Holy Cow!

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!

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:

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!!!

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.

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!