HaPpY HaLLoWeEn!

This year for Halloween we were Star Wars characters. Justin has been really into Star Wars and said he wanted to be Luke Skywalker so Alexa said "yeah I will be Princess Leia" and our theme was born. The Luke Skywalker costume was hard to find, so Justin ended up being Obi Wan (thanks mom for the costume). I made Alexa's costume from some white curtain fabric (without a pattern mind you). It was a little hard to get on b/c the fabric was so stiff (it probably needed a zipper) but it worked and that is the important part. Oh did I mention this was my first sewing project ever!!! (i know, that explains a lot)! Tyson was Darth Vader, Chelsie was Queen Amadala and I was Padme. I love dressing up and all the decorations at Halloween. We went to our ward Trunk'r'treat Thrusday, it is always fun to see all the amazing costumes and for the kids to see their friends. Trick or Treating in our neighborhood on Fri. Fun, Fun, Fun, not to mention another years worth of candy!

Happy Birthday to my bro. Kendall

Kendall turned 19! shout horray! He is at BYUI and is getting ready to turn his mission papers. Happy Birthday Kendall!!!
here are some random Kendall facts:
1. Kendall loved to tell stories when he was younger. When began with "this one time" the were elaborate tales and very funny but never true!
2. Kendall has a funny sense of humor and always makes us laugh.
3. One year Kendall opened a bottle of shampoo for his one Christmas Eve present and exclaimed in dismay "shampoo???!!!!" we still get a good laugh out of that one!
4. He was the "favorite" child because of his red hair (until Travis came along!)
5. He loved playing soccer in high school and now plays on a rec team at BYUI.
6. In middle school he asked my mom if he could go by Kenny or Ken- she said no. (i think it is funny both that he asked and the she said no)
7. My nickname for him is Wendall. (i don't know why, but I have one for all of my sibs and my kids)
8. He is the most giving person- i love that about him.
9. He is a good and loyal friend.
10. He talked my mom into getting a dog when he was in HS. (my dad was/is totally against pets) she got it, he went off to school and the dog is still at home. There's irony for ya!
Happy Birthday! We love you!

Shout out to my cousin Brian and Bro-in -law Dave on their B-days

Sorry no pics for this one. I don't have any digitals and don't know how to scan the others yet. It is funny to have so many people born on NOV 1st!
Brian was one of my favorite cousins growing up. He lived in Idaho Falls (still does) so we didn't get to see each other much, but whenever we were up there for a visit- I spent every waking and sleeping minute with him. We would play all day and then all the kids would sleep on the trampoline in his backyard. It was a blast! We even went to Ricks (when it was called that) for a year together before he left on his mish. Good times!
Brian
1. Brian is the nicest person you will ever meet.
2. His room was SPOTLESS even in HS. I was amazed.
3. His "accident" stories are the funniest!
4. I would call his apt. at Ricks and leave singing messages
5. He drove me to the airport for my first ever plane trip. We almost died getting there (heading down the street with a big center divide) going the wrong direction is not a good idea!) and I was late. (and the whole time i was worried about the actual flight!)
I could go on and on, We have some great memories! Happy Birthday~ the big 3-0! YiKes! Love ya!

Dave
1. just the best Uncle- he loves all kids and they love him back
2. teases John (makes me laugh)
3. First Day Dave, sees almost every movie opening day- and is almost guaranteed to see most movies in the theater.
4. crazy driver (that is the truth)
5. He is anti-"rabbit food"and married Sarah who grew up mostly vegetarian. Ironic!
I am lucky to have great in-laws that I get along with and love. I wish I could post for all of them but there are a whole lot of them! But I am truely grateful for each and everyone! Have a great birthday Dave! We love ya!

That was no ANT!

Tuesday night (Sept. 30th) I was stung by a sCoRiOn on my baby toe in the kitchen when I was locking up the house. I went back to get a glass of water and I didn't turn the light back on. My first reaction was, 'I just got bit by an ant' (a big ant) but by the time I took the two steps to turn on the light I thought 'OWWW- That Was No Ant!' The little scorpion came running at me, the pain seared and I called for John to help. But he was sleeping and didn't hear me. So I ran and grabbed a shoe and killed the nasty little bugger. The affects were already taking over my leg. I crawled upstairs and woke up John. When he finally figured out what I was saying he ran downstairs to look for more (with the black light) He got me ice and water (since I never did get any) and some Advil. He brought the flashlight (blacklight) upstairs and shined it everywhere we went. It was a long night, but since I wasn't frothing at the mouth or experiencing blurred vision or paralysis (the symtoms to watch for!!!) I just hung out at home all night.
John has become the sCorPioN hUnTer! He has gone scorpion hunting every night since and has actually found a a lot of them- which really doesn't make me feel any better. But I guess at least there are less and less each night! SO if you see lights flashing around my yard, you'll know it is John on a hunt!
The blessings (in disguise); at least it was me and not one of my kids. And I would rather it be a scorpion, whose venom is a nuero-toxin (attacks the nerves) than a black widow or brown recluse whose bites are nasty with after effects that are nasty. Hense my acrachnophbia. Also I know a lot more about scorpions. (more than I ever wanted to!)

Happy Birthday Uncle Ricky!

My brother Eric turned the big 21 on Oct. 3rd. He is serving a mission in Denver Co. He is doing great and lovin' every minute. I am so proud of him and I love him and miss him tons.
Here are some fun facts:
1. I call him Ricky and my kids picked it up. It was a while before they realized his name was Eric.
2. Eric's alter ego when he was young was ZZhead, a name he gave himself. ZZhead displayed himself whenever Eric was hungry or tired!
3. Alexa couldn't say Ricky at first, so she called him "Rocky". He taught her to chant his name "ricky-ricky-ricky". Every once-in-a-while she will still give a Ricky chant.
4. Eric is an amazing baseball player.
5. He is an awesome artist (I am still waiting for my pictures- hint-hint)
6. He accidently memorized my musicals when I was in High School (not that he had a chance really) and he was like 9. The songs would get stuck in his head and drive him crazy. It was funny!
7. He is fun to be around and I like hanging out with him.
8. Eric loved candy when he was young and used to hide it all around his room. He could also be bribed with candy.(which sometimes came in handy)
9. He has a good eye and opinion about landscape and home intirior; color, furniture, layout, etc. Sorry future wife but Eric will definatley want a say in the home stuff!
10. He is a hardworker and a great missionary.
We love you and hope you had a great bIrThDaY!

Happy Birthday Justin!

Okay so I have some catching up to do!




Justin turned 6 on July 7th, and had a spy party. We had food, friends, spy training, and a spy cake. He had a great time.
Here are a few things about Justin: (keeping with tradition)
1. He LOVES airplanes and wants to be a pilot. (seriously every year he wants an airplane party and we watch the military channel for the planes- ever since he was 2 1/2, we have paper airplanes all over the house and lots and lots of toy airplanes and finally an airplane blanket that Grammie made him)
2. He loves to swim (good thing too b/c we live in the Valley of the Sun!)
3. He always wants to go somewhere and do something
4. He loves school
5. He loves going on bike rides (even in the blazing heat)
6. He is a great helper (when he wants to be) he empties the dishwasher and cleans his room on his own. When he is extra nice he will make Alexa's or my bed.
7. His favorite food is Korean and Pizza (not at the same time) and chocolate ice cream
8. His favorite movie right now is the Star Wars series. (I think it is all the flying- see #1)
9. His favorite colors are blue and red.
10. He is a Daddy's boy and follows him everywhere.
CCCCUUUUTTTEE!!!
We Love Our Justin! Happy Birthday Buddy!

So Sweet!

Tyson and Chelsie have a favorite blanket - it is the same blanket, one in blue and one in pink. Whenever we go into their room Tyson runs over to his crib and tries to pull it out through the slats. Sometimes he can get it but most of the time I have to get it for him. I aways change their diaper before naps and bed, and the only way to have Tyson hold still while I change him is to give him his blanket. The other day we went through the same routine. Get the blanket- change the diaper- then go get Chelsie for her turn. I layed her down and Tyson went and pulled her blanket out and brought it over to her. (The funny thing is sounded like he said "here-you-go!") So sweet- looking out for his little sis!

Birthday Girl!

It's June 2nd and Alexa turned 4! She has been partying for days, thanks to her birthday twin Jacob (our neighbor who's birthday is the same day and year and about 10 min difference!) We went to Chuck E. Cheese sat. for Jacob's party (they got Alexa balloons and made her feel it was her party too) and she got to pick out a new bike for her birthday, and with her party coming up- she is a lucky girl! In keeping with tradition here are 10 things from the past year about Alexa.

1. she is a chatterbox!

2. she is loves to color but somehow it always ends up all over her arms and legs, sometimes even clothes and the wall get in the way!

3. she hides her eyes when she is doing something wrong and I catch her in the act.

4. she LOVES baths and often takes 2-3 a day! (and she will sneak into any unsuspecting persons bath!)

5. she loves to shop and goes with me every time. (even the all-day marathon shopping). whenever we get into the car she asks if we get to go to the store. since the answer is usually no she asks the rest of the way if we can "please" go to the store.

6. she gets jealous when John holds my hand or hugs me. She pushes him away or pries his hand out of mine and then sits between us to make sure he doesn't sneak a kiss! (now we do it on purpose and laugh b/c she does it everytime!)

7. she loves to sing and dance around the house- so cute.

8. she is known to wear swimsuit and/or ballerina leotards all day long ~fall, winter, spring, or summer!

9. she changes her clothes many many many times a day and i find a trail of clothes all over the house

10. she is a snuggley cuddley bug and gives me hugs and kisses all day long

Alexa is a sweet and funny girl, and she makes me laugh all day long (most of the time!) we have a great time together. And we are so grateful to have her as a part of our family. Happy Birthday Alexa, We Love You!

Happy Birthday Uncle Curtis!

12 things about Curtis

1. he is a computer genius. I call him for all computer questions and he always patiently helps me!

2. he graduated from BYU as a computer engineer (of course!)

3. he would help me with my math and chem homework in HS even though he is 2 grades younger!

4. he set the curve in the chem class we had together -i was a senior and he a sophomore

5. he had the worlds best popeye face- when he was 3 (i need to get a pic. of that!)

6. we would play a lot when we were little, we loved thunder cats, he-man and she-ra, superman and wonderwoman, sometimes i tried to brib him play barbies but it didn't work so well.

7. he claims i was bossy when we were little but that is not true, i tried to tell him what to do but he wouldn't do it!

8. he is a bit of a picky eater (especially when he was younger) but learned to like more things when he was on his mission in Nebraska, Omaha spanish speaking. (except Peanut Butter.)

9. he hates peanut butter smell, taste, everything. we used to chase him around with spoons of peanut butter!

10. he got kicked out of daycare for biting the other kids. He had sharp teeth and if your hand got near it would get a little bite! I was on the recieving end of that a few times- watch out!

11. he pushed me into the deep end of the pool when i was 4 and i cut my chin and had to go to the ER to get it stiched up. He also broke 2 of my teeth with rocks he was throwing at me. (danger!)

12. He is an awesome Uncle and the kids LOVE him!

We hope you have a super birthday Uncle Curtis! We love ya!

(yes he is single so if you live in the San Diego area leave a post and a resume and we'll get back to ya! hehe)

Ode to Graduation

I can't believe it has been a whole year of Kindergarten! Miss Arnold was a fabulous teacher and Justin loved to go to school! (thank goodness). Today Kindergarten graduation, tomorrow high school graduation! Yikes. Well for now we will take it one day at a time. I am a little nervous about finding fun stuff to do during summer break, but it has been nice to gain an hour and half perviously spent getting ready for school and driving there and back. I have found I can get a few more things done!

The graduation was so cute, nice and short, but cute! They sang the funniest song then showed a DVD of the year and burned a copy for each family! And the certificate are amazing. Miss Arnold did an amazing job! I am so greatful for all the wonderful teacher out there that work so hard to teach our children! Next stop FIRST GRADE!!!!

Grab a Wrench!

Justin has been asking for over a year for us to take off his training wheeles. But I couldn't really help him when I has prego with the twins, so i told him to wait. And he did. He asked again after they were born and I told him we would soon. Well summer came and there wasn't much bike riding going on (lots of swimming though). So this winter, as we got back into bike riding, he went and got a wrench (the right size and everything) and took his own training off! After running next to him a couple of times he turned to me and said "thanks mom, I got it" and he did. We went riding every morning and after two days he could get going really well. By the end of the week he was passing around us and off roading. The morale to this story is "patience is a virture but if you take to long I will do it myself!"

(I was practicing panning in the first pic and that was my best one except Alexa got in the shot, but I think I still like it anyway!)

Busy Toothfairy!

Justin came home from school last friday with a necklace made out of dental floss and plastic in the shape of a tooth. I heard it tinkling as he walk in and I look over at him and asked "whatcha got there?" To which he replied "MY TOOTH!" What? no way? It wasn't very loose! But he showed me the gaping hole and sure enough it was missing. He pulled it out while he was working on his seatwork at school. I checked his other tooth (we usually check when we brush before bed and sure enough it wasn't very loose- just a little wiggle.) well of course the toothfairy came to our house and exchanged some goodies and $$ for his first little tooth. He was sooooo excited and showed at 6:30 saturday morning that she had in fact come! We all got up and began our chores and I hear him say "oh-oh". I look over and his other tooth was now hanging by a thread. He said "oh, what should I do" and I said "well pull it out!" and he did!! So the toothfairy had to come back to our house two nights in a row! I really don't know how he got them out- that is determination!!

I'll cry if I want to!

Okay so this might not be funny to anyone else but I thought it was hilarious! Tyson and Chelsie looked so cute so I tried to take their picture... but it was way to close to nap time so they cried the entire time. I snaped the pics anyway and found myself completely laughing by the end. It took me back to when they were first born and they would cry at the same time and it would sound like two sirens just off in their timing- making continuous noise. Their cry had two different pitches and Chelsies' had a squeak at the top- it always made me laugh (well for a few minutes anyway)! I just love the pic of them looking at eachother and crying. Then Chelsie became quite interested in Tysons hair. And finally at the end she gave me a BIG smile for the camera!

Where did the time go?

Tyson and Chelsie turned a year old on February 1st! I can't believe how quick that went by! I can't believe I made it a whole year nursing 2 babies! It was bitter-sweet to wean them but it was also surprisingly easy. (my other 2 not so much)

10 things about Tyson:

1. He does everything with his tounge hanging out

2. He crawls over anything in his way, including Chelsie

3. He can make brilliant noises with his tounge (clicking, rolling, waging, etc)

4. He loves his mama and always want to be held by me and only me

5. He was the first to say mama and still yells it at me when he wants food

6. He steals anything Chelsie is holding and any food she has left on her tray if his is empty

7. He loves bath time and splashes up a storm (lookout Chelsie)

8. He pulls off his pants and throws them and his blanket out of the crib if I take too long getting them up after they wake up

9. He has the sadest cry- you can't help but pick him up and give him a snuggle

10. He has a funny laugh but you have to work pretty hard to get him going

10 things about Chelsie

1. She is the most giggley baby I have ever seen! She laughs long and loud and free

2. She let Tyson take all of her stuff with nothing but a "uh" in protest and then moves on

3. She has a great set of lungs and can really wail

4. She loves to be held and will let anyone hold her

5. She loves to play pat-a-cake and was able to do all the motions by 9 mo's

6. She says "mmmm" after every bite of food and shakes her head when she is done

7. She gives nice wet open mouth kisses (sweet)

8. She weighed 5 oz. less than Tyson at birth and now it is more than 5 lbs. less

9. She smiles for the camera (although it is a bit of a funny expression it is the same everytime)

10. She cut all of her teeth at one time. she went from 0 to 7 then to 12 with the other 4 on their

way!

It has been so fun to see two babies grow up at the same time. to see their different personalities and a very distinct difference between a boy and a girl. While the beginning was very difficult and tireing ( and I know there is more where that came from), the blessings really are double! I love you Tyson and Chelsie! Happy Birthday!

Quarantined!!

This has been a bit of a rough winter for us. Especially this whole month of February aka Black February! we started the month out by taking turns with some form of the respritory flu. It wasn't too bad we were still able to mostly function. But then we got hit with the most horrible flu or bronchitis? who knows. but it was horrible. john started us off and each day someone would wake-up sick. I got it monday night (18th). I was fevering and just plain dying. I was up all night every night with one or two of the kids. Tuesday was the worst of it for me- I honestly couldn't move. Poor John had to help feed kids and hold one of the sick babies. Nobody in my house moved for a week!! Justin missed school for the first time this year (and what a weird feeling to have to call my kid in sick for the first time!) He ended up missing 5 days total. We watched practically every movie we own- to keep the kids occupied. We were all drugged on any medication we could find and we just layed on the couches covered in blankets. No one felt like eating so we barely ate for a week. And thank goodness for friends who would bring over food because I couldn't get up long enough to make anything. I have never been so sick with the flu- EVER! Other sicknesses like strep yes but the flu? no. This the worst I have ever seen. To take out a family of six within a week. I am still not better and if I move too much I start sweating- no to mention I ach and can't breathe and my head just throbbs. Okay this is way to long of a post for illness but I just can't believe the killer strength of this flu! (maybe if I was able to rest I would get better faster- but so it goes in the life of a mother!)

Happy New Year

We went to Disneyland on New Years Day with my family. It was a blast. After all, Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth AND most of my family was there (except for my brother who is on his mission in CO.) We had a grand ol' time. Justin loved all of the "big" rides. After every ride he would say "that was awesome! can we go on it again!") His favorite ride was space mountian because we were flying on a rocket! ( he he got soaked on Splash Moutain (we had to change his shirt and wait for his pants to dry). Alexa loved the rides but would hide her eyes during any scary parts. My cousin Marisa, who works for Mr. Disney, got us VIP tix to the Aladdin show. It was really funny and the babies were pretty good for the show, which was lucky because we were down in the front (although we had an escape route all planned out just case)! Tyson and Chelsie were really very good and the fun was worth all the extra effort of having two babies in tow at Disneyland. The fireworks were cancelled (too much wind) which is sad because they have the most amazing fireworks show; but we took Alexa over to FantasyLand and she had an absolute ball. It was great because all of the kids had gone home so we were able to walk on to most of the rides. Her favorite ride was the carousel. She said "we were on the horsies like Mary Poppins! right mom!" So Fun!

computer illiterate

so i tried to add all the pretty paper and embellishment to my blog (thanks melissa for the online tutorial) but i dont know how to make the header picture so cute. and as i was playing around with it i just kept making it worse and worse. so that is why the header looks lame and now i cant get the words off without making it worse. (any help would be appriciated). but i am proud that i actually got the paper thing right. it was scary even with the tutorial. but then again i cant even figure out how to send a forward or mass email- i know i really am computer illiterate!! but i like the new look! (thanks to shabby princess for the cute paper!)