The happenings of J, T, K, and lil J

Starting here.

2011-06-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

I thought about starting at the beginning of the year, seeing as I haven't blogged since then, but I'm not going to. If I get around to catching up later, so be it, but at least I can start here, and not miss any memories I always swear I'll never forget...and then do.

I wanted to make sure I wrote some stuff down before my brain gets too full tomorrow and I can't remember it again!

KAYLIE just turned 5. She is so big, and the BEST big sister. I really rely on her a ton! In some ways, she has made baby #3 easier than baby #2, because I trust her to not let anything happen to my sweet Emma while I shower, run on the treadmill, etc. The other day I asked her to grab something as we walked out the door, and she was so frustrated... "Really mom, do I have to do everything today? I already held Emma while you showered, and got you a burp cloth, (and a few other things I already can't remember), ..." She really is a good sport about it, and even if she complains as she does it, she will always help me out!

She just started Kindergarten! There is no way! She also just lost her 2nd tooth! HOLY COW! My baby is so grown up. I swear she cannot be that old, and I really am bummed that she apparently got my teeth genetics... Not good, I grew up always having to get cavities filled, and she has already had one of those too! But, lucky for her, I now know how to take care of teeth a little bit better than I did growing up!

She is already growing out of polly pocket world. She has now entered the media world, and it's all I can do to get her off the computer, my phone, or the t.v. But luckily, she loves reading too. She's still just beginning, but is getting the "sight words" down.

JOSH just turned 3! Once again, seriously??!? I still call him my baby, even though I really do have a newborn now. I can't help it, there is just something about my lil J man that will always be so tender and sweet like a little newborn to me. His new things are: saying ok to everything, but then not really knowing what it means. Ending lots of words with the e sound, like milky for instance. And he now rubs my arms and back. So sweet. Just like we do to him. It's heart melting.

He is wild. I really can't go anywhere by myself anymore without risking his life. Really. The last 3 parks I went to he ran into the road while I was nursing. He ran out of the Carters store in Sugarhouse (by the gully, rushing water, 2 parking lots, etc.) Yes. I can't go anywhere anymore without help. Makes life a little different(/frustrating), we'll stick with different.

He is funny! He fakes asleep! He pretends to be asleep and even fake snores. Sometimes, he'll fall asleep while faking asleep. I got it on video, actually, I got him "sleep walking" on video...fake snoring while walking from the living room to his bed. Hilarious! His cousin John now copies him, after seeing Josh do it as his house while Aunt Marilee was trying to put them both down for naps. Ever since, John fake snores and says "that's what Joshy does."

He loves to play with anything Mickey or Thomas (trains), and loves his new toy Handy Manny with his fix it truck and tools.

EMMA is in a word: angelic. She is by far my best baby, and that is saying a lot, because the other two weren't bad at all! She is so calm, and soooo patient. She has to wait around, a lot...She hangs out and falls asleep in the baby bjorn all the time. She is a great eater, and is growing faster than the other two did. She also takes a binkie!!!! Hallelujah! Once again, different than the other two. It has helped so much in so many ways. She has the sweetest smile, and that, is actually, just like the other two~!

Christmas Card...a little later than usual.

2010-12-31T07:27:00.000-08:00

Cast your vote:

2010-12-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

Woah, this is my 100th post! Cool! Not that I've been even paying attn, I just happened to notice! So, this isn't really for the journal/family history part of the blog, this is for those reading it! We need some help deciding on a name for our little GIRL (for those of you that didn't see the FB status)! Here's some pics of her, so you can use that for reference! Ha!
So far, we like Alyssa and Abigail (Abby). We also like Emma, but Kaylie has a cousin close to her age named Emily, (could get confusing), and Maya/Mya, Amber, and Isabelle are on the list too. I am thinking for the middle name of combining both of our mom's names (Deanne and DeEtte) to make Annette...but James is not a fan, so other suggestions are welcome! Really, any suggestions are welcome... Thanks in advance!These are from her second ultrasound, just last Friday:

Tis the season!

2010-12-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

The real reason for the season, I love the new nativity setup at Temple Square!

Making gingerbread boys and girls:
Festival of trees:

We watched this Santa for quite a while, we totally held up the line!

The kids' corner! What a blast! Kaylie made a reindeer hat, got a manicure, a glitter tattoo, painted an ornament, and got to stand inside a real bubble, and blow bubbles out of it...sooo cool! We had a great time, and I am for sure making this a tradition!

We like to end our mommy/daughter dates with a caramel apple, we did the same thing at Lagoon last summer! Yummmm!

Halloween a wee bit late.

2010-12-15T20:34:00.001-08:00

Oh, Halloween, the non-stop holiday. This year Kaylie was Ariel, and she even got tired of putting on her costume by actual Halloween. (I never thought I would see the day, seeing as she at first loved the thing so much she wanted to sleep in it...) Josh was so sick of his costume, he actually switched for the ward party to a half pumpkin, half tiger for a while. Poor kids, tormenting them with so much fun!

Maybe it's our fault for starting so early, here's carving pumpkins, the first week of October. (**this also shows how far behind in blogging I am...)Yes, that is my 2 year old with a knife! Ha! Don't report me!!!

And since we carved our pumpkins so early, we had to buy more (after the other ones rotted on the front porch...yuck!), and this time we painted them, I was not about to go through all the pumpkin guts again!
Evans family party:

"Stirring the brew!!!"

My sweet little tiger. His costume never stayed on for long, I was lucky to get a good pic of him!

Kercher family party:
Ward Trunk-or-Treat:
No hands donut on a string game. James totally won, even though he had to eat his donut off the floor to do so! The rest of us took our sweet time, and I thoroughly enjoyed my donut!
Preschool party:
Trick-or-treating with the Steadmans:

Yeah, we went out at the windiest part of the night, it was kinda raining, and sooo cold! Don't worry, the mom's held the umbrellas, the kids could not have cared less!

This kid was in heaven. Once he figured out how the whole thing worked, he was stoked to knock on all the doors he could!

Kaylie and Priest-O. Buddies from birth, (well, from Kaylie's birth, Priest is a year older....)
And I swear she has a costume on, under that rain coat!

The Steadmans. Every Will Ferrel movie we see, we think of Elliot. Does he not look an insane amount similar to Will? We saw him a few days before Halloween, and we saw his awesome 'stach, and said "Hey man, you look like Ron from Anchorman!" Lo and behold, this was what he was going to be for Halloween. We think he should just pick a different Will character to be every year, he is perfect for it!

Fun find

2010-12-15T08:02:00.000-08:00

I went to put clothes in Kaylie's closet the other day, or get some out, can't remember...but this is what I saw! Love it! That is a homemade hanger, made by Kaylie out of a purple pipe cleaner, holding her tiny princess's dress! And apparently, she climbed up on the drawers below to make sure it had a good spot right in the middle of her dresses! I love the things I just happen to find around the house!

Dance

2010-12-11T21:17:00.001-08:00

This fall Kaylie has been taking ballet and tap. She loves them both and now her and Josh go around the house doing the "boogie woogie" move! Every time we go to leave, and have a hard time getting her out of the house, I say "should we just stop doing dance, and not worry about it?" That's all it takes to get her out the door...she just forgets how much she loves it til she almost loses it...funny how that is so universal!

Vegas in October...

2010-12-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

So, the hotel we stayed at, the Silverton, has a huge aquarium, and it even has mermaids that do little shows. My kiddos LOVED it! I think one of the mermaids had a little crush on Josh, she kept coming back over to him and making him touch the glass. Don't worry little mermaid, the feeling was mutual!
Cruisin the boulevard! They are supposed to be pointing at the Statue of Liberty. Oh well.

The whole gang, minus my mom, who is taking the pic...M & M factory has a 3D movie for the kiddos. But I think they could use some new 3D glasses, all of ours didn't even work unless you squinted one eye...
The lion habitat at MGM, they are like big kitties, and Josh likes kitties!

And...the highlight of the whole trip: POOL TIME!
The hotel Tree and Curt were at, Tahiti Village, is soooo rockin awesome! It doesn't have a casino, so it smells so yummy all the time, and the pool has sand on one end going into the pool, so it's like the beach, without salt water! It was soooo nice to just lay out while the kids played in the sand, and when they did venture in the water, it was shallow, so a momma could chill and not worry! And when I got too hot from laying out, the water was perfect...needless to say, this is for sure where we'll be staying if we go to Vegas again!

Uncle Curt was so fun and let us bury him in the sand!!!Kaylie and Rylie were brave and wanted to get buried too!

If we couldn't see Kaylie and Rylie, this is where they always were hiding, in the hot tub!
You can barely tell, but they have foam beards...Ok...this was the funniest thing. This little chica was infatuated with James. It started in the sand, she came over and started playing with Josh and James. James was nice to her, and apparently too nice...she kept following him, he would inch further and further away, so she would inch closer and closer! HA! So James was feelin a little funny, and didn't want her parents to get the wrong idea, so he took Josh out in the pool in the deeper water to get away from her. What does she do?? Oh, have no fear, she goes and gets her little floatie, so she can follow right after him!!!!! I WAS LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY! Maybe you had to be there...But it seriously went on for close to an hour, and I even videotaped him moving away from her, and her kicking her little legs to get her and her floatie right next to him! (And so I had proof, in case there were any accusations later!) Anyway, it made my day, and I really think James should be flattered! He he he!The last day, we trekked down to Circus Circus for the Adventure Dome. It was actually really fun! But I will not go back in October again, because at night it is the "Fright Dome," and they didn't take all the props down, and actually started letting the scary made-up workers in before we even left...I was pretty disturbed, and angry that Kaylie was upset about seeing the "scary clowns" with psycho fangs and blood on their faces. Yeah, I recommend going, but NEVER in October. On a lighter note, before the end, the kids had a blast...James too... :)
Super fun trip to Vegas. The highlights according to Kaylie: "Swimming, playing in the sand, Grandma sleeping in our room." So basically, all the effort put in to seeing all the "fun things for kids" wasn't really worth it. Next trip, we're heading somewhere warm, and camping out at the pool!

The littlest pumpkin

2010-10-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

Our family of pumpkins:And if you didn't catch the punch line from the above pic, here's a more direct route for ya:

Yeppers, baby #3 due 5-6-11 :) We all couldn't be more excited, especially Kaylie!!!

Soccer

2010-10-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Outdoor Soccer!

Kaylie had a blast this season with soccer. She was on her friend John's team, and his dad Pete was the coach! Yay! Couldn't ask for a better setup!
Oh my heck, these two have so much fun together on the field...it's like they're in their own little world. Oh, are they supposed to be paying attention to the game?

They even have matching scars on the top of their noses!

Yay Kaylie! She really only hit the ball during practice... :)

I'm not ready to be a soccer mom! It has been so busy, especially b/c one of Kaylie's games each week just happened to be the day I worked, and the game was at 5:30, sometimes I don't even leave work til then, and James has class the same night, so our nights were a little hecktic to say the least, and we spent most nights eating dinner during breaks from the game!

Killer trophy! It is seriously the coolest trophy I've ever seen...the soccer ball spins, and lights up~! Can you believe it, a spinning, lighted trophy...who knew there was such a thing, we love it!

Another day at the cabin.

2010-09-04T18:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, we are lucky, and we know it! We loved going to the cabin in August just as much as July! This time was actually really fun because most of the kids were back in school, which equaled a very quiet cabin night! We just went up for a night and half the next day is all, but there's always plenty of fun no matter how long we're there! Here are some pics of the fun:Smoretacular!

Who needs marshmallows or grahams?

Cute cowgirl chica

I've said it before, this girl is a thrill-seeker! She was the happiest when I was the most worried, watching from a distance as she galloped with daddy!

Galloping girls...Okay, trotting. I'm not near as strong of a horse rider as James!

Playing by the waterfall, our fave hike!

357 Pics. Yeah.

2010-08-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so there is room for 357 pictures on my camera. Yup. And I always wait til it's full to blog. Hence my constant frustration and procrastination. But after 2 days, and I'm not sure how many hours, really, it's done. Summer in a nutshell:
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Birthday Fun!!!
So, I am so lucky to have married someone who also thinks that birthdays should be "month long sales events" as we call them...I partied every weekend in August, not just on my birthday! Yeehaw! So, the first event was a rockin date night with my man! We lovingly call it our "white trash date night!" We went to Training Table, and I ate cheese fries (b/c I'm allowed to eat fries during my birth month...that's my own rule!), and then we hit up the drive in, for 2 movies! Yeah, the babysitter cost as much as dinner and the movies b/c she was there til 1:30am! It was soooo stinkin fun, and I wanna do it again before summer is officially over!

Then, on my actual birthday, I got to chill with these 2 fine people and all of our kiddos at the Bitner cabin. What a great place! And Kaylie took the below pic, nice photographer huh!

We did lots of four wheeling! Kaylie could not get enough!!!

After staying up til 2am talking and playing games, Josh decided that the best birthday present for his mommy would be waking up at 5:45am. He was just too excited to sleep I guess...so don't mind me looking a wee bit tired in these pics! This is my birthday breakfast...YUMMY! Andrew and Laur wouldn't let me lift a finger!

We hurried home after the cabin b/c greatest of all weekends, my sister was moving! So we dropped off our stuff and headed over to help! Then, best idea I've ever had, I took her kiddos swimming, and the 3 girls are little fish, so I laid out, got in and let them jump to me when I needed to cool off, and just vegged. So service with a tan line...does it get any better? Nope. Perfect way to spend August 21st!

We just figured out that taking the kids with us to dinner or getting a babysitter is about equal. But we like our kids, so they got to come for one last birthday celebration! If you know me at all, you know I love ice cream, and if you know me a little better, you know how much I love Spumoni ice cream, so what better place to blow out a candle than Spag Fag? (Spaghetti Factory). I love that place. Sure, the iceberg salad is miniature and contains no nutritional value, and the loaf of bread is now the size of my pinky, but you can't beat memories, and that place is full of nothing but good ones for me...late night leftovers from my siblings who worked there, etc... Anyway, I love it, and I love James for taking me there and making sure I got a candle to blow out in my spumoni. Good times!

All in all, it's been a great August, as it always is, and I think I get a little depressed when it's officially over. I love birthdays, I just wish I didn't have to get a year older anymore...
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Couple of random Josh pics:
Before his 1st haircut: Total fro!

After. Sorry, this is a funny pic for after, but I forgot to take an official one that night!
This pic also serves the purpose of showing how much he loves his dino's!
This little guy is always helping! He loves to help daddy water!

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Ward Campout:

Addy and Joshy in the cute tiny chairs. The little kids in our ward are like superstars, all the older kids are constantly playing with them and loving them...it's so great!

Kaylie using her well versed big sis skillz!

So Kaylie and I went with all the young men to do a hike after dinner. Look at Kaylie keeping up with all those big boys!

Of course, her favorite big boy that she made walk with her, Uncle Bryan!

Don't you worry, Kaylie can even rock climb at her ripe old age of 4. Must be from all that playing on the rock wall after swim lessons!!!

So all of the sudden it got dark. And then Bryan looks to the left and says "Um guys...what is that?" Oh, it was a huge rain storm...coming right towards us! I have never seen anything like it, it was like a wall of water...so this is the after pic...after we ran as fast as we could down the entire mountain, tossing Kaylie from person to person so we could hurry as fast as we could! Then it stopped raining of course, right at the end of the trail! Ha! So at least we could get a picture, right..."these are memories frozen in time people!"

The campout wasn't much fun after the rain, we got back from the hike and everyone had scattered, home or to their tents. So we hung by the fire for a little while, and then packed up early the next morning...but it was some good memories!
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All the Rage:
At Raging Waters. So reminiscent right! I so remember going there trying to pick up on guys in the wave pool---back in the day! So fun! The kids had a blast! Every slide we went on Kaylie kept saying the whole way down "I want to go on this again!" She did great going down the slide, and even went under water a couple times!!! And we ran into the Walkers there too, so the kiddos had fun playing with their cousins!
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The Pirate Pool:

For anyone that knows my kids, these pics are insane!!! They did sooooooooo stinkin great in the water, which is unheard of! James says these pics incriminate me being so far away from them, but I would have been closer if needed! They did so well on their own and I was lovin it!!! Hoorah for swim lessons having an effect on Kaylie, and peer pressure workin for Josh!!!

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The Zoo with Jess and MacKenzie:

The tiger was so funny, trying to get a toy out of the water without getting wet...but he had to finally get in, and then he decided he liked it! My kids loved watching the tiger being so funny!

Joshy loves kitties, and this one loved him back! It hung out right by the glass and Josh was going crazy pointing and grunting of course!!!

Seriously. This is what they rode on the carousel. You gotta be kiddin me!

Cool elephant watching with Cohen.

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So, my boss is the backup dentist for the Jazz. So when the real Jazz dentist is out of town, we get to see some of the players! Fun huh! This is the first one I had the guts to ask for a pic with, I like Harpring, and he really is a super nice guy...(some aren't in person...)! How funny that he is almost 2 of me!!!
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24th of July:

Tradition. 24th of July 10k! Linds, Laur and I have done it so many times! It started at 6am!!! I got up, ran the race, and got home before anyone in my house even woke up. I totally love this race, but my ankle didn't... And not pictured is Laura, our other old roomie, she ran it even though she has a 3 month old newborn! Go Laur!

Normally we have everyone at our house for a BBQ and fireworks, but this year Bren had tickets to the Real game, so we opted for that plan, and it was sooo fun! There's nothing like being at a pro athletic event, and soccer is crazy...so loud, constant music, chanting, and smoke bombs! Ha!

Watching the fireworks was amazing! I've never seen them that up close, and I loved it! That's Kaylie with Sam...Bryan's girlfriend and her fave babysitter!

The whole crew

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The Steadman wedding. Ashton's reception was a blast! We stayed all night, and James even partied after while I took the kiddos home to bed (so I could get up early for a race...or I would've stayed out and partied too...)

Kaylie and Priest.
She was hesitant at first, but then in the 2nd pic you can see a little smirk! So funny!

Kaylie is a major dancer. Like her mommy!

I've wanted to get a good "in the air" pic forever, and this is by far my fave!!!

The whole gang. Elliot/Kolbie, Nephi/Frankie, and us. It always means trouble!
***This is actually where I hurt my ankle, which resulted in a month of no running. I somehow hurt it while dancing in huge heels, and holding a 2 year old. Hmmm...wonder why!

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Echo Triathlon. I beat my time surprisingly, even though I had a panic attack at the beginning of the swim! I don't know why I do that in open water, but I have got to get over it, I always think I'm going to die! I seriously did the back stroke til the first buoy! But after that I actually kinda liked the swim! The bike was perfect rolling hills, and the run was hot, but that's always my strongest part...so all in all, in was great! I love tri's! With me is my neighbor Charlotte and her friend who actually wrote an article on training for a tri with a 7 month old baby! Go her!!!
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Kercher cousins. We've had a fun summer having Christian around more to play!

Splash pad in Herriman. Long drive, but super fun destination!

Playing at the park. I was surprised how they kinda flocked together. They're getting so great at playing all together!

The bucket fascination! Ha!

I love this pic! I think they all look so alike! Cute little tan faces, yeah, that's from the Kercher side for sure!!! :)

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Zoo with the Evans:

This monkey got right next to the window to play with our kiddos! It was so cute!

There was a little hen with 4 little baby chicks walking around, the kids wanted to watch and didn't want to see anything else. Baby things are so stinking fun to look at huh!

Kaylie and Jaxon being silly hitting their heads!

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Shout out to my sexy husband. Have ya seen him play tennis? Yeah, he's good, and he's so hot! I will forever wish I had athletic abilities. But til then, I can just live vicariously. He played a few matches this summer, and won them all, except for one doubles match (we don't count that one, not a fair matchup...). Anyway, hope you don't mind me posting these pics Jamesy, I think they rock!

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Gymboree art class for Josh:

So the class was supposed to be just for Joshy, but Kaylie got to come a couple times, and she loved it equally as much, if not more so. I guess 2 year olds really don't need their own art class.

They also have a gym part for play and learn classes. We just went for the open gym part, and my kiddos have loved it...it's super hard to get them to leave. I have to promise stamps, (that they want on both hands, both feet, and their tummies! Ha! One of the teachers did that for them once, now every time they have to have all stamp locations accounted for!) to get them out the door...

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Kangaroo Zoo for Christian's birthday:

Josh was so much more independent this time, he was all over the place!

I know this is blurry...but you can still see how much fun they had!!!

Kaylie and Christian...yeehaw!

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Cabin in July:
We got to go twice in July b/c we switched a week in June...so there are TONS of pics!
The cabin is always such a blast for the kiddos, filled with horse rides, playing in the river, or the stream, playing with cousins, bonfires, trampolines, swings, hiking, and this year for Josh; throwing rocks in water...bliss for a 2 year old boy! Needless to say, we had some fun!

My niece was taking random pics with my camera, and actually got a great shot of the cabin:

The bonfires get HUGE! Look at the heat waves on James' face, and the sparks flying! Yeah, it was a hot one!

Um, can we say blissful?

Josh and John. The twins.

Stephen and Kaylie...he's a pro, he got Poco to gallop, and Kaylie couldn't get enough!
Josh and Gma Evans
How fun is it to ride in a car without your seatbelt when you're a kid!?! They loved piling in the back of Maur's van for a trip to the river!

Kaylie and Samuel. They have a special bond, and he is so sweet with her!

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4th of July:
Our tradition is now official! We go to the parade by the Clark's house, then enjoy the fun festivities afterwards (snow cones, temp tattoos, and cotton candy), then head up to Park City for swimming at the condo. Of course the end of the day contains our own fireworks and luckily Sugarhouse fireworks again this year! Yay!

Our kiddos with the one Clark kiddo not in the parade, little Georgie...Kaylie LOVES babies, can you tell???

This year again we chilled with the Bybees before, during, and after the fireworks. The kiddos are so cute to watch get all excited!

At family dinner, on Sunday, the official holiday, we lit more fireworks with all the Kercher cousins!

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Kaylie and Emily, bed buddies, allowed Josh to play with them...some of the time!

Oh man, such cute little chicas! I hope they are this tight their whole lives!

Fun little story: I had just finished painting the bathroom. I used every last drop of paint. As I walked upstairs, I said "Girls, don't touch the bathroom, it's all wet." Dumb. I know better. I also know better than to leave the door open. And yet, that's what I did. We were going to the cabin, so I was upstairs packing...and I heard these 2 having a little too much fun...and of course, this is what I found the two little Picaso's doing... The white ceiling paint that was still out was not smeared across the middle of the whole room, and themselves, and their clothes. But hey, they had fun right!?! Poor Emily is not as used to me freaking out as Kaylie, look how scared Em is, and how Kaylie is smiling...LOVE it! Anyway, I realized shortly after freaking out that it soooo could have been sooo much worse, they at least kept it all in the bathroom, and nowhere else downstairs! I should have thanked them-cause in all reality, it was completely my fault!
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Playing in the pool with the other Evanzzz:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evans family trip=Boise, ID. I already don't love the drive to Boise...nothingness, and a whole lot of nothingness to look at for oh, say, 5 1/2 to 6 hours. So I'll be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the drive beforehand. But to make it even better, our transmission decided to act up the entire way, and eventually give out with about 15 minutes to go. Luckily. It was a nightmare, yes, but it could've been soooo much worse, I can't believe we got almost there!
Miracles do happen. And I swear the trip was a testimony builder for me. We had to get off the freeway, and as a cop was directing us to get off we were so frustrated, b/c it was going to take longer on the frontage road, and our tranny was already not doing so hot... Anyway, blessing in disguise BIG time, turns out there was a huge accident, and people were stopped for miles. If we hadn't gotten off the freeway, we would have had stop and go traffic, followed by a parking lot...and who knows if our car would've made it through, or started again. And I swear, once we talked to James' family and told them the situation, the tranny started doing a little better, kinda staying steady. James even asked me "Do you ever feel people's prayers working for you?" UM yes! Right then we did, among other times.
Anyway, so we made it almost there, close enough that we didn't have to even wait long on the side of the road for family to come pick us up. And the guy in Idaho hooked us up with a great transmission, and stayed late to make sure we could go home on time. We are soooo blessed. I will never understand how or why so much...
So it ended up being a fun trip, with lots more to do in Boise than I could have imagined. We went to a couple huge parks, played in fountains, went to a community pool with a rockin slide, and biked along the "Green Belt" by Boise State University, and chillin at Maureen's house was no small thing either. She lived in a huge cul de sac with a big park in the middle, biking trails and ponds all around. Not to mention her hot tub and rockin house. We were never bored!

Here's Josh on the drive up:James drove the whole way, to make sure nothing went wrong with the tranny while I was driving, what a true gentleman I tell ya!

The kiddos did surprisingly well, which helped a ton, since we were both soooo stressed and worried about the car the whole way. I'm thinking the dvd player for the car was the best investment ever.

Kaylie did a whole lot of this. Whenever I wondered where she was, this is usually where I found her...with Sarah, and/or Sophie, in Sophie's room, playing with Polly Pockets!

The cousins play soooo well together, it was like free babysitting 24/7!

At the fountain at the big park:

The big waterslide...couldn't get enough!

Yeah, Kaylie counted each time she went down the slide... and by the end, she even went all by herself!!!

Getting milkshakes at the local ice cream shop!The entire crew!
Splash pad fun at another park!
Josh and John had a million races down the driveway!

Maureen, James, and I on our ride, pretty darn cool scenery!

We stopped at Shoshone Falls on the way home from Boise. Pretty gorgeous huh!

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Joshy's 2nd Birthday! I can't believe my baby is already 2!!!

Trains! Yay, finally some more toys for a boy around here! He plays with them non-stop!!!

Josh at age 2: Such a fun little boy. Really happy and hyper. Extremely loving, quick to give hugs and kisses, even at random moments. Still very cuddly. Great sleeper, but wakes up early, Kaylie and I are late risers... Climber. Big time. Loves trucks, trains, kitchen play, swinging very high, helping daddy water plants and trees, helping mommy sweep and mop. Could play in the sandbox 24/7. Makes loud noises, likes to tickle and chase, and be tickled and chased. Loves to paint and draw. Loves balls. Loves water, swimming, baths, sprinklers, slides. If I can't find him, he's usually in his room looking at books. Talks to an invisible audience that is somewhere behind him before he jumps from the coffee table to the couch. Every time. Likes his new dinosaurs, and automatically knew how to make them fight and try to each other. Dances every time he hears any music! Still loves a million blankies and playing the hiding game after baths. Is amazing with his fine motor skills, turning and twisting everything he can, including opening doors, drawers, etc. Super stubborn. Refuses to talk, just points and grunts at what he wants, smiles if you get it right. :)
Oh, my little Josh man, Squashy, Squashua Squames, I love you, and I still remember all the time how lucky I am to even have you here with me. xoxoxoxoxo!

Your help please...

2010-07-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

#1:

#2:#3
#4:
#5:#6:
#7:
Fun day at the park. Actually should have been with the previous post, but I wanted it to have it's own, because it was such a blast! These kiddos totally satisfy my photography fetish. Love them! Still trying to decide if I like these enough to forgo the annual professional pics that I have done each year around their birthdays... Honesty please people, I want the truth...Should I still go get pro posed pics done, so they look a little cleaner, and I can get a perfect view of their whole faces, I tend to chop them on occasion, and really just b/c these are true candid shots. Or are they fun and artistic??? And if you like them, vote, which ones are frame-worthy, if any... THANKS in advance for your opinions! :)

Overwhelmed...

2010-07-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

I am one of those people who like to procrastinate. Usually I can handle it, what I leave for myself to do....later. But with blogging, it's just so much time and effort waiting for pics to upload, I find myself leaving way to much stuff to blog about, and if you know me at all, you know how MANY pictures I take, and so I am left feeling oVerWHelmEd. But here goes nothin... one pic at a time right... a little variation on my mom's favorite line "One day at a time."
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Yeehaw! We are now no longer Ragnar Virgins! Go Wasatch Back! We had tried to get our own team together this year, but didn't sign up in time before it sold out, LUCKILY, James' work has a team, so we joined it, and came to find out, it was sponsored, so it was such a blessing in disguise that we couldn't sign up ourselves!We got to do Ragnar with James' work, L3, hence the name of our team, Livin Life Large, he he! But even though I understood why the 3 L's, I kinda felt like we should be a team of bigger people...

My first exchange...yay! I was so stinkin nervous, I had to stop at the port o' potty's before every exchange! Ha!

Yes. That is my hubby. Lovin this pic...he is SOOOO hot! This is just before the most brutal leg of the race, okay, the 3rd most brutal...and he's just a beginner! He was AMAZING!

ALL DONE!!! This is after my final leg...good 8 miler after 2 hours of sleep...yeah, I was extremely happy to be done!!!

All of us all done! Our rockin Van 1 team!

The whole crew...that we only saw once during the whole race! Weird huh, you're on the same team, and yet never see each other!
This was such a fabulous weekend for us, we had a blast together!!! I'm so happy we got to do it together and experience it for the first time at the same time...I was worried we were wasting an overnight babysitter to go torture ourselves, but we had so much fun, it was so worth it, this can totally count as our couple vacation for the year!!! :)

Oh, and you can't tell very well in the above pics, but James had a rockin mohawk just for Wasatch Back! Yeehaw!!! :)

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Princess Tea Party: Super fun, not really, cute, yeah. Will I do it again? Probably not...we'll see.

A gold coin to go with pretend tea inside...hmmm...

Luckily, that gold coin bought them a t-shirt, and they got real tea ("strawberry tea" to Kaylie) and a rockin cupcake outside...

And they made these fun little crowns... All in all, I think she had some fun...Kaylie and Addy. True princesses! :)

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Kimi Graduated! Woot woot! Way to go my lil Kimbo... We're so proud of you and excited for all your new adventures to come...

Oh my memories! I have to tell you, I was reminiscing like crazy...and yes, to my lil bro's dismay, I was even singing along with all the school songs...he he he! I will never get over how frickin' awesome the bagpipes are....yeeeahh! With the sistas:With her bro's:

The siblings:and the momma:

The whole fam damily... it was such a party!!! We stayed out til midnight, which is big for me! :)

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Our new pool! Somehow every year our plastic pools get ruined...so this is the 2010 model:

James, being the rockin cool dad that he is suped up our pool by moving it under the swingset and blasting the water, making it soooo much more fun!Um, yeah. Monkey see, monkey do. Story of our daily lives!

Hopefully she doesn't end up with my height deficiency and really can keep playing ball!----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KAYLIE IS 4~!!!!
Don't mind the hoses in the background...slight oversight on that one...her party was supposed to be at a park, and the weather forecast seemed great, UNTIL the day of, so it called for some last minute planning and mad dash cleaning and re-planning...so sorry if I forgot to move the hose...OKAY! Ha!
The presents from Mom, Dad, and Joshy...she is one spoiled little girl! I mean big girl, (sorry Kaylie), and really, we limited the list from what she really wanted!!! Sheesh!

Grandma Evans reading the book she got for Kaylie, Gma and Gpa Evans give books for every birthday and Christmas, what a great tradition!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jaxon's Bowling Birthday party!

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Memorial Day Weekend:

At Great Grandpa and Grandma Evans graves:

These girlies were inseparable...and after about 15 mins of switching carseats around, we were able to make it possible for them to all be together to ride to dinner! This pic made all the effort worth it!
With the Kercher cousins visiting Great Grandma Day and Grandpa Kercher's graves:

My mom with her newest grandson, Tyler. She is the best with babies, and kids too... She's just the best... :)

Our own little family celebrated by going on a 6 mile run, ending at the park with a picnic...the kiddos were surprisingly cooperative...seeing as they both slept most of it...yay! And then we all had tons of fun running on the grass barefoot and chasing up and down the hill! It was the perfect way to spend a holiday in my book!----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaylie has succeeded once again... she has been going to sleep at the same time as Joshy, AND staying in her own bed ALL night long!
So, we went to Jungle Jims to celebrate her chart being FULL!!!

Christian and Joshy, pimpin in the jeep!

Kaylie and Emily. Best friends, and cousins...great combo!

Daredevils, these 2! I LOVE it! And I didn't put the pic, but Josh went on this one too...I won't even go...yeah. It's super fast!

Okay, does Kaylie have the cutest cousins or what? They just get along so well... I couldn't be happier that we live so close to almost all of them, and that there are so many around her age!

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Last day of Preschool! What??? Funny that it's summer, and you can still see all that snow on the mountains in the background! I thought this was so picturesque! Kaylie has ABSOLUTELY ADORED preschool, Miss Wendy is great, and Kaylie loves being with her friends! Funny to contrast with her momma, who went to preschool for 1 whole day, and hated it, so never went back... ha!
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Random park days: We go to lots of parks, a lot. :) Here are just a few shots from all the fun!
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And then of course, following with tradition now, our random goings and comings:

A little plug for Zoomania, my mom and her friend's company...they usually do school assemblies, but this summer they have been participating in the summer reading program at the libraries...this was just one of the shows... and of course, my kiddos get special one on one attn from the animals after the shows! Yay!

Yes, that is a real snake...can't you tell by her face!?! Ha!

A chinchila...not sure how to spell that one, this is a baby...sooooo soft.

"Pretty bird, pretty bird." (Name that movie!)

So once the poor little guy gave up trying to stop Kaylie from picking him up...now he goes up to her and grabs on, arms and legs, and forces her to hold him! I think it's hysterical and precious all at the same time! But he should really be careful, a couple of times he has caught her off guard, and he only weighs about 7 lbs less than her, so he has ended up on the floor...

We were filling up the bath, the doorbell rang, we all went in to see our friends, except Josh. This is where we found him...funny and scary...luckily he got in ok, and not head first!

Joshy's mega ouchie... Fell off the playground at the park...still not sure how... He has never cried so hard. I'm so glad it didn't need stitches, but it was pretty brutal, and he couldn't eat that day, or brush his teeth for a few days (which you know drove me crazy!)

And of course, I'm fascinated by how it looked inside! My poor baby! Don't worry, he is now fully recovered!

P.S. This blog took me 2 days to post!

May days

2010-05-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Woah. Only one more week of May... Here's what we've done with our sporatically warm May days:

Woot, woot! L3 Spring Fling Champs!!! That's right, that's my man! I couldn't believe they actually won! Out of 60 teams of 4 players...#1! :)
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Race for the Cure 2010:
I think that may be the last time I run this race though...it is just getting way too crazy...too many people, and not enough organization. Maybe next year we can "sleep in for the cure." Even though this used to be my favorite race... :(
But on a brighter note, I never thought I'd see the day when James and I would run a race together, and we did! It was really fun having him experience all the joys of races, getting up early, waiting around, and fighting to get through the crowd at the beginning...followed of course by the endorphins, and free food and water! :)
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How my kids fight now:

Kaylie did this (see right cheek below, nice little tattoo of teeth, you will notice how both maxillary and mandibular are both represented well...)

Because he did this (see right arm, again, both arches well seen...)

At the point when these both happened, both kids were crying and so I saw no need to discipline either one, so other than telling them both no, all I could do was hold them both, and hope they taught each other a very valuable lesson. But, to my dismay, they both still try to bite, but not nearly as much, I think...
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Womens' Conference at BYU. This is the first time I have ever gone. I met up with James' mom and sisters. It actually pained me to write a check to the Y, but it was worth it, the classes were amazing!!! (Side note, this is the family I joined...can we say intimidating!?! They look this fabulous ALL of the time!!!)

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James' sister Maureen was in town, (for Womens Conference), so we went to Red Iguana for dinner, but seeing as both locations had an hour wait, we headed over to Blue Iguana, who had no wait. And we discovered this, the below pictured "Burrito Grande." If you finish it, you get free desert. The picture doesn't even do it justice...it was the size of a newborn child! Here's the proud, full-stomached man I love. Yup, he finished it, and ate the whole dessert too! "Now you know how big my stomach is babe." to which I say "You must constantly be in a state of starvation then!"
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Mothers' Day Program at Preschool. Look at my sweet little flower! Love her!

My "forever flower." I really will try to keep it forever!

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Emily's Shower!!!!!!!! Yay yay yay! I'm so stoked for her! (and Mike!) It is so fun to see such good friends! I'm not the best at keeping in touch, but I love how when we get together, it's like no time has passed at all (and Em even said the same thing...)!
K, Awesome little side story from the shower: Emily's nephew, Andrew, was at the shower (it was held at his house...), he is 2 1/2. He was fascinated with all the cool toys for the baby, and would make this funny little laugh as he examined them all (huh, huh was kinda what it sounded like, with a lot of enthusiasm of course), and then he noticed Kaylie, (who I let come with me that night, for a little girl bonding time)...Well, she was sitting on my lap. Once he noticed her there, he came and brought her his little toy car. Followed by the guy that goes in the car. Followed by the box of chocolates (party favors). Followed by all of the baby's presents. And as he brought each, it was followed by the huh huh laugh. This ended for a moment, he got somehow distracted after bringing her like 10 gifts. Then as he was coming up the stairs, he saw her again, and insisted on holding her hand. When she finally agreed, he huh huh'ed, and led her down the hallway to his parent's room! Ha! We are all dying laughing at this point. His mom follows them in, ya know, to chaperone! Then a few mins later comes out and tells me I have to come see them, they are playing on his parent's bed! Ha!!! I love it! So, I have apparently had my camera on a weird setting, so this is blurry too, but I had to post it:Sadly though, the night did not end as well as it had been going. Andrew was chasing Kaylie, and she caught the corner of the counter in the kitchen. OUCH! She was such a trooper. Her very first shiner, caused by her very first boyfriend! Ha!
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Swimming Lessons Round 1 came to an end, sadly. It was soooo much fun! One day we actually let the little guys in on the shower fun...their diapers got so huge, it was hilarious!

James had gotten off early for the Preschool program, so he got to chill with us at Swim Lessons for a day, the kids LOVED having him there to play on the rock wall, and foam pads!I know, this is super blurry, but their faces were perfect...

Kaylie on the last day with her ROCKIN teachers, JJ and Lauren. The first day of lessons, Lauren just held her and walked around the pool with her, and by the end of that first day she was kicking on the side of the pool with the rest of the class! She LOVED swim lessons, thanks to these two super cute girls!!! And I am proud to report, she is ready for Level 2! Yay!

And the randomness continues at our house:

Blanket fun takes place daily!

Why eat at the table...when you could eat under it?

Kaylie's plant head:

Painting in Pajamas:Who doesn't feed their kids whipped cream once in a while?
Fun on the couch. Isn't that what all families do in their living room?Yay for May, hope ya'll are enjoying it as much as we are!

Fun little tidbit:

2010-05-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

So, just recently Kaylie was sitting at the dinner table, I was in the kitchen and I heard her say: "E A Sports, it's in the game." What? And so I prompted it again, I say "EA Sports." She says "It's in the game." Yup, someone has been watching someone's daddy play a little too many video games! Ha!
Then I remembered a long time ago about how she used to say "Bia bia." Not sure how to spell that, and I actually never heard the song that it came from, but once again, someone was influenced by her daddy listening to something a little too much!
We learned early that this little gal is a sponge, she soaks up everything she hears, so we have to be sooooo careful, and it doesn't surprise me one bit when she says things to me that sound a LOT like myself talking to her... he he he!

My, my, my, how time does fly!

2010-04-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

So, my sis-in-law watched my kiddos yesterday, and while I was there dropping them off, we got to talking about journaling and keeping our own family history. She showed me what she had done thus far, and WOW!, she is amazing. I was feeling pretty bad about it, I have a lot of work to do, etc, but then I realized, hello...my blog is my journal, and these marathon posts and hours of effort will hopefully one day be recognized and appreciated by my kids... I am totally going to print all these posts out...one day... I tried the blog book thing, but it formats them all funny and that can make them not make sense at times, anyone have any other ideas???
Onto the fun:
Here's a fun pic from the other day, Kaylie and Jaxon playing before swim lessons...And how rad is it that Josh's shirt matches the slide??? Yeah, I HAD to take a pic, couldn't pass that one up! Oh my, I adore that kid's face!
This is what Josh and the other 2 year olds do during their siblings' swim lessons. Not too bad of entertainment, for them, and me... I think it's adorable!
Yay yay yay! Kaylie is so hydrophobic in a pool...or I should say used to be...she is doing sooo much better now, thanks to her SUPER cute teachers at South Davis Rec!
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Half Marathon:
I did it, again! Yay for finishing another race. This is Amanda and I after the beloved race. Oh, so glad it's over. I think I'm done with half marathons for a while... I trained sooo much more and harder this year, and only beat my time by about 2 mins....so I was bummed and frustrated, but it still felt good to finish that puppy! And I did hit my goal of beating my time, and not walking at all. I just don't love not being able to walk very well for a day or so, and I'm not a great mom or wife the whole Saturday...so smaller races and triathlons for me I think! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Sandbox! Wahoo! This has already provided many hours of happy play, and lots more gallons of bathwater!
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James' buddy from Boston went to a game a few weeks ago, and insisted that Josh had an "official" yawkey way Sox hat, now we all have 1! (Well, James has about 50, but the rest of us all have official one's now too! Yay!) Here are funny pics of trying to get Josh to wear the hat, (he doesn't like hats, as you will be able to see by his hands trying to take it off in every pic!)And then, of course, Kaylie wanted in on the fun too! She loves to pose for pics... :)
Speaking of Kaylie posing for pics, can you see a difference in the next 3? Ha! Kaylie got her haircut, by me! Aah, I've cut it before, but never this short!!!
And I know it looks soooo uneven in those pics, but I swear even though it is not perfect, it looks worse in the pics b/c she always tilts her head for pictures...not sure where she got that, but it stuck, and she insists on doing it, ALWAYS, but it's cute, right...even though it looks skewampus??? I am loving it, and so is she! Yay for changin it up, right!
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Oh the JOY of remodeling. Here we go again, with all the fun of tearing out, building back, plumbing, flooring, walls, accessories.... whew, I'm already overwhelmed, and we've just started finishing our basement bathroom...doesn't it look charming?!
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Easter...like 2 weeks ago now...
Easter morning, the Easter Bunny hid tons of eggs all over our living room, and filled the kiddos baskets with toys and just a little candy! He was sooo tricky, hiding them in the mail slot, and on the broken shutter...good ol' Bunny!
Josh turned into a candy fanatic! He kept grunting until we gave him each little candy...somehow they all seemed to disappear the next day? Maybe the Easter fairy accidentally put them in the trash???Dying eggs, wow, sooo fun, and sooo messy... Kaylie loved it so much, that we bought more eggs and another kit the next day and dyed even more eggs, this time with glitter (not recommended, we are still cleaning it up in the strangest places, I swear there is still one lone piece of glitter on Josh's head!).
I finally realized that having Josh wear one of my favorite shirts was not sure a great idea. And then I decided I liked all of his clothes, so no shirt and pants was the best solution! (Don't mind his nakedness :) )Kaylie's preschool program. So cute. Enough said.

Making rain...
Kaylie and Emily, cousins, and best friends!

Similar personalities...he he he!

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My new tradition, funny random shots time:
Kaylie just inherited (we LOVE hand-me-downs at our house!!!) these ROCKIN pink boots!!!
We also inherited another kid car, ya know, the famous red and yellow ones, yeah, we have 2...and yet somehow they still fight over them...go figure. **also notice the balls in the back...so cute and typical of Josh, taking balls wherever he goes!
Pussywillows from OUR tree! Yeah, I got some this year before they started pollenating, and I love them...I just wish I would have gotten more, a little sooner. This fall, baby!

Ah, sweet learning moments. This is one I'm a firm believer in, teaching my little gal to make bread. I never learned as a kid, and really not even until I moved into this house, and now I bake like crazy with my rockin kitchen... I LOVE making bread from scratch. Who knew?! P.S. Please note, even though you can't see them very much, Kaylie and I have matching pink and green aprons. Made by Amanda, thanks again, cute sewing mama extraordinare!

When all else fails, break out the black olives for this kid...or anyone in my family for that matter! I really was trying to get a good pic of his spiky hair, you can kinda tell...

Okay, so this really should have had it's own post assigned to it. Josh has such a funny, hyper, fun personality all of the sudden. He's always been fun, but now is just making us laugh constantly! This is him asleep with his FOUR blankies. It has been his thing lately. So much so that James asked me if I had written this down somewhere...well here it is. It is hilarious, he wants to cuddle with as many blankets as possible, and gets mad if there is one in sight that is not in his arms. And he has to make sure they are all there before he will settle down to sleep. While rocking, he will stop and sit up to check on them all before laying his head back down. Oh my, I have to try so hard not to laugh (ya know, cause going to sleep is serious!) So, the main 4 are shown, but it's been up to 6 and 7 at times. So, put the blankets out of his sight you say, well, he finds them, tried that. And it's too fun, and no harm done, right?! Oh, this kid!

Holy Cow!

2010-03-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, can I just say that I love my kids soooo much. You know the saying, you don't know what you have til it's gone...well, that is not the case with me, I know I am soooo lucky to have such sweet, fun, perfect kids, and I swear I don't take them for granted.
Today, I lost my little Joshy at the childrens' museum...we were sitting on the stairs out front eating lunch, and then all the sudden I looked down and there was his juicebox, but no Josh. So, I figured he followed Kaylie and Peyton downstairs, I run down to find no Josh...
Then the panic set in, downstairs is the elevators, the doors outside, and the doors to the parking lot...and I see no Joshy. Where in the world is he? All the worst scenarios started running through my mind, and I am running around like a maniac, I run back upstairs and alert one of the workers, they get on their intercoms and get EVERYONE looking for my little guy...no one is finding him, he's nowhere to be found. I'm bawling at this point, and feeling like I'm going to throw up. The workers are great, they keep telling me that we're going to find him, they've never lost a kid, ever. But I don't want mine to be the first. I'm so scared, and they keep telling me to go to the info desk and wait while they look. They now have mall security involved. I cannot believe the feeling at this point, panic, fear, disbelief, shock, and all I could think to do was pray, so I'm praying over and over, please help us find him...
When I get to the info desk, after about 2 mins, they say into their intercom, "okay, you're bringing him up."
Yep, they found him. Actually, Liz found him for them, he had crawled back up the stairs, and was playing in the ball area...his favorite place. And then of course, I'm thinking, "why didn't I look there first???" I don't care though, he's found, and then I just bawl harder and kiss him over and over and over, my little baby, my sweet little baby is okay. Thank you Heavenly Father for keeping him safe!!!!!
SO, do I appreciate him more now...sure, a little, but I always have. I am just unbelievably thankful to have found him, and you better believe I am not taking my eyes off him for a second! Man, life can be so crazy!

St. Patricks Day and more fun!

2010-03-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had as great of a St. Patty's day as we did: Yup, that is a picture of GREEN pancakes!

So, here at our house, we kinda like holidays, especially the GREEN ones! We have so much fun on St. Patricks Day every year! Although last year, Kaylie got a little upset at the "sneaky little leprechaun" for turning too many things GREEN, so this year, she had me call him and tell him not to come, and we turned everything GREEN ourselves! And by dinner time, Kaylie decided I could call the leprechaun back and tell him he could come again, so he helped out turning the milk and ice cream GREEN...but we did the rest! Ha! So fun!!!After we painted our toes, (and Kaylie's fingers, we headed to the park for a playdate...can you believe this pic is even on a GREEN slide!!!

For dinner, of course the GREEN continued...green pizza dough, and a few green toppings, with green milk to drink:

Dessert was so delish! GREEN cookies n' cream ice cream...p.s. We LOVE our ice cream maker!
Yay for St. Patty's Day! And don't worry, today we actually had RED pancakes, so the fun has continued at our house, even though there's no RED holiday today, at least that I know of...
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And oh my heck...who is not LOVING the weather as much as we are...it's like the weather hits 50 and the world comes out of hiding...I love seeing everyone out for walks, and flying kites, and just enjoying the sunshine like we do! I am also just soooo excited at how much fun this summer is going to be with my kiddos getting bigger and able to do more things at the park...they are so proud of themselves, and it is so fun to watch them play...and to relax a little more now that they can do things they couldn't do last year...here are a couple of examples:

Kaylie is stoked that she can slide down the fireman pole...now honestly, I think she could do this before actually, but the other day, she thought it was a big accomplishment, so sure, we'll go with it: Yay Kaylie!

This is new...Josh can climb up and go down slides by himself...Rock on little man!

This is just precious...Kaylie catching Josh...this was actually the first time he had gone down this big of a slide by himself, and he felt safe enough with his big sis there at the bottom to go for it! She really is an AWESOME big sister!!!
And just a couple of fun pics... I just LOVE taking pictures, if you can't tell...This pic is of us trying out the new jogger the other night! Wahoo!!!! I LOVE IT!!!! It is so smooth, and the seperate canopies are a must, and Kaylie actually stays in this one, (probably not for long...she can totally escape the other one, buckles, velcro, and all...), and the adjustable handle was perfect for James and I as we traded off pushing the kiddos...
I am also loving my new vacuum...I wish I had taken a picture of the stuff it sucked up out of our carpet...actually maybe that was on purpose cause it's a little embarrassing! I know, I know, we've gone a little crazy with our tax return moola, but hey...when else am I gonna get the gear I need??? So yeah, lovin the new stuff, and the warm weather...keep it comin!
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Random fun...cause there always is. This is Josh's new fave thing to do...after a bath he absolutely loves to hide under his towel...the fun lasts for at least 10 mins...he is so stinkin cute when you pull up the towel, I can't help but bust up laughing!And this is Kaylie for ya...don't worry that it was totally "daddy's idea!" Yes, those are her wet handprints on my bum...too funny huh!

Question for ya:

2010-03-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

My own little debate. So, obviously I am not a gifted enough runner to have people sponsor me or anything like unto it...but I am at the point where I decided I am sick of paying to run. Seriously, so many races in so many years, and so much moola, gone. Yes, I am glad I ran, love my drawer-full of race t-shirts that are always just a little too big, love my little medal from last year's half marathon, etc...but...I just can't justify it anymore. Sure, I understand paying for the tables, water, closing areas down, prize money, etc...but do races REALLY need to cost soooo much, for instance, what got me on my soap box to begin with, the Half Marathon...$70 smackaroos, yes that is the latest registration price, but even $60, the early reg. fee...c'mon, $60 to run on streets I run on already...
So anyway, I'm putting it to a vote...am I just cheap? Should I be honored to participate? Or should I just run 13.1 miles on my own and go shopping with the $70 instead??? Your thoughts would be appreciated... :)

Surprise!!!

2010-03-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

SURPRISE big man! James turned 29 this year, and I knew he would expect a party next year for his 30th, so I did it this year just to throw him off...and it totally worked!!! Here he is coming in the door to everyone yelling "SURPRISE!" And believe it or not, I've actually never been to a surprise party, that I can remember, so this was a blast!!!If you know James at all, you can see the pure shock and happiness on his face in these 2 pics (above and below). He has such a cute smile, and it's even better when he's extremely happy!!!The banners and balloons:Daddy and Kaylie, she was soooo cute singing happy birthday to him!
The birthday boy and his mommy:
Yes...8 2 liters, and we only finished 1 off...our tap water must have been awesome!On his actual birthday, breakfast for a King, on the "You are special" plate, of course!
Birthday dinner at Benihana's:Our cool chef...they are always AMAZING, there he's made a rooster out of eggs for the fried rice:They made James play the tambourine while they sang "Happy Birthday" to him! He's a good sport!
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We also celebrated another birthday boy this weekend... This would have been my daddy's 63rd birthday, the day after James' birthday. This pic is from his last birthday, and it is one of my all time favorite pics of him! We love you so much dad, and think about you all of the time! We wish you were here to party with us!!!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What else we've been up to lately:

It wouldn't be a normal post on our blog if it didn't include pics from playdates:
Gateway with Jacksons, Evans, and 2 of the Walker kiddaroos:
These guys were like triplets with all their red outfits, and obsession with the balls!
Kaylie and Sarah, so artistic making their very own Gold Medals!!!
Twinners, seriously, their faces don't look alike, but somehow you can just tell these guys are cousins!
All of the boys running back and forth while we ate lunch on the stairs. Seriously, Gateway, get a decent eating area indoors, PLEASE!
Although this was pretty cute to watch, and I was pretty proud of Josh, being like the big boys!
Dan's birthday party:
The three amigos:
Jess made cupcakes and let the kids frost and decorate them...such a cute idea! Kaylie made her cupcake just for ME! Sweet little girl, I mean big girl...she will not be called little anymore!!!
James rockin the drums at the EQ party...it was the presidency + wives only! (and one other guy...) So, not the most attended party ever, but we had a blast playing Rock Band all night and eating all the pizza!Kaylie and her buddy Porter, playin MarioKart, I think...
Bubbles in the kitchen:
James and I have been pretty busy lately, him with school, work, and both of us with the kiddos and training! We are both training for the Wasatch Back in June, and the Red Rock in September, and I am gonna go for the half marathon again in April, Race for the cure in May, and another triathlon in July...Yay! I love having races to train for, it's the only thing that gets me to push myself and eat better! James is officially now a runner, which I don't think he ever wanted to be...I have been amazed at his dedication, seriously, he's as good as me now, and I've been running for years! It's so fun to have another hobby we like to do together...and it's always been a secret little dream of mine...so it's awesome! Wish us luck on all the races though...they're not all just fun and games! :)

Woah...Jan. and Feb.

2010-02-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

It's funny, cause I never feel like we're all that exciting of people, until I start to file through pictures to blog, and I realize we actually do do a lot of fun things. Not that we are the most exciting people on the planet, but we have fun, and actually don't stay home near as much as I would like to. Which may be contrasting to some, I think other mom's feel the need to get out more, whereas, I sometimes error on leaving home maybe too much. But to each his own, right!
Nonetheless, here's what we've been up to:

Jungle Jims for cousin Jacie's Birthday, don't worry, there's not even a pic with Jacie, not sure why...but all the kiddos had TONS of fun...I lost count of how many times they went on this ride!
One of our many trips all the time to Discovery Gateway:

The cute class, it was actually a little too advanced for all of our kids, but some parts they enjoyed...Josh really liked the mini hula hoop, cute huh!

Kaylie didn't.So I realized I never posted any pics of Liza's shower and wedding. Congrats girlie, and Tyler is one stinkin lucky guy...and I think he knows it...We love you guys!

Playdate #5,690. J/K, but really, we just love our friends, can you tell?
Bowling with the Bybees. We thought it sounded like a fun date night...kids included. The kids made it about 3 frames. We learned our lesson well, and we'll listen to Aaron next time he suggests we just get babysitters!

Yeah, that's my Kay-bug in a tank top in the middle of January, a St. Patricks Day one too. Yep, she "likes to be cold." No kiddin, half the time she goes to Preschool without a coat or jacket! The kids were tided over for a little while dancing in the lane...they've got some sweet moves, can you tell?! :)Josh has grown up a lot lately, and now he can crawl, run, and play on his own at the McD's playplaces, and yes, I do take my kids to McDonalds, even though I kept them away from the food there for about 3 years. I swore I would never let them eat that awful food, and yet, here I am, with chicken nugget loving children, and finding myself sneaking one while they're not looking. Awesome mom award #20, right here. :)
But really, I just LOVE taking the kids there to play, they have so much fun! And it passes the time while James is at school some nights. And I LOVE taking pics there, they are just sooo colorful and bright!

Kaylie is a Sunbeam now! Primary from here on out, and guess who her teacher is...ME! Yeah, I cannot complain about this calling one bit...it's like a playdate on Sundays, Kaylie and Porter are the only kiddos in the class...here they are on their first Sunday in class. Totally scrapbook worthy!

Like I said, Josh has been growing up a ton lately...here he is turning around like Kaylie, we LOVE to dance in our kitchen to music ALL the time, sometimes daddy joins in too (see below!)Yup. Matching pj's. Couldn't resist seeing as they were $2.44 each at Childrens Place. Yep, killer sale at the outlets. And I know, a boy in snowflakes is not the most manly design ever, but ya know what, he's 19 mons old, and it's super cute that they match. ok.
Shower for my sis. I'm so excited she's having a boy...and I can't wait to meet him, and have him and Josh wear matching clothes this fall...yes, I got all the same clothes for the 2 of them, cute little cousins they'll be...can you tell I like matching kiddos??????
Pretty chill Valentines Day for us this year. Our usual fondue tradition with the Steadman's got cancelled, so we just stayed home Saturday night and made chocolate dipped strawberries, there's no pics of them b/c I ate them all, while I was making them...he he he.
This was Friday night, making (well, watching Liza make) cookies and decorating them while watching the Opening Ceremonies. Good times. :)
All in all, not a bad month and a half to report about. Life can be so good, and I just have to say that for right now I am thankful for the same old, same old...cause life could be a whole lot worse!

Goodbye to 09, Hello 2010!

2010-01-07T07:55:00.001-08:00

6 YEARS!!!!! Woah! I can't believe it...We had such a GREAT day together! We hung out and organized stuff all morning, (my favorite thing to do, really.), chilled with the kiddos, and then went to dinner and a movie...but not just any movie...we saw Avatar...LOVED it!!!!! Then dinner at Thaifoon...yummy! And, to top it all off, being the number freaks that we are, we LOVED that our day was the perfect anagram 01 02 2010...how do ya like them apples! Happy Anniversary babe, thanks for being perfect for me, and making me feel so good all the time. I love YOU!
New Years Eve 2009:
We had a party at our house, and everyone brought kiddos, so we felt kinda lame when everyone left before midnight...nice party huh! But all the kids were like beyond, beyond tired...especially since we went sledding before, and then partied so hard with "Just Dance" and "Rock Band" all night long! It was so fun!!! Thanks everyone for bringing over your cool games! (Side note, notice Kaylie being the perma backup dancer...she is hilarious, especially when she put her frames on...yeah, that's my girl!)
Sledding before the par-tay! What a blast! Josh seemed unenthused, but was okay going down the hill, it was just so funny how he didn't cry or smile. Apparently he would have preferred a bigger hill, more thrills, etc. But he sure did look super cute standing around! Kaylie and Porter were crazy! It took a while for Porter to warm up to the idea, (and a few rounds of his dad tricking him and pushing him down the hill), but he eventually was cool with going down with just him and Kaylie, and it was super cute! Kaylie preferred sledding with Amanda, over her own mother, go figure. But I didn't mind, my hands were freezing (my gloves are missing)! All in all, it was soooo fun, and we all can't wait to go again, at least I think...
The round of Christmas collages:
This is actually the end of the night, and the morning after! Ha~! Kaylie was so content with opening just a couple of presents Christmas morning, and we had places to go, so we left some for her to open later. And then the table was a surprise present, "Santa" forgot about...so we opened it and put it together Saturday morning!
Pics from the Kercher Cousin Exchange:
Evans Cousin Exchange:
Grandma and Grandpa Evans got all the grandkids umbrellas, they obviously LOVED them!
The Official Christmas Morning Collage:
There were WAY too many pics, and I had to cut a lot out. But the jist was, Kaylie ravaging through all the wrapping paper, even on Joshy's presents, Josh being overwhelmed, but sooo happy, sticking his tongue out all morning in delight, Kaylie really being happy with the first present she opened, a mini Cinderella, with lots of dresses, a prince, and a carriage...so happy that she WOULDN'T open any more presents for like 1/2 hour! Then taking all her "polly pocket princesses" into her room and closing the door "so Joshy won't take them" and playing by herself for like an hour!!! This was by far the funnest Christmas, now that Josh can enjoy his presents, and Kaylie too...it was so fun watching them!!!
The Christmas Mohawk:
James had 6 days off work, so he decided to have some fun...he's wanted to do a mohawk forever, and he finally got to! You may have noticed it already in other pics, but here's the official all sides motif: Don't worry, it was all gone by Sunday for church, and work Monday! :) But it sure was fun while it lasted!!!
Christmas Eve:
We actually had this year to ourselves! Not normal! We loved being able to spend the night with just our own little family. We had a nice dinner, including "fun drink," talked about Jesus, and why we celebrate Christmas, actually put out cookies for Santa, and food for his reindeer, opened one present; new Christmas pajamas, and all got to bed at a decent time (including Santa)! It was so calm and peaceful, and I wish we could do it every year!
(Maybe next year minus the candles though, little Kaylie's hair actually caught on fire! We told her to stop leaning over the get the butter, but if you know Kaylie, you know she'll catch her hair on fire to get more butter! Ha!)
Some pre-Christmas fun, at the library for the Gingerbread Man Extravaganza with the Jackson's. Good times, good food, good friends, good fun!

Better late than never, right!

2009-12-27T16:08:00.000-08:00

I wimped out and just did Costco this year...actually b/c I got a great deal there, but I really was kinda sad I didn't design my own again...but I do LOVE that cute little snowman!

20 Collages...

2009-12-15T13:19:00.000-08:00

Get ready, get set, Go! Props to whoever can get through the last 3 months of pics!!! Whew...see, we're so busy, it's hard to find time to write about all that we're doing!!! Enjoy, or not, but either way, I got it done, and I'm so stoked about it!
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DECEMBER THUS FAR:
After the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert. James' cousin's wife had extra tickets, and we all had a blast! Not pictured: James' 95 yr. old grandma that was with us before, but went home with someone else. We had to walk soooo far from our car to the Conference center, I think we were like 6 levels underground...once we got into the parking garage, they just kept directing us down, down, down...and we even had to take 2 seperate elevators...it was bizarre. Meanwhile, grandma is keeping up with all of us like a champ. The only time she seemed to waiver was when we hit a huge stairwell at the end, but she totally got up the courage and climbed all the way up...I could not believe her! We ended up sitting on the front row for the concert, and it was amazing...so was Grandma! Thanks Sonja!!!Rudolph Kaylie. Preschool is so fun!
LAST day of dance. Shed a tear. Can't afford it next semester, and really, life is a little too busy, so I won't miss it, but I know Kaylie will...
Goodbye to my Aunt Karen. Her funeral was last Sunday. It was so bittersweet to see her kids. We don't get to see them very often, so we loved being with them, but it was a rollercoaster of emotions hanging out with them and going through all of her stuff. We got to go see our Uncle as "Clarence" in "It's a wonderful life" the night before the funeral...and went to The Pie after, which was sooo much fun, and gave us a break from thinking about everything.
I will always remember my Aunt's fun, bouncy attitude, and forever be thankful for all the years she let me use her pool for my birthday parties. The smell of original Trident gum will forever remind me of her, and I do buy it often! I was amazed at all the stories of quiet service, and how quick she was to help behind the scenes. I know I will see her again. And I know for sure that she and my dad are having a blast watching all of us until then... :)
Zoo lights. I had no idea how amazing they are! They are soo cool! And there are sooo many!!! I wish it hadn't been so stinkin cold, we would have walked around a lot longer! I loved how bundled my kiddos were, don't we all look like marshmellows! He he he! I highly recommend everyone go see the lights!
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NOVEMBER
Thanksgiving Day...obviously, we had fun. I LOVE food. And this year we started a new tradition, that I'm actually not sure we'll continue, but let's pretend we will. Each family got to decorate their own gingerbread house. I came up with the icicle idea, and it was cute on mine, but then my bro, who is a great ar-tiste, took it to a whole new level, I didn't put the pic of his on, cause I didn't want to embarrass mine! Ha! Kaylie loved it, she was so into it (um, not...all she did was eat the frosting the WHOLE time James and I were trying to put it together). But it was fun, despite all the trickiness of it! And boy, with all the crazy stuff going on in the world right now, we were extra thankful this year for our warm home, comfy beds, and both of our jobs (even though I would rather not work), b/c we are truly lucky people, and so grateful to have each other, and ALL our friends and family that we LOVE so much!!! Happy Thanksgiving...Kangaroo Zoo 11 25 09: Just another fun day of play with Jaxon, John, Dan, Peyton, Kaylie, Josh, and now little Joseph too!
Yes. Yes. Yes. New Moon with the girls. It was sooooo much fun. And actually, it wasn't even the movie that made it so fun, although Jacob did help that movie fly right by...he he he! It was soo much fun to be with these girlies. We had a blast talking and catching up before and then after for like 2 hrs! Love you ladies!James got a night out on the town too, with his "favorite daughter" at Princesses on Ice. They had sooo much fun too! James was laughing at Kaylie's reactions, she was either GLUED to the show, or so ecstatic she couldn't contain herself. Needless to say, I think they'll probably go again next year! (Side note: I used to go to Disney on Ice with my daddy too!!!)
Another fun day of dance. This day though, Kaylie had twinner outfits with her friend Naomi, on accident of course! It was like this amazing bond came with wearing purple skirts and black leotards that day! It was cute to watch!!!
WOOT WOOT! Everyone, Joshua James is officially walking now...and isn't he so stinkin cute doing it!!! I love watching him walk around, and I really think he gets a kick out of the fact he can do it too!
We went to the zoo one day, and liked it so much, we went back the next day for a playdate! It was perfect weather, and I've never seen all the animals so active...plus we got to see all the babies, the baby monkey, giraffe, and elephant were ADORABLE!
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OCTOBER:
Halloween 09:
At the childrens' museum...with the Kercher cousins.
At preschool...they even put on a little program with Halloween songs and a parade. Kaylie got a prize for selling the 3rd most cookies for the fundraiser...she was kinda shy about it! Then all the kiddos got their very own pumpkin out of Ms. Wendy's pumpkin patch!
At the Evans: Grandma Evans is a witch every year and always makes a killer "brew." James really likes the "Stirring the Brew" song...can't you tell! And yep, that rockin, sick looking eyeball was a cake, made by me...gross huh! It actually was quite good, with strawberry sauce all over it, acting as the blood...he he he!
This is actually the only time James and I put on our full costumes. We really like themed costumes, so Kaylie was a lion, Josh a tiger, and James was a hunter... I naturally, was an Animal rights activist, to protect my little ones of course! Ha!
Actually on Halloween, trick-or-treating/hangin with the Steadmans :)VEGAS BABY!!!!!! I got to tag along with James on his business trip to Vegas. It was 3 days and 3 nights, and it flew by! It's the longest time we've ever left our kiddos. The only time we've left Joshy. And the only other time we've gone anywhere overnight was 1 night, and we picked Kaylie up at like 10am the next day!
So yeah, it felt a little weird, but also a little liberating! I slept in til 11am one day! Woot woot! But I did spend a lot of time one day at the pool on the phone b/c Josh and Kaylie both got sick while we were gone...had to do some rearranging with babysitters...
We had a blast being together just us...we also had lots of fun seeing our buddies Cory and Jess! It was super tricky to get babysitters, so I don't know that we'll do it again any time soon, but it sure was fun while it lasted!
Before we left for Vegas, we took the kids to make bears...we recorded our voices on each one, so they could press their hands while we were gone, and they each say "Kaylie/Josh, mommy/daddy, loves you!" They're pretty cool little bears, and they love them!
Family Pics. Our cute friends just took these for us one night, so we wouldn't have to pay someone else booku bucks...Thanks Andy and Julie!!! They turned out great! And I know, I know, I'm a bad mom for having a barefoot baby, but I just love his little feet, I think they're adorable, and amazingly tan, so I like to show em off! :)
Playin in the leaves: I just love looking down our street at all the huge trees, and all their many colors! I think some of my favorite pictures of Kaylie in her life have been of her playing in leaves, she just LOVES them...like me!Family fun night. We sure like frozen yogurt and smoothies in our family...can you tell?

September in a nutshell...I mean in collages...

2009-10-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

So...why is Joshy in a cute little hospital outfit? I think some people already know, our little Joshy got tubes in his ears the beginning of Sept. Since then, he has slept through the night, and doesn't stop playing to pull on his ears...(except recently again, since he's getting his molars! OUCH!)
He actually did so great with all of the surgery stuff. He was a little disoriented when he woke up, but once we left the recovery room, he was a champ, doing JUST fine! I have to echo others that I've heard have had this same surgery done, "I wish we had done it sooner!"

Family Night Fun. We LOVE the mountains, and Millcreek is our canyon of choice...it's where we went on our first date, where we got engaged, and where we got our engagement pictures too...So, we had so much fun going up the canyon and making smores with the YW/YM the week before, we decided to do it for Family Night before it started getting too cold. And actually, speaking of engagement pics, I wish I could post the one that looks just like those 2 of James and Kaylie in the water...we have one just like it, from 6 years ago...he he he!

Well, well, well. Keithy, you sure made my night! Keith Urban. One great country ROCKER! I dragged James to his concert in CT, and he actually had a good time, because Keith knows how to get down and rock it...seriously, awesome with that guitar, even the light up one!
Here's the best part of the story:
James got me the tickets for my birthday, which was in August, but really he bought the tickets in March, and I talked him into getting the cheap seats, ya know, save some moola. But when we got there and realized our seats were 4 rows from the very top of ESA, he was feelin pretty bad, and I was actually pretty bummed... So we went down a few rows, and we were the only ones on the row, waiting til someone claimed their seats... A guy walks up the stairs, and keeps looking at us, so I say "oh, sorry, are these your seats?" He laughs, and says "No, but are you Keith Urban fans?" I was like um, yeah, why else would we be here, but anyway, he asked if we would like better seats...NO KIDDIN, he hands us tickets for the 5TH ROW!!!! I was beside myself. Not even just 5th row back in the middle, ya know, straight on with the stage...but the side 5th row...soooooo close to the stage, I couldn't stand it! It was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! (And, some may say it was a coincidence, but honestly, I had been praying that somehow we would get better seats, there was a contest by text, and I kept entering it, and praying in my little heart)...it really is so cool to see how Heavenly Father uses other people to answer your prayers... Whether you believe it or not, I think it was an answered prayer, and I am so grateful, because it made our night so much more memorable!!!! James and I love date nights so much...there's nothing like getting away for a while and feeling all young and crazy again! Sum up: I love Keith, and I love James for taking me to see him... :)

St. George. So fun. That's right, no James in those pics, actually no dad's at all. Liz and I packed up us and our 4 combined children and headed down to visit Jess and Pete for a couple days while they were down there. It was actually sooo fun, I love never ending playdates, can't beat it, when you get to play all day, and wake up and play the whole next day with friends. I think the mom's had just as much fun as the kids...some of those pics are cut off, but if you can kinda see the dirt they were playing in, you'll understand why we took pics of them in the tub after...the whole tub was dirt colored, so to really clean the kids, we had to wash them individually in the sinks! Ha!

Kaylie's first day of Preschool...doesn't she look so grownup with her backpack!!!!
She is LOVING it, and it's actually been super fun for me too, I've been getting way more cleaning done, and I'll be honest, a few more naps too... he he he!Dance. Dance. Dance. Need I say more? Like mother like daughter, she can't get enough of it. She LOVED being like a butterfly with her cloth wings. She always wants to goto dance, but it's only once a week. Not enough for Kaylie.
And just a random fun pic of James and I at the temple. Trying to go more lately...
Love the temple. Loved Conference last weekend.
Loved September. Can't believe how stinkin fast it flew by...can't believe I didn't blog like at all...

A little angry...

2009-09-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

So. I've decided I don't think I'm ever ready to get pregnant again. Here's why. So, I got a little taste of it again, flashbacks too real...
I got a new prescription for my birth control last week. Since I started taking it, I have been soooo nauseous, having headaches, feeling soooo tired. So, was it a dud, didn't work, and I'm prego. Nope, 2 tests have confirmed no! Thank goodness. Turns out, the pharmacy gave me the WRONG pill!!! I've always been on the mini pill...forever, and never had any problems, well, they gave me the generic for Ortho-Tricyclen. Oops, wrong! So, thanks a lot, Mr. Pharmacy technician, for hurrying to get me my Rx before I went out of town...but next time, take your time, so you get the right pill, and save me all the flu like miserableness that I sure would have liked to do without!!!
So, now, after the week of yuck, that brought back so many fond (not) memories of the first trimester of both of my pregnancies, I am yet reminded why I want to wait for a long time, if not indefinitely to have another one...EVEN though I know, I know, they're worth it in the end...

And just for fun, for those of you that know how crazy weird I am about numbers...Lovin all the 3's on both of their tickers!
Okay...I copied them when Kaylie's said 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, and Josh's said 1 year, 3 months and 3 days...Now they changed...

Hiking

2009-09-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

Kaylie and Porter. BFF's!

Kaylie ran almost the entire way up AND down the whole hike...she was a fast little ball of energy! She would've run the entire way, but I made her stop and wait for the rest of us!

Sweet little Josh man...mommy always takes you places when it's your nap time...you are oh so patient and cute to sleep wherever!

I LOVE hiking. And I can't believe I have a little 3 yr. old that loves it as much as I do... If I hadn't had a backpack with a baby in it, I would've run up and down the whole trail with her... I can't wait til she gets older and we can go on even longer hikes together!!! And we LOVE our friends the Bybees, what a fun afternoon with such fun people!!! :)

End of July to End of August...

2009-09-05T21:53:00.000-07:00

In a nutshell: playdates, Thanksgiving Point, the Zoo, swimming, Joshy learning to feed himself, and stand, and walk pushing things, crawling everywhere, Growing our own crops, Me turning 26, going to Lagoon with just James (best day! Seriously, one of my favorite birthdays so far!), Liberty park, Laird Park, science class making and eating ice cream, Kaylie dressing herself, wanting only dresses, sometimes could talk her into skirts, for like the entire month of August, McDonalds playplace, fun now that Josh can climb so well, Ward campout...to sum up: LOTSA FUN! Can't believe summer is over, it has gone way too fast...but don't worry, we'll still have lotsa fun with fall too... :)

Some other random pics I couldn't fit in the collage:Have I told ya'll about my family's obsession with Berry Smoothies from Costco? Seriously, we need our own machine, especially Josh. The kid goes crazy for em!!!
James' 10 YEAR high school reunion...yep...he's that OLD!!! HA!!!
"Tree Hugger Kaylie" Yep, following after her mommy and grandma, who, James says, are total tree huggers too... Disclaimer: I did not tell her to do this. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and she was worried about the tree...on her own!
Oh my heck. Nothing better than the sound of your two kids playing together and laughing hysterically, especially after you just dragged them all around the mall!
Summer night bike rides. Pure bliss in my book. Especially here, when they both fell asleep just in time for bedtime... We have loved having James home at night (not at school) this summer, and cannot believe summer is already over, and it's already back to school time...bummer.
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More Cabin Pics: from last month, but still needed to post...All the cousins waking up and hangin out together, and of course, adoring the babies!Josh and John. 10 weeks apart, and you'd be surprised who is older... :)

I'm a soccer mom!

2009-08-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is Kaylie posing for her picture. At least I can always count on her to make a situation look great, because she is so photogenic... but here's what really happened...

Here she is as goalie. Don't worry, the other team had no problem hitting it in, because most of the time, she was actually turned around, talking to Porter and his mom on the sidelines. :)And the above picture is actually a great shot, because this is really what happened most of the times we went to soccer. Yeah, I think my mom hit it on the button when she laughed at me for enrolling her in soccer and saying "she's too little!" Right-o mom, (how many times in my life have I said that!)
Maybe next year Kaylie bug...so sorry to torture you every Monday and Wednesday night for 6 weeks...Maybe the soccer gene isn't in this one...(both of my brothers play...lol!)

Trying to catch up...

2009-07-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

WARNING>>>>>MEGA MARATHON POST
I've been trying to blog for weeks, no months, at this point. It just takes too long to load all the pics. I've complained of this problem before, but summer has been extra busy, as you will see, and every weekend we have been soooo busy, doing fun things mind you, but just soooo busy...and taking LOTS of pictures along the way, and it's always so hard for me to choose...digital is a blessing and a curse...here's some of our recent (kind of) adventures!
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FUN SUMMER DAYS AND PLAYGROUPS:

The three musketeers. Others come and go for our playdates, but these three are the foundation...they're always there and ready to party! (Ring pops for Jackson's birthday)Coolin off with some free Baskin Robbins!
In our rockin backyard pool:
At at great age where the day you meet someone, you are instantly best friends...Addison was in town from Cedar City, and the two were joined at the hip instantaneously...Bumper cars at Jungle Jims-we went there because Kaylie filled up her potty chart-WAHOO!!!
The new carousel at the zoo:
Josh. Hangin with the big kids!
GATEWAY IS THE BEST WAY TO SPEND THE DAY!The "Firefighter" filling up the car for the "Mail Carrier!" :)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOURTH OF JULY
Watching the parade with cousins:
The fun carnival after the parade, free tattoos!Oh. my festive little man. Could you be any cuter??? (Notice his firecracker tattoo!!!)
Kaylie was a great little pyro, just like her daddy!
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LAGOON. Just me and my girl. We had an absolute blast. And I decided that our new tradition is to get a candied apple right before we go home. It's a great way to end a day!

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JOSH'S BDAY FUN:We actually spent his birthday at girls camp...thanks for being a good sport Josh man! (That's actually part of the reason he got to come...I couldn't bear to leave him on his birthday!)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KAYLIE'S BDAY FUN:
Dora Birthday cake, of course!We went to KZ, Her choice of course, and then had ice cream after...she crashed on the way home, it was such a fun day! We love our little 3 yr. old!Her fun presents, actually, she hasn't even opened this one yet, she can't decide if she wants it, or the pink and purple version...so it is still in the package...
BIRTHDAY POOL PARTY...A little crazy, but fun!----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CABIN DAYS (more to come too, we've gone every month this summer, here are some clips from the first couple times...yeah, in June...I wasn't kiddin when I said I was behind...)
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MEMORIAL DAY 09:
BBQ with the Bybees and friends...and the triplets! HA!
Miss you dad.At Grandpa Evans grave. Grandma Evans has now joined him, but her name wasn't on the gravestone yet...oh, and that's not the right grave behind us...

Kaylie...you crack me up!

2009-07-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

I wrote these in my planner, but wanted a more permanent source...one others could read too...

At bedtime:
Me: "Kaylie, hurry and pick out a book to read, it's late."
K: "I wanna get Grandma to read a book to me. She's not mean to me."
M: "I'm not mean to you!" (shocked!)
K: "Yes you are."
M: "What do I do that's mean?"
K: "You...step on my toes, and push my tummy." (with a smirk)
M: "No, I don't!!!" (smiling now, cause of her smirk)
She then busts up laughing! Funny joke Kaylie. I better be sure I check and see what she's telling people her "mean mom" is doing!!!

Yesterday:
Me: "Kaylie, you can clean that toy if you want to. (It's a toy we got at a garage sale, and we were going to give it to Grandma K, so she knows it's Grandma's toy...)
K: "Grandma will get mad at me if I clean it."
M: "I don't think so. And really Kaylie, I don't think Grandma ever gets mad at you."
K: "Well, (someone else, not going to mention names), gets mad when I play with her toys. And to get mad at 3 year old girls...what do ya think!" ( I think it was supposed to mean, what is she thinking?)
Yeah, she is no dummy. I mean, to get mad at a 3 year old for playing with your toys...what are you thinking~! Ha!

Big boy!!!

2009-06-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

A whole year ago! So tiny!!!

Yeppers! The big 1!!! I am so excited for him. You can already tell he feels different! Oh my little man, I love you too much for words. He is our little miracle baby, and I thank my Heavenly Father for getting him here to us safely. I can't believe that the doctors told me he was "just a piece of blood" Nope. Not my Joshy, he knew he was supposed to be in our family, right now.

He has really been such a SUPER fun addition to our little family. He is sweet, cuddly, funny, laughs a lot, smiles all of the time, loves books, just like his sis, LOVES his mommy, and daddy too..., crawls by moving only his hips, sooo fun to watch, still a little lactose intolerant, but getting better, signs "all done" but only for mommy!, will only eat oatmeal if it has bananas in it, likes big people food, is getting his two top incisors (two middle teeth), and already grinds them against his bottom teeth, has tan lines from his chub rolls, is wearing 12-18 month clothes, they are just barely too long, is already pulling himself up on everything, and is trying to master stairs too!

Oh my little man, you are too fun, which is obviously why this year has flown by sooo fast! Thanks for being such a great baby, we love you too much!!!

THREE!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

06/01/06: Three whole years ago!

at age 1:

Age 2: Just before her bro was born...

Just the other day:

I cannot believe my little baby is not really a baby anymore...I know, I know, it sounds cliche, but seriously...THREE!
Wow, what a fun little girl she is.
She is spunky, funny, sweet, a great helper for her mommy and brother, super smart, loves friends and family "cousins" (all friends and family her age), loves to learn, can identify A, B, C, D, K, O, S, and L sometimes, sings all the time, is a FABULOUS dancer, and dances ANYTIME there is music...or not, likes dolls, but loves tools, loves books, would read all day if someone would sit with her, is a thrill seeker, loves to go as high as possible on the swing, loves rollercoasters, still lets me brush her teeth, won't go to sleep unless mommy lays by her, loves hugs and "soft kisses," still likes to be rocked, is super tough, rarely wants a bandaid, is almost potty trained completely, loves Dora, Mickey, princesses and dress ups, and to my dismay, likes Spongebob (weird show!), favorite color changes daily...today pink, yesterday for her cake, it was green, loves to draw and paint for real and on the computer, loves pancakes and french toast, is a great eater, will try almost anything once, even asparagas!, will still only eat eggs if fed to her by either grandma, likes to be a big girl, but likes to still be "baby Kaylie" every once in a while, can run super fast, loves Kangaroo Zoo, Gateway Discovery, Classic, etc...loves to bounce and play, is sweet...takes care of her mommy when she's sad, and tries to help Joshy when he's sad, loves wind on her face, rolls her own window up and down in the car, can buckle her own carseat, and is a great pretend cook, gosh there are lots more, but that's a pretty good picture of my little K-bug...
Gosh, we love her! Happy Birthday sweetie!

Two big days for James and Tiff

2009-05-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

Wow. This day has been long due. My sweet James finally graduated!!!! Wahoo! The poor guy had to take 2 years off for a mission, and then another 2 years off while he worked and I got my degree... What a trooper. And what a relief and life change it has already been. He has been a little workhorse at home now, without having to leave for class or spend time studying, it has been so fun to have him around...and have ya seen our yard...it's looking sooooo much better since he's had time to kill... Yay for graduation! ...Oh, and yay for a raise too!!!

Next up, a day I was dreading. May 16...Triathlon day. I was soooo nervous for this one, because I had been originally trying to train for both the half marathon and triathlon at the same time, and it just got to be too much. So I stopped biking and swimming, and deciding to pick those both back up after the half. Well, intentions are always great, right... Well, really not totally my fault, but I didn't bike but like 2 or 3 times, and swimming, nope, not for like 2 months, (Josh won't stay in the kidscare at the gym anymore...cries so hard they come get me off the treadmill, after 2 or 3 times of that, I bagged the whole gym idea...hence, no swimming pool to train in...) Anyway...to say the least, I felt unprepared...
Here I am before the race...can you sense the nerves???
Here I go...
Swim: In a nice heated pool, 300 metersAfter the swim, on my way in and out of the transition area:
Bike, 12.75 miles:
Run: 3 milesAfter the race:
I surprised myself BIG time. I guess the half got me in way better shape than I thought...this race felt GREAT! It really was sooo fun. I don't know if maybe it was because it wasn't my first time this time, or if I really was in better shape, but I just enjoyed it so much. And it didn't wipe me out the whole day like the first one I did, or the half. Yay. But now I wanna do another one...it's so addicting! But really, not sure if I will, just because these races cost sooo much. After the half, race for the cure, and this one, I've already spent $160 on just the races...not to mention all the other STUFF you need, like gear, recovery drinks, etc... So, we'll see... anyone want to do a tri with me?

Top 10 at 10 Months!

2009-05-01T15:05:00.001-07:00

Top 10 Favorite Foods:
1. Anything off mommy's plate
2. Berry smoothie from Costco!!
3. Yogurt
4. Carrots
5. Sweet Potatoes
6. Apples
7. Chicken and Vegetables
8. Grapes
9. Mommy's homemade bread
10. Gerber Graduates, but really only the sweet potato flavor...

New Skills:

1. Crawling (almost...)
2. Waving
3. High 5
4. Eating solids better
5. Stealing Kaylie's sippy cup
6. Rolling over from back to tummy
7. Arch moving (arching his back...)
8. Super reach
9. Kissing himself (see pic below)
10. Clapping

Favorite Activities:
1. Eating everything
2. Grabbing everything
3. Eating mom's arm, shoulder, finger, whatever I can find...
4. Looking at myself in the mirror
5. Reading books!!!!
6. Swimming/bathing/playing with water
7. Watching Kaylie dance and sing...cracks me right up!
8. Dancing with mom or dad, and spinning, and flying (Super Joshy)
9. Swinging (see pic below)
10. Nursing. I don't think I'll ever stop...

Things that make me cry:
1. When mommy is out of sight...even for a split second
2. When Kaylie won't let go of me
3. When Kaylie steals my toys
4. When I fall over...it happens a lot...
5. Getting out of the bath...I really LOVE water!
6. Being force fed...enough solids is enough, just let me nurse already!
7. Going to sleep
8. Putting clothes on...seriously, can't we all just be naked, all the time...
9. Getting teeth. They hurt.

10. Getting buckled in the car seat...not all of the time, just when I'm tired... Things that make me happy:
1. Mommy
2. Nursing
3. Kaylie being nice to me
4. Kaylie reading books to me
5. Being outside
6. Going on walks
7. Singing songs, ESPECIALLY The Itsy Bitsy Spider, no other song compares
8. Cameras, I'm really a ham
9. Bouncing (the above pic is at Classic, bouncing)
10. Toys

Easter (2 weeks later)

2009-04-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

Kaylie was SSOOOOO excited that she got nail polish from the Easter bunny. Joshy was just lovin the eggs and grass so much he decided to eat them... :")Here are Kaylie and Josh sportin their cool new sunglasses from the Easter bunny:Easter Morning is sooo fun. We sure like that good ole Easter bunny!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kaylie and Josh in their Easter outfits... I actually had a purple dress on too, she we all kinda coordinated...(yeah, I'm cheesy like that...)

Isn't he so cute in his slightly femmy Easter bib!!!
(blame Grandma Kercher for that one!!!)

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Easter Egg Hunt with cousins! These are the "3 Musketeers" they are always wearing similar outfits, and almost always PINK...if you can't see that already...this is a common occurance! :)
Kaylie didn't get near as many eggs as some of the other kids...but those were even too many...I don't need my 2 year old eating tons of candy...hello, she's hyper enough without sugar!
Kaylie was so nice to share one of her eggs with Josh! She is such a great sister. And of course, Joshy just loved it so much, he ate it!
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Okay, and this random picture I realized was left out of the random fun post. And I just couldn't not post it. So, Liz and I are hangin at McD's, Kaylie and Jackson are playing for forever, being so good, next thing I know, Liz is cracking up...BIG TIME...so I turn around, and there is my daughter, buck naked, just sliding down the slide...Yep!!!!!!! HELLO KAYLIE!!! Seriously. And not wanting to risk of getting arrested, I didn't take a picture of that perfect shot, but threw a blanket on her, and here it is. Memory frozen in time people! I'm mad I didn't take my camera with me when I had to climb up in the tubes to rescue her clothes and diaper, that would've been a great pic! Oh well, you can picture, her shirt, pants, and diaper, neatly laid out in the very most top tube of the playplace of course. Ha! The funny part of this too, is Jackson came down the slide right behind her, fully clothed. Not what you would think, right, we kept waiting for him to come down naked too. Nope. Good kid. When I asked Kaylie what she was doing she said "I was gonna take a shower with Jackson." (In her defense...we had all just gone swimming, and they had showered together, but with swimsuits on...) AnYwAy, fun story huh!

I cannot believe it!

2009-04-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, there I am. Finished the 1/2 marathon last Saturday. Got a new camera though, and need to install a program to upload pics, haven't done it yet...so this is stolen off the marathon foto website...hence the fantastic quality!
It was actually super hard. I trained to 9.5 miles, and I hit a serious wall at about mile 11ish, just after Liberty park, actually just after this picture... I felt like I was run walking, ya know, where you're really walking, but pretending you're running! And my Ipod only worked for about 5 minutes of the whole race...didn't have it when I really needed it...super frustrating, and it is in serious trouble right now...perma time out for the shuffle...HA! But my ankles and knees held up pretty well, which I was super stoked about, although they were slightly sore most of the race... I finished it way faster than I thought I would, I guess I'm a little more competitive than I thought, though my time really isn't brag worthy. But it was good for me, and I DID IT! Couldn't really walk after, but I did finish, and that is pretty awesome for little ole me! Now on to training for the triathlon in May... then I think no more races for a while! :)

RaNdoM fUn :)

2009-04-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

This is a post of randomness. Better ones to follow, I promise. My new goal is going to be once a week, so there aren't anymore marathon posts. Cause after today, I don't like marathons. He he he. Yup, ran the half today. Don't think I'll ever do a full, the half was hard enough!!! Pics to come of that SUPER fun race! Ha!
This first pic I just had to take, it seems random, like lots of these pics, it is of when one day, I was feeding Josh, and Kaylie was in the kitchen, not unusual, I heard the silverware, also, not unusual, she gets to run rampant while I nurse...and then I just clean it up when I'm done... But to my surprise, I came out, and NO mess, actually, she had finished putting all the silverware away out of the dishwasher. Not kiddin. What a sweetheart, huh!!!!!! (and so well trained, huh!) No, I didn't train her to do this, she does help me sometimes to empty the dishwasher, but this was monumental, not making messes, no, cleaning!!! I couldn't stop hugging and kissing her, oh, she is such a great little girl!!!
Dying Easter Eggs, enough said: Lil J's mouth was totally blue after... he he he!
Just one day at Gateway, in one of the classes "Little Scientist: Bubbles" It was freakin awesome and the kids all had so much fun, I even enjoyed the experiments with baking soda and vinegar, and coke and mentos...try those at home!
Me, loving strawberry season: freezer jam, strawberry shortcake, and of course, chocolate covered...and it's only begun! Wahoo!Bowling with the Young Women and Young Men in the ward. Kaylie and Rachel, I think they both bowled better scores than me!!!! Ha! Please don't miss their fun shoes, that really made my day that they had small enough ones for the K bear!
One day at Jungle Jims, it was actually quite the party, but I don't have pics of all the friends that were there... Kaylie and Jackson rode this rollercoaster I think 4 times in a row. She's gonna be a blast at Lagoon this year, can't wait!!!
Cause I'm a fun mom, and they play so well together...Oh, how did I get to be such a lucky mom? I can't get enough of these kiddos...these pics really show their fun personalities...

Lotsa stuff: J's bday, Friday 13th, Sunny Fun, St. Patty's Day

2009-03-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY JAMESY!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!! Sorry, this post is so long in coming...I know your birthday was oh, say, 20 days ago... We had so much fun just us 2 for a night on the town...it's okay that we got the call during dinner, Joshy needed a mommy, so our night got cut a little short, but not by much, we still had a blast together!!! I love going on dates with you, and I'm so stinkin glad you were born! xoxo!
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Draper Temple:
We actually went to the open house on James' birthday. It was gorgeous, and actually kinda cute, I loved the woodwork and the cute rug in the brides' room! Kaylie loved the baptistry, and thanked Heavenly Father for being able to see the stairs and the water, in her little prayers that night! What a fun experience, and what a beautiful, holy, peaceful place. Our family is so thankful for temples!!!

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FrIDaY thE 13tH:
Took our black car in. It's been smoking. It needs $800 worth of work.
My boss's friend, who was on his way to his mother-in-law's funeral, died too.
The canner we rented from the cannery on the fritz, had to get it back by 4pm, but it kept getting the cans stuck in it, food had to be canned that day, here's exhibit 1:
Last, but oh, definitely not least: our car, after my little sis borrowed it. Luckily, it is the one of our 3 cars that has full coverage insurance, the rest all have only liability. The one lucky thing on this really not great Friday the 13th. I didn't use to be superstitious, but now I have to be...This pic doesn't do the damage justice. The bumper is actually wired on, with nothing underneath it, and the side lights are all taped on with duct tape. Yep. Nice huh. :)
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On a MUCH brighter note, We have been having some serious fun in the sun...can't wait for it to come back again!!!
Unexpected. Joshy was the fussy one when I started running, I looked inside the jogger to see the EXACT opposite of what I thought I would see!!! Oh, they are so fun!
Don't worry, what I thought would happen did, like 2 seconds later!!! Ha ha ha!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Patty's Day. I'm a very festive person. But this one was a little over the top, even for me!

Real Irish dinner for ya. Corned beef and cabbage. And yep, that's totally green bread!

Yeah, she looks happy in the picture, but she actually was pretty mad at that sneaky Leprechaun for turning her mac and cheese green. She said "let's go to his house and tell him to turn my mac and cheese yellow again." Ha! Kids! The poor girl was probably just so sick of everything being green. Yeah, I got a little carried away...Green: mac n cheese, jello, applesauce, grapes, and yeah, the milk too... he he he!

Joshy is already 9 whole months! And all of them have been a blast. Love you little man!

Thoughts on Running

2009-03-04T21:13:00.001-08:00

So, I finally got an IPod, yeah, I know, finally. And actually, I got it for Christmas, and just finally put music on it like 2 or 3 days ago. My question is, does anyone else sing along with the songs while running, or working out? And I don't mean when you're outside, I mean like at the gym, do you find yourself mouthing the lyrics, like me. Or should I seriously try to control myself? Does that make me a weirdo?
But seriously, I am lovin it, I am such a music fanatic, and I have always run without music, it's been my time to think, but it is so much more fun with music, especially when I hear some of my favorite songs...they make me run faster!
And I have been running a lot lately, trying to train for the half marathon. Yep. Never done one of those before, but here goes nothin! (And I'm also wondering if anyone has a spot on their team for the Wasatch Back...I would love to do it...)

I heart: Valentines Day, Grandma Simmons, and Tender Moments...

2009-02-24T19:32:00.000-08:00

So, once again, marathon post for me. The problem is, I hate uploading pictures. It is such a pain, and Kaylie always tries to push buttons while I do it, unless I do it late at night, and then I decide I'm too tired, and I'll do it tomorrow...so the saga continues. But tonight was a good night, Kaylie was beat, and is sound asleep, at a decent time, so I'm not too tired...yet.
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VALENTINES DAY
was an absolute blast!!! James got home early from Scout Camp, and we had a fun day just being together, (he's gone a lot, so it's like a vacation just to have him home!), and he got me some BEAUTIFUL roses...I LOVE PINK ROSES, and these are the PERFECT PINK!!! And he also got me my favorite chocolates, Rum Victorias from Cummings...they are to die for! He seriously surprised me, and it was super romantic... Then we headed out for some rockin fondue with the Steadmans. It's now become a tradition. And it's so fun to watch the kiddos (slate for marriage one day, little do they know!) exchange valentines presents!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grandma Simmons (James' mom's mom)
just turned 95!!!!!!!!!! She is still doin rockin awesome...can't believe her. She still knows all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren's names, offers to babysit all the time, and does aerobics 3 times a week. Yeah, no kiddin. She's amazing, and so loving, and we loved honoring her for a night!!!
Below: James and his bro Matt juggling in the program...I will never get over how fun it is that he can juggle, and I can't wait for him to teach our kiddos... it's just such a FUN talent! :)
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Tender Moment. I need to document these for all those not so tender moment times.
This was today as I was running. I didn't know Joshy had fallen asleep, and I thought Kaylie was buggin him, so I stopped to see what she was doing. Mean mom, jumping to the worst conclusions, she was totally helping him out, shielding his eyes from the bright sun. What a gal.
And yes, that is Kaylie's sweatshirt he's wearing...don't tell his daddy!!!

Growing Up!!!

2009-02-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

So, my little ones are growing fast. As they should, right! Here are some fun milestones, okay, not really milestones, but just fun things I've been getting to watch them do!!!
Joshy loves to drink out of his "big boy" cup. He really doesn't like being "the baby." He really doesn't, how do I know this, you might wonder, well, because a) he likes only big people food. Won't eat baby food. He used to, kind of, but now he just grabs at our plates and stares longingly as we eat. So I bought him those "graduates" foods, he tolerates those, he's onto my tricks!
b) He insists on being the same size as his sister who is 2 years older than him. Just to confuse people...now which one is older? Ha! J/K!!!
This is Kaylie putting her own buckles on. Yep, she can fasten all of them, even the tricky bottom ones, that Grandma has a hard time buckling! And yes, she does INSIST on doing this EVERY time we get into the car. It's fine if you don't need to be somewhere for a while...
Joshy's first swimming pool experience! He LOVED it! He loved to splash, but then would look at me like I was the one who just catapulted water all over his face! Ha! Funny little guy! I even put a life jacket on him for a while, and he let me just pull him around while I was letting Kaylie swim and hold on too, he just stared at the ceiling. So mellow, and oh so stinkin cute...don't ya think?!And yep. Joshy's 1st tooth. Just another affirmation that he is my "textbook child." Seriously. He is doing everything by the book. Roll over, 4 mons. Sit up, 6 mons. 1st tooth, (textbook 6-7 mons), 7 mons. Right on the button. Fits perfectly into his clothes when he is supposed to, outgrows them at just the right age. Wow. Love him!
*(Not that I didn't love Kaylie too...she is my rock n roll chick. She was always, still is, very advanced, and needs to be interacted with...Fun in a different way, love her just as much. And actually, for the 1st kid it was PERFECT, and Josh is the PERFECT 2nd child, so content to be pushed to the back burner, like he seems to always be...I am a very lucky mom!!! :) )
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We LOVE KZ (It must be called that now, because if we say Kangaroo Zoo, we had better be going there...)
Man. What a blast! We love Kangaroo Zoo. (They owe me for the advertisement!) The boys sat it out most of the time, while Kaylie and I ran as fast as we could, and climbed as fast as we could, and slid to our hearts content!!! It was such a fun night, we've already been back again, and we're going again tomorrow!!! I love being able to play with just Kaylie, she doesn't like having to share me all the time, so she was on cloud 9!

25 Things you might not know about Tiffer

2009-02-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

So I put this on my facebook, but in case some of you aren't on there, I thought I'd put it here...plus it's a new post, I know I need one of those! Ha! P.S. The reason there haven't been any lately is because we no longer let Kaylie take naps...so no free time during the day anymore...enough said.

1. I think there really is something to those horoscope profiles...I truly am a Leo, and the descriptions always fit.
2. I always like to be the center of attention. I think anyone who knows me, knows that. :)
3. I hate videos of people getting hurt, that people always think are funny...I just ache for that poor person, and I usually don't laugh...
4. I like to use the ...'s a lot, in everything I write...
5. I wish I saw my friends more.
6. I LOVE to dance. I dance with my kids, in our kitchen, quite often!
7. I love learning new things, especially good, easy recipes.
8. I really enjoy scrapbooking a whole lot more now that I know how to do it digitally. And my kid's scrapbooks are almost caught up.
9. I wish I had lots more time to scrapbook, and blog, and facebook, journal, read, etc, etc, etc...
10. I really love teeth (like Jen!), and really do find satisfaction in my job, even though I don't love having to go to work...if that makes sense...
11. I don't know why I can't make myself go to bed earlier, both my kids are asleep, and I always find something I need to do.
12. I love to go on dates with my husband, I still get giddy to be alone with him!
13. I like hanging out with the teenagers in my ward, it really is a fun calling (assignment)!
14. Food storage and emergency preparedness are always on my mind, I'm always looking for good deals to stock up on.
15. I watch re-runs of The Office daily, sometimes more than one, usually while I'm nursing.
16. I donate my extra breastmilk. I did when I was nursing Kaylie too.
17. I really like it when my muscles are sore after a hard workout, then I know I did a good job.
18. I like to learn new technology, I don't wanna be like our parents who need help typing and printing documents, I wanna stay up to speed on stuff...
19. I miss cheering, especially stunting...it was really fun.
20. I graduated "Magna cum laude" from college (BS Dental Hygiene), and got 100% on my clinical boards, but failed the stupid Local Anesthesia boards twice. Yep, twice. And secretly I don't care, and am actually happy about it, because I HATE poking people, and had no desire to be legal to do it!!! Ha!
21. I love that my kids got the opposite combinations of hair and eyes as James and I. Kaylie has blonde hair and brown eyes, and Josh so far has hazel eyes and brown hair. Just what I wanted...
22. I wish I was a better housekeeper.
23. I love new running shoes, and workout clothes.
24. I crave sunshine. I am so happy on bright sunny days, and I love it at work when the sun shines so bright that I have to open the cupboard so it doesn't blind my patient.
25. I love productive days, and am so proud of myself for running like 10 errands with 2 kids. That is some serious skills I tell ya, balancing feeding, and carrying, and chasing, and list checking, and driving, and nap schedules, and yeah, I just always feel like supermom when I get home!
But I also really love the days when we just stay home and do nothing but play and read stories and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...Life is good.