at me. He was crying by now from hunger, too. The very same thing I said would happend to Jake happened to Brandon.

"Well, Brandon, I sent you with all the supplies in your backpack!" (I really did!) He forgot to open the pocket in the front. Oops!

Jingle Bells, Rat Man Smells

2010-08-28T16:23:00.003-07:00

Here it is, folks. The picture you've all been waiting for. Foaming at the bit, I'm sure.
This is our new home.

Yesterday someone knocked on the door and Alexa ran to the window to see who it was.
"Jingle Bells is here, mama!" Jingle Bells? I was thinking maybe someone with a beard that looked like Santa. Nope.

It was Isabel, the landscaper. (Yes, HIS name is Isabel...same as our friend's daughter). His name is pronounced like EEEsabel. We wisely paid him $150 to clean up the yard. Being vacant for two years, it was in pretty bad shape. We had no idea there was an ugly little planting bed in the front yard (complete with plastic garden turtles and all!) until he pulled out the HUGE ugly grass-bush things from the front.

After Jingle Bells was paid, he said, "Now you wont have any more critters living in your yard." Critters?
Yep, he found a rat living in the bush. EWWWW!!!
"Don't worry, ma'am. I put it in our toilet and we will get rid of it for you."

Sadly, that didn't make me feel much better about the whole rat thing.

Cassidy/beach day again

2010-08-13T14:51:00.002-07:00

We were happy to pick up my niece, Cassidy, and bring her back to AZ with us to visit her mom. On the drive to her house, we stopped at a bowling alley.I just wanted to show you all that Alexa won. And she was the only kid who didn't use the bumpers. Seriously. She did use the ramp, but so did the other kids! :)

We did another beach day before we hopped into the car for the long drive back.

I know she looks just like me, but I have to admit she is a pretty girl!

The four kids making a castle

She's awfully pretty, too!

And here's a shot of Ryan because I just noticed I didn't post one of him!!

Sea World

2010-08-13T14:44:00.003-07:00

We also spent a fun day at Sea World.

Can you believe a bird pooped on our table while we were eating? (SO close to pooping on our food!)

And who would have guessed I would run into a friend there? I saw Katie (Lewis) Holmstead! I was so excited to spot her in the middle of the Shamu show. So I stalked her down. Can you tell she sat in the soak zone? Wow! I hadn't seen her in like 20 years!

Old Town, Aunt Sally, and Coronado

2010-08-13T14:32:00.003-07:00

Tuesday my sister Sally came down to have fun with us. My Kids LOVE their Aunt Sally. She is now 30, but they think she is like 12. When she does anything they double check to make sure she is allowed. "Mom, can she go down there all by herself?" Yep. I think she can make it. We spent one day with her at Old Town and Coronado Island.

The yummy candy shop is always a treat. Jake came down on Vacation with us. This jaw breaker was messy, but lasted him the entire week.

Brandon was picked to dress like a soldier at the Mormon Battalion Center. That was a fun place to visit! The movie tour was so fun to watch. They panned for gold, and all sorts of fun things. I would highly recommend it!

Just proud of my photo work.

All of us together having fun!

Vacation Post from Oceanside Harbor

2010-08-13T14:15:00.003-07:00

Oceanside Harbor is one of my favorite beaches. Maybe because there are bathrooms and showers. Maybe because there are life guards. But most likely because I am totally comfortable there. I know it well and went there nearly every day.

Tis is where we spent our entire Monday. It was totally overcast and freezing cold, but we had a blast.

It is always a BIG DEAL if Brandon goes in the water. He can be a chicken, but notice the toes are wet! We were all quite amazed!

He had no idea he grew this beard.

This cutie got cold really fast!

Ainsley spent the whole time boogie boarding. I don't know how she could stand it. And as a side note: We went to Costco that morning and picked up the boogie board.

Ainsley:What's this leash for?

Ryan: You attach it to your ankle so you don't lose the board.

ANKLE! hmmm. He obviously grew up in Utah. I set them straight.

House update!

2010-08-13T10:04:00.003-07:00

Most of you know we moved in a little while ago. I thought I would write a little update on the process.

First of all, we were SO stressed about the double move. We had to get a storage unit and put in all of our furniture (except the piano went to my grandmas.) We were staying at her place for about 3 weeks while she was in Utah.

One day Ryan called me and said he wanted to place a complaint against Chase with the OCC. We had just been waiting SO LONG for that lein to be closed and wondered if it ever would. If you know Ryan, he wouldn't just write a letter. He got all of the account numbers, dates, facts. I would have just written an emotionally charged hate mail-type letter. Not Ryan. As he gathered all of his important information, he looked up the previous owners information on the internet with the assessor. No lein. hmmm. Owner before that. hmmm. Lein cleared June 24th! ARE YOU KIDDING??? He was furious. We called the title company, realtor, etc. Oops. Their response? Chases fault for not informing them. Really? Because I kind of thought your job was to research these things. So we finally moved in after an unecessary double move and lots of money down the toilet.

Then, two days after we moved and closed we went to the ward campout. The day after that we went to San Diego for a week. The day after that school started. And here we are! Whew! Finally moving in! I swear I will get some pictures up here soon. :)

CSN review

2010-07-16T20:51:00.002-07:00

I hope you all enjoyed that little giveaway a while ago. Well, I am so excited because they asked me to become a "preferred blogger!" That means I get to have a gift certificate, too! With the new house (hopefully) becoming ours soon, there are many things I am excited to buy!

CSN Stores is the place where I can find everything! CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from cookware to toys.

Check out the dining room sets! Pretty much anything you can imagine can be found here. So pretty soon I will let you know what I pick out and let you know about my personal experience with CSN.

And heaven knows I can use some therapeutic shopping these days. :) How about you?

A shot of my life...

2010-07-16T20:46:00.002-07:00

This is my life in a storage unit. Blah. I have had so many things to post about lately, but this has been keeping me busy.

We moved out of our house and into a storage unit. Our renters are moving in this weekend, but we are STILL having problems closing on the new house. Some crazy idiot at Chase messed up a second on the house with the previuos owners and we can't close until there is a clear title. Ooops. They didn't notice that small problem until closing day. June 16th. Still waiting!

So we moved into grandmas house for now. We are lucky to have it, but it is so hard not having drawers and space and your own stuff. And kids running around driving you crazy with no friends or neighbors nearby. And Ryan is at Scout Camp.

I think I am going to go crazy.

Hello? Our phone etiquette night

2010-06-24T08:02:00.002-07:00

Back in the old days my little sis Sally used to answer the phone with the loudest hello you ever did hear. Then she would ignore the caller and start licking the phone.

Things aren't too different in the Sims' household. Here is a more typical scenario. Ainsley answers. "hello?" Then without another word she drops the phone on the counter or looks for me while the caller is wondering if anyone is still there. She says she is too shy to say "just a minute please." And if Brandon answers (And that is a big IF as he will let the phone ring for hours) he yells, "huh? What? Huh?" Over and over.

So for our family home evening on Monday we decided to have a lesson on phone ettiquette. We went over proper things to say and I brought the 2 cell phones in to use as practice.

This is about how it went.
Ainsley: Hello?
Dad: Hi, can I speak with Brandon please?
Ainsley: I'm sorry, he can't come to the phone, he is taking a dump.

Try again in the midst of laughing and rolling on the floor.

Brandon: Hello?
Mom: Hi can I please speak to your dad?
Brandon: No, he's stuck on the toilet.

hee hee giggle giggle.
With 10 minutes of practice phone calls, at least 95% consisted of bathroom business. Alexa even got in on it.

So here is my question for you today? What makes PooP so funny?

Just another one of those DON"T JUDGE ME Days

2010-06-23T18:22:00.002-07:00

So, what SHOULD I be doing? Probably packing. But I didn't. I wasted time today making a really cool Land of Nod style bean bag. But don't judge me, k?

So while I was doing that, my little one got into the shampoo. But don't judge me, k? And in case you are wondering, YES she is wearing a halloween shirt. It was one of those days.

Then, I bathed her (with LOTS of water!) and about 20 minutes later I found her like this.

Yep, that's shaving cream in my kitchen. So Don't judge me, k? We used it for mommy school this morning to help Brandon with his writing skills. And I didn't clean it up well enough. Maybe I should pay a little more attention to the little one. hmmm. Or maybe she should have taken a nap. Blah, just another one of those days.

New Dinner Recipes - Ryan's Guest Post

2010-06-13T19:57:00.007-07:00

So lately, we've been trying to find new recipes that our kids will eat...something beyond Top Ramen and Pizza...the sole items we would eat if they had their choice. We're desperately trying to find at least 30 meals that they will eat. Today's attempt was a Chicken Crock Pot Curry recipe that we found on the internet. It was made with chicken, and apples, and sliced bananas, and curry powder, and coconut milk. How could you go wrong with that combination?

Here's how it went. As soon as Ainsley sat down at the table, she looked at the curry creation and said:

"WHAT is THAT?!?!?!"

"It's chicken curry." I said with a smile.

"Well, it looks like bird crap! I'm not eating it."

I politely told her that she was going to eat it...and everyone was going to eat it or else no one was going to be allowed down from the table. Just about this time, Brandon was almost at the table. Once he heard that everyone would be held hostage at the table, he darted off to his room, screaming:

"I wasn't ever AT the table...so it doesn't count for me!"

We trudged on. During the prayer, even 2-year old Alexa got in on the act. Right in the middle of blessing the food, Alexa screamed out "Dad, No THAT! No THAT!" pointing to her food.

Ainsley eventually tried the food, with her nose pinched closed the whole time. She was teaching her cousin Jake her technique.

"Jake, you have to plug your nose the whole time, then once you swallow, you have to drink some water. Once you've swallowed the water, it'll be safe to unplug your nose again. Try it!"

Jake kept commenting about the food being "Crud" and "barf" and "toxic."

"Yeah," Ainsley piled on, "It's so toxic it's glowing yellowish green."

Eventually we did get through the blessed Sunday meal. Immediately after, the kids all darted off to get bowls of cereal. I guess that recipe isn't making the cut.

Help us out...send us your best kid friendly recipes...my children will be forever grateful.

Practice paid off!

2010-06-11T12:55:00.006-07:00

Ainsley practiced SO hard this week! She was absolutely thrilled to get a 7th place ribbon. The top 8 get placed, the others just get a participation award. There were about 20 in her age group. And boy, did that girl practice! Ainsley and Rebecca with their ribbons

Front Dive

Front Flip

Back Dive

Back dive with half twist (Or something like that. I can't remember what it's called)

Ainsley's first diving meet

2010-06-05T13:47:00.003-07:00

Ainsley had her first diving meet this morning. At 6:00 am. Totally serious. I about died.
She was pretty disappointed in herself, but I thought she did pretty well considering she hasn't ever done it. Dived, dove, whatever you say in proper English. She was pretty ticked that she only got a participation award and wanted to rip it up, but I reminded her that we can get better every meet and there is nowhere to go but up from here!

Here is her last dive. She gave everyone a heart attack, thinking she hit her head on the board. Of course I stopped the camera because I wanted to check, but the judges ran up to the side of the pool to make sure she was good. And the crowd was filled with loud "UHHHHH's", gasps and lots of adrenaline.

Her score? I think 3.5, 3 and 3. Like I said, she'll progress!

That jack o' lantern smile I love!

2010-06-05T13:33:00.003-07:00

I just love it when kids lose their front upper teeth! It is my favorite smile in the world!

We were at the Harkins Movie (Charlottes Web) on Thursday when Brandon's tooth fell out. He was drinking root beer. And he couldn't find that tooth ANYWHERE. After the movie was over he was so sad. We looked and looked, but couldn't find it anywhere. Of course, it was still pretty dark. We finally asked them to turn the lights on.

Have you ever noticed how similar a tooth is to a small peice of popcorn?

We finally found the tooth! Yay!

The last project I am going to show you (for a while...)

2010-06-05T13:02:00.006-07:00

I recovered my outdoor cushions!

I took a picture of the old cushions. Faded and ripped and yucky. But true to form, Ainsley deleted all videos and pics from my memory card. :)

Here's the thing. I couldn't imagine paying so much for new ones! I had this old fabric lying around.

I looked up a bunch of tutorials on recovering cushions, but HELLO! I can't sew that well! Seriously! They were so confusing! I don't even know what a zipper foot is, let alone how to put it on!

So, I decided to utilize my knowledge. What CAN I do? I can sew straight lines, and pillows. That's about it. I figured cushions are just big pillows! I made big pillow covers with envelope closings, then squared off the edges. It worked perfectly! I didn't even pin. Haha.

I did by a little extra sunbrella fabric for the throw pillows. It cost me about $20. What do you think?

Refinishing the gate

2010-06-03T16:31:00.002-07:00

Looky what I did! Can you guess which side of the fence I refinished? Yesterday I went to Home Depot and had them cut all the pieces, took it home in the sweltering heat and painted them all. Megan and I worked for hours painting/protecting the wood. Then we removed the old wood, painted the gate, and screwed in the new pieces.

I totally impressed the hubby with this one! Yay me!

Project of the day - Painting the patio

2010-05-31T07:28:00.002-07:00

I don't know why everyone made this seem like such a big deal! We had this really ugly patio. Does anyone relate? The people who lived in this house before we did painted it peach. (With a gray house? REALLY!) It was covered in greasy dirt and just trashed.

It was also Super SLICK! When the kids came running out of the pool area and it was wet, watch out!

Since we will be renting the house out, we though it would be nicer looking and a lot safer to repaint with outdoor patio paint. The kind full of texture and sand to give it a grip.

The guy at home depot said we had to get all the old paint off first or the paint wouldn't stick. So we first bought the suggested paint paint remover.

Didn't work.

Next we were told the high pressure water sprayer. When I went to rent it, the guys told me no way. It won't work.

So we went to Lowes. Same song and dance. Paint won't stick. Try this etching cream. Guess what?

Didn't work.

Next...we bought a heat gun. Bingo. Didn't work.

Finally we went to Sherwin Williams. GUESS WHAT?? Their paint was not only on sale for cheaper than the other 2 stores, but it can be used over painted surfaces!! 2 weeks of wasted research for an easy 2 hour project! Thanks Sherwin Williams!

I'll post some more pics when the landscapers come on Wednesday and we OFFICIALLY list the house for rent. (I'm a bit nervous...)

Citizen of the Year!

2010-05-31T07:03:00.008-07:00

Ainsley and her teacher Mr. G

Ainsley won an award this year at school. (Big shocker? She is always winning something!) She was picked as citizen of the year. We attended an assembly where her teacher said some nice things about her...
>

Great job Ainsley! We are so proud of you!

And the winner is...(drumroll)

2010-05-23T20:05:00.002-07:00

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. Between this cold and the fact that there is no Desperate Housewives to watch tonight, the only thing I have to look forward to is picking a winner!

So enough with the stalling.

Using Random.org, and with 17 comments, the winning number was #10

Congratulations Brittany C! You won! Make sure to check your email the next few days because CSN will be emailing you your $40 to use at their stores! Hope you pick something fun!!

1st GIVEAWAY: $40 giftcard to CSN Stores

2010-05-20T06:56:00.004-07:00

Did you read that right? Yes! CSN Stores has offered a $40 giftcard to one of my readers! Feel special?

Featuring products from over 200 stores, CSN carries everything from kids toys to hobo bags, as well as everyday needs such LED lighting or cookware.

I picked out a few of my favorites that you may like:

The Elmo Potty Chair would be a great pick some time this summer for Alexa

Or this Big Barrel of Colassal Crafts. I can see it coming in handy on a hot summer day.

Or this Rachel Ray Porcelain Enamel 12" Open Skillet in Orange. Might as well pick something for yourself!

Enter today for your chance to win a $40 Gift Certificate towards your favorite CSN Stores product.

Entering is easy! Simply leave me a comment letting me know your interested in winning! If your info is not on your blogger account, make sure to leave me your email address so I can notify you if you win.

Want an extra entry? Go over to CSN Stores and pick something you would pick with your giftcard. Then come back and let me know what it is.

Third entry? Let me know that you are a follower in a separate comment. Or become a follower if you aren't.

That's it! This giveaway is open until Sunday night, May 23rd at 8:00 pm PST when I will pick a winner from randomizer.org

Good luck!

Ainsley at the talent show

2010-05-12T14:28:00.004-07:00

Ainsley had her talent show last night. She did a GREAT job!!

Mothers Day Funny's

2010-05-11T09:59:00.004-07:00

Such a sweet boy...But Ainsley...such a smart aleck. Where does she get it from????

Of COURSE that is what I daydream about. Thus the word DREAM.

hmmm. Maybe for an afternoon of babysitting, but not long term.

She was freakishly accurate on the height and weight. Wow!

And what kid puts (2) for my mom has ____ eyes?

I guess that says it all!

On a lighter note...

2010-05-11T09:54:00.002-07:00

A little overwhelmed

2010-05-10T14:44:00.002-07:00

With all the fun projects I am usually working on and all the fun days I enjoy with Alexa at home it's unusual for me to feel so overwhelmed.

But, this is my gripe post, so don't read it if you don't want to hear it! :) And FYI Ryan just may kill me for putting this stuff on here. But I need validation, so feel free to share.

Some of you may know we are moving. We made an offer on a great house about 4 miles away and are still waiting to hear back from the bank. It is apparently a long process. Why are we moving? Well, we came here 4 years ago to start the bank - that failed. In the height of the real estate market we paid way too much for this house. So we lost all our money in the house and in the bank investment. All of it. And we were turned down for a loan remodification because we make too much. haha.

We have to pay lawyer fees from this crappy bank stuff, and now that we made an offer on a house, we are feeling nervous that if we have future attorney fees our money will be stuck in a new house used as a down payment. Should we pull our offer?

We are planning on renting this house out. What if it doesn't rent?

The kids? Should I drive them 15 minutes to the same school or hope they make friends and adjust? They are feeling very down about having to leave behind their friends.

And the stupid smoke detectors all went out at the same time and we have to replace the whole freaking system. What? Who came up with the plan to manufacture smoke alarms that only last 7 years?

I need some love so share it with me!

Happy Birthday Alexa!

2010-04-26T09:30:00.003-07:00

Happy Birthday to Alexa! She is now 2 years old! We love this little one. She is such a joy to have around and we can't imagine life without her!

Lots and Lots of Rain (and a luau)

2010-04-22T10:41:00.004-07:00

It was raining all day. We went up to the north shore to see some sights including the lighthouse. But guess what? We couldn't even SEE it, the rain was so strong. So we went back down to the south and snorkelled in the drizzle. It's much warmer down south. Here's us at the luau

Here's the boys flirting with my grandma

My mom and Alexa

Me and Alexa. It was so humid I had to keep in a braid or it was MEGA curly.

Here is Alexa dancing to the music. She LOVED LOVED LOVED the luau. She was even called on stage to dance, but would dance up there. A few years ago when we were in Maui we went to the Old Lahaina luau with the older kids. One fell asleep and the other ate only a strawberry. And they cost money. This little one was free but ate her weight. And the music. With every song she said, "This is my favorite song!"

Kauai 4 - Poipu State Park and shopping!

2010-04-20T22:12:00.003-07:00

We hung out with this monk seal today

Alexa pretending to be a monk seal

She wont get anywhere near the water. Even at the pool!

Pretty day! At least until about noon. Then it rained rained rained so we shopped shopped shopped.

Kauai, Day 3

2010-04-20T11:21:00.005-07:00

We started out the day at a time share presentation and made a quick $125. We then ran to the farmers market for some super crowded fun buying some yummy local fruits. We also bought grandma the lei she's always wanted.

What trip to Kauai woulod be complete without a trip to Puka Dogs? I got cocnut salsa, ryan got mango. My mom got starfruit. They were ALL delicious!

Next we went on the Fern Grotto Tour. We had such a blast. The workers made us all get up and hula, sing, etc. We loved it!

Safe???

Here's us at the grotto.

Remember back in the day when you could go into the cave? Long gone. They built a fenced in area we had to stand on and look. Still beautiful, though!

I think she is pointing at the HUGE spider we found. HUGE!!!

Finished the touring today with Opea'aka Falls. Or something like that.

Kauai #2

2010-04-19T09:29:00.004-07:00

Alexa's Madonna pose

Tidepools by our condo

Ryan and Alexa on our morning walk

Kind of windy at the top of waimea canyon

the canyon

Being Sunday, we did a little less. Mostly driving, walking, reading, enjoying.

Sunset of the day

Our day in Kauai, #1

2010-04-17T22:30:00.006-07:00

Me and LuLu at Spouting Horn
Poipu
The fantasy Island waterfall. Da Plane, Boss!
Poipu

We are so lucky to have our condo right across the street from the BEST snorkelling spot on the island. The Beach House in Poipu. Wow! Is all I can say. When we got in last night it was freezing cold and windy as no other. We were a little worried this morning when it looked like it would continue. Well, the cold weather wont stop Ryan and I from snorkelling. While Alexa was taking her nap (my mom was in the condo with her) Ryan and I ran across the street. I stood in the 70 degree water for at least 10 minutes hoping I would get used to it. It never worked. So I just sucked it up and dove in. OOOOh Invigorating. Or cold, whatever you want to call it. But THE MOST AMAZING snorkelling ever, I was so glad we did that!

I did it all by myself!

2010-04-15T15:46:00.004-07:00

Remember this ugly thing? Well, here is the final picture! I did it all by myself! NO (can I repeat NO) help from the hubby. We got in a fight at home depot over the beadboard and he washed his hands of it. It's been a lot of work, but I AM DONE! And I love it!

Zoo fun

2010-04-05T07:00:00.004-07:00

This weekend Ryan's sister, Julee, came into town with 6 of their 7 kids. We met them at the zoo on Saturday. Julee and Aaron's #1 and #3 and Ainsley
The squirrel monkey that walked in the pathway and was almost stepped on

Julee and Aaron's #5

Alexa looking so darn cute eating her snow cone

Julee and either #6 or 7. I'm not sure which twin came first!

Another of Alexa because she is dang adorable. (BTW, she asks for the princess leah hairstyle when she first wakes up and brings me a brush and 2 rubber bands.)

Aaron and the twins

Brandon's Funny's

2010-04-05T06:56:00.002-07:00

Yesterday Morning
Ryan: Brandon, you stink. Go take a shower.
Brandon: (after sniffing his arm) What are you talking about? I smell like chicken nuggets!! I smell beautiful!

Yesterday Ainsley and Brandon were watching the Zack and Cody episode where they all get married for school. They were on their "honeymoon" and eating hot dogs for lunch.

Brandon: What???? Lunch? Honeymoons are only supposed to be at night time!

Star Wars Mania!

2010-04-05T06:43:00.005-07:00

Last weekend Ryan and I took Brandon, Jake and their friend Logan to the Star Ways Mania concert at Symphony Hall in Phoenix.

The symphony played all kinds of space odyssey, star wars and close encounters music. The boys loved it and we had a great time. It wasn't very long. So short, in fact, there was no intermission. Before it started, there were all the Star Wars characters dressed up in the lobby for photo shoot ops. This was probably the best part of the day.

Now I know nothing about Star Wars (I have never made it through one movie without snoozing.) The boys, however are total fans and know EVERYTHING. So here I go trying to describe who we saw.

Here they are with some pilot guy and some jedi's (I think.)

I have no stinking idea who this is.

Storm Troopers

***edit. I have since been corrected. These are: one sand trooper and one clone.

Some fat Luke Skywalker, Princess Leah and shorty Hans Solo.

(BTW this princess Leah crushed all of Ryan's hopes and visions of Princess Leah.)

Bobo Phet (Just don't make me pronounce it. I always get yelled at.)

Chewbacca

And last but not least, the Jawa's. (The favorite of the day.)

2010-03-24T03:01:00.002-07:00

Brandon had a SUPER FUN birthday party last week. After many mind changes, we finally decided on a spy party. Now, after Ainsley's Harry Potter extravaganza, I was a little gunshy about the big party. Kinda pooped out!! I tried everything. Bowling? Chucky Cheese? Peter Piper Pizza? Movies? NO. He wanted a fun party at home like Ainsley. Then came the guilt trip from my honey. She always gets the big party. He deserves a little attention. OKOK I get it.

So our intvites were letters to all secret agents in manilla envelopes with Top Secret stamped on the top. They all included a secret password that needed to be used to enter the secret agent training course (the party.) The code was in code and we included a decoder sheet they were to bring to the party.

They were all issued ID cards upon arrival and sent outside to spy training. Ryan had them do a fast obstacle course all around the yard. If they passed, they were issued their spy gear. Sunglasses (to protect their identities), flashlights and loaded water guns (for protection.)

They then were given the first clue. (All the clues were in the top secret stamped manilla folders.) The caught on and ran to my friend Sara's house. She had bombs that needed to be difues. There were a bunch of balloons blown up, all with papers in them. One had the next secret password. After popping them all and finding it, the figured out the code an ran to Mona's house.

Mona had a bunch of lottery cards I made. They scratched off to reveal their fate. One had a secret code. They figured it out and went on.

Ashlee's house had the fortune cookies. They all split them open and found the next code. (You all knew you could microwave fortuen cookies to soften them and insert new fortunes, right?)

Next they ran back home. They had to make it through the laser maze Ryan created and finally completed the mission by SAVING the pinata. Homemade by me and Ainsley of course.

We had a GREAT time and I was glad we did it. He deserves it!