Watch Our Garden Grow

Christmas Rocks!!

2011-12-15T14:07:00.001-07:00

Polar Express Day

2011-12-15T13:19:00.006-07:00

Today was Polar Express Day at preschool and Jaxon got to wear his PJ's to school! I was so excited-I kinda wish I was invited to go to the Polar Express Day! Tiffany, his teacher set up different stations-the story station of "The Polar Express," the counting station, the craft station, the snack station, the letter station, and the color station! All the kids were super excited when the moms came to pick up their kids-I know it was such a fun day! Jaxon also did the show-and-tell today! He wanted to bring his Buzz and Woody, and he also brought something for the clue bag! He could pick from a list of letters and he chose to bring his Pirate Potato Head! Tiffany gave each of the kids a reindeer chocolate milk, and their finger paint pictures!

He has learned SO much in the amount of time he's been in school he's learned how to spell his name, he can say the alphabet without any help, and he can count-they are learning about the number 12 right now! I'm so happy he loves school! On Monday he had a Christmas program and all the kids sang songs and did a Nativity scene! Jaxon was a wise man! They dressed up like reindeer and Santa even came. They also made a special gift for their mommy's and daddy's of their handprints in mittens! I love that kind of stuff! :)Jaxon keeps telling Santa he wants a big car...then he'll say "well, a medium sized car." So I think we figured out that he wants a remote control car-looks Santa better make sure he's got that it's the only thing I've heard him tell Santa!

I don't know what I'm going to do for a few weeks without school because Jaxon asks me every day if he has school today...I guess we will have to play our own school!

Little Golfer

2011-11-29T23:19:00.003-07:00

If you ask Jaxon if he wants to go fishing, sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't but you never have to ask twice if he wants to go golfing, especially with our friend Matthew! I haven't been golfing since I was pregant with Jaxon-I know me pregant and golfing-I quit before it was hurting too much and then I haven't been since, but maybe one day when Logan is older I can start again! Anyway so Jake got Jaxon his first REAL set of clubs and a few weeks ago we walked to the golf course and putted. I had never seen Jaxon golf or putt but I was impressed! I'm glad Jaxon and Jake can go to something they both like to do together!

Jaxon's Birthday

2011-11-29T23:05:00.006-07:00

I never posted about Jaxon's birthday. He had his first friend birthday with 2 of his friends from our ward! Can I just say that these boys are like the 3 Muskateers?! They all get along so well together and I had all things games planned for the party and all they cared about was playing toys and eating cupcakes! If I'd known that I wouldn't have worried about what we were going to do all day for the party!
Hangin' out, I guess what boys do!

Opening presents from his friends! They were so cute when they were giving him their presents! To this day Jaxon plays with the toys they brought every day! So cute I love this age!

The party was a pirate party and I told them to give me their best pirate faces...Micah just smiles! I love it Janson's is pretty cute! Jaxon is pretty good at pulling faces!
Later that night my parents came down to celebrate and we opened presents! He got so many fun things-ok he was spoiled!

Star Wars

2011-11-29T22:55:00.002-07:00

Jaxon got a light saber for his birthday and he always tries to get Logan to play with him! Logan is good at holding up the cheap one from the dollar store but obviously he doesn't know how to actually play with it, but Jaxie still tries! Jaxon is so good with Logan. When we are out running errands sometimes a mom who looks like they have kids around the same age as mine will ask me how my older child is with my baby. My first thought is great! I guess I never really thought about it though because Jaxon really is a good big brother! He helps me with him and he knows to play softly but I know he's only 4 and I can't expect him to be perfect all the time, but to me he is! Logan thinks Jaxon is the funniest person ever-all Jaxon has to do is simply talk and Logan has a deep laugh-like the kind that when you laugh so hard it hurts! I can't wait for Logan to get big so Jaxon can have someone to play with!

Thanksgiving Program

2011-11-29T22:48:00.002-07:00

Jaxon's school did a Thanksgiving program at Kolob Care Center last week and it was great! The kids were all so cute and SMART! I'm surprised that Jaxon is so outgoing! I don't mind having to speak sometimes but Jaxon likes being the one with all the attention on him. He was good to speak when it was his turn and he even spoke loudly so every one could hear! The kids had made a handprint made into a turkey for all the patients and all the kids passed out a turkey handprint to all the patients. My friend's mom came to the program to watch her grandkid and one of the girls in the class handed her a handprint! She was laughing and said that's the last time she's sitting down! Judy her daughter was laughing so hard-It was pretty funny and the young grandma had a sense of humor about it!

Thanksgiving, Black Friday

2011-11-29T22:34:00.003-07:00

Oh I love Grandpa Staheli so much! There's just a special connection that we have, and he is such a sweet man! I'm so grateful he is our grandpa! We went to G&G Staheli's house after we had Thanksgiving at Jake's parents house! Jake has been working up at his parents house and the last time he went to see G&G they said to not come back until I come back with him! So we did! I haven't been up to Enterprise since Jake's sister, MaryLynn had her farewell so it was nice to be able to go to their house and visit with them for a few hours! I'm just mad I didn't get a pic with grandma and Logan. We were going to but then we'd get to talking and forget about it! Jaxon was tired and onry so no pics with him!

I got home just in time to drop off my stuff at home and headed over to Walmart at 10 for Black Friday! It worked out perfect because my friend was coming down from Enterprise and we shopped all day together! I got every thing I wanted to get and the lines werent too bad, but I have to admit I was wondering if I was ready for all the chaos because it was pretty chaotic at Walmart! I was just grabbing things to put in my cart and checking prices as I went! Then we headed to Kohls and Old Navy and then we went to the Boulevard Home Furnishings because my friend wanted a washer which they only had 10!! AHH we hadn't planned on staying in line and luckily her mother-on-law brought blankets for us and I kept asking Jenny if we were really doing this! I couldn't leave my pregnant friend to fend for herself so of course I stayed and we ended up getting the 10th voucher! Talk about lucky-I might have cried if she didn't get it! It was actually pretty fun talking to the people around us and staying warm with hot chocolate! Then we drove out to Hurricane to pick up her washer and went to Kmart and we were spent! I got some pretty awesome deals and I must say I'd do it again in a heartbeat! Overall it was a great day and even though I had no sleep until noon Friday it was worth it and I must say it's an adrenaline rush!

Chicken or Turkey

2011-11-29T22:25:00.001-07:00

My friend up the street did these cute turkey's for her daughters class and she brought a few she had left for Jaxon to do! He loved doing it and I was kind of surprised that he sat down and finished each chicken...as he called them!
Jaxon was done with me taking pictures, but I couldn't resist!

He was really concentrating and working hard to finish his turkey. We have 3 of them and he has taken a few eyes of and feathers, and then he will re-do them! I just might save these for next year, because I think they turned out very cute! My neighbors are so sweet to always think of Jaxon!

Christmas Concert

2011-11-29T20:56:00.011-07:00

Last night we went to the first concert for the Christmas Season at the tabernacle! I love going to the concerts there but for some reason we didn't go a lot last year! I was nervous taking a 7 month old because he can be loud sometimes ;) What baby isn't? He did pretty well, but I'm sure the people sitting behind us were annoyed but I want my kids to experience the concerts there, and going to the visitors center and enjoy (hopefully one day) the performing arts! More than half the group singing last night were our ward members! I had no idea that some of the people singing last night could sing...one talent I wish I had, but that doesn't stop me from singing in the car! It was so good and it has put us in the Christmas mood! Tonight we went to Bloomington to the Christmas lighting of the giant Christmas tree by Walmart! Santa came on a giant crane and handed out candy canes with M&M's inside! Jaxon got to see a few of his friends and watch some of them sing in a Christmas program! It was so fun I can't believe I never knew about it before!

My Grandma Hofler took all 7 of her grandkids to plays and every year we would go to "The Nutcracker." I LOVED that tradition and luckily Jake will go with me and he even enjoys it too! Jaxon really gets into it too-last night he was dancing and leading the music and having a great time! He is really good at hearing the beat to a song and picks it right up every time a new song starts! Jake and I hope he will have some kind of musical talent!

Afterwards we went Iceberg...Jaxon's favorite "corn dog and ice cream" place and I guess it was a great idea because all the people who sang at the concert came there for ice cream too! Our friends came to our table to say hi and I was in tears because Logan had just choked on a french fry and I had to dig down in his throat with my finger and got a HUGE chunk of french fries! Oh my heck I was so emotional but at the time when he was leaning back in his car seat the first reaction was to get him out he was gasping for air and trying to cough. It-was-scary. Every day I get to be a mom I'm amazed that things don't necessarily shock me until after it's over and then I'M SO EMOTIONAL and wonder how I reacted so quickly! So from now on it's only baby food, rice cereal, or milk. I'm so grateful for my kids and for getting to be with them every day.

Our neighbors brought a Christmas countdown calendar to Jaxon today. He has all ready opened a few of the days-what do ya expect from a 4 year old who loves chocolate and I wasn't going to worry about it if he wanted a few of them! I told him a few times that if he eats something for lunch, dinner then he could have a couple chocolates! I always loved those calendars!

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like...

2011-11-11T22:36:00.004-07:00

Jake took Jaxon to Enterprise today and I stayed with Logan. So what did we do today? Well put up the Christmas tree of course! Yes one of the Christmas trees is up and decorated! There's been times in the past that I have Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all up at the same time! Hey I'm just trying to make the most of my holidays! ;) I turned the lights on the one tree I have decorated but I closed my blinds because I know a few of my neighbors will give me a hard time about having Christmas up before Thanksgiving! Although Logan likes to watch the lights on the tree-he sat in the bouncy chair tonight and played and watched the tree and then went back to playing! This went on for almost an hour! Looks like he likes Christmas decorating as much as I do! It's the first time he's even seen a Christmas tree, and I just wonder what he thinks when he's looking at it because he just looks surprised every time he looks up at the tree! We have a busy weekend but it's nice to have Jake home more than just Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday! He's been working out of town during the week since August and it's been so nice getting to see him every night...but he said he refuses to help me decorate the trees until after Thanksgiving, but I just can't wait! I love Christmas!

Ugg! My Stuff is Messed Up

2011-11-11T22:33:00.003-07:00

Somehow I changed the layout of my blog...yes I remember how I did it but I was just trying messing around and now it's not how I wanted it AT ALL! The background is wrong, and the picture on the top bothers me, and the font is wrong too! I thought I was so cool learning something new but instead I messed it up and I don't know how to fix it!

My Life as a Smuggler

2011-11-10T19:58:00.004-07:00

I found this article on "Mormon Mommy Blogs" entitled "My Life as a Smuggler." I just thought it was hilarious...maybe because my mom and I would probably do the same thing! When we were at Swiss Days this last September we brought our own Diet Coke to drink, and a few people actually asked my mom where we got them because they wanted to buy some! Anyway I know that there's a lot of people who might get a kick out of this story about a lady who went to a conference at BYU, knowing Diet Coke wouldn't be available on campus-I just got a kick out of it because I think I could relate, so I had to share!

I went to BYU for a conference a while back and I knew that I wouldn't be able to get a Diet Coke on Campus. I knew this from past experiences of being Diet Coke-less. Or, more directly, Caffeine infused Diet Coke-less. The other stuff is just brown flavored water. Why even bother?

My pal DeNae and I stocked up on our crack at the local gas station along with some chocolate so that we could summon our mojo from those stingy creative gods.

I was wandering around lost, apparently flaunting my naughty Diet Coke, when I stumbled up to the information desk at BYU to have the cute girl help this sad lost soul. A woman came up behind me and pointed at my glorious juice of the gods and then looked at the person behind the desk as if to say "Are you KIDDING me?"

She said "Where... where.... WHERE can you get this on CAMPUS?"

I smiled my all knowing smile, and said that you couldn't get this sweet goodness on campus, but that I had actually stocked up before I arrived.

She huffed: "Well. You know, Caffeine isn't allowed... Or is it?" And gave a knowing, nodding glance to the students.

I laughed, and said "Oh I know they don't sell caffeine on campus. I "smuggled" it onto campus. I bring it every year for the Women's Conference so that I can survive.

She snorted at me.

Oh yes she did.

She totally snorted at me.

She looked at the students and said "Can she have this here? It has caffeine in it."

They said that they weren't "affiliated" with caffeine, so they couldn't respond to that question.

Really?

You're not "affiliated" with caffeine?

When he calls, do just hang up on him? Do you slam the door in his face when he rings the bell?

What do you mean you're not "affiliated" with caffeine?

"WELL", the crazy-lady said "It's against the rules here. I know that smoking is not allowed on campus, so I'm not going to light up. I go to my car to drink my caffeine Diet Coke. You need to put that away."

And then she took my Diet Coke and put it inside my coat pocket.

Yes. She did.

She totally TOUCHED my Diet Coke. And. AND! She put it underneath my coat, as if to hide my sins.

I promptly took my Diet Coke back and placed it on the counter while saying: "I don't hide my sins under a bushel, I flaunt them for all the world to see."

She didn't think that was very funny, so being the consummate performer that I am, I put that Diet Coke right back underneath my jacket and then turned very slowly towards her and while opening my jacket (to expose my Diet Coke) I said in a deep gravely voice: "Hey little girl, wanna buy a Diet Coke?"

----

No Bananas

2011-11-07T13:39:00.005-07:00

I took the kids to the pediatrician this morning, and Logan is of course still in the 95 percentile for his height and weight. I wasn't too shocked because Jaxon was always that way UNTIL TODAY! Jaxon is now in the 75th percentile for his height and weight...yes he's still a big kid but finally at 4 years old he's not in the 99th (well for right now anyway)! He didn't have to do any shots because he was caught up on them, until he goes to kindergarten. I could do the shots between now and when he starts kindergarten so I decided to wait-he was soooo worried about getting shots today-and so we just did the flu mist in his nose-he was a lot more calm about that! Dr Karl is so cute with Jaxon-he kept asking Jaxon to if he could see if there were any bananas in his ears and tummy, and Jaxon thought that was hilarious!He kept telling me on the way their he just wanted to go to my doctor (meaning the baby doctor from when I was pregnant with Logan) because he says its fun there! Ya fun for him because every time we would go to Dr. Thompson's office he would always get a sticker and a sucker-for no pain ;)

Logan on the other hand had to have shots-I of course was more worried about it because he didn't know what was coming to him! So when they gave him the first 2 shots he just stared with a panic look on his face and then it came SCREAMS!! When this baby is mad he definately lets everyone know about it! After the last 2 were done he got crayon bandaids and then I picked him up to snuggle and comfort him and he was still mad...and then he looked at the lady who gave him the shots and he smiled so big-and he's been fine ever since! Thank goodness! Logan had some tylenol and he's now as happy as can be! When my kids get their shots it doesn't affect them too much, thankfully! Now he's back to Mr. Smiley!

Painting Pumpkins

2011-10-26T18:23:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we painted pumpkins! Jake and I helped Jaxon with his pumpkin and then I had fun doing it I went a bought another pumpkin for myself to paint! Both the boys fell asleep early Saturday night so I worked on my pumpkin! I've never actually carved a pumpkin-I know I know, but painting is just as fun and it's alot less mess!

Here is mine....it's Tink!

Scary Skeletons

2011-10-26T18:09:00.004-06:00

Jaxon and Logan are skeletons this year for Halloween! Last night we had a ward primary costume party and they both wore their costumes! They had so much fun I had to get a picture of them together before Halloween is over! Jaxon has gotten good use out of his costume! They are pajamas and he wore them to enrichment night and he'll probably wear it tomorrow at school for the costume party! The best part is that on Halloween we can just come home and he can go right to sleep in his jammies ;) We experimented with some face paint today for the costume party tomorrow and let me just say I am no artist, but Jaxon loved having it done so of course it was worth trying!

Jaxon wanted Logan to look at me, so he thought he needed a little help! My mom got their costumes and they even glow in the dark!

Look Who's Sitting Up!

2011-10-26T17:36:00.005-06:00

Logan is 6 months all ready and I can't believe it! In the last few days he has started to scoot! He doesn't scoot like Jaxon did though (Jaxon would scoot around on his bum, causing major holes in many outfits)! Logan scoots on his back-it's so crazy to me! I was talking to my mom earlier and I was telling her about how he started scooting around on the floor and we both couldn't believe it! Jaxon also never crawled-he went from scooting to walking so it will be interesting to see if the scooting on the back thing is here to stay for Mr. Logan! I think that the querky things like that make me love my kids even more!

Green Fairy Quilts 2011CharityVideo

2011-09-20T00:58:00.001-06:00

These are some friends of ours who own "Green Fairy Quilts" which is based in St. George. Every year they go to Romania to hand out quilts, school supplies, and food by people who have donated. 100% of the donations go to the people of Romania.Clint and Judi pay their transportation, lodging etc. I just think that's so incredible! Watching this makes me want to do something to make a difference in someone's life. They are so lucky to see the impact they have made on the people who receive their donations. I guess I just want to help them in hopes that even if 1 person sees this and wants to donate-they will! They go every year to hand out donated items, and it makes you realize just how lucky are to live in America! Why would anyone want to leave it, right? The blog for "Green Fairy Quilts" is http://greenfairyquilts.blogspot.com/...and oh to be as talented as she is!

First day of Preschool!

2011-08-23T23:47:00.002-06:00

Today was the first day of preschool for Jaxon! Jaxon was so excited this morning and kept asking me a million questions like who was going to be at school, if he was going to ride the bus, and he realized I was driving him he wanted to make sure I was dropping him off and NOT staying (and if I was going to be home)! I'm so excited for him too! I'm excited for him to be with other kids and to learn. His preschool teacher has some amazing ideas and he's excited for field trips and being with his friends. He really just loves learning and he's been ready to go to school for a long time! I'm wondering if I'll get used to having a few hours without him, because he is my best friend! I wonder if all parents are lucky enough to feel that way.

Roy Pool

2011-08-17T15:09:00.005-06:00

We got to go to the Roy Pool with my sister and her kids and my cousin Jessica and her kids! Amber, Jessica, and I were always really close growing up and now it's fun that our kids are all around the same age too! Even though we live farther away from each other now, we still try to get together and hang out when we go up north! The kids all had so much fun together! We got a great spot right by edge of the pool! The kids loved the splash pad and frog slide, and the moms enjoyed sitting at in the water and getting some sun! It's nice to be out in the sun and not feel like you live in a sauna (like St. George)! I feel like we did more things this past two weeks than we have all summer!
Livin' the good life poolside :)

Sorry this is sideways-I gave up on trying to make it right :)

Jaxon and Chase

Chase, Brody, Jaxon, and Brooklyn

Fun at Bear Lake

2011-08-17T14:51:00.004-06:00

We went to Bear Lake for the day and enjoyed the beach! My mom and sister and I went with the kids along with my sister's husband and his family. The kids had a lot of fun building sand castles and playing in the water! I havent been to Bear Lake for years it was fun to go and relax and not be too hot! Raspberry Days was just starting and we also got to enjoy a raspberry shake-because you can't go to Bear Lake w/o having a raspberry shake! I love driving through Logan and Brigham too! We saw the Brigham temple, which reminds me alot of the Salt Lake temple, and we also saw the house where my Grandpa Hofler grew up!

Building sand castles!

South Weber Days!

2011-08-17T14:23:00.008-06:00

South Weber is just below my parents neighborhood and while we were up north South Weber Days was going on and we went to the fun parade and got a lot of candy and some pool toys! The kids had fun playing on the bounce houses, eating snow cones, playing at the park, and seeing papa's car in the car show!
Jaxon and Brooklyn riding the train!

Everyone at the parade

Brooklyn and Jaxon doing the chicken dance

Logan, sleeping of course.

Brylie enjoying the parade-I just love her she's so dang cute!

Camping Fun!

2011-07-19T15:09:00.003-06:00

This last weekend we had the Staheli family reunion, so we decided to go camping in Pine Valley since it's pretty close to the ranch! Our friends Angelina and Jarred were camping next to us and we all had a good time! Our boys are the same age so they had a lot of fun together! I love Pine Valley! It's so pretty and Jake can go fishing at the lake and catch fish for us for our lunch and dinner! It was fun for all of us! It was the first time we went camping as a family, and Jake cooked the entire time so why wouldn't I love it?!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-08T19:25:00.002-06:00

I have more pictures to upload but I've been so lazy about doing my blog lately! We spent a day up at Pine Valley fishing and relaxing and then we went up to Jake's parents house and spent the night and hung out in Enterprise for the day. Jaxon had fun doing the races and we enjoyed a cute program at the high school that they do every year! We got home to see the end of the fireworks but it was nice to be home and not out driving around-because there was so much traffic everywhere! Cars were even going up Webb Hill for quite a ways. There was a fire that started just before you get into our neighborhood because some people were lighting the fireworks that shoot in the air, so that was a little crazy! I love this picture of my cute boys! Hope everyone had a great 4th

Good Thing....cause I was worried

2011-06-23T22:48:00.003-06:00

I'm extremely hopeful that my crib parts are delivered to me soon! I heard about them being recalled and the manufacturer was going to send out a new order....I sent for them in the beginning of April...it's now almost July and they still havent come! Good thing I ordered them before Logan was born, because he probably would have all ready outgrown his crib if I sent for them any later! But there is some good news-I just got an email again about them being delivered by Fed-Ex, and they should arrive within 5-7 business days. Good thing, cause I was worried, not that I'm holding my breath or anything but Logan needs to start sleeping in his crib sometime soon, because he is going to be too big to sleep in the bassinet!

Our Bundle of Joy!

2011-05-11T22:08:00.000-06:00

Our baby boy has finally arrived! He is so sweet and reminds me so much of Jaxon when he was a baby. His name is Logan Grant Gardner! He was born on April 27, 2011 at 9:24 pm. He weighed 8 pds. 10 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long! I can't believe he is all ready 2 weeks old, but I have enjoying every second of it! He wakes up every 2-3 hours, not at all like his big brother who slept through the night-so that has been an adjustment! He is so alert, and has beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair-which I'm sure will change but I love that for now he is a blondee! I feel like a zombie walking around not being able to think clearly and thinking that everything is hilarious! I'm not a typical new mommy I guess-pain pills tend to either make me really sleepy and generally everything is hilarious (just ask my sister and Jake the few days after I delivered)! There I was April 29 in my hospital bed watching the royal wedding at 4 am because I was up with the baby! The first few days he was up almost every hour! A lot of the staff at the hospital were celebrating the royal wedding! Labor and delivery had name tags of names of many of the royal wedding attendees and they even had cake/cupcakes and made a fun night of it-but ya gotta make some kind of fun when your on the night shift! So that's one thing I'll never forget where I was the day of the royal wedding!

It's fun to see Jake be the new proud daddy again and see him be in a protective role :) I worried about how Jaxon would react, and now I wonder why I felt that way because he is such a GREAT brother! He loves to hold the baby and he tries to sooth him, and checks on him quite often-he too is a proud big brother. Most people who have come to see him are surprised how little he looks because he weighed 8 pds-I think it's because he is so long-he weighed 2 pounds heavier than Jaxon and he is 2 1/2 inches longer than Jaxon! So many of our friends have stopped by to see our little guy and brought gifts and dinner and I'm so grateful! I forget how great it is to have a new baby, and to have that special presence of a new little bundle of joy. I'm trying to take in every second, because they don't stay little for too long, and he's completely worth losing sleep over!

Marry me mommy!

2011-04-05T12:10:00.003-06:00

He is asking me to marry him...he says he got that from "Tangled" he also always plays with my hair and tells me it looks like punzels (Repunzel's) hair!

Today Jaxon cleaned his room, dressed himself, and even brushed his teeth this morning without a fight and I wanted to jump for joy!

He was so excited to go to the baby doctor yesterday-he likes to call him "the baby doctor" and every time someone's name was called to go see the doctor he got so excited and thought it was for us and yelled "ok time to go see the baby doctor mommy, YA HOO!" Luckily the office staff didn't get annoyed because sometimes he can get overly excited! We heard the baby's heartbeat, which Jaxon talks about all the time-he always kisses my tummy and tells his brother he loves him! He asked me yesterday if I was going to have my baby today and I told him no it's just an appointment and he was so bummed but I couldn't help but laugh a little because he kept saying "OH MAN, but I want to see him!" Every time I have a contraction or I'm just not feeling good he is always there to hug me and ask me if I'm ok. I'm down to weekly appointments now and every time I go, my blood pressure gets lower and lower. This is a good thing because it was just the opposite when I was prego with Jaxon! Dr. Thompson asked me if I was ready and I said I'm not sure ;) although all the baby clothes are washed and put away, the crib is up (still can't find the missing pieces though) but I need to pack a bag-which is a must for me to do because Jake packed a bag for me last time and he forgot some things, but it was a sweet gesture! I'm getting so excited I can hardly stand it! The only thing I really worry about is that I go into labor and my family won't be here yet! There's just nothing like having your family around to support you! My family is always there for me and has been at every major milestone (and the small ones too) that I keep worrying about being in pain at the hospital without them there ;) my family will all be here for Easter, so I think it would be convenient then don't you?! I was just thinking I'll go ahead and pencil that in on my calendar! HAHA If only that's how it really worked!

Clean Freak!

2011-03-30T10:22:00.004-06:00

Lately I have been going going going! I love it, and it's probably the best thing about being pregnant! Jake says I'm nesting-I've always hated that phrase, not sure why but I do! So there! Last week I was cleaning out closets, washing baby clothes and bedding and put my crib up all by myself (Pat on my back, I'm not one to put things together by myself)! I just have one problem, I can't find two pieces to my crib! Our crib converts into a toddler bed so Jaxon slept in it before we got him a big boy bed. The crib is put together with the bedding, but I can't find the plastic pieces that hold up the front of the crib-which is kinda important to have right?! I think I'm so motivated to clean things is mostly to find those two pieces! I cleaned out our storage room yesterday and now it's ALOT more organized! My mama would be proud! Today I have been organizing my scrapbook stuff, something that needed some major TLC! As a bonus, I found some Mickey Mouse/Disneyland scrapbook stuff so now I can scrapbook our pictures from Disneyland!

Hmmm I've got to find those dang things! We also can't decide on a name! I'm not too stressed but it makes it a lot easier if you have a name at the hospital! A lady in my ward said she didn't name her son until he was 3 months old! WHOA that's a long time to go without a name! Of course, if we just went with Jaxon's pic it would be Buzz! I thought it would be fun to go with another "J" name but Jake's not a big fan of having having all his kids names start with the same letter.

Anyone?

2011-03-29T10:50:00.003-06:00

Lately I love to look at blogs, especially craft blogs ideas for teaching-basically I look at blogs every day because I love getting good deals on couponing sites and that's where I hear about great deals! I love looking at loved ones blogs because frankly I love to see what people are doing with their lives and I love to see when someone has created something and shared with the world because a lot of us need to find inspiration from somewhere! But I have one question...where is everyone these days? I think Facebook has a lot to do with it! Maybe people don't like to blog as much as I do either but I also think of blogging as a kind of journal that we are documenting. If I ever wanted make a blog book or create my own book from my blog in the future I will be so glad that I had something to create a book with! I love to scrapbook, but sometimes organizing all the pictures and getting everything out to make a big mess just doesn't appeal to me as much because I know I will only get one page done and still have a gigantic mess to clean up! Anyway I hope one day the Facebook trend will also fade and people will come back to blogging...ok I'll get off my soapbox now! It's time to go enjoy this beautiful 60+ degree weather we are having! I planted some flowers yesterday:

I hope this brings a little happiness to those who are tired of the cold weather!
XOXO

My SuperHERO!

2011-03-28T15:19:00.004-06:00

My sister bought this for him when we were in Disneyland! He's so funny when he puts on the mask because he is transformed into a character he's made up in his head, and you're not allowed to call him Jaxon, because that's not who he is at the moment! Yesterday I was helping him in the bathroom and out of no where he says "ohhh, you're so sweet" and gave me a big smacker right on the cheek and the biggest hug (he loves to squeeze really hard when he hugs)! I love my little man and I wish he would slow down, because time really goes by fast. He always talks about wanting to go to school and wanting to be the big kid, but he's still my little baby, who is a HUGE tease, right now he's wanting me to give him a kiss and when I go to kiss him, he backs away and laughs-I love this stinker!

A few more weeks and counting!

2011-03-26T11:51:00.004-06:00

So we are READY! Ready for this little guy to come be with us! I have been cleaning everything in sight and I have taken 4 loads just this week to the DI, which is quite an accomplishment for me because I have the hardest time getting rid of things! My sister really helped me get started when she and my mom were here last week and ever since then I have been getting rid of clothes I havent worn since WAY before I was married and decor that I've had so long that it was time to get rid of, because like my sister says "this place is no longer a bachelor pad!" I just wish I had her sense of design ;) Slowly I'll start to redecorate but as you can tell, I just need a little help!

Just a few insights I have realized:

-The only time I have ever really cooked in our marriage has been when I've been pregnant! When I say that, I mean more than just grilled cheese and tomato soup!

-I forgot how absent minded I can really be. This time I feel more of an airhead than I was with Jaxon, so maybe the more kids you have the worse it gets? If so, I'm in TROUBLE!

-This one's no surprise, but not all pregnancies are alike! We are having another boy but this time I have had a lot of issues from my teeth, feeling nausiated to bladder infections, my nose is stuffy a lot but without the cold, and my back hurts. The only thing that helps is taking a bath sometimes but Jaxon always ends up throwing all his toys in the water! With Jaxon, I never experienced anything but at the end having toxemia and being delivered 3 weeks early, man I sure took that for granted!

-How much I would forget to do or have done if it wasn't for my family! Just last night my mom was reminding me to get clothes together for Jaxon in case we go in early! Which got me thinking about the restrictions at the hospital for children not being able to come into the rooms or anything, and if there's still restrictions I worry about what we will do with Jaxon, and if I'm away from him too long I'm going to miss him! Crossing my fingers he will be able to stay with me till my family comes if I go in early!

-Last but not least, how I really try to not drink anything after a certain time of night because two nights ago I got up 4 times in the middle of the night because I know I drank too much, but thank heaven for that delicious cranberry-raspberry juice that has helped me with bladder infections! They are not fun and I've had more than I can count since October. I feel bad for a friend of mine who has them all the time!

These are a few things I can't live without, especially since I'm toward the end of my pregnancy these are just a few simple things that I've enjoyed!

You're probably wondering what the heck this is! I call it my roller ball thingy! My neighbor gave it to my when I was training for the marathon to help stretch my calf muscles because I was getting shin splints and she uses it to do all kinds of stretching! I have LOVED this for my back-if you lay and roll on it and try to relax, it pops your back-heaven sent for a pregnant lady!

cocoa butter moisturizing lotion! This is my favorite lotion and it smells good, but not over-powering. I don't know if there's any miracle cream for stretch marks, but I have loved using this lotion through-out my entire pregnancy.

Ahh warm fuzzy socks! I have a million pairs of these in all sorts of colors! It's nice to have something soft on your feet!

Foot Works Lotion/Cracked heel cream! I've been trying to use this more lately because I don't want to have gross cracked feet when I'm in labor/delivery (I know no one will probably even notice!)

Happiest Place on Earth!

2011-02-23T10:51:00.011-07:00

We went to Disneyland over Valentines with my family and had so much fun! We enjoyed nice weather, short lines, and it was so fun that Jaxon knew most the "creatures" as my neice calls the Disney characters! We LOVED the "World of Color" water/laser show in California Adventure and enjoyed watching the fireworks in Disneyland right outside our hotel room! We love Disneyland!
Jake and Jaxon waiting to drive the cars!

Goofy was the first character we saw and Jaxon was yelling to say hi to him!!

One of Jake's favorite rides-Midway Mania! Jaxon did pretty well at this game too!

Meeting Mater and McQueen! Jaxon kept telling us that those cars don't talk, or move!

Dumbo! This was Jaxon's favorite ride-he's still talking about the Dumbo ride and says it's his favorite one!

The kids right after meeting Minnie!

All four of us on "Small World"

Complete Exhaustion! I miss you ;)

2011-02-09T18:00:00.003-07:00

This is not the most flattering picture, but I miss this-that feeling of COMPLETE exhaustion from a good long run...
I'm thinking that my days of running are coming to an end...for a few months anyways! I have really enjoyed being able to run through-out my pregnancy but just yesterday I did my usual walk up Foremaster Ridge and ran the length of the top of the hill, and then slowly jogged down and then I reached the bottom of the hill and waited to cross the street, after traffic stopped at the stop light, of course! I continued a ways until all of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen, which felt just like a cramp when you need to drink more water and then my body just told me "NO MORE CRAZY LADY!" Mentally I was feeling good, but my body seriously was TIRED. My amazing doctor has told me that he has no problem with me staying active and he's all for running, but just yesterday he told me it's going to get harder to run, and that I shouldn't be pushing the limit! Ugg, running is my "me" time..it's when I clear my head and turn up my tunes on my Ipod and love to feel my lungs burning a little! He told me that I can continue walking but it's just crazy to me that the day after my appointment is when my body decides to listen to my doctors advice..hello?! I thought it was mind over matter. I guess I'm just trying to keep my body in shape because I don't want to me in labor again for 56 hours! I want to be able to still indulge and enjoy some foods so I run. I am very proud of myself, and I don't run to impress anyone-but I have gotten some funny stares from people passing by in their cars probably thinking that running and pregnant ladies don't mix! I do it for me. Ok I guess I'm a bit competetive, and I would never want to push myself too hard to the point that it's dangerous. I've only gained 7 pounds my entire pregnancy...and I wish I could say that I only eat healthy foods, and no soda but I can't! The doctor said whatever it is I'm doing, just keep doing it because it's working for me...when I told him that it's mostly chocolate, Diet Coke (with lemon) he just laughs! I just HOPE that I can continue to feel good and stay active, even if it means I gotta hang up my running shoes for a bit!

Here's a Few More!

2011-02-02T13:20:00.002-07:00

A few more that I made with Jake's help of course!

AMOUR

2011-01-28T12:07:00.004-07:00

My friend Tasha made some really cute wood blocks a few days ago and I thought maybe I could make something too! I didn't want to copy hers because after all, it was her idea but I'm glad she didn't get sick of me bothering her yesterday with my questions...it was kind of hard for me at first because I like to see the finshed product before it's finished-so in other words I'm not too creative with thinking up my own craft ideas! Yes-I made these, I can hardly believe I finished a craft project! It's amazing that I even finished one of my projects. I started making it last night and it's finished today! Jake helped me by cutting out the blocks from a job that he did. I have a TON of scrapbook paper and I sorted through all the Valentine paper I had and decided I wanted to do Amour, which I'm sure you all know means Love. I have a few different sets of wood blocks that say Love so I decided to do Amour! Now that I'm finished with this project I'm excited to start something else-I've seen a lot of cute ideas that I want to do!

Making Crayons!

2011-01-26T12:21:00.006-07:00

This morning Jaxon and I made our own crayons! I had a few crayons that have are broken and Jaxon won't color with broken crayons, and neither will the primary kids so I decided to melt them in a tin can on the stove and then pour them into empty pill bottles. It only takes about 10 minutes for the wax to set up and I let Jaxon pick out the order of the colors. I used the same can to melt each color which changed the colors a little bit but it was a fun project to make! We used a crayon maker this weekend and let me just say if there is anyone considering buying this DON'T! The box makes it look like your going to get these fun swirly colors, but in all reality all you get is something that looks like the color of baby poop! HA HA Or you get one dominant color when you're trying to mix the colors. Once you get the crayon wrapper off then it's easy to just put it in the tin can and turn your stove on low heat and it melt within seconds, as opposed to the "Crayon Maker" that takes about 20 minutes for 4 itsy bitsy crayons-which they might as well be broken because the kids just won't color with crayons that arent quite an inch long! Anyway, now I feel like Oprah-like the time she commented about beef and then got sued! I hope there arent any Crayon Maker advocates waiting to serve me papers now! I'm just sayin' it's easy when you have a stove, a pan, a tin can (who doesn't have a can of soup or something), and empty pill bottles to use. But just a bit of advice if you're going to do this, I would use the smaller pill bottles, because I used both big and smaller bottles and the bigger crayon broke all ready and it's was kind of big for Jaxon to grasp. He all ready wants to make more but I just can't bring myself to breaking crayons for this purpose, esp. when they are Crayola crayons-I just like Crayola crayons better than the Dollar Store Crayons but maybe it's just in my head!

Picking out the colors-he's wearing a Harmon's apron just his size that Randy Harmon gave him when we were at Harmon's a few weeks ago-it fits him perfectly! All he needs is a bakers hat!
Picking out colors

Pouring Wax into the pill bottle

Coloring with Spiderman-he's really been into Spiderman and Ironman and I just found out Disney bought Marvel so maybe we will see these characters in Disneyland! I'm hoping to be able to ride some rides while being prego though, no Tower of Terror for me though!

Finished product

Jaxon wanted to take a picture of us making crayons...wow now that's a closeup-whatever you do, don't look at my eyebrows!

If any of my friends do this fun little project PLEASE post your pics-I want to see how they turn out and maybe you could give me a few suggestions for next time!

Fun with Grandma and Papa

2011-01-26T12:02:00.004-07:00

Grandma and Papa came down this week and we've been having so much fun playing Candy Land, going to the park and of course shopping! Even Papa and Daddy played a round of Candy Land with us! Jaxon picks out what character we are going to play (this version has fun characters, bridges, and a castle), Jaxon is always the "Candyman", Grandma is the Queen, Mommy is the "Birdie", and Papa is well, "the papa!" You have to see the Papa, because he has a beard just like Papa Keith has! Even when Jake plays, Jaxon makes him be the "The Papa!" I forgot how fun this game is and we have honestly played it at least 50 times if not more this past week! I'm amazed at how fast he has learned his colors-he has another Candy Land carpet game that has giant Gingerbread men that he likes too but I think he loves to play the board game with the cute characters!
Jaxon LOVES Candy Land

Grandma and Papa playing a good old fashioned game of Candy Land

Making Crayons

Fun at the Treehouse!

2011-01-11T11:14:00.003-07:00

While we were up north a few weekends ago, my sister and I took our kids to The Treehouse! I wish we had something like it in St. George! The kids have so much fun just running around and trying on costumes, playing with the toys, doing puzzles and playing games on the computers! There's usually a craft to make in one area and this time it was a word worm! I thought it was a cute idea, but Jaxon has a short atttention span and so I finished it for him! This place is great for all ages and I think it has something for everyone! It's fun to just be able to let your kids play and run around! We can't wait to go again!

My Little Saver!

2010-12-29T11:49:00.003-07:00

I hate change...like money change! It seems like it's always in Jake's pockets when I do the laundry and he leaves extra change on the night stand, sometimes I never know where I might find a penny, or dime but sometimes if I'm really lucky I might find a quarter when I'm doing the laundry-and feel like I just got a raise HAHA! I've had a plastic Eiffel Tower, which is broken and only holds so much coins anyway, but I was tired of change being everywhere so I started to make sure everytime I see money anywhere in the house I would put it in the broken tower! Jaxon loves to put money in his big crayola crayon bank and he gets so excited every time he gets to do it! Hopefully he will always be a good saver! The other day I decided I'm getting rid of all the change in the house and went to put it in one of Jaxon's bank accounts...well Jake and I both bet on how much money was in the change, including some quarters my Grandma Hofler gives all the grandkids and Jake guessed around $24.50 and I guessed $29.17...our bank has a counter for change like the COINSTAR, but it's free! The only thing bad about it is how loud the machine is and it's right in the front of the lobby at the bank so I just kept dumping and dumping until finally it was all gone and then the reciept printed, and I was AMAZED how much was in there-$141.41 WOW I was so excited and thought that maybe I should have waited till our baby boy comes and put it in his account but we are starting over now and he will get the next round of change! So while I still dislike change very much, I am obsessed with putting change in our broken tower-maybe I should just buy a new bank! I'm thinking I should be happy that my husband has the extra change laying around because it's been entertaining for me!

More Than Excited!!!

2010-12-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we found out we are having a BOY!! We are MORE than excited and can't wait for another little boy to come! Jaxon asks about the baby a lot and yesterday after finding out what we are having, we asked him what he wanted to name him and he said Buzz...not at all surprised! Jake will ask him where the baby is sometimes and he always says "he went home" (home is my tummy)! Yesterday Jaxon asked when he was coming and tells me he wants to hold the baby. He told us he wants to share his room with him and wants to help feed/change the baby! He loves babies and I think he really does get that he is having a brother-whenever we see a baby in public or on tv he yells "LOOK AT THE CUTE BABY MOMMY!" I've had a few issues with this pregnancy with my teeth for some reason, and I've either had a cold or a bladder infection but I really can't complain because I was able to run the marathon and keep running!

A lot of people have asked me what I want to have and I really couldn't decide because Jaxon will LOVE having a brother but girls are fun too, so yesterday when we found out it was a boy I was SOOOO excited-boys are so fun! This baby is very active and he's measuring just about a week smaller, but everything looks great! A couple times he waved his arm in the ultrasound and I told Jaxon he was waving to him! I was going to wrap up the ultrasound pictures they gave us (there's a lot, and they are big pics) and wait to open in Christmas Eve but I just couldn't and I'm all ready looking at things for baby boys! We really couldn't be more excited and feel more blessed! We have had a great year and I can't think of a better way to end the year than expecting a baby!

First Time at the Dentist

2010-12-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

My boy is SOOO brave! I think he's even more brave than me ;) I just hoped that he would have inherited Jakes teeth-Jake has good teeth, while mine-well I've had issues lately, with 3 root canals since February and I've been told I have soft teeth...anyway here are some cute pictures of my brave little man!

Brushing the Dino's teeth-this kept him content he's been into dinosaurs lately!

Watching Toy Story! He was getting so excited and started shouting at the TV-he gets excited for anything Toy Story!

He loves this thing! Maybe I should look into getting him a dinosaur that has teeth so he can brush them...maybe then it won't have a fight every night to brush his!

Playing-the dental assistant was tickling him with the dino and he loved every minute of it!

Today was the first time Jaxon has gone to the dentist! He was such a good sport about having x-rays taken and while his teeth were cleaned! EVERYONE was so nice that they almost made me even forget I was at the dentist because the dental assistant played with Jaxon and she was so patient with him! There was a couple times he got frustrated (who can blame him) and she was so cute with him! They have video games, movies, and a playhouse in the waiting area and after he was all done they gave him a balloon and let him pick out any book he wanted-he picked "Ratatouille." Although he was such a good sport, we got the bad news that he has cavities and a tooth that has chipped off! Since he's so young and has breathing problems they will be performing everything at the hospital with a local anesthetic in January. I can't believe I was just going in for a checkup-so if you have never taken your kids to the dentist I suggest you do it earlier rather than later! I'm just so suprised-I never knew that this was ever performed in a hospital! I'm told there are 3 in St. George and they have done thousands! I was also wondering about his "snaggle-tooth" (it's his front tooth that looks like it could have been two teeth that have formed together) and the dentist was not concerned-he said it's quite common, not normal, but common-not the first time we've heard this!

WALMART...
Jaxon's pediatrian told us just last week that when he passes out after falling that it's something thats common but again not normal! Jaxon will sometimes fall and get REALLY REALLY mad and hold his breath until he passes out-very scary for mommy! Just last week he did it again while we were at Walmart. After falling on his forehead in front of the store on the concrete, he passed out and I ran in the store screaming for someone to help me! I was so scared and I just handed Jaxon off to a guy (who was probably thinking "what do you want me to do lady") and he squeezed Jaxon's cheeks and put his finger in his mouth and moved his tongue around and said he thought he choked on his tongue (my pediatrician isn't too sure about that) and then Jaxon finally woke up and started screaming. He has done this a few other times and it's always when he has hurt himself after falling down. He fell asleep for a while after all ready having a nap earlier that day. I get nervous thinking he could have a concussion after hard falls on the concrete! Every time this has happened, he sleeps for hours, which also made me nervous, but the doctor isnt too concerned with iron levels or anything serious, and that he even falls asleep for a while it happens (THANK HEAVEN), and said hopefully this (along with his asthma/breathing issues) will be something he grows out of-we can only hope!

Live Nativity

2010-12-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

It really was this cold, especially because we sat on the back row and there was a cold breeze blowing on us! Love my hair in my face LOL!

This weekend I went to the live Nativity at Tuacahn with friends Jenny and Tasha! We had so much fun seeing Santa, having hot cocoa, and watching the live nativity. I was so excited to take Jaxon but he fell asleep so he stayed home with dad, but I definately want to take my boys to see it! I always have so much fun when I'm with these two! It was the first time I got to meet Tasha's baby, Rydge and he is soooo handsome! I forget how small babies can be when they are newborns. I wanted to hold Kodi, Jenny's baby but she was not having it-she is so cute I just wanted to take her home with me, and Kash wasnt sure what to think about me ;) we just need to get together more often and maybe the kids won't be so shy with me! I'm so glad I got the chance to go-it was the first year I've ever gone and the show was great!

What We've Been up to

2010-12-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

This year we were at my parents house for Thanksgiving. We of course went shopping Black Friday and didn't even sleep that night! We had a lot of fun driving up to Park City and going to the outlets that opened Thanksgiving night! Then we drove back down the canyon and went to the Layton Hills Mall and Target. The line for Target was CRAZY! It wrapped all the way around the back of the store and once we got inside the store it was a madhouse! People were running and the lines were SO LONG. We knew exactly what we wanted though and split up to get everything and my mom stood in line which was so smart because it saved a lot of time! We had a lot of fun!

The girls went to see "The Forgotten Carols" and I loved every minute of it! I've been able to see it twice and it is just what I needed to put me in the Christmas Spirit!

Amber and I took our kids to see "Tangled" which is the best Disney movie I've seen! We had so much fun and it was so cute to watch Jaxon...he would get nervous seeing the scary lady and he would grab my hand and then when it wasn't scary anymore he would push my hand away-he's so independent sometimes! Grandma and Papa spoil him and Grandma even let him have a present early!

We Love to Party!

2010-11-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went up north to celebrate Jaxon's birthday and go to two baby blessings! It was the perfect getting to go to my neice's baby blessing and to see my cousins baby boy be blessed. It actually worked out perfect because both blessing were at different times so we were able to make it to both and see my cousins baby for the first time! It's funny how you forget how little babies are when they are first born! It was fun getting to spend time with family and having a fun birthday party for Jaxon with my family! He got a ton of fun presents from my sisters and money to put in his bank from my parents! Lately he loves to get money and put it in the bank...I hope that means he will be good about saving as he gets older!! Thank you to my family for all the fun presents...we've all ready watched "Stitch" (as Jaxon calls it) and the Letter Factory movies many times and he loves taking pictures with his camera! He is excited to make snow cones with Sponge Bob-who he is obsessed with! Every night he picks out his pajamas and 99.9% of the time he picks SpongeBob PJ's and SpongeBob underwear and carries a Spongebob....and of course watches SpongeBob! He also got a helmet to wear when he rides his scooter and bike! He was definately spoiled this year, but I think he's completely worth it!

Dinosaur Park!

2010-11-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

When we were up north for Brylie's baby blessing we celebrated Jaxon's birthday with my family! My sister Amber and my neice Brooklyn treated us to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden! Ever since our family went to a Dinosaur museum in Vernal, Jaxon loves to see the dinosaurs! They had so much fun running around and imitating the dinosaurs!

We had to feed the ducks too...even though we live right by a duck pond, they wanted to feed the ducks there too! We also went digging for fossils-which was really more brushing off fossils with a paintbrush! We saw a lot of rocks, and other animals in the prehistoric age inside the museum, but the kids had the most fun at the park outside!

I thought this was a great imitation!

They are really trying hard to scare us!

Thank you Amber and Brooklyn for taking us!! Jaxon still is talking about the Dinosaur Park and it's been 3 weeks!!

Helping Papa...maybe

2010-11-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn and Jaxon "helping" Papa Keith with the leaves! My parents yard has a lot of trees and every year there are a TON of leaves...I'm not sure how much they helped but I checked on them a few times and they were actually picking up armfuls and putting them in the trash bag! And then I saw them running through the leaves a few times!

Baby Brylie stayed nice and warm inside!

Presents for Jaxon

2010-11-03T09:40:00.000-06:00

Opening presents! The funnest part of having a birthday!!

The car Jake built

Jaxon and his car

Today is Jaxon's birthday and I can't believe I have a 3 year old! Even though we had a party for him last night we decided to save a present for him and let him open it on his birthday! He and daddy spent the morning deciding what they were going to make and decided on making a motorized car! He has been playing with it all morning and luckily Jake could build it before he went to work (because I have no skills in building things, especially with all the parts)! The age Jaxon is right now has probably been my favorite! He has such a great sense of humor and pulls the silliest faces and says the funniest things! He is still in love with books and every time we go to Costco he chooses to look at the books first and then toys! He's becoming more independent and more stubborn but we can't help but laugh because he's just so cute! We love our little boy! Happy Birthday Jaxon!

Birthday Party for Jaxon

2010-11-03T09:07:00.000-06:00

The Big 3!!

His birthday cake! We bought a few trucks to put on top of the cake and Jaxon even helped us decorate it with Tootsie Rolls!

We had a birthday party for Jaxon last night with Jake's family and had a lot of fun playing games, watching Toy Story 3 a few times and Stuart Little! He loved having his cousins come play-and it's always so funny to watch Jaxon around all the boys because he gets SO excited, and poor Wyatt kept getting jumped on by Jaxon. We babysat the kids for a few hours and Gale was so upset because he missed his mommy! He stood by the door and cried for a while but then he eventually had fun running around, playing with the kids!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T11:53:00.000-06:00

This year all three of us dressed up for Halloween! Jaxon and I went to one of the local high schools and had fun at a Trunk-or-Treat! He had so much fun going through the halls and getting candy from the students and teachers! I heard on the radio about a local dealership having a little party for kids so we went there and got a free pumpkin and Jaxon had his picture taken with a SPOOKY background...I love his picture!

These were some pictures one of our friends took and I just took a picture of them...sorry for the glare! My camera is actually working!!

He was the cutest dragon ever! All week he had been telling Jake and I that he wanted to be a hippo-and I had no idea where he got that idea, but then after watching "How to Train a Dragon" he was more than excited to dress up in the dragon costume! He was the cutest dragon and played the part well, by saying "RAWR" to alot of people handing out candy! Jake dressed up as a bank robber and I dressed up as Minnie Mouse! I had the perfect red and white polka-dot shirt to wear and Jake made me some mouse ears that were perfect! We had so much fun going around our neighborhood and seeing many of our friends who were also dressed up! We also went to the mall for a Trunk or Treat and so after Saturday night Jaxon had a ton of candy! One of our friends, an older gentleman in our ward was taking pictures of everyone who came to his door...so I'm going to have to see if he will give me a copy of it because my camera is broken and the one year I actually got Jake to dress up with us we werent able to take any pictures! We had such a fun Halloween, and had Navajo Tacos for dinner, and came home after trick or treating and relaxed! Now it's times to get out all my Thanksgiving...and getting more and more excited for the holidays! We are looking forward for Jaxon's birthday this week and going up north this weekend for my neices baby blessing! I'm so excited to see my family!! I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

2010 St. George Marathon!!

2010-10-04T11:40:00.000-06:00

My Brother-in-law Paul, Sara, and me just getting off the bus before the race! Paul and Sara both did awesome in the race! I kept up with them for a while but they both were so fast! They both finished a little over 4 hours! AMAZING! For some reason Paul and I were pretty relaxed before it started-I thought we would have been more nervous but we just enjoyed the scenery! My mom and sister couldn't sleep after dropping us off to load the buses, so they went to Walmart EARLY that morning. Great job Sara and Paul!

My first marathon

The photographer told me to strike a pose! This was around the Winchester Hills and I was starting to get tired and this is the only pose I could think of!

My friend I met while running the race. She helped me finish strong!!

Well I can officially say that I ran a marathon! I am so tired and I've been in some pain but it's been completely worth it! I started of following the 4 hour pacer for about 7 miles and then I started to slow down a bit, but when I made it through Veyo there were a lot of people cheering everyone of the runners and it helped me get pumped again! After the Veyo hill I just had a ton of adrenaline and I almost ran the entire race except for the uphill areas (I wanted to save my legs)! I found someone who I could keep up with just before the Veyo Hill and eventually we got to talking and we ran the rest of the race together. I was so happy to have found someone to run with! It made time go fast and the support made all the difference in finishing strong! Once I made it onto Diagonal-about mile 22 I think, my back was killing me-after so many stops at the aid stations to have Ben-Gay rubbed on my back, it just wasnt helping anymore and I started to hunch over-and that's when spectators started yelling my name and telling me I'm almost there I can do it. A few people handed me and my friend a popsicle and all of a sudden I got a burst of energy and followed through till I turned the corner and I could see the finish line-the greatest site! Jake and my dad came ran up to me telling me how well I had done and I started crying once I saw them and my family at the finish line. My legs were gone but I was still pushing through it and I made it to the finish line WAY before I had ever expected! I wanted to run it within 7 hours and my time was 5:34. I could have never finished the race without everyone's support. Im very very sore, but I would still do it again, there's just nothing like finishing a marathon and feeling invincible! Thanks again to my friends and family for all their amazing support and keeping me going!

Birthday with My Boys!

2010-09-21T17:03:00.000-06:00

Yummy Oreo Cake!

Jaxon giving me birthday kisses!!

I had more pictures but they won't upload for some reason! I had a very fun birthday with my two boys and I even got to go on a date with Jake! We dropped Jaxon off at the neighbors and then he and I went to see Eclipse! I had such a fun night and I was excited to get to go do something just with Jake-because we hardly ever do anything by ourselves. When we picked Jaxon up, before we even rang the doorbell, we could hear him giggling so hard-I know he was having so much fun! Today he said he wanted to go over to the people's house..meaning the next door neighbors to see their toys! I'm sure kids get tired of their own toys and it's fun to see what other people have!

The Lion King

2010-09-15T16:10:00.000-06:00

Last year for my birthday my sister and our friend bought me a ticket to see The Lion King and the Capital Theatre in Salt Lake. The play wasnt until August of this year and so I was anticipating it all year long! One of my favorite things to do is to go to plays and I usually go to at least one at Tuacahn, but I haven't even done that this year-but I really want to see Tarzan...anyway back to The Lion King-can I just say that it was one of the MOST incredible plays I have ever seen?! It starts out with the actors coming down the aisle singing and their costumes and makeup are incredible, and it was breath taking hearing their voices and being so close!! My favorite was Scar-he had such a great voice...there always seems to be one or two characters that just stand out to me and he was that one for me! It was just a fun girls night out-I guess afternoon out really because we went to a matinee! I have heard it's also playing in Vegas and I'm sure it's great but this cast was just awesome! Afterwards we went to dinner over at the Gateway-it was yummy!! Jake and I also celebrated our anniversary and went on a little driving trip just stopping without planning anything-sometimes that may not be good, but it worked for us-we are spontaneous when it comes to trips and we enjoy just driving and hanging out with each other! If you have a chance to see The Lion King-DO NOT pass it up!

Carnival at the College

2010-08-21T15:54:00.000-06:00

We went to a mini carnival over at the college this afternoon...needless to say it was HOT! HOT! HOT! I thought I was going to melt, but it was worth it because Jaxon had so much fun!
He loves bounce houses and when we first pulled up to the carnival he was trying to undo his car seat because he was so excited there was a bounce house!

Fun ride on the train!

The longest ride ever! I was getting sick just watching the kids go around and around, but Jaxon was all smiles. He kept giving high-5's to all the football players and he thought he was so big and tough!

Jake....21 things I luv!

2010-08-12T12:36:00.000-06:00

Here are a few reasons why I love Jake SOOO much.
1. He works hard to take care of me and Jaxon.
2. He will usually do whatever I want...go to plays, twilight movies etc. even though most the time I can't decide what we should do and you still don't get too mad!
3. He loves when I get ready for the day, but really love me when my hair is down and I have no make-up on, and how much you compliment me ;)
4. When we were dating he bought me a ton of flowers...I would be at work and roses were delivered and the girls at the front desk quit looking to see who they were for because they knew they were for me...what girl doesnt love flowers delivered to her at work? I love that...
5. The first night I met you, you went outside and pulled some pansies out of a flower bed of a business in town, because you really wanted to get me flowers but all the flower shops were closed. (but maybe he was telling me I was a pansie!)LOL
6. How you can try ANYTHING and do exceptionally well...welding, framing, etc!
7. How when I first met you, you always wore Hanes white tee shirts that showed your muscles because of framing, Wranglers, and your work boots
8. Our first date you took me to ParrotHead for lunch and it's still one of our favorite places to eat!
9. You always know how to fix everything!
10. You will watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette with me, and secretly like it!
11. How you remember everything....and then tease me about things that happened years ago that I had forgotten about! (like when you were allergic to ice) LOL
12. I love that you call me a lot through-out the day just to check on us
13. For wanting me to be home with Jaxon, and not caring if we got anything done but just played all day!
14. He enjoys spending time with my family.
15. He and my dad get along great...that's always been one of the most important things for me!
16. For being everything I ever wanted...really even when we get frustrated with each other you still are respectful.
17. He has a way that calms me down when I'm with him, no matter where we are I always feel that I'm at home when we are together.
18. The way he hangs up my clothes when doing the laundry-even though he doesn't do it how I like, I love that he does it....and how he thinks it's dumb to hang out clothes, let them air dry, and then when I put them in the dryer to soften them...he thinks everything and anything can go in together regardless of color/material! I LOVE that!
19. How knowledgeable he is with the scriptures etc. and how he never gets frustrated when I ask a lot of questions! He is SO amazingly patient!
20. How you try to take care of me when I'm sick...turn on the bath for me get me drinks and check on me...even though that's when I'm the most onry you put up with me.
21. Realize that sometimes I enjoy being alone and you willingly take Jaxon and go do things boys do for a while so I can enjoy the peace and quiet!

Happy Anniversary!! I love you SO much, and it feels like we have been married for longer than we have been!! I'm so glad we found each other and I'm so grateful for all you do for us.

Sharpened Pencils

2010-08-10T14:45:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I had to have a root canal and the dentist I went to has a drawing every month and guess what?! YES you guessed it, I WON! I was pretty excited...I told Jake that I felt like I won the lottery LOL! I won a backpack LOADED with school supplies! When I went to go pick up my winnings at the dentist office, the lady at the front desk and I were talking and she said "I bet your kids are going to be so excited!" I was thinking, I only have one baby and I was thinking forget the kids...I'M THE EXCITED ONE!!!! I love school supplies...like on the movie "YOU'VE GOT MAIL" when Meg Ryan talks about loving fall, the smells, like freshly sharpened pencils...that is totally me! Guess you could say that I will be one excited mom for when my kids start school, not because they will be gone, but the smells of pencils, books, and projects! Although I've heard that even in kindergarten kids have a lot of homework YIKES! :)I think I deserved after the pain of a root canal!

Jaxie's Excited! So excited that he couldn't help from drawing all over his legs right before my VT ladies came! Fabulous! At least his shorts covered up most of it!

Blog Updates???

2010-08-07T11:36:00.000-06:00

Can someone help me with how to add updates of when friends and family have updated their blogs, so you can seen when they last posted something on their blogs? I've tried looking on the internet in a few places but I don't know what it's called, or how to search for it! Thank you so much!

Stampin' Tools

2010-08-05T14:56:00.000-06:00

I've been looking for some activities for Jaxon to do lately because I'm tired of him watching movies! If I let him he would watch movies all day long! Kids can always learn new things but I think he's at the "in between" age that he could be learning a lot of things, but yet he still is a little young to do some activites and remember them, but we have had a busy summer full of activities and I've tried to teach him about the animals we saw at the zoo and he knows all the noises they make! We have worked alot with counting and he once I start counting he can usually count to ten...if he wants he can be quite stubborn! He loves to color pictures and watercolor and he LOVES sticker books, so I was cleaning the other day and I came across a lot of stamps and found some that were perfect for boys...tools! He has so much fun and was very proud of himself! I put the pictures on the fridge and he's been so excited and shows us what he did quite often! I'm loving this age...it's probably been my favorite since he was born he has so much personality and he loves to learn!

He wanted to give his daddy a high-5! YAY!

Park Time with Jaxon

2010-08-05T14:35:00.000-06:00

There are so many new parks in St. George-so many it seems like a lot of the smaller older parks arent as busy as the new ones so we usually try to go to the smaller ones because we usually have the park to ourselves! Luckily we had time to play and hang out at the park before it started to rain today...one of the things I love about living here is the summer rain...even if it is humid once it quits raining! We also went skating around the park...another thing I love about this park is the trail around it and the volleyball court...Jaxon loves to play in the sand-I didn't get any pictures of that though! Jaxon seems a little bit young for this park but it's really one of my favorite parks!

First we skated around the park

He kept trying to squeeze his face through the holes! He is one silly boy!

I thought I changed this pic but after a few times I gave up! He loves to swing and make his mommy nervous but he didn't fall and he was having fun and no other kids were at the park!

Baby Brylie

2010-08-05T14:14:00.000-06:00

Brylie Sackolwitz was born on July 31st! She is THE CUTEST baby girl! I forget how small babies are when they are first born. She has beautiful skin and dark hair! Her big sister Brooklyn is all ready a big helper!

A Day at the Beach

2010-07-11T18:25:00.000-06:00

Kolob

2010-07-11T18:10:00.000-06:00

WOW I Never Thought I Would Experience This!....

2010-07-11T17:54:00.000-06:00

I never would have thought I would see a chicken be skinned!!! Russell, Jake's cousin wanted me to experience holding the chicken by it's feet (which felt really wierd)! I was supposed to swing it around by its feet to make it dizzy because that's apparently what you do when you get ready to chop its head off! CRAZY I couldn't do that part because I was thinking that I'd probably lose my grip and it would go flying and probably hit a fence or something-get stuck in the fence and then I figured it would be not good to eat anymore?! LOL Russell was really good and didn't make me do anything I didn't want to-and so Jake decided he wanted to chop off its head (no surprise that my husband would want to do that-nothing like being eager to chop off a head (not to be graphic, but you may or may not have seen what I saw that day that will forever change the way I look at packaged meat aka chicken for the rest of my life! I will never forget it...but it did make for a nice crock pot dinner...I just had to look away a couple times when I was cutting the fat off! Anyway, that's about as graphic as I'll get-hopefully it's G rated!

Jake and Russ skinning the chicken

Jake in his element...chopping things! Haha

Me holding the feet...with two cute little kids :)

Mother's Day!

2010-07-11T17:44:00.000-06:00

On Mother's Day we went into Zions and did a few hikes and enjoyed the cooler weather! We had a picnic at a park in Springdale and Jaxon loved every minute of it! I think he is going to be my little hiking buddy! He loved going to Zions to hike, play in the water and and ride the shuttle!

I did it! With alot of help!!!

2010-05-15T23:31:00.000-06:00

WHOO HOO! I'm so excited that I finally graduated with my Associates! I havent been in school for years and I have always wanted to at least get my Associates but now that I've finished I want to keep going! I started upper division courses last semester and have enjoyed almost every minute of it! haha There have been so many friends who have helped me get this far and my husband has supported me every step of the way. I don't know when I will get to go back but I'm really looking forward to it, when it does happen! The Salutatorian at the graduating ceremony was a 16 year old girl who was graduating with her Associates (majoring in Chemistry) before she graduated from high school-she's graduating from high school at the end of May! AMAZING! She talked about how you can never have enough education and it's one thing that can never be taken from you....maybe that's why I have wanted to get my degree for so long and it's amazing how everything has worked out! I'm so grateful for my friends and family who have supported me!

2010-05-05T00:47:00.000-06:00

I GOT TAGGED!!

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. I mowed lawns from the 9th grade till I graduated high school...and I miss it even now!
2. Applebee's
3. Polo Ralph Lauren
4. United Title Services

Four movies I have watched more than once:
1. The Wedding Date
2. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
3. Wedding Crashers
4.

Four places I have lived:
1. Layton, Utah
2. St. George, Utah
3.
4.

Four places I have been:
1. New York City
2. Florida
3. Virginia
4. Nauvoo

Four of my favorite Places to Eat.
1. Honolulu Grill
2. Parrot Head Island
3. Pancho and Lefty's/El Matador
4. Subway

Four things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Getting a tan
2. Meeting my neice in August!!!
3. Hiking
4. Running

Four People I am Tagging: (Copy & Paste onto your blog after changing the answers.)
1- Amber Sackolwitz
2. Amber
3. Jessica
4. Shauna

Big Boy Bed!

2010-04-09T09:51:00.000-06:00

When my parents were here for Easter, we decided to get Jaxon's bed put up and put his crib away! It's wierd to think that my baby is a little boy now, and he LOVES his big boy bed! This bed was actually my dad's bed from when he was a little boy! Jaxon keeps calling it "papa's bed" and I tell him it's his bed now and he says "otay!" We got a really great deal on the mattress' and I'm sooo glad my dad saved his bed! My mom bought Jaxon the cute bedspread and sheets for him for Christmas and of course he loves them because it's jungle print, and calls it "Madagascar" sometimes!

HoPpY EaStEr!!!

2010-04-09T09:29:00.000-06:00

Adrenaline...Can You Feel It....

2010-02-16T23:25:00.000-07:00

Whoever started the saying "School is Cool," I'd like to ask them what they were thinking! School is always on my mind and sometimes I wonder what possibilities may come after completing my degree, which is excited and scary! I love the opportunity to learn new ideas and challenge myself although it's been challenging with being a mom and going to school, and supporting my husband with his endeavors, but sometimes I wonder if I have it in me-16 credits is just about enough to make someone be on the edge! The tests are starting, papers are due, and the stress escalades...but I kind of like it....isn't that sick?! What kind of adrenaline comes from going to school....maybe it's when peers rip my heart out when I've written a paper that I put my soul into, or maybe it's the anticipation of getting up in front of my classmates and hopefully not letting them see my vulnerability, or maybe it's the feeling of doing well on a test, and getting an A on my paper (WHOO HOO)!

I know it will be worth it in the end....will I be a different person? I don't think so. Will I be in a better place? Hopefully! I want my kids to know how important education is and you never will regret having too much of an education. I may not be "running a marathon" in school, and even if it takes me a long time I can say that I did it! Now it's on to conquer Finance, (yaaaaay)....NOT

Oh and one more thing...I just found out that if you type http://www.ashleeandjake.blogpsot.com/ a site for bible study comes up-wierd...just a bit of useless information for you!

WICKEDLY GOOD TIME!

2010-01-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

I finally saw WICKED and it was the most amazing broadway show I've ever seen! Elpheba and Glinda were amazing and Patty Duke also played a major role and did a great job too! I don't think anyone who went to the show was disappointed...it's truly an amazing play and I hope to see it again!

2010-01-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

Family Pictures!!

2009-12-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

My good friend Trudy took some family pictures for us and I think they all turned out so great! I know she has a hectic schedule, so thank you SOO much Trud for taking time out of your busy day to take a few pics for us!

Poor Little Guy

2009-10-14T01:54:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday Jaxon hadn't been feeling very well. We thought it was a cold, but then he suddenly went downhill really fast. He was having a hard time breathing and he had a high fever, and besides that we knew he just wasnt feeling like himself. That night we had him sleep by us in our bed-but I didn't actually sleep-I kept watching his chest struggle to breathe in and breathe out. We obviously didn't want to take any chances and decided that since there were no pediatricians open at midnight we would rush him to the ER. As soon as we got to the ER, he was rushed in the back rooms where he immediately had tests ran, and had breathing treatments. All the nurses, techs, and doctors were soooo unbelievably nice and patient with us. We knew our little boy who means everything in the world to us was in good hands. I knew we were in the right place. Finally at 4 am he was admitted from the ER at the new hospital to the old hospital-he liked going for a ride in the bus and seeing all the lights everywhere. By this time he'd had various tests ran and he'd had it with tubes in his nose and masks on his face-but he was really a good boy even when he felt his worst. He was finally released at 10:30pm but we had to go pick up his presriptions so we didn't end up getting home till almost midnight.
The doctors/nurses still don't know what may have caused all this, which is quite frustrating, but we were very impressed with all the people and how helpful everyone was. He is doing breathing treatments at home-which is difficult at times, but he does have a little bit of his spunk back-which we are so grateful for! He is a tough and brave little boy! We really have appreciated all the thoughts and prayers. One of my friends even dropped of some essential oils that I'm excited to try-I'm so grateful for my family and friends-it's so calming to know that we have friends/family who have been deeply concerned and have offered everything they can to help us. Thank you so much-I hope that from now on Jaxon will continue to feel better and better!

What's For Dinner?

2009-10-02T22:31:00.000-06:00

This is such a yummy soup! My cousin Jessica gave us some recipes that are delicious and easy...this is one of our favorites right now...I'm loving the fall temps-nothing like soup to warm the soul.......

Taco Soup
-1 lb. ground beef
-1 med. onion, or dried onion soup mix
-1 can kidney beans
-1 can pinto beans
-1 can black beans
-1 can corn
-2 cans tomatoes
-1 pkg. taco seasoning
-sour cream
-shredded cheese
-frito chips

Brown meat, add chopped onion (or dried onion soup mix). In a large pan, combine all the beans, and tomatoes (do not drain the cans). Add meat mixture and then a packet of taco seasoning. Bring to boil. Serve with remaining ingredients

You will love it, and it's soooo easy!! ENJOY!

A Little Update...

2009-10-02T21:57:00.000-06:00

We have been so busy lately! I can't believe how fast summer went and now the temps are changing and it's getting colder! I'm so excited for Fall-it's my favorite time of year! I just wanted to give a little update on what we've been up to for the last couple months....Jaxon is very very busy! He's of course into everything and loves to eat any kind of candy, and he loves movies, cars/trucks, and planes! He always gets so excited to hear the airplanes flying and gets sooo excited whenever he sees any kind of machinery (I think he might be thinking it's his daddy operating the machinery!!). He is really noisy, and is constantly yelling at the tv...which is hard for our friends little girls to get used to because girls are so soft spoken and just quite...Jaxon definately didn't inherit that trait, but we love it! He has a great sense of humor, and pulls the funniest faces! He still loves music and loves to dance, and look at books! He is almost two, and all of a sudden I've realized what the terrible two's really mean! ;)
Jake has been working, working, working-which we are both grateful for but sometimes I worry about him because he's such a workaholic! I started back to school full time and we are both busy with our callings...I recently got put into Young Womens and I've felt very overwhelmed with everything but I love the girls and I'm looking forward to getting to know them! Jake is in with the elders and we both love the guys he's serving with! I recently went thru the temple, and we are very much looking forward to being sealed soon! Time has gone by so fast, and I cant wait to be sealed to our family forver! I'm so grateful for our friends and families who have lovingly supported us in so many ways! Our lives are hectic, but we are enjoying every minute of it, and we couldn't be happier! Thanks for all your support!

Fruita..The name says it all

2009-08-22T19:06:00.000-06:00

Some great sites to learn more about Fruita, Utah:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ut-fruita.html
http://www.nps.gov/care/photosmultimedia/index.htm

Fruita had to be my favorite place we went on our trip! We did so much in the couple days that we had and we almost didn't go to Fruita, but I am so glad we did because it was my favorite part of the trip! This is definately a place I would love to come again. The park was actually a homestead for early pioneers. I think there were 10 families who settled there, and one man planted huge orchards, and now you can go and pick what you want and pay! They built a one-room schoolhouse for the children and had one teacher. The Gifford House is now a museum and a cute bakery shop that sales pies, jams, and homeade aprons. There was also a cool Ford truck parked out front that my dad would have liked!

On our hike to Hickman Bridge

Hickman Bridge..all of a sudden the clouds rolled in and thunder was above us when we happened to be hiking on the highest part of the mountain on our hike! Needless to say we ran as fast as we could and we were drenched...my hair was dripping and our clothes were soaked, but it was so fun to get cooled down...I don't think I've ever been that drenched in a rainstorm before...we won't ever forget that-even living in St. George, knowing the sudden rainstorms we recieve and then 5 min. later the sun is out, would have never prepared me for this rainstorm! It was fun and I'm glad that Jaxon wasn't there getting drenched...and then probably getting a cold the next day! The power even went out at one of the visitor centers we went to! Our kind of trips are probably different to some people, but Jake and I really enjoy learning more about the pioneers and going new places in our home state! We love to go to the State/National parks, hiking, and enjoying the scenery. I think we take for granted living in such a beautiful state that millions of people from all over the world come to visit for a few days, and here we are lucky enough to have it in our backyard!

And Then Came the Floods!

2009-08-22T18:52:00.000-06:00

These are some pics on the way to Capital Reef National Park. There was a MAJOR lightning storm and then came the rain! Its was intense driving on top of a mountian being able to see the cliffs drop off on each side of the car! The raindrops were HUGE and then when we came to the bottom of the canyon we saw a lot of people pulled off on the side of the road, so we wanted to see what was going on too! Jake pulled off on the side and as we walked over we saw a TON of water gushing down the canyon! Jake did a great job at getting some awesome pics!

I liked this tree..it was at Bryce but I thought it was cool how the base had two branches!

Meteor Showers and Bedside Flowers....

2009-08-22T18:23:00.000-06:00

Jake and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on August 12th! We had so much fun on our trip, which wasnt really even planned! We knew we were going somewhere but we wanted a nice, relaxing vacation so we got in the car and just drove and decided we wanted to check out Bryce Canyon, which is one of my favorite parks! Who knew that it was going to be one of the busiest weekends, due to the fact that it was free entrance into all the national parks that weekend, so needless to say, all the hotel rooms were sold out, and we didn't want to pay almost $200.00 for one night (especially since we arrived around 9:30 pm) so we decided to "camp" and slept in our car! It was really a fun adventure the first night! We enjoyed watching the meteor shower amongst the stars, which were really enjoyable without the city lights! Here are a couple more pics from our trip:
An abandoned Mill that's also surrounded by magnificent views!

LDS church built by pioneers...the pitched roof is definately one-of-a-kind!

Where we stayed for one night...it had such a beautiful view for the sunrise, and the cliffs that surrounded the house were AMAZING! The lady who owned the house made the MOST delicious muffins (but she wouldn't share her yummy secret)! Her house was surrounded with wildflowers that were placed in a vase in your room! I have never stayed at a bed and breakfast, but we really enjoyed this small town and went to see "The Proposal" at a theater in town, and ate at a cute little restaraunt.

Jake early in the morning watching the sunset from the porch! Even I got up to see it! WOW that is amazing in and of itself! ;)

Me at Bryce..Love this National Park...but we also went to Capital Reef..which I think is my favorite National Park! If you've never been it's definately worth the trip to go down to Fruita!

So beautiful...there is nothing like it in the world!

Melting in this Heat!

2009-07-24T15:27:00.000-06:00

Wednesday night we went to the Lady A concert down at the Sunbowl! We had a lot of fun despite the outrageously hot temps! Once we finally got there we had a lot of fun! I couldn't find our tickets when we were waiting in line, so I ran back home thinking I might have left them on the bar, only to find that they were in the car the whole time! It was so hectic, but after we finally got in we had a really good time just hanging out! Lacee's sister, Haley even got to go back stage to meet Lady A and got their autographs! Whoo hoo! I've decided Jake and I should get out and have a date night more often!

Two HOTTIES! Sorry guys, these moms are taken!! I seriously love this girl! She's one of my best friends-whenever we get together we have so much fun!

Me and Jake

Luke and Lacee enjoying the concert in the heat! We almost melted, until the sun finally went behind the clouds!!

Lady A and me-I was talking when Jake took this picture!

"Jake of all Trades"

2009-06-18T20:02:00.000-06:00

Jake is rarely in pics, mostly because he doesn't really like his picture taken, but I had to get a shot of him in action! He loves to work in the big machines (this being one of the smallest one's he's worked in) and Jaxon is his little buddy out on the balcony watching daddy work and screaming cause he's soooo excited to see the machines-probably cause he knows he's going to get to go for a ride! One things for sure Jake is a "Jake of all trades" ;)

So many sparks were flying when Jake was welding...the pictures don't capture how cool it was...don't worry I didn't look into the light! I value my eyesight!

RoCkY rOaD

2009-06-18T19:43:00.000-06:00

Jake has been working on our lot for a couple months. We can't believe all the construction debris that has been left, ok buried on this lot! These are just a few photos that I took-Jake has worked really hard and put in a lot of hours all ready and we are only just beginning!! We have a lot of plans, but it probably will take us a LONG time to do it! I'm just happy this part is done, and I'm grateful for all the work my husband has put into it!

A view from the house....

We have stairs!!

Another set of stairs!

A view from the street...I like the stacked walls but we didn't have enough rock to do it-this is called rip-rap...I still can't believe we had this many rocks on our lot!

Jake working hard!

Prayer

2009-06-08T22:35:00.000-06:00

More Pics from Bella Rose

2009-05-12T19:29:00.001-06:00

Fun pics from Bella Rose Photography!

2009-05-12T19:24:00.000-06:00

These are some fun pics of my neice Brooklyn and my little guy Jaxon! Jaxon had fallen earlier that day and he was not too happy to have pictures done! He wouldn't let his mommy out of his sight!! I still think they are perfect-Jaxon's face is so animated when he's crying...I love how she got his deep red lips and his blue eyes! Brooklyn is so photogenic-she was so happy, and loved the bubbles, and her tu tu! We tried to get some pics of Jaxon in Grandpa Keith's truck but he was not having it...I think that my favorite ones are of Brooklyn in the red truck! Please check out Bella-Rose Photography (it's on my list) This girl does such a great job!

More San Fran!

2009-05-11T17:20:00.000-06:00

The jellyfish were so cool at The Bay Acquarium

Chocolate anyone?

Street Scape

Fun Easter Egg Hunt!

2009-05-11T17:07:00.000-06:00

Luv the hat!!

Cool shades!

So nice to share your treats! 2 peas in a pod!

Whoever hid those eggs made it tooo easy! They were in plain sight!

ok I know that this was for a 1 and 2 year old!!

Finding more eggs! WHOA twenty dollars?

Mom just got quarters hidden in her eggs!!

Brooklyn found some eggs in a great hiding place! Once again in plain sight!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2009-05-11T16:04:00.000-06:00

Brooklyn and Jaxon were sooo excited to color the eggs!

ok I think Brooklyn was more excited!

Our colorful egg swimming pools!! ;)

Grandma Jewels and the kids

The kiddos

Brooklyn coloring the eggs!

Jazz Game!!

2009-05-11T15:42:00.000-06:00

Me and My Sister!

JAZZ Bear

We thought he was going to do something really cool, but all he did was climb up the ladder and wave at everyone!

My sister had tickets to one of the games in the finals against the Lakers! We actually won two tickets to the game by participating in a poster contest-and WON!! Amber and Paul all ready had tickets, and we had decided to head down to Salt Lake to put our poster in the contest on a chance that it might win-and it did! It was such an exciting game and the Jazz ended up winning! My sister's husband ended up calling a friend who lived really close to the Delta Center and made it over right before the game started-way to hussle Nate!! In case your wondering how we won: our poster said "We Came to see the Jazz Kick Kobe's Azz" Ha Ha I think the Jazz ended up winning because they knew we were coming! Even though the season is over, we sure had fun at that game!!

Happy Birthday Jake!

2009-04-17T22:48:00.000-06:00

I don't think I tell Jake enough how much I really appreciate him and everything he does for me and Jaxon. He always gets up and goes to work early in the morning and then comes home after working a 12 plus hour shift and even though he's tired he always plays with Jaxon and wants to talk about what has happened while he was away. He never complains about anything, and I love that he is happy just spending time at home. Jake is so intelligent, and he truly has a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone! I feel so lucky do be called his wife. I love you Jake...thank you for everything you do for us and for always making me laugh! I hope that you have a great birthday......

Fun at Hidden Valley Park

2009-04-01T16:06:00.000-06:00

This is my neice Brooklyn! Everytime she comes, we make a trip to the Hidden Valley Park! As soon as we pull up, it seems like she's the first one with her seat belt off and as soon as the door opens, she's running to the slides and the swings! I never knew of a little kid that was so happy to just see the park, or a bus, or a loader ;) I love her big grin!!!

It's sooo funny to hear Brooklyn look for loaders now that she has got to actually ride in one with Uncle Jake! She is so smart-and now loves to tell stories about Jake taking her for a ride in the loader and Jaxon likes to ride it too! She loves to call and talk to us on the phone, and loves to say "tickle tickle Jaxie" when she knows he's listening!

Going down the slide!

Me and Brooklyn and Jaxon on the big slide!

Just needed a little help from grandma to make it back up the slide!

This was Jaxon's little buddy! He played forever in the tunnel with this other baby-he was such a cutie! I loved his PUMA's!

I had to post this picture-cause I love the look on Brooklyn's face! She loved to stand in the "spider web"....she is so funny!

Things Jaxon Likes To Do....

2009-04-01T15:31:00.000-06:00

Jaxon loves to ride around his little car, although he'd rather just move the steering wheel around and honk the horn than "drive" around in it! He loves cars and makes funny sounds (his own verson of vroom vroom)when he's driving them!!

He also loved to ride on his 4-wheeler, and has finally figured out how to push the button to make it go! Yes Jaxon still has a fascination with balloons! He has a couple right now and for some reason he couldn't let this pink one out of his site! It's in a lot of the pics I've been taking lately!

We love to go for walks in the wagon! Sometimes Jaxon is out in the garage with Jake and Jaxon pulls the wagon around, scooting on the ground until we get the hint that he wants to ride in it! He gets sooo excited just to sit in it, that sometimes we don't even have to go anywhere with it-he's just a content little guy!

This is one of my scooters that I've had forever! Sometimes Jaxon loves to just be right next to it, but he loves to ride on it! He holds on to the handle of the scooter and keeps his little feet side by side on the bottom of it, while mommy drives it around the driveway and many times we've gone up and down the hill-he likes to go pretty fast, but I'm too nervous he'll put his foot on the pavement and fall off-he's watched me on it, and copies me by tapping the pavement with his feet a couple times while he's riding! He has such a deep laugh when he's on the scooter-I think it's one of his favorite toys!

These blocks are so fun! My sister bought them for him, and he loves to sit and stack and then demolish! I will try to stack them up as high as I can before he comes to destruct my tower-while he laughs and has a big grin on his face....he is such a tease!

Homemade Chocolate Frosties

2009-03-29T17:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a recipe I was given for homemade Chocolate Frosties. It's a great way to use up your powdered milk! Give it a try, you will love it!

Homemade Chocolate Frosties
1 1/2 - 2 cups ICE water- really, really cold.
1 1/2 cups non-fat dry milk powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2-3 cups ice cubes
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Place ALL the ingredients in the blender, including the oil. Use less water for a thicker milkshake or more for a shake that’s easier on your blender motor. With lid on, process for two minutes. Makes about 4 shakes.

Rag Quilts

2009-03-26T16:06:00.000-06:00

Me and my "work of art" now I see how sewing can be addicting! I made this for a friend who had just had her baby! I was so happy that I even finished something, that I actually had a harder time than I thought when I gave it away! I knew that it would be used though and that's what made me the most excited! I made it in about 6 days...if I can do it, really ANYONE can!

Jaxon had to check it first....
No seriously, I made this...thankfully rag quilts can hide a lot of mistakes!

It was so fun making this...I just wish that I could find some cute flannel prints to make one for Jaxon!

Saving Cents...

2009-03-26T15:54:00.000-06:00

I am getting addicted to saving money! Who isnt these days though right? I have been looking at TONS of sites lately that teach you how to save more money, just by using the coupons that come in the Sunday paper. Today I went to Alberton's and purchased all this for only $11.85, I saved a total of $24.32-I also got 2 gallons of milk for free! YIPEE! I also went to Walmart and got a couple deals too, but I got a ton at Albertson's!!

8 Things

2009-03-19T00:37:00.000-06:00

8 Favorite TV shows...
1. The Office 
2. Brothers and Sisters
3. The Bachelor
4. Real Housewives of Orange County
5. The Hills
6. Desperate Housewives 
7. Reba
8. Grey's Anatomy

8 Favorite Restaurants... 
1. Cafe Rio
2. Red Lobster
3. Subway
4. Cafe Pierpont
5. Pancho and Lefty's
6. Panda Express
7. In and Out Burger
8. Papa Murphy's

8 things that happened yesterday... 
1. Mopped the floor
2. Went for a hike
3. Bought some new beads for my watch bands!
4. Scrapbooked
5. Enjoyed the sunshine!
6. Played with Jaxon  
7. Read my book while Jaxon slept...ahh
8. Washed my car

8 things to look forward to... 
1. My family coming down this weekend!
2. Summer!
3. Doing some spring cleaning-scrubbing walls, cleaning closets etc. 
4. Jaxon heading to nursery soon! ;) Although I will miss him....
5. Going camping this summer
6.  Relaxing and enjoying being a stay-at-home mom
7. Holding our neices or our nephews...Anena and Cheryl haven't found out what they are having yet!
8. A vacation!!!  

8 things I love about Fall... 
1. Colors
2. Jake would say Pumpkin Pie-yuck I'm not a fan!
3. Decorations 
4. Smells 
5. Getting together with Family 
6. Cooler temps both day and night 
7. Rice Pudding
8. Mom's Apple Cider!  

8 things on my wishlist... 
1. To be healthy and happy---my family too ;)
2. Spend more time with both our families
3. To have a girl one day or a boy
4. To always enjoy the blessing of getting to staying home with my kids
5. To get to use our things from our wedding!
6. To one day get the Bronco back so we can enjoy it this summer...who knows!
7. To be one of those moms who can quote any scripture off the top of my head!
8. To be more outgoing-it's one of the hardest things for me to do....

8 people I tag... 
1. Amber (both Amber's)  2. Cinda  3. Angelina  4. April
 5. Carey 6. Trudy 7. Meredith 8. Emily

Good Times w/ Wally

2009-03-18T20:53:00.000-06:00

Today was the grand opening of the Hurricane Wal-mart! Jaxon and I had a lot of fun...getting great deals and of course seeing all the cute fun characters! Jaxon was ok with seeing most of them far away, but then when they would be up close to him, he was not too sure of their intentions! There was the Pillsbury Doe Boy, and the Tiger from Cheetos, and a green M&M guy (who Jax was most nervous with until we saw him a couple times walking around and finally gave a high-five after mommy did it)! There was also a life-sized Indiana Jones character made completely of Legos, and the Green Giant, and of course Jaxon's favorite, Hot Pocket guy, who gave out temporary tatoos! There was even a fire truck outside...Jaxon has a toy fire truck that he loves but he was even more excited to see a real fire truck drive by, especially when the driver waived to Jaxon! It was fun to have free hot dogs and drinks too, cause Jax loves them like his grandpa!! I know that I'm easily entertained but ya can't help but feel good about getting great deals and free food!

Jaxon 4 Wheeling

2009-03-10T15:46:00.000-06:00

This is the first time Jaxon has pushed the button so the 4-wheeler will go! He seemed nervous at first but he then he got excited that he knew how to do it. He was on it for only 5 min. or so before he was ready to get off and go to play in his wagon!

Jaxon at the Doctor

2009-02-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

I took Jaxon to the pediatrician today and the doctor said he is doing GREAT!! He is in the 80th percentile for his height (32") and in the 40th percentile for his weight (23 pds)! The doctor kept saying that he is one tall boy! He isn't concerned that Jaxon isnt walking, he is a scooter, and so the doctor thinks that for now he gets around just fine scooting! I'm so relieved! It's so funny to watch him, he can get going pretty fast! I still have people who want to record them on their cell phones when we are in public! I'm so used to it that I forget that other people think that it's so different!!

Jaxon looks like he's laughing in this picture, but he isnt! He just took a giant handful of his puffum treats and shoved them all into his mouth! He is a silly little guy! He jabbers away all the time, reading books to himself and his mommy and daddy, and he is a big story teller, some I think are fibs. He says a lot of words like momma, da da da, and wow, which really sounds like waaa! He has caught us of guard lots of times when he repeats a word we have said, and we get excited and he just looks at us like we are crazy!

Thank goodness for suckers! Dum Dums are one of Jaxon's favorite treats! They are a lifesaver at times....one of the nurses at the pediatrician gave him one after he had three shots-he did soooooo incredibly good! He of course cried, and wanted me to hold him, but as soon as it was over he reached for me and that was it-over! He is such a brave little guy, and sooooo sensitive, but he is soooo forgiving! I'm so greatful for just an easy going baby-he is always happy and really only cries if his feelings are hurt! I'm glad he is has such a soft heart, and likes to be cuddled!

Cuddly Little Guy

2009-01-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

Jaxon loves his bean bag! He also loves cell phones, so we tried giving him a couple of our old ones to play with, but he is just toooo smart and wants our cell phones that have service! He's called his Grandma and daddy lots in the last couple days!

Last night was a first for finding the toilet paper! I heard Jaxon laughing in the bathroom, and as I looked down I saw the entire roll of toilet paper unravelled on the ground, and Jaxon was grabbing it and throwing it in the air! He thought it was the funniest thing....I love the evil look he has on his face!

Jaxon loves to play peek-a-boo! Last night he would pull his blanket between the slats on his crib and bite it and then put the blanket over his head and then see if I was watching him! He would laugh and scream a little bit! I love when he screams/squeals because I know that he is definately happy! He loves to lay on the ground with his mommy and daddy and wrestle on the floor-he thinks he's tougher than us, but it's those times that make me laugh the most because we are all having fun and cracking up that Jaxon is soooo funny!

Jaxon also loves books, and he is always reading a book out loud to himself! He loves watching the Disney Channel-especially MICKEY'S CLUBHOUSE! He loves music and no matter where we are, whether it's at home watching tv, or the car listening to the radio, or church trying to sing along with the songs, he dances away...he especially loves rap and hip hop music! Lately he points to everything that he wants, and loves to tap his hand on the tv, and he loves to stand up! He really likes spicy food and chocolate-he must be my child! He also has the funniest scoot! He has never crawled, but he loves to scoot around-it's no wonder he is so strong because he lifts himself up while scooting around-he has the cutest little muscles! He is such a flirt too, especially with little girls!!

P.S. Don't worry I wiped the books off with Clorox wipes!

Cute Girls

2009-01-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to have two cute little girls over!!! We had lots of fun this week playing with toys, watching movies, and even taking a trip in the rain to Costco!
Watchin' a movie! We watched three movies in one day...that may be a record for me!

What a cutie!!!

Jaxon is Standing!!!

2009-01-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

Jaxon loves to stand!!! He just started pulling himself up on and lean on the furniture, and has even stood a few times by himself!! His favorite things are to open the cupboards and often times take everything out of them! He also loves to stand at my jewelry box and open the drawers and throw everything on the floor. He also loves to pull himself up to Jake's nightstand and take out whatever he can grab before I get him!! Did I mention that I also clean his room a lot?! He pulls all his books off his shelf, and will often times bring me a book he wants me to read-lately it's been Ratatouille! He also loves to pull the blanket off the chair and snuggle with it! This is a pic of him standing at the stairs-I was vacuuming the stairs today-and he thought that was hilarious, but it was even funnier that he was up higher than me!! He thinks he's such a big boy, and he's always so proud of himself!

We've Now Discovered the Cupboards!

2009-01-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

Jaxon found the cupboard where we keep our goodies!! It was VERY quiet, so I could tell he was probably doing something naughty, and found him with the cupboard door open and a giant chocolate candy shoved in his mouth! He is a choc-a-holic baby with a chocolate face! I had to put him in the bath again because there was chocolate all over his clothes, hands, tummy and diaper!

Before:

After: