Reminiscing

My mother-in-law, Deb has finally started her blog and it is up and running. You can go check her out here. We have spent a lot of time scanning and uploading pictures for her blog. There have been tons of pictures that I have forgotten about and I just thought I would share a few with you. When you go without having a baby around for almost 6 years, you kinda forget how cute and cuddly they are. Especially when they are fighting, back-talking, and misbehaving most of the time!!
My friend, Lauren and I...high school days (Thank goodness for flat irons!!)

Opening gifts at Mackenzie's Baby Shower


Christmas 2003


Wasn't he a ham??? So adorable

Proud Grandma...Kenzie only 4 days old.

Hopefully I look a little older now. I now see how young I looked...I mean, come on..I was 20 or younger in those pics!

Yes, I'm Alive

Man, it's been a busy month. I think this is the longest I have been without blogging since I started blogging. Just wanted to check in. I'll hopefully be updating this very soon...Maybe even tomorrow. If I don't, REMEMBER TO VOTE ON TUESDAY... I have voted already;)
Be sure to take a look at the Yes on 8 video I have on my sidebar. I'm just hoping and praying that we have done enough to get the word out to people on this very important subject.

Who Am I?

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!
Thanks Allison!


Can't wait for the movie!! A well deserved girls night should be in store!!
I can't even watch the new trailer for the movie. For some reason, the sound isn't working when I bring it up. Don't feel like restarting the computer, either!

I Did It!!!

I did it!! I joined the gym this morning. I even worked out this morning. The owner is such a nice guy. He showed me around and even showed me how to use their newest treadmills...They are pretty awesome. They're touch-screen and there is a built in tv. I plan on going every morning that I do not have to work. I'm excited to start my friend, Kristin's classes. She didn't teach this morning, but I hope to go tomorrow or Friday. I'm assuming the owner guy (Joe) kinda helps people along the way...sorta like a personal trainer. He wanted me to start with 30 minutes of brisk walking. He said he likes to work with people and help them reach their weight loss goals.
I really feel that this time around, I have the motivation I need to stick with it. I guess exercising is the easy part of it all. I am such a picky eater. Anyone that knows me will definitely agree. The hardest meal for me is lunch. It is so easy for me to swing by a fast food place since the kids eat lunch at school. I would love to have a piece of fruit and yogurt for lunch, but I just don't like it. Sandwiches get boring. So, that is going to be my toughest challenge. Any suggestions are welcomed!!
So, I hear it is going to rain on Saturday. Do you know how excited I am!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the rain. I also love a good thunderstorm. Neither of which do we get often.
Can't believe it is already October. The holiday months have officially begun. The way I see it, once Halloween passes, its Hello New Year. Can't believe how it's flown by. Anyways, hope everyone has a great day!

Commitment

I figure since I will be hitting the dating scene soon (hopefully, if there are any suckers out there..lol) I want to feel better about myself. I really want a change, heck I need a change. I have really become so tired all the time and I definitely do not eat right...So, I have decided to join a gym. My good friend, Kristin, is an instructor there and my friends Emily K and Krissy go there so thats a plus! I need all the motivation I can get. Plus, it is very reasonable considering all the amenities they have. It is just like the other gym I have went to without the pool and bball court and it is almost half price. So, I called and I can get the student discount! I will probably be going when the kids are in school, or before I go to school. So here's the deal...I will keep you all updated on my progress if you promise to send me encouraging comments REGULARLY :)
Kristin gave me encouraging words. She told me about a girl that comes to her class that has been coming for 7-8 months. At the beginning, she could only do about 10 minutes but slowly worked her way to doing mostly the whole hour. She has cut out fast food and soda and she has lost 70 pounds in these short 8 months. Thats pretty much my goal right there. So...wish me luck and hope to hear from you all very soon!!

Disneyland!!!!

It took forever to get here, and it flew by in a blink of an eye. Our Disney trip was truly amazing! I have never spent 3 days in one theme park, but I think we needed at least a week to see everything we wanted to see.
We left on Wednesday right after we picked Sean up after school. Once we really got going, it took us about 6 hours to get there (not including potty breaks along the side of the freeway and dinner). We stayed at the Portofino Inn and Suites which were just a block (ah hem, a very long block) away from DL. It was a very nice hotel. We had a kid's suite. It was a room with all the normal stuff (king bed, bathroom, but then it had sliding double doors that opened into another room with bunk beds and a sleeper sofa,tv, kids table and chairs, etc. Very nice! We had a pretty good view of California Adventure from our window.

Anyways, we wanted to get to the park as soon as it opened at 10am on Thursday. Our plan was to spend the first 2 days in DL, then Saturday in California Adventure. We pretty much stuck to that! We rode pretty much everything. I was excited for Space Mountain. I found it to be more fun the second time around. There is just so much to do, see, eat, buy...It would take me hours upon hours to blog about all that we did. Sean was a little reluctant to ride some of the rides. Even if he decided to ride them, he made sure to let us know he was NOT going to do it again. His favorites were Splash Mountain, the little roller coaster in Toon Town, and Autopia. Pretty much the same for Mackenzie, but she was a little more brave that he was. She wanted, so badly, to go on California Screamin with me...the huge coaster in Ca. Adventure, but she was just a tad too short. Same for Indiana Jones, but yet she could ride Tower of Terror. Of course she did not like that too much. To my surprise, I LOVED that ride. That and Ca. Screamin were definitely my favorites. I'm all about the thrill of a roller coaster. It about killed me to go by Magic Mountain where they have atleast 5 huge ones. (I looked on their website and they have 14....oh, that would be heaven) Oh well, maybe sometime soon! I have a few pics, and one huge slide show. That's not even half of the pics I have. If you don't want to watch the whole slide show, I will be posting an album on my Myspace page that's not a slide show. Oh, one funny thing that Sean did throughout the whole trip: When we went to pick out their mouse ears, he did not want them. He wanted the Pluto hat. It was so cute and it fit him perfectly! So, from that point on, anytime we were waiting in line for a ride and a little kid was around us, he would say hi to them and say "I'm just a boy, I'm really not a dog" and he would take his hat off. He is so funny! Sean (and even Kenz) was in awe of the Jedi training...but we didn't get there in time for him to try to be picked. Not even sure if he would have done it. Then, Mackenzie (and of course Sean) was in awe of the Princesses. I just had to get Mackenzie's face painted. At the time, I didn't know they did boys too, so Sean stayed w/ Yaya and Bah while I took Mackenzie. She was so proud of the design she picked. It was really beautiful! Then, we got to listen to a story told to us by Snow White. It was so cute...then, the kids got to learn the proper princess and knight etiquette. They got to decorate crowns, learn to bow and curtsy, and other things. It was truly worth everything to see how fun these kids were having. I am just grateful that they are at the age where they will probably remember this trip many years from now. So, even among long lines, heat, walking, feet killing us, it was probably the most fun I have had in a very, very long time.
Oh, I even got some time to myself. Saturday night, the parks stayed open later, so I got about 5 hours to myself. It was fun, but I didn't even make it til the park closed. I was so tired, and hurting so bad from walking all day in Ca. Adventure, then going back over to DL, then back and forth again, I called it quits around 11:30. Next time I know to bring better tennis shoes, and plenty of sprite and crackers...LOL. I do just want to say how grateful I am for Bryce and Deb who love my kids enough to want them to have such special memories, and who graciously let me tag along, too ;) Hope you enjoy the pictures

Photobucket" border="0">

Here goes...again

I have yet gotten wayyyy too behind on this blogging thing...Lots of things have been going on and half the time, I just don't feel like going through the whole thinking process to come up with a blogworthy post.
I'm so glad summer is over! (Although it is still hot) Think it's supposed to cool off real soon. The kids have been doing very well in school. Can't believe they have already gotten a progress report. Sean has (thankfully) gotten over that so-called phase he went through at the beginning of school. I am so grateful for that. That was truly a trial for all of us. Mackenzie is doing very good as well. She was evaluated for speech therapy, so hopefully all will go well with that and she will start seeing the therapist soon.
I am now officially single! Although I am anxious to get out there and start meeting new people, I am not trying to rush into anything too fast. I now know what type of person I am looking for and I KNOW better than to just settle. Yes, I have a list of standards that one must meet now ;)
So, to all of you lovely ladies out there that actually read my blog, let me know if there are some single guys anywhere to be found...LOL
Here are some pictures of things that have happened since the last time I blogged. Mackenzie helped Deb can a bunch of peaches and she even made peach pie. Then, we went to the church farm and picked a TON (almost literally,lol) of tomatoes. We helped can them as well. Now, we are looking for an electric wheat grinder so we can make our own bread! (Dang, are we a Mormon family or what??)
Our cat, Belle, had kittens. Five adorable kitties are now about 7 weeks old. The kids did not know she was going to have kittens, so when I actually found where she had hidden them, we planned out a treasure hunt, the kitties being the treasure. The kids really enjoyed it!
I have lots more to write about (which I know you will be reading before you read this since the most recent post goes on top..hehe)

Kenzie pouring the Sugar

Mmmm, peaches for pie and jam

Picking Tomatoes...

Sean reading a clue for the treasure hunt

Our cute little treasures!!!

Fall is Here!

Ok, I have decided, yet again, to change my background. I'm not sure if I like it, but it is the cutest autumn one I have seen. And, I will probably change it soon, but I'm too tired. I'm really hoping that I can update this thing tomorrow. I have so much to blog about, but it seems like I just have no time for it. Anyways...Hope everyone has a good Sabbath Day!

I've had a Birthday Shout Hooray!!!

Can't believe I am a quarter of a century!! I had a great day yesterday. It started with the kids just overly excited that today was my birthday, a baptism, and another birthday party. My awesome friend, Emily S son was baptized. Sean was so excited to see him! We haven't gotten together in so long, I'm surprised they even remembered each other (J/K, Em). Things have just been so busy.
So, after the baptism, we headed straight over to a birthday party. It was for a boy in Sean's primary class at church. It was a pool party and the first time I had ever left them for swimming at someone else's pool. But, there were four adults watching the children at all times (plus, two of them were certified lifeguards) so I felt pretty safe leaving them there. I was able to go home and relax with a movie (Baby Mama...LOVED IT) and my Ben and Jerry's Cake Batter Ice Cream! That was a nice hour. After I picked them up from the party, I dropped them off at home quickly so I could enjoy a couple of hours at the mall! Its not very often that I get to go shopping but I am in such need of a new wardrobe, its pretty pathetic! I just found a couple of things, but I'm real happy with what I got.
After the mall, Bryce, Deb, and the kids met me at Olive Garden!!! YUM-O! Of course, I got my same ol same ol, Fettucini Alfredo. My friend, Melissa, even suggested this Alfredo pizza. It sounded really good, but I just couldn't do it.
I got a cute card from the kids, as well as Bryce and Deb and a beautiful hydrangea plant. Can't wait to get that dang rose bush outta my yard and plant some hydrangeas!! Love Them!
Emily gave me a fun gift bag with some fabulous MK products so I can "look HOT in the singles ward". Thanks Em!!
It was a very great day! And what better way to wrap up all of our birthdays this year than to go to DISNEYLAND! Can't wait. We are leaving on Wednesday, coming back Sunday. There will definitely be tons of pics from that! Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Cool Church Information

I frequently go to sugardoodle.net. I think it is one of the best websites for lesson ideas, FHE lessons, etc. If you haven't checked it out, you need to! Anyways, I was looking at her random 10 page where she picks 10 cool websites to check out. I found this one link titled Tour Under the Tabernacle. This brought me to a blog-type site that (I'm assuming) a missionary couple had during their mission at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I haven't read enough to know if that was the case. Anyways, they had a private tour of the 2 stories underneath the Tabernacle. Most of you know what a MoTab junkie I am, so I was thrilled to get the "virtual" tour of the whole building. It shows the dressing rooms, practice rooms, office, music library, etc. Thats not all. If you just go to their homepage here, there's just tons of cool stuff. The only other one I saw was the Christmas on Temple Square. Its fascinating to me! It makes me want to be there even more than I do already! So what if it gets down below freezing. I've lived in weather like that before and I survived!!! Anyways, just thought it would be cool for you all to check it out. I know what I will be doing all night after Enrichment!

There really are good people out there!

Ok, this is very random but I wanted to remember what happened. Last week I had to go out to MJC to take care of some things for my classes. I was in a room waiting to talk with someone and there were a bunch of other people in there. One of the counsellors there was selling candy bars for her daughter's class. One of the students had bought one or two for herself, then she asked, well, told me to pick out one for myself. I think I was kind of in a shock. I mean, her actions were very small, I mean it was just a buck, but just the fact that she was so generous. She was buying everyone that was in that room a candy bar. This goes to show there really are good decent people in the world. I mean, for goodness sake, that was in Modesto...LOL. So, over the past week, I have often thought about the sweet lady who bought all these people she didn't even know a candybar, just because she wanted to. I need to be doing more things like that!
Ok, I know I have not posted in forever and I have a ton to update on. Hopefully I will get on that tonight or tomorrow. Now, I'm off to pick up our poor doggy, Ginger from the vet. She had a cracked tooth which caused a bad infection. Sure hope she's feeling better!!

A Change

Well, I decided to look around and try to find a new background. I was just getting tired of the last one. I am still not sure if I am sold on this one. It's pretty, but there were a lot more on that website that I liked, but it didn't fit my page good enough. Let me know what you think!! I will hopefully be updating my blog later tonight

Pure Heaven

Ok, You haven't lived until you have this. MMMMMMM...so good I have to hide it in the back of my freezer. If I want some during the day, I sneak it into my room and lock the door...LOL. Heaven I tell ya

First Day of School!!

I have been waiting for this day for quite a while. We had a fabulous summer with tons of trips and lots of swimming and lazy days, but I like routine. If not for me, at least for my kids. I remember when I was going to school (well, elementary school, that is...lol) that I would love going shopping for all of my supplies I needed. I always wanted the coolest backpack along with the hip notebooks and folders and stuff.
Their school started August 11th, so the Saturday before, we all headed to Wendy's for lunch, then Target for the dreaded backpack shopping. There are just so many choices. I knew that Sean would have loved a Ben 10 backpack which I knew wasn't in stores, but I found it online so I asked him if he wanted me to order it for him. He didn't. He had rather pick it out in real life! So he got a pretty awesome Transformer Optimus Prime backpack.
At first, she spotted a Tinkerbell one. I'm just thinking to myself,"When the heck did she ever like Tinkerbell?" Anyways, after much convincing to get a way cuter black and red cherry hello kitty one, she still wanted the Tinkerbell. So, I bit my tongue and threw it in the cart. They are only small once, whats the point of telling them no to a stinking backpack. Which reminds me of a quote I read from a fellow blogger...I will post it at the bottom. Well, we were going through the store getting the various crayons, folders, notebooks...yada yada yada. We came across a complete different section of backpacks near the luggage and lo and behold....she found a different one she wanted more. I have to admit, I really liked it to even though I am not into the character things..It was the cutest Hello Kitty backpack on rollers. She LOVED it!!
The first day was hectic of course. Bryce, Deb and I have started waking up at 6:30am for family scripture study which has been amazing so we started on the first day of school. The kids were great getting ready and they were so excited. We went the Friday before to meet their teachers, so we knew where everyone had to go. Sean gets to be in a brand new building, but it is so far away from where most of the buildings are. Mackenzie is in the class right next to where Sean was last year. Of course, he had no trouble at all going into class. Remember, he is a 1st grader, they are BIG boys!!! So, off he went and then we took Mackenzie to her class. Things were going great. She had been so excited for a very long time. I took her in, watched the kids sing a song, and then the kids told their parents goodbye. Well, she came over to me and tears started streaming. Her, not me. Poor thing was scared. I comforted her as well as I could, then she went and sat with her class on the carpet. It was cute, but heartbreaking to see her nervous.
Well, I had 3 whole HOURS to myself. So, I opted to watch TV those 3 hours. I'm like, I have nothing to do. I have no money, so don't need to go to the store, I have no kids so I don't need to referee, I have nothing...except a load or 5 of laundry and dishes. But, like all moms, we need a break. I am really loving these Olympics. So, I got me a good dose of Mens Beach Volleyball and some swimming. Of course, the first day was a great day...lets hope the rest of the year goes just as well!

Oh, the quote I wanted to share. Well, its not a quote, but something Sister Hinckley said in Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley. She always tried to say yes to her children unless she had a good enough reason not to.
The fact that I was trying to say no to my little girl who's heart was set on this Tinkerbell backpack was just plain wrong. And I know thats not the only thing, but I just need to take Sister Hinckley's thought into consideration. Kids will be kids, and they are weird! But I need to just relax and let them be.

Sorry for the long post...dang I didn't want to shut up!

Movie and Pizza Night

Since summer vacation has come to an end, I thought it would be a fun thing have a movie and pizza night the Friday before they started school. They thought it was a good idea as well! When I was getting groceries at Winco, I remembered they have already made pizza dough that they sell in the deli, as well as their sauce. I really don't care for frozen pizzas, and I am not that great of a baker to make my own crust and sauce, so I figured meeting somewhere in the middle really worked great! We are really not that adventurous when it comes to pizza. My favorite is cheese and sometimes pepperoni. Mackenzie likes cheese and pepperoni and sometimes pineapple. Sean LOVES cheese, pepperoni and pineapple. Needless to say, these pizzas were very easy to make. Instead of making one big one, I decided to divide the dough into four pieces and the fourth piece made yummy breadsticks. I made them just like Little Caesars.
Now, the movie idea didn't work out too great. In my mind, the kids would decide on a movie that we all could watch while eating the pizza. Well, of course they each chose a movie and wanted to watch it when we got home. Oh well...that really didn't bother me. Sean chose super mario brothers, Mackenzie chose something else (oops, I forgot) and I chose No Reservations which I watched later that night. It was a real good movie!
So, have you guys saw those Redbox machines in grocery stores (or in Mcdonalds if you are in Utah!) ? That HAS to be the best invention ever made. Its like this movie vending machine. You have to use a credit card so if you keep the movie too long, it will charge your account for the extra night. But, the movies are just $1.00 per night. They have a ton of new release movies, family movies, etc. I couldn't believe how many of these Redbox's I saw when we were in Utah. I mean, they were in EVERY Mcdonalds we went in. (and with my kids, that was a lot of micky d's). The only thing I would change is for them to be along the drive thru so you didn't even have to get out of the car. (I know...I'm a self proclaimed LAZY BOTTOM). Ours is in Raley's supermarket. They are now in Wal*mart's too! And the cool thing is, you can have free "codes" sent to your email to get a free rental. Ok, enough about that...Here's some pics of the kids' pizzas!

New SpringWidget

This is a pretty cool thing that our church has come out with! You can subscribe to these "gems" and get one every day in your email or have them on your blog! I think I check my blog more than my email..LOL.
Get this widget!

Visit the Widget Gallery

Breaking News!!!!!

SAAAWEEEET!!!!!
Girls Night Anyone?????

Fun at the Fair

Gateway in SLC

Before we left Utah to come home, we had to stop at Gateway. It is the coolest outdoor shopping mall I've ever been to. What's really cool is they have this cement area where water shoots up from the ground. Of course, once the kids saw it, they wanted to get wet. They were a little hesitant at first, but got over it very quickly. The 2002 Winter Olympics were in SLC, so there is a ton of olympic stuff all around. Every 30 minutes, they even have the water synchronized with music which makes for a great show.
Isn't it funny how small the world really is?? Bryce and I were getting the chairs set up so he could watch the kids play while Deb and I went shopping. Here comes this little girl over to where we are at, and she says hi. I looked up and I couldn't believe it, but it was a little girl from my ward there playing with her whole family. What are the odds of that?? After a few hours of playing and shopping, we headed out. What a fun family vacation this was!!! Can't wait to do it again!

Slacker

Has it really been over a week since I have posted??? Geesh, I guess I am too busy looking at other people's blogs to get to work on updating my own. I added my blog to Sugardoodle, which you should really check out. Ever since then, I have had tons of people looking at my blog, which is GREAT. I just want to know who you are!!! I have 1 or 2 more for Utah, then I will be updating the last 2 weeks we have had in our household! I really can't get behind like that.
I look forward to hearing from all of you out there!