Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Elko

Coke has been sending Brandon to Elko, NV to help out a ton lately. It is nice, they pay for the fuel (give him a company car to drive out there), pay for the hotel, and give him money for food. The manager in Elko loves Brandon and requests that they send him when they need help. The kids and I occasionally tag along, depending on what we have going on when he has to go. We have had some fun times, and some not so fun times during our visit. It is hard for me to be in the hotel room with the kids for long periods of time, so we try to find ways to amuse ourselves. Here are pictures of the kids playing at the hotel. Elko is really a little town, and there was not a lot for the kids and I to do. We did discover the coolest playground. It is huge and has tons of fun things for Ben to climb on, cause we all know how much he loves to climb. The kids really enjoyed it and could have spent several hours there. The kids also had a wonderful time swimming in the hotel pool. We bought some arm floaters and let the kids go. Kaitlyn did really well swimming around the pool. Ben loved to jump in and swim to the stairs. Also, Ben loved sitting in the hot tub. Most of his time was spent in the hot tub, while Kaitlyn was swimming the perimeter of the pool. Paul was not sure what to think of the pool and instead crawled around the outside of the pool, far away from the water (He is going through a phase where he hates to get wet, lets just say that bath time is always eventful.) Sadly, the last time we went the pool was being repaired, so no swimming. Oh well, we still had a fun time.
We will be going to Elko again in a few weeks. Hopefully we can have a great adventure. :)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Basketball

Paul loves to play with balls. He has a new found interest in Ben's basketball hoop, which is nice because Ben has not played with this much. Paul has recently started pulling himself up to stand, I know we are in trouble now. Anyway, the other day I was trying to change his clothes, but he was more interested in crawling away. So, I let him go and he went over to the basketball hoop. Here is what happened:

Is he not the cutest basketball player ever? You are looking at 16 pounds of slam dunking squishy goodness. I adore this little guy. He talks like this all the time. I LOVE IT!!!!

PS. Yes, Ben still gets very jealous of Paul and needed to be in the video too. We love him and his big brother help.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Halloween





We went to Inkleys and got free Halloween pictures taken. The kids had fun and look soooo cute. I absolutely love Ben's smile in his picture. We had a great Halloween. The kids enjoyed trick-or-treating. Ben had to stop and inspect every piece of candy he was given. It was a little rainy, but we managed. The kids liked jumping in the puddles and were soaked when we finished, oh well. They got a pretty good stash of candy. We put it in the cupboard and occasionally let them have some. I can't deal with sugar crazy kids all day long. just kidding:)
I can't even say how much I adore these kids and how grateful I am to spend everyday with them.



Monday, October 18, 2010

My cute boy








I absolutely love this little guy!!!!! He has the cutest smile. One day he woke up from a nap with these precious horns. Don't you just want to squish those cute cheeks, and I just melt every time I look into his beautiful dark brown eyes. Paul is a great addition to our family.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Catch-Up

It has been a crazy couple of months. We had a great Memorial Day. We got to camp at Brandon's moms trailer in Ogden Canyon. The kids had a great time, we sure love spending time at the trailer. On the way home, we visited several graves. It was nice to got to Logan and see the grave for our dear friend Paul Stockdale. We then stopped to visit Brandon's dads grave. We also went to several other family graves. I like to go to the graves so we can talk about and remember those that we love and miss. Brandon and I told the kids stories and had a really good time.

In June, we were lucky enough to go visit family again. We started our vacation in Minnesota, and spent lots of time with Brandon's extended family. Sarah, Brandon's cousin, got married and it was an amazing day. The wedding was beautiful and it was great to see all the family there. Kaitlyn and Ben had tons of fun dancing and playing. We also went to the Como Zoo in Minneapolis. The kids had fun going on rides. The cutest was when Ben freaked out on a Frog Drop Ride, it was a little to scary for him. We went to Mall of America again. It was to great to visit with the family and I am glad the kids loved the family. I know Paul misses Kim, Brandon's cousin, and all the attention she gave him.

On the way home from Minnesota, we went to Iowa to visit my sister Jayne. I LOVED seeing Jayne, Alexia, and Brian. Jayne and Alexia took us to Nauvoo, Illinois. That is such a beautiful and spiritual place. The temple is breathtaking. It was fun to explore Nauvoo and we got some really neat souvenirs. While in Iowa, we also went swimming. The kids were super cute at the pool, and of course, I got fried. I loved talking with Jayne and watching Ben play with Brian. I had such an awesome time. Nothing beats spending time with people you love. We also learned that Jayne and Brian are moving to Texas. I hope they can sell their house soon. Look out Texas, here comes Alexia!!!!!

For the 4th of July, we of course, were at the trailer. We did go to Huntsville to enjoy the fireworks. The funnest part of the fireworks were all the car alarms that kept going off. It was pretty amusing. We also found out that Paul absolutely loves fireworks. He gets all excited and starts kicking his legs like crazy. We did do some fireworks at the trailer. Ben had fun using the long stick to help Brandon light some of the smaller fireworks. He is also my little fire bug and loves to put wood on the fire. It freaks me out and I have to watch him like a hawk around the fire. I am so grateful for the country that we live in. While I worry about the current situation of our country, I am very PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!! I loved explaining to my kids what it means to me to celebrate the Independence of our nation.

I also celebrated my birthday in July. I went to the pool with some great friends. It was a nice relaxing afternoon. Than that evening, a wonderful friend watched the kids so Brandon could take me on a date. It was wonderful beyond description to get a night off. Brandon took me to see Eclipse. I liked it, and Brandon did too. I had to explain a couple things to him. We also went out to dinner and I ate it without having to share with anyone else, HEAVEN! Thanks Stephanie, you are a lifesaver.

Finally, some other exciting news, my baby sister Jasmine is engaged. YAH!! I am excited for her and happy to welcome Chris into our crazy family. It is a little weird thinking of my baby sister getting married. Just yesterday, she was an annoying little girl that pinched between my fingers. I love her tons and wish her the best.

Anyway, that is pretty much it for now. We are enjoying our summer, spending lots of time outside playing. We play in the pool, jump on the trampoline. the kids ride bikes, and I garden. We also love to go to story time at the library. Ahh, the life of a stay-at-home mom. I LOVE IT!!!!!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Life is good

We have had a fun couple of months. My baby girl turned four years old on April 17th. I can't believe that Kaitlyn is getting so big. I love her more than I ever could have imagined. We had a fun birthday party for her with several friends. The best part was the princess pinata, which Kaitlyn still talks about. It was a great day.
Brandon had a fun birthday on May 1st. He got an iTouch, which we absolutely love. It is tons of fun and I am addicted to the Angry Birds game. The kids like to watch movies on it, play games, and love listening to the Chipmunks on Daddy's new toy. Brandon loves to play Flick Fishing, and I am trying to convince him that he probably shouldn't be playing during church. Oh well, it keeps Ben and him entertained. I sure love Brandon and was glad I could get him something really fun for his birthday.
My mothers day was fun. I got three rose bushes, a few weeks early, which I happily planted in my backyard. We had a fence installed around the backyard, and I needed to plant some flowers in a new flower bed. I will have to take pictures when the flowers start blooming more. Brandon knows me to well, I love getting flowers, but I want the kind I can plant outside and enjoy for years to come (not just for a couple days). At church, the primary president gave a talk were she told the mothers why the kids loved them. Kaitlyn had told her that she loves me because I love her. How could you not love her? She is the sweetest kid on the planet and says the funniest things. I was glad that this Mothers Day I had three great reasons to celebrate. It was also nice to spend the afternoon with my family. Jeanne and Jasmine made a super yummy dinner.
On a super, wonderful, and extremely happy note, I finished my crazy semester of college. I had four online classes. To make it even better, I got 2 A's, an A-, and a B. I know, I am awesome. Only one semester left until I finally finish my bachelors degree. WOOHOO!!!!!! This picture demonstrates how I felt after this long semester of school.
Benjamin has been a little slow with his speech, so in March we had him tested. They speech therapist confirmed my suspicions that he was behind. He talks at an 18 month old level, but understands at a 24 month old level. We have been meeting with a speech therapist for two months and we absolutely adore her. Ben isn't making as much progress as we would hope. Our pediatrician told me that he has lots of fluid behind his ears and the audiologist confirmed this diagnosis. After meeting with an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist, we have decided that the best course of action is to out tubes in Ben's ears. On Monday, May 24th, he gets to have surgery. I am a little nervous, but mostly excited. I know that is weird. I want my boy to be able to hear properly and I am excited to see if his speech improves. Paul is a great baby and is growing too fast. He smiles all the time and is such a happy baby. He gets so animated when Kaitlyn and Ben play with him. He also makes the cutest sad face when Brandon gives him raspberries on the neck (see pictures below). He has started to sleep for 7 to 8 hours a night, thank goodness. I am truly blessed to have such a mellow baby. I always thought Kaitlyn and Ben were content babies. Paul is the ultimate pass-around baby. Our only problem, he is a closet thumb sucker. Whenever I turn my back, his little thumb goes to his mouth. It is cute, but I am not sure I want to break a kid of that habit. Oh well, I will continue to enjoy ever moment I have with my children.

I know some of the pictures are random, but I only had my memory card. So this is what you get. Enjoy

Monday, March 29, 2010

Utah Deal Diva

I recently started following Utah Deal Diva. I found the link on my sister Jessi's blog, and thought what the heck I would check it out. I absolutely love it. I have been trying to figure out ways to save money on groceries, and this site helps a ton. I also found some other links on this website. I was really interested by the link to Nicole Photography. She is holding a contest to give away a free family portrait session in the Ogden area. We really could use some cute family portraits.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Birthday Boy

Here is my cute boy the night before his birthday. He is telling me about the presents he wants for his birthday. He has the cutest expressions ever.

Happy Birthday Benjamin!!!! March 25, 2008
I can't believe it has already been two years. We have so much fun with Ben and love having him in our family. Ben is such an active little guy, I have a hard time keeping up with him. One thing is sure, he loves his sister and brother. He likes to hold Paul and kiss his head, and has to play with whatever Kaitlyn is playing with. We had a wonderful birthday, full of fun. He loved his presents and loved ripping the paper off of them. He got some more trains and tracks to go with his train table.

Kaitlyn picked out a little Cars puzzle for him.

If you know Ben, his new passion is Toy Story, especially Buzz Lightyear. So of course, we had to get him both Toy Story movies, that he absolutely loves.

But the ultimate present was the Buzz Lightyear doll. It is supposed to be like the doll in the movie. The wings pop out, he has over 65 phrases that he can say, and he comes with a space ship. I tried to get a cute picture of Ben flying Buzz around the house, but Ben was not very cooperative. Anyway, he adores his Buzz doll and it has slept with him for the last two nights.

This is a cute picture of Kaitlyn celebrating for Ben, and of course I had to add one of Paul enjoying the party.

So what does a birthday boy do the day after, he dresses up with big sister and dances around the kitchen. He loves Kaitlyn's Cinderella dress, but this is the first time he has put it on. I sure love these kids, toooooo cute!!!!!!


Finally, Paul wondering what is going on. I could photograph my kids all day long.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Is it Springtime Yet???


my handsome baby Paul

exhausted Ben after a day of playing


helping to water our new fruit trees and plants
trampoline fun!!!!
riding bikes



Having fun at the Dinosaur Park with friends