our gifts to each other....

This year our gifts to each other were simple. he asked for a new large set of scriptures. With my parents help I was able to come through for him and he's really pleased. He says it's his favorite gift this year. For me, Aaron bought a few books in the series I am currently reading. and he did the dishes, cleaned the countertops, table and floor every day for 7 days. This was something I requested and he followed through to a tee. Honestly, the best present ever! THANKS HONEY!!!!! and yes this picture is a complete pose! our 6 yr old was trying to get a good shot and after about 5 tries he got it, but we look so fake. oh well.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

It's Christmas time!!!

CHRISTMAS is the best time of year, isn't it? so cheery and exciting. I just love it. We have lots of fun traditions that get us in the christmas spirit. An interesting fact I want to add is that though our Christmas budget was seriously hacked this year I had one of the best and less stressful christmas' ever. We got one thing for each of our kids this year and they were all so thrilled. I can't post a pic for dylon's present because we are taking him to the "walking with the Dinosaurs" show that is coming next week to the idaho center, but here's what pj and Cadence got: The kitchen was made out of an old entertainment center i found at the Youth Ranch and all the accessories were bought at D.I. , youth ranch or Salvation army. for a few things i posted wanted ads on craiglist was able to get them for free! we had to purchase a few knobs and hinges and the silver paint to make the stainless look but that's about it. ( and new pots and pans) Grandpa and Uncle assembled it all. isn't it fantastic?? pj got a little car to ride in that she loved so much christmas morning she would not get out of it and couldn't stop giggling. it was great! she also got a her first baby in her stocking from santa and she took it everywhere all day. i even caught her snuggling up with it on the couch after all the excitement was over. so sweet! if i wouldn't have snapped the pic i think she would have fallen asleep.

A Fiddling Family Affair

This year we all participated in the annual Harvest Hoedown, something I did close to my entire childhood. now i get to see my kids take part and it's really fun to see them all costumed up on stage. It was a crazy busy weekend (and few months prior) but it was great show and we all had fun. Cadence and dylon even played on the early morning news with larry gebbert that weekend to promote the show.

here are some pics of the morning news and both the friday and saturday shows:

What is pj up to? what isn't she up to!!!

preslee is keeping us so busy!!! running all over the house getting into everything.....and ON everything! she seriously is a little monkey! she climbs on anything and everything. so far, to name a few, I have found her on top of my sewing machine, on top of the piano, yes, really, and inside a compartment in our entertainment center that is not anywhere close to the ground. she is CRAZY! here are some pics of her in action:

Dancing Debut

This was such an exciting night for our family. It was Cadence's first dance recital. Is it a recital? i don't know what the correct term is. hmmm. well anyway, we were a bit nervous because she didn't dance at all in the dress rehearsal. she is the youngest in her group but i thought she was more prepared than she lead us to believe at rehearsal. she just stood there squinting out at the audience and watching all her little dancing friends twirl. so i warned all the family at the show the next night that they may have paid 8$ to see her not dance. But hallelujia, she did fantastic! she twirled and twisted and tapped in all the right places. i got tears in my eyes because i was so proud. and did i mention she was beautiful? (even though their costume was jammies, which i thought was weird but is apparently studio tradition for the little dancers.)

dylon gets glasses

dylon was having some headaches and i caught him squinting here and there so i had a pretty good idea what was up. Grandma took him in and a couple hours later i got a phone call. "Mom! guess what?!? I get glasses!!!" well at least he was excited. he picked out blue power ranger specs. he does look cute!

Preslee Jo is WALKING!!! well, kind of...

pj has been taking a few steps here and there. it's pretty exciting for us , and scary! i think the most she's done is 4 steps but before we know it she'll be cruisin'. We really aren't ready for our baby to be a big girl : (

Check out Unplugged!

so i found this neat site today called "Unplug your kids" and i really liked a lot of what i read and would suggest checking it out if you have kids. It was started by a mom of 3 who wants for us as mothers to actually teach, play with, and interact with our children and give them the potential to grow and learn rather than letting them waste their lives infront of a television. Of course I am a supporter of this woman's ideas. you all know that t.v. and video games aren't a part of my kids' lives at all and i think it's for the better. I don't want them to ever resort to watching television when they think they are bored or want to relax. Uh uh, no way. I don't think there is one thing, nope, not one thing that is 100% appropriate for them to watch so we just don't allow it, except on what we call "friday movie day" where they get to pick a movie after they have completed all their Friday chores. When we adpoted this, now almost 3 yrs ago, it was hard because i realized how much i used the t.v. as a babysitter for my then toddler and i had to come up w/ things to actually do with him! imagine that. after a lot of whining (on both ends) we realized the benefits that come from being a no t.v. family. My son actually said to me that he was glad we had "unplugged" the t.v. because we did so many more fun things together and it's true. Okay so i know that most of the girls who read this are amazing mom's who i look up to and wish i could be like, but it's never a bad thing to remind each other every now and then to cherish your babies more right now while they are so little and love us so much! I want to let you know that unplug your t.v. week is coming up again in April and i am encouraging you now to start thinking about unplugging and planning some fun activities with your family. there are lots of great ideas for zapping boredom and she even gives a weekly theme that is the basis of a family project to be done that week. of course you could come up with your own themes but she has some creative ones. She even has a "mom, i am bored box" for her kids with some great suggestions. well, just some ideas from one mom just trying to survive to the next! Love you all....and don't be afraid to unplug. : )

My Babies love each other!

Have I ever mentioned how much i LOVE taking pictures on Sunday's??? as you can see, my kids do too ! ha ha

My Creampuff Creation

I made these the other day and was pretty happy with myself. not only are they beautiful but they were so yummy. next time i have people over i am going to make them. ...and did i mention they were sooo easy?

Family carving contest!!!

We had a night w/o the girls so we decided to carve pumpinks. Part of us felt really guilty for not including them but the other part knew we might actually get something done and it made dylon feel special to have a fun night w/o the girls getting all the attention for a change. aaron was grossed out that i was reaching inside the pumpins and pulling out the mushy inside and seeds. it was pretty funny! what was even funnier was watching him try to cleanly and carefully scoop out the seeds with a spoon. dylon helped clean out the seeds and Daddy and I carved away. dylon actually drew the face on the pumpkin i carved. So who do you vote for? i am posting lots of pics because as you can see, we had a great time!

TrIcK oR tReAt!!!!!

Cadence was so beautiful with her first "up-do" complete with glitter spray, and a touch of mama's makeup.

Well another successful Halloween has come and gone. The kids were cute this year as always and they had tons of fun! This is the first year that Cadence really understood what was going on and I think Dylon really enjoyed finally having a buddy to run the streets with. They ate up all the "what a beautiful princes", and "wow, what a handsome knight" comments and had all the energy in the world. Aaron and I had a great time too. And how about that weather?!?! : )


Candy fairy? Yes? No?
have you heard about the candy fairy? so i actually hadn't heard of her until this year but now that i have it's all over the place and i am undecided on what i think. So instead of your kids eating all the sugary unhealthy treats they aquire on halloween they pick out their few favorites and then leave the bag of candy on the porch for the candy fairy to come exchange it for a new toy to be found the next morning. While it's sounds fun and is a healthier alternative to the traditional halloween i am not sure if letting your child completely indulge on chocolates and smarties for a couple of days once a year is so wrong. Now i am usually pretty hard core (some would say) about certain things with my kids and always looking for a new approach, or a fun twist but i am on top of making sure my kids get the nutrition they need. yes i count their daily fruits, veggies and proteins and i only give them healthy snacks at home, no poptarts or pretzles here, but the reason i do that is so that on special occasions or trips to grandma's i don't have to worry about what they eat, or don't eat because I've got them covered! And it's not like i let them sit and eat their whole bag in a day. Actually you'll find that if you consistently feed your kids healthy foods they won't have the tolerance to sit and eat too much junk. some days maybe, but not usually. anyway, i feel pressure to jump on the candy fairy wagon and i am not going to budge on this one. Halloween only comes around once a year. Enjoy your candy kids. you can get a new toy at Christmas!


(keep scrolling down....)

Mash Game: Predict Your Future at eSPIN-the-Bottle. (but you have to scroll down)

		I will marry aaron.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Greenleaf in our fabulous Shack.
		We will have 13 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a mustard yellow yellow Xterra.
		I will spend my days as a undertaker, and live happily ever after.

a few more things that need to be shared...

Cadence did start dance and she loves it . it's way too cute. all the girls in her class are her age and they all show up with fancy little hair-do's and pretty little tutu's. ...and from the sounds of it they are all just like cadence; little princesses that love to play dress up and run around the house singing. It's a perfect fit for her and she loves her teacher "Miss Edette". for her birthday i made her a pink canvas dance bag with hanging pink beads and ribbon and rhinestone letters that say "dancing princess". i couldn't find one in the store or online that i thought was a good fit for her so i came up with that idea and i think it's perfect. i'll have to post a pic of her with her bag sometime.

OUR LITTLE POT HEAD

i sent out this mass email titled "apparently we have a pot head in our family". i think this is so stinkin' cute. she stuck in on there herself and i had to grab the camera.

finally posting THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

first day of kindergaten, first day of preschool. both so excited they couldn't stand it.

....and one sad mama.

Crazy Busy!!!

so i never really just ramble about myself on my posts but i feel the need tonight. usually it's all about my kids. i had pack meeting tonight and phew! it's over and was a success, at least i thought so. amazing it is how much time it takes to plan something like that, anything for that matter, but yet it didn't look like it was anything that should have stressed me out, but it totally did. for the past week i have been awaiting this day to be over. so i am blog hopping because whenever i finish a big project i want to stay up all night doing all "me" stuff. it's wierd i know, but i stay up late so often working on things that i have to do. so when i have the opportunity to completely waste time i don't want to waste it by sleeping. it's past time to update my blog and figure out a cuter template. ...and then as i am looking at mine i have to look at everyone else's to see what they've been up to and one thing leads to another and another.....oh and then someone has a killer template that's way cuter than anything i have seen before so i have to research it...

so after pack i wasn't ready to go home. i usually love going home to see the kiddos, and they are always so excited to see me. they hug me like i have been gone a year. but tonight i knew they were already in bed and i wanted to just have some more quiet "me " time. so i went where i go when i don't know where else to go , lovely, fascinating wal-mart. ha. yes i am serious. i do like to stroll up and down every aisle and just look and think. i don't even take my wallet in. just looking and thinking for me. the latest in scrap gadgets, little boy clothes, camping gear, halloween costumes... you name it, i saw it tonight.

well i am so happy i chose to go there tonight because i ran into one of my very best friends, an old neighbor of mine that i love and adore. she was on break and happened to walk right past me. i grabbed her and hugged her and we stood for the next 15 minutes and exchanged life drama and laughter and even tears. yes, right there in wal-mart. she is one of those friends that i don't see often at all but when we are together it's like we are as close as ever and haven't missed a beat. we needed to see each other tonight. isn't that wierd how it works like that sometimes?

so my big day is fast approaching. october 25th : prison break half marathon!!! i need you to cross your fingers for me. i am not asking for you to pray for me because you should only do that when you have been working hard, not when you just want some good luck. see, i really haven't been training like i should. the past 2 winters i have ran through snow storms, rain, whatever, and it never got me down. but this year i am already wimping out. it's cold in the mornings darn it. ...and i even have more padding than usual. so, i am not too prepared to run 13.1 miles but i am slowly, kind of trying to get there. i originally wanted to beat my last time but it looks like i am just aiming to finish again. oh well. it's a huge accomplishment for me anyway. and it's keeps me healthy getting there. and even better, aaron has been hitting the pavement with me my last few runs. both of us never saw that coming but he decided it was time he give me a bit of company. and get this, when we do go together we have to take our children of course so i push them, surprise surprise, and aaron does his best to keep up with us, while they lounge in luxury with their pillows and dvd player. spoiled kids.

hmmm, what else. well i just did my first batch of grape juice and it was so easy and successful! yummy yummy juice and a feeling of accomplishment. i have had a lot of firsts this fall and it feels good. i was so dreading my bday because i am terrified of getting old but maybe this will be a good year for me afterall.

wE hAvE bEeN BuSy !!!!!

we have been fortunate enough to do a lot of traveling this summer and see lots of cool stuff and spend time with lots of fun family! we have had some neat experiences and most of them weren't too far from home. i think the kids have learned a lot this summer and aaron and i have been able to relax our minds for a few days here and there which has been great. check out what we've done , and we hope you've had a great summer too!

We saw the twin falls temple!!!

TWIN FALLS TEMPLE TRIP. AUG. 14TH 2008. IT WAS SOOOOO PRETTY. (AND THE COOKIES THEY GAVE OUT AFTERWARD WERE REALLY YUMMY! )

CADENCE WANTED TO PICK OUT HER DRESS FOR THE TEMPLE. SHE WANTED TO LOOK BEATIFUL, AND SHE DID!

SILLY KIDS!!!

We have been planning for some time to visit the new twin falls temple. we have never walked through one before the dedication and we really wanted to check it out and give the kids an opportunity to see the inside of a temple. grandma dee wanted to come along too so we were excited to have her with us.

BEAUTIFUL SHOSHONE FALLS!!!

We've been here before but not since Cadence was a baby. The kids were really impressed....actually we all were. aaron and dee had never been there before and they were blown away by the beauty. what an amazing earth we live on.