Our Family

PJ

2012-02-10T07:01:00.000-08:00

Addie and I were going through old pictures and and we were laughing at all of the mischievous and facial expression pictures of PJ. He is such a character. So I just posted some of my favorites for your viewing pleasure.

fun events

2012-02-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

Addie and Trey attended the region reflections contest assembly. Trey Won the primary division in dance choreography and will be moving on to the state competition. Addie received an award of merit (same things as second) in the secondary division also in dance choreography. They both did a fantastic job and it is quite an honor for them to have made it this far.

Addie was in a dance performance " Alice in Topsy Turvy Land" she was a sugar lump. She was the very cutest brown sugar lump on the stage.

The class I teach was also in the dance program. they were hopping bunnies and boy could they hop!

It was a good program.

out with the old in with the new

2012-01-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

I am now the proud owner of two white mini vans. yes, that is right. I purchased a new van. Just like the old one it is white with gray interior. However, it is much nicer than the old one. It is a 2010 Chrysler town and country. Landan is so disappointed in me. He can't believe I would choose to buy a new vehicle and get another mini van. Well, I will bear my testimony of minivans. They are super convenient when you have kids. They are cheaper than most SUV's and they get better gas mileage. So there!! We are trying to sell our old one. So if you know anyone that wants a salvage title 2005 Saturn Relay with 138,000 miles on it and stained carpet, permenant marker on the seats and missing ceiling lights, send them our way.

Trey, PJ and cousin Waylon, started playing basketball at the city. It is a group for 3-5 year olds. My boys think it is pretty awesome.

Trey is showing some skill in basketball.

The Unified Special Olympics tournament was on Tuesday. Unified means that each team is made up of two special Olympic athletes and two non special Olympians (peers) All of our teams did great. The one I play on got the silver medal.

January

2012-01-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

We started the new year out with an awesome party! which meant, I played with the kids while Landan watched the Jazz game and then I sent them to bed at 9 p.m. They didn't know any better.

PJ had a field trip to the fire station. The was a big deal because PJ is afraid of fire trucks. He cried twice but other than that, he did great!!

his cute little class

My boys are really into playing in their band " the Utah Rocking Utes" they recently competed in a rock competition in my kitchen. They were awesome!! Thankfully, they were in the only participants.

Trey went to the dentist. He was the best kid ever! I was so proud of him. He actually fell asleep in the chair. He had to get a mini root canal. They gave him some amoxicillin in case his tooth got infected. He took it and we soon found out he was allergic to it. He vomited several times, had breathing issues and broke out in big welts all over his body. I hope this doesn't ruin future dentist visits.

Just going through my pictures.. It is hard to remember Addie this small! What a cutie

Christmas

2012-01-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve, we have the tradition of eating German pancakes and bacon. We also open their new pajamas in the morning because we have parties until late at night and usually at least one of my kids is a sleep before we get home. They also wear them all day. Right now they love it. I am sure there will be a point when they don't want to wear them all day and everywhere we go.

They are some pretty darn cute kids.

After breakfast we went to see "the Muppets" I thought it was too long, but kind of funny at times.

We went to two parties. The DeGraffenried and the Grandma Patty party. They were both fun! The kids were pretty tired and ready to go to sleep so Santa could come. Christmas morning, the kids opened their presents left under the tree. Once they were done I told them that Santa's biggest surprises they had to find.

Trey found his in his bedroom. The Arcade hoops. He also got the orange cones you see by his bed. He has already issues citations to all have crossed the cones.

Everyone is enjoying the basketball game.

PJ found his surprise in the toy room that said "PJ's mechanic shop" He got this car that can be completely taken apart and then rebuilt. He has already changed multiple tires, changed oil, rebuilt transmissions etc...

Trey is also loving the car

The kids got a cash register for their gas station. They always play gas station in the little area under the stairs. They pull up to the window in the little car and order diet cokes.

Addie's big surprise, the number one thing on her list was an orbeez foot spa. I have to admit is pretty cool. She loves it! Christmas day, all the grandmas, myself and Pj got foot massages from Addie.

Addie was also thrilled to get a Justin Bieber shirt and leopard print purse.

She also got Just Dance 3, We Cheer 2, and Sing it

and a new church dress... We had a great Christmas!!

a whole bunch of craziness

2011-12-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

Addie was in the nutcracker again this year. She was a medium mouse. Hopefully when she is in it again two years from now, she will get to be something different.

After the Nutcracker, Addie and I rushed to the Heelis Party to see Santa. She made it in the nick of time.

We made our annual sugar cookies. It is nice to know I can still decorate cookies better than 3 people in this world.

We had our family pictures taken. The DeGraffenried Family Photo. Pretty cool, I think.

Landan and I have our first updated picture together since 2002

So I had a crazy experience with the Santaquin Church fire. I drove passed the morning we heard about the fire. I happened to see that my dad was there. So I decided to see if I could go in. I walked in, no one said a word. So I walked down the hall and up the stairs to where my dad and Bones were talking to the investigator, church architect and firemen. The church architect handed me a flashlight and told me to look around. I was horrified with what I saw. I got out my camera and started taking pictures. When I got home I wanted to show my local facebook friends that there was a lot of damage done to the church. I had no idea my pics would spread so far and so fast. I was contacted by the Santaquin paper who asked if they could use them on their website. After checking to make sure that was ok I gave my permission. What I am extremely shocked about, however, was to see my pics on FOX 13 news. I never gave permission to anyone. They were just there with my name above the photos. I was kind of freaked out that my pictures had traveled that far. So I found out the reason my pictures were so high in demand is because the media was not allowed in where I had been taking pictures. Who knew my pictures would actually be the only ones out there? I sure didn't.

It was horrifying to see.

Below is the link to the actual news broadcast that my photos were on.

http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-arson-suspected-in-santaquin-lds-church-fire-20111215,0,571227.story

yep I turned 35 and stuff

2011-11-26T23:45:00.000-08:00

So here I am being all old and everything. One day I will look back and say "remember when I thought 35 was old" I think I will post a picture every year so I could look back at the year before and say "what happened? I used to be much skinnier and have less wrinkles" unless I get botox and liposuction and then I will think there was a lot of improvement in my older years. any way, it was a good birthday. I was treated to diet cokes and other yummies. I bought myself a new vacuum. The best part of my birthday was finally getting my tax refund! Wahoo!!

Thanksgiving was good! We were thankful and ate a lot. Friday we went to see "Arthur" it was cute. Saturday We went to see the town light parade. It was cold and short.

Now on to the crazy month of December..

Addie's gymnastics in house meet

2011-11-18T11:43:00.000-08:00

Addie's team competed against each other so they could get an idea of what it is like to compete. They didn't score them or anything but they went from apparatus to apparatus and did everything as if it was the real deal. Addie did really well! Of course my camera always decided to take the picture too late so I don't really have any great pics.

She was nervous all day. After school she grabbed her beam and pulled it upstairs to the kitchen and googled level 4 beam routine and practiced over and over until she felt confident with it. She is definitely self driven.

It will be fun to watch her compete.

winter is here

2011-11-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2011

Halloween time was fun and busy. Here is a break down of the festivities. 3 class parties, 2 preschool trunk or treats, party at Grandma Patty's, trunk or treat at Grandma Carla's and trick or treating in the neighborhood. I can't speak for my kids but I was tired.

My kids of course looked adorable. Addie for the second year in a row was Princess Tiana. Trey was a Santaquin main street construction worker and PJ was woody from toy story.

At Grandma Patty's party Addie and Gracie volunteered to do the dishes. Who is going to say no to that?

Nephew Chad went as Michael Jackson.

all the little ones at Grandma Carla's trunk or treat

Trey is really into politics. Trey is standing over me right now as I write. He requested that I tell you to "VOTE YES to prop 1&2 and vote for Carr, Payne and Wollebaek" He also said don't forget to tell them "don't waste our investment" He also wants you to know the he is running for City Council when he is 34 and his signs will say " Vote for Trey DeGraffenried Huff. He is a good investment and a nice guy"

Addie and Trey both did well in the Reflections contest. Trey placed 1st in dance choreography in the primary division and Addie placed first in dance choreography in the intermediate division. they were both thrilled to get their trophies. Trey said the best part was the trophy was a rectangular prism.

Carlene finally had her baby. Little Raquel was born on the 4th of November. She is a cutie. PJ wants to keep her.

PJ turns 4

2011-10-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

It is true, the baby of my family is now 4! It is kind of hard for me to believe.

PJ has really been digging cowboys lately. Mainly because he loves Woody from Toy Story. So we decided to have a cowboy themed birthday party. We started by getting Diana Waite to design the invitations for us. They turned out so cute!

Now PJ just didn't want to be any cowboy. He had to be Woody. I think he is the cutest cowboy ever! Next We had Cowboy Andy( Isn't that awesome, since Woody's owner is Andy) come over with his horses and let all the kids go on rides.

They all had so much fun! Even my mom rode for a bit.

While they were waiting to ride, the kids practiced roping a dog and cow (not real ones)

and played ring toss.

After all the riding and games were done, We had a pinata. I thought the boot Pinata was awesome!

Cousin Chase really knows how to whack an pinata.

After the pinata, we had cake and opened presents. It was a fantastic party for my little cowboy.

On his actual birthday, He went to Carl's Jr with the family and had Grandparents visit and shower him with gifts. He loved them all but one of his favorites had to be the bed tent.

We love PJ. He is very exuberant, happy, full of expression and has way too much energy. He definitely add more excitement in our home.

Mostly Trey

2011-09-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

Landan and I went to Shirly's funeral last Saturday. It was a nice service. Later in the week I took my kids to the cemetery to see where she had been buried. I took a picture because I wanted to have a picture of the floral arrangement we sent. I thought it was gorgeous. It is the heartshaped one with the sunflowers. I loved how the sun came shining through.

Trey has adjusted nicely to kindergarten. The first week of school, He told me Miss Rowley was nice but she was not as lovely as Miss Stacy.(his preschool teacher) He even wrote miss Stacy a note saying " I love you, I miss you" Well last week Trey came home and said " Miss Rowley is nice and beautiful and gorgeous and sunshiny and I love her"
He says the funniest things and asks the best questions. that often I do not know the answers. He examines the toilet frequently. "where are those pipes that lead to the sewer when I flush. I can't see them" "Where does the water go after it goes down the storm drain?" If I say " I don't know" I get the response " Come on Mom, Just tell me" I guess he thinks I am smarter than I am. or my latest favorite. "What is a bureaucracy?" He is a worry wart. He is constantly brushing his teeth to prevent gingivitis. Every time we get near water he asks if he is going to drown. He rides his bike to school. Only he really walks it half the way because he might get going too fast on the hill. He wants to be a crossing guard again this year for Halloween. I was excited since we already have the costume. However, He wants to switch it up this year and hold a GO sign instead of a STOP sign. He is the funniest, most delightful kid, when he is not throwing tantrums. Now if I can just find his TORNADO SHELTER and NO DRINKING UNDER 21 signs that he wants for christmas, I will be the best mom ever.

A good friend

2011-09-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, Sharolyn, who Megz and I lovingly refer to as Shirly, asked me to write down my memories of her. I started to do so, but got a little lazy and never finished the project. I guess people always think they have more time.

Sharolyn passed away Tuesday. She was just 34 years old. She died of fibro sarcoma primary bone cancer. I knew this time was coming but I was completely unprepared.

I met Sharolyn in 8th grade. She passed me a note in vocational core that said " Do you watch Days?" I wrote her a note saying I used to watch it with my friend Amy but hadn't seen it in a long time. The next several notes was her catching me up on what had happened in the last few years of that soap. We were instant friends. I think partly because we both liked to be a little rebellious without going too far. She always was full of energy. when I was with her we always laughed a lot. We loved to be a little naughty like when we sang Entrepreneurship in Mrs Monteirth's class We changed it to entrepeneurSHIT. I know I know super mature but it was hilarious in 8th grade. Funny thing is.. later in life she was indeed an entrepreneur.

Sharolyn and I have remained friends since the 8th grade. At some points in our life we were closer than other times. I remember when she was diagnosed with cancer the first time. It was thyroid. It was a scare for sure but she seemed to get over that one quickly. Around this time, Megan, Shirly and I went to Vegas together. It was such a fun time, which over the years we have joked about many of the funny things that happened on that trip.

She was with me during the time I was dating Landan, in fact some people thought he was dating her and not me. While Landan and I were engaged, we went with Sharolyn, Michael and Ty on a trip to Moab. We had a great time. She had purchased this really unattractive van/car that we went on road trips in. I am looking at it in the background of this pic and thinking it looks a lot like the van I now drive.

She was at my wedding.

Sharolyn, Along with Melissa and Heather entertained at my wedding. Shirly was a great pianist and singer. She also had many other talents. She made an incredible video for my Special Olympians as well as making the wedding videos for two of my siblings.

Sharolyn tried out for American Idol and made it on air. She dressed as half man/half woman and did a duet with herself. It was hilarious. I remember how excited she was about that. Sometimes her exuberance for things or the way she looked at a situation made me roll my eyes. However, it is funny how those eye rolling moments are actually what I find most endearing about her. She was simply Sharolyn! She seemed to always know who she was and it didn't matter what others thought.

In the last 5 years or so, I noticed a certain maturity about her. Her view on life was so incredibly optimistic. I can't help but wonder if subconsciously people know when there isn't much time left.

When she called me to tell me that she had cancer again, I remember feeling very upset but also thinking she would get through this one just like she had with her first bout of cancer a decade earlier. When I found out doctors gave her 3 months to 2 years I was devastated. It was so unfair. She hadn't had all the worldly opportunities that she so desired.

I am grateful for the last year of opportunities I had with her. Whether it was going to see a play at Hale theatre. Or going out to dinner, meeting at her house for pizza or visiting her at the hospital it was always a good time. Her attitude was so positive that sometimes I forgot that she was sick. I admire her for that!

This picture is with a cast member from "hairspray"

She was a dear friend who will be greatly missed. "Some people come in our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts-and we are never, ever the same." Thanks for being my friend, Shirly, I love you.

pinewood derby and no training wheels

2011-09-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

For activity days, we had a pinewood derby. It was a daddy daughter date. Unfortunately Landan had to work so I got to be dad. The girls had a lot of fun.

None of these girls had the fastest cars. BOO! They are so sad

Addie and Trinadee were acting out what would happen if Trinadee's car beat Addie's in the loser round. Good thing Addie's car was victorious!

This has been a big summer for my boys. First, they both learned to pedal. SO they got their bikes. Then they both learned to ride without the training wheels. PJ conquered it first and does it with a lot more ease than Trey. Trey is way too aware that there is a possibility of him getting hurt.

the big 40th surprise

2011-09-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

For my mom and dad's 40th wedding anniversary, we took them on a scavenger hunt. The first clue was delivered to their house by Phil and Jeannette. The clue told them to go where they went on their first date.

There first date was at the Huish watching "tora tora tora" obviously a movie my dad selected. My kids gave them their next clue to the orchards where they spent most of their dating time fixing sprinklers. (How fun) Kyle and Carlene Family met them there to give them their next clue to Aunt Paula's house. My dad's sister Paula is the one who wanted them to get married. My dad said My mom was too young for him so unless an angel appeared to him he wouldn't marry her. Paula dressed as an angel and appeared to my dad. The rest is history... The next clue was to the Red Barn where they get their weekly ice cream cones. At that point Jimmy drove them up the canyon to the last location, which was their tree.

here they are walking to the tree

This is the new tree they started in 2009 because the original tree was dying. The original tree was carved in 40 years ago it was a heart with JED +CH and then again in 1996 where they added "still in love"

when the parents arrived all 40 of us were waiting there with balloons. That is right folks, on their 40th wedding anniversary they have 40 members in their family.

WE sent them soaring!

Only 39 went up Jeffrey's got stuck on his braces. Hee hee it was one of best moments of the night.

We presented the parents with their gift. Because the original tree was dying, Tommy and Jimmy cut out the part that had their writings on it and framed it.

We then had cake that Bones made. He makes the best chocolate cake

picture of all of the grand kids.

It was a good time! I think we all had fun and my parents liked it

another week

2011-09-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

Monday was the first day all three kids went to school together. I was left all alone for 2.5 hours. That time went by really fast.

Trey's awesome backpack with his name on it. No one will be able to successfully steal his backpack

Trey did so great on his first day. When I picked him from school that day, he said " Mom, I wasn't sad at all when you left, only just a little."

PJ"s first day of tuesday/thursday preschool. He had a great time.

On Friday I still get one on one time with PJ. I took his tool bench outside for him to play and it was like he got a brand new toy. He has been playing with it non-stop. Apparently I just need to move the location of the toys to get the kids to play with them again.

first week of school and happenings

2011-08-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

Addie and PJ started school on Monday. PJ started his monday/wednesday preschool and Addie started 3rd grade in a brand new school. They both are happy so far. Trey will start kindergarten on monday.

PJ on his first day. Isn't he a cutie. They learned about the letter M and they got mmmmeasured. I am the proud parent of the tallest kid in the class.

Addie has like modeling her new school outfits this week. She was easy to shop for this year. Leggings and dresses.

the boys surprised me by washing my car. They were pretty pleased with themselves.

Pj also gave his car a good scrub.

We went boating with Grandma and Grandpa Huff and cousin Chad.

Addie thought she was the bravest kid in the whole world until she fell in and got trapped underneath the raft. Momentarily scary for all of us and now she is terrified of the water.

We took my parents out for their 40th wedding anniversary. We took them to the place that they went on their very first anniversary. Funny thing about that is.. we didn't know that little fact until we were there eating and our parents told us.

the last hurrah!

2011-08-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

Addie had a back to school party on Friday. I had promised her birthday party when she turned 8 and then we never got around to actually having the party so we compromised with a back to school party. It was the way to go. I just rented the pool for an hour. I didn't do treats or have to worry about people feeling obligated to bring presents. Also, because we were renting the pool, I let her invite as many friends as she wanted. Anyway, it was fun.

last night we went to Grandma Patty's house for her birthday. We had a lot of fun visiting, eating, and roasting marshmallows.
This morning we went to the Utah County Fair. The kids had fun. Trey was mesmerized by the zumba dancers. PJ got annoyed with the sheep. He did lot like the constant Baa-ing . He would get up in their faces and say "Shut up, or I will spank your bum". Those naughty sheep didn't even listen to him. What BAAAAD sheep. PJ also wanted me to give the neighbor boy a spanking. I am sure that would have gone over great with his mother.

I am now teaching dance at Addie's dance studio. I was already lined up to do choreography there in the Spring. But now it looks like I will be teaching a class all year. Good times, I hope.

I can't believe summer break is over. That went by so fast. My kids have been driving me crazy so hopefully going back to school is a good thing.

my awesome boys

2011-08-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

It has been a big week for my boys. It started out with Trey finally learning to pedal. PJ mastered this skill quite awhile ago. However, it did not come naturally for Trey. I told them once Trey could pedal they could both get bikes. Above is Trey's new bike. They think they have to be just like dad and be constantly fixing their bikes.

The other big event of the week was DANCE CAMP!!! yes, that is right my boys went to dance camp and they loved every minute of it. It was hiphop/breakdancing.

they are the cutest ever!

Trey's lightning mcqueen unders are showing. That is totally cool right?

Trey's teacher Trae, is in the center showing some of his crazy moves

Trey in the hip hop circle showing his mad skills.

the whole dance camp gang

Video clip of their dance they learned. The best part is the end where you can hear PJ's high pitched scream.

Dance camp was awesome. It was a very fun week.

orchard days

2011-08-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

Orchard days this year was very full of events. It started off with running the 5k. I placed 4th overall in womens and 2nd in my age group. It was not a good run for me. I think I am retiring from running races.

We then went to the parade which Addie was in for her cheerleading group

After the parade it was time for face painting

As you might have guessed Trey was very pleased with his stop sign

The four of us then entered the cherry pit spit. The top ten women move on to the finals I placed 11th. Darn it! In the kids age groups the top 5 move on. Trey and PJ were in the same division. PJ placed 6th and Trey placed 8th. Addie placed 3rd in the preliminaries and so she went on to the finals where she placed 4th. She is a little too competitive. She was very upset with her 4th place finish. I thought it was great

Here she is in in the finals. Spitting her last cherry pit

It was then time for the pie eating contest. My kids enjoyed this but none of them finished their pie

That night Addie was in the rodeo for being the little miss Santaquin Queen. Addie and I also stayed and watched the whole rodeo and fireworks. we got home really late and didn't make it to church on time the next morning

but my kids looked cute anyway.

11 hours

2011-08-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

starting in the fall, my soon to be third grader, Addie will be going to 7 hours of dance and 4 hours of gymnastics every week. This seems to be a bit overwhelming for an 8-year-old. I have no idea how this will go. At first, I was very upset about the dance hours being extended so much. Last year she went 2.5 hours a week. That seemed like plenty. This summer she went to 5.5 hours of dance and I was shocked when the fall schedule went up even more.
The Issues: money is not the problem here. NO I am not wealthy or even close but I have been fortunate enough to exchange floor routine choreography for free tuition at her Gymnastics place. I also will be doing choreography in the Spring for her dance studio, which will help with the cost of her lessons... My concern is whether or not Addie can handle 11 hours a week on top of school every day. We have discussed options but the bottom line is Addie wants to give it a try. If she starts to struggle in school or starts to hate what she is doing, we will have to come up with a new arrangement but for now she is progressing nicely in both and at this point it is hard to make her choose between the two. At some point she will have to.. since the more advanced she gets in both will require even more hours. She also has the advantage of having little brothers that are still young enough they aren't involved in much yet. That will also change in the near future. Really it doesn't require that much from me either since the studios are close enough I can just drop her off and come home and then pick her up several hours later.

one if the reasons I decided this was ok to try is because even when she is at home she is dancing or tumbling.

even with friends over she convinces them to make up dances for fun

She is also getting pretty good and it is fun to see her develop her talents. The funny thing is.. when I ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she never answers with a dancer or gymnast. The answer is always Miss America and a professional cheerleader. I guess she needs both tumbling and dance ability to be the professional cheerleader and to be miss America she has got to have a good talent. Although, we all know that many dreams never turn in to reality. I am not one to discourage people from trying.

* authors note: I understand that this post is easily controversial. People have strong opinions about having kids do too much or too little. I don't care what other parents choose to do with their kids. I don't think there is a universal right or wrong answer. I am also not asking for anyone's opinion. I have already made up my mind. But nice comments are always allowed and appreciated :)

has it been two weeks yet?

2011-07-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

these first two pictures are proof of why it is so cruel to operate on little kids. they have no idea what is about to happen. PJ had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy on Wednesday morning. All went well with surgery but................

this is what it has been like after surgery. He is such a miserable little guy. I feel so bad for him. He probably wonders why his mommy would allow this to happen. It breaks my heart.

I knew recovery would be difficult since I just experienced it with Trey in January but heaven help me! I think might lose it before his two week recovery time is over. The poor kid wants me to hold him then put him down then put him in bed then hold him again. He wants medicine but doesn't want swallow it. He only wants to eat the things he can't have and therefore isn't eating anything at all.

In the end, it was well worth for Trey so I am crossing my fingers that we will feel the same about PJ in a couple of weeks.

mom and daughter road trip

2011-07-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

the girls' trip was fun! We shopped and ate lots of good food at good places plus multiple snacks and beverages in between meals. Needless to say, we were well fed. We watched DVD's from RedBox, read, did some sleeping, I went running on a trail in Hurricane behind the vacation home.

We went to see Grease and Tuacahn. I liked it.

of course, we had to stop at the temple in our matching shirts we buy every year at Tuacahn.

My mom loves to just drive. I don't share her enthusiasm for such things. this is her in front of Sand Hollow.

and of course I had to bring treasures home for the kids. I tried to make them somewhat practical. Trey's was road sign bedding. PJ got pj's for his upcoming surgery in the morning. Addie got her Justin Bieber backpack for back to school.

Our most funny thing of the trip was when we thought we were calling the Olive Garden to make reservations. It ended up being an hard of hearing elderly man named Fern Olive. (Listed right above the olive garden in the phone book.) anyway we tried to make reservations for 5 and he being a kind old man said " Oh sure Ma almost has supper ready. So are you going to just swing by?" We then realized our mistake and thanked him for his generosity but told him we were trying to reach the Olive Garden. Good Times!

the latest and greatest

2011-07-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

for the 4th we went to the mt. Pleasant parade. It was great! lots of candy but I think there needs to be some better enforced rules. I swear there were many children nearly run over because they ran clear out into the road.

Trey had his 5 year pictures taken. He is one handsome dude

This is my fave of the two boys

PJ was as usual the trouble maker

Addie and cousins who take dance at the same studio got their picture taken together. These are some of my favorites.

July has been calmer than June. However, with the eased up schedule I have found myself having little motivation to do anything. I did enjoy going to dinner with friends last week. I am also excited to go to St. George this weekend with Mom and sisters. Hopefully aftere a weekend of a little R and R, I will be ready to go full steam again.

Where did June go?

2011-07-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Addie and I went to camp Jeremiah Johnson this week. She had a lot of fun Shooting guns, archery, crafting, and so on...

She made me nervous with her gun. She kept swinging it around.

unfortunately, Addie takes after me in the craft department. She couldn't catch on. I tried to help her because she started crying. However, I didn't catch on either. Addie had the funniest looking bracelet there. When the boy scout who was assisting us asked if Addie did it by herself. She replied " no my mom did it" He was very alarmed by this and questioned " your mom did it? well okay then.." Needless to say, I was quite embarrassed. Making things will never be a talent of mine.

Trey and Addie finished swimming lessons. Addie will be moving on to the next level. Trey Passed 2 of 5 skills. I am proud of them both for the progress they made.

Later that day, we celebrated their hard work by going to the pool again but this time to play.

We had our first round of fireworks with our neighbors. PJ was excited

Friday we went to see cars 2. I wasn't too impressed. We should have waited for Red Box.

Today we are headed to an extended DeGraffenried reunion.

adventures, adventures and more adventures

2011-06-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Swim lessons started this week for Trey and Addie. They are both doing great. I don't think Trey will pass off his skills but the fact he is willing to get in the water and try as well as voluntarily stick his head in the water makes me very happy. Addie is swimming quite well and enjoying every minute of it. The biggest challenge is keeping PJ out of the water.

We are continuing to be plenty busy. Some of it fun stuff, like going with one if the Grandmas to see "Judy Moody and the not so bummer summer" The kids loved it. I didn't really care for it but it was still a good time followed by going out for ice cream.

We have also had fun times playing with cousins in our backyard, having water adventures.

We also went with the Huff Clan to Lagoon. My kids really enjoyed it. We made it 6 hours before PJ had a terrible temper tantrum because he wanted to take his seat belt off by himself instead of getting help from the Lagoon employee. He did not get over it. So we made a quick exit you know the kind where people are trying to decide whether to call 911 because the kicking, thrashing, screaming child appears to be getting kidnapped.

Addie tried the big rides this year. She wanted to be brave like her dad and cousin Gracie. She suffered through the rides and then joined Trey and PJ at kiddie land. She admitted that kiddie land is still more her speed. I didn't witness it but rumor has it, she cried hysterically on a few of the big rides.

Trey and PJ liked the cars best

We loved the fact that Grandma and Grandpa Huff paid for everyone to get in. So we let the kids each play one game. They all chose the guess your weight game and were all winners. I figured they would be when we witnessed the employee guess a 5 foot nothing ultra scrawny pre-teen weighed 150. Here they are with their prizes.

I have enjoyed all of our adventures, but I am actually looking forward to a day that isn't completely full of events.

another week

2011-06-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

June has been very busy. Much busier than I anticipated. We do a summer school every morning. The kids work on a variety of things. Addie and Trey are working on math, reading and spelling. PJ is working on his coloring, learning colors and recognizing letters of the alphabet. Addie is also learning how to tie her shoes, since somehow my almost 3rd grader hasn't learned that skill yet. I am guessing it is because we never buy her shoes with laces. She informed me that her tap teacher is sick of tying her shoes for her. So it is now on the summer to do list. There are also some things that are not individualized but they are learning about all together. So friday we went on our first summer school field trip to the Grotto. They were learning about nature and enjoying nature. Landan even came with us so it was quite the adventure.

getting ready for the big hike

the kids and Landan looking at the waterfall.

the beautiful waterfall. Addie was the only one brave enough to get this close to it.

and the only one brave enough to leap on the logs crossing the water. Trey did it by himself but with very slow, cautious steps. PJ made me hold him. PJ is normally too brave but 30 seconds into the hike he took off like lightning and ended up tripping on a rock and biting his tongue so after the bloody mess was cleaned he was no longer brave.

We had a lot of fun. My kids are looking forward to their next field trip. They say it is much better than doing the other school work.

Also, this week Addie had a placement class for dance this coming year. She is now in a class that goes 5.5 hours per week. The new dance schedule, along with her 2 hours of gymnastics is going to make her one busy girl. She says she is up for the challenge though.

We also celebrated fathers day, Saturday since Landan works on Sundays. We had one of his fave meals, Lasagna, garlic bread and cheesecake for dessert. Everyone was very content filling their tummies until Trey tasted his cheesecake and didn't like the texture. A sure way to get people to stop overeating is to see it all come back up all over everything. Poor Trey! After he emptied his tummy he was ready for round two minus the cheesecake.

What my kids said they love about their dad

Addie: he takes us to get treats
Trey: he take us to get treats and he has a beefy belly and he is cool and awesome
PJ: wrestling and candy

dance and full service salon

2011-06-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

Addie had her end of year show for dance. She did a tap number and ballet number. She did a great job and it was a good show.

Addie with cousin Brooklyn who goes to the same studio and also performed that night.

Yesterday, Addie was playing with cousin Hallie and a neighbor girl and they opened a salon. A full service salon. One could get her nails done or makeup or hair and also get a massage. They only got one paying customer. They can't figure out why more people didn't want to come pay them for their services.

doesn't this look like the place you would like to get pampered? I am sure you can call and schedule an appointment with them.

Trey's big 5

2011-06-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

The day started with shooting hoops with his favorite brother.

and then a little Caesars pizza lunch and running through the sprinklers

Granparents came over with gifts such as this new blanket with numbers. Awesome!

and another stop sign to add to the collection FANTASTIC

We sang happy birthday and had ice cream cake. Delicious!

and then off to a t-ball game.

Trey's birthday was loads of fun! He is a wonderful little boy. We sure love him!

my little queen

2011-06-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

Last night was the Little miss/jr miss Santaquin Pageant. of course Addie wanted to be in it. She thinks pageants are about the best thing ever! We have been doing pageant stuff for about two weeks. It started last week with the service project of making blankets for those in need. This past week was full of learning the production number and learning how to walk and answer questions.

So last night, Addie was all sorts of prepared. She gave it her all. That is one thing I have learned about this girl, is no matter how she acts before the event, once she is on stage she is going to sparkle and shine. She loves an audience.

.This picture was what she used for miss photogenic she did not win in this category but I think she is beautiful.

This was their production number outfit. The little and junior miss uses the same theme as Miss Santaquin. So it was New York New York. Addie did an awesome job. She was all smiles and pointed toes.

I was kind of mad at myself for not being prepared to take her picture when they announced she won. So it was just pictures out in the hall and outside after the pageant

Addie with one of her Grandmas and her cousin Chad. She was so lucky to have three Grandmas and two grandpas as well as several Aunts and cousins come to support her. It is so nice to have family support. Her dad and brothers even came this time.

This is her second time running and second time being queen. I asked her if she was ready to retire from the pageant world, her response was " ya right mom like that is going to happen" I guess I will just have to accept my role as pageant mom.

eventful weekend

2011-05-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Friday, we went to take a ride on Thomas the train. It was part of Trey's birthday. His birthday isn't until June 7th, but Thomas is only in town memorial day weekend. So his party was a little early. Since riding on Thomas is really expensive (at least to me) I told him he could pick two friends as long as one of them was his brother. He picked Waylon for his other friend. The boys thought it was great!

They each picked their favorite train to stand by for this photo. It cracks me up that Trey's favorite train is Rosie.

after riding the train and seeing all the other adventures in the land of Sodor, we headed over to the Dairy Keen in Heber City. It was really fun they have tables set up like trains for the little ones. They also had such a fancy drink selection my boys were in heaven. They chose peach sprite and raspberry sprite.

I also surprised my kids with a trip to St. George. I woke them up at 6 a.m and told them to get in the car. When they discovered we were going to St George and staying in the Hurricane house they were so excited.

We went to sand hollow and played. It was really windy but the kids still loved it.

PJ was a little afraid of the water which made me happy. I was concerned before we got there about him being too brave.

My kids also enjoyed taking advantage of their own private movie theater, located in the home we stayed in. I have to say I enjoyed it too. It is kind of funny that when we go on vacation to st George we stay in a bigger, fancier home than we live in every day. However, I think that is half the fun for my kids.

Also, on the way home we stopped to eat lunch. It was Carlene and Kyle and I with 6 kids. Landan couldn't come with us because of work. Well, our waitress totally thought we were a polygamist family. She kept making strange comments and then my favorite one of the day " I can't imagine what it is like for you two women to fix dinner for this crew every night"

good times were had by all. My kids were not happy campers this morning when I informed them that the fun is over and I made them do their jobs and summer school work.

tre cheers for Trey

2011-05-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

The awesome Trey did it! He graduated from preschool. I was so proud of him and the progress he had made over the last two years.

When we arrived at graduation Miss Stacy told me that Trey was going to welcome everyone at the beginning of the program. I was beyond shocked. This is little timid, shy, Trey who wouldn't go to preschool without crying for the first few months. I worried that he wouldn't really do it. To my surprise he did! I could tell he was scared and he needed a little coaxing from Miss Stacy but he did say " Welcome to the VIP preschool program and graduation"

seven cousins/second cousins that were all VIP pre schoolers.

Miss Stacy and Trey. When he found out She wouldn't be his kindergarten teacher he said " maybe I don't want to go to kindergarten after all."

Trey's mom is very proud of him

cheesing it before the program started.

PJ insisted on dressing up like Trey. He never wants to be left out

Grandma Carla and her four graduates.

After the summer I will have a 3rd grader a kindergartner and a preschooler. They are getting so old

I love my kids(celebrate childhood)

2011-05-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

So today I was thinking how much I love my kids. Despite all of their naughtiness, I find them to be quite delightful. I really do wish they would fight less (a lot less) but in moments like this when they all get along it is priceless.

Today, before church, we were already to go except for one little detail. We could not find one pair of shoes for Trey. Not One! not even gym shoes or sandals or flipflops. After about an hour of searching we did find one pair of shoes that would work for Trey. We put them on and left for church. However, the shoes we found were not even Trey's. They were cousin Waylons's lost shoes. Moral of the story is.......

if you can't find your church shoes at least match your tie with your shoes.

Trey is such a joy. He makes me laugh every day. His latest thing is brushing his teeth multiple times a day so his gums stay protected from "gingerbitis" He loves to sing, dance, tumble, read, spell and use big words.

So onto PJ. as pictured above shows, PJ insists on dressing himself. He has much enthusiasm for life.. some (like myself) might say too much.. He does absolutely everything I tell him not to do. He spends a lot of time in time out in which time he figured out how to unlock his door and escape. I don't love the fact that he recently peed in the jockey box of my car.. but I do love the fact that he wants to help his daddy fix his car and bike, lawn mower etc.. and help me load the dishwasher and cook dinner. Might as well put all of that energy to good use.

And then there is Addie.. I don't love when she is "Addie Attitude" or for short Additude but I do love how she is all things girly. I enjoy going places with her. She is a good companion one on one. She loves to write notes of appreciation to me and her grandmas and teachers. I also love how at age 8 she still calls the lawn mower a "mowlawner"

I think we should all celebrate our kids for the qualities that make them, well, them. We should think they are stinking cute and adorable and it is ok to say so.. it doesn't mean I condone their bad behaviors but instead celebrating their childhood, which go by much quicker than we think. Enjoy each moment.. well... at least try.

girl time and pageant

2011-05-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Addie and I attended a mother daughter dinner last week. We dined on pasta and bread sticks and then painted each other's nails.

Addie and her friend with a fresh coat of paint on their toes.

The Miss Santaquin pageant was last weekend. PJ fell in love with Lauren Burton- current miss Utah county and one of the MC's for that night.

Idid the choreography for Miss Santaquin. They were a great group of girls to work with..

It was a good time as always.

huh?

2011-05-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

so I listened to a podcast today of transracial adoption. Everything I ever read or hear about transracial adoption errs on the side of negative. This topic was about how we cannot be "color blind" and we do need to raise our children differently than we would if we had our own biological children.
I am addressing color blind first. What is the speakers definition of color blind? Of course we can't pretend that our children are the same color as us. Duh! However, by drawing attention to that fact and telling kids to expect to be treated differently is insane to me. That is keeping racism and prejudices alive. Yes, our children might experience incidents of racism but by telling them to plan on it, aren't you creating racism in their minds? As well as inadvertently suggesting that they themselves are not good enough. lesser than individuals because they are adopted transracially? Shouldn't we be promoting how much these parents wanted them? If and when the incidents occur, address the issues then. I don't believe in being Naive but I don't believe in helping to create a problem either. Every person I have heard on radio and TV that were supposedly raised transracially always have a sob story. But I personally, have spoken to black teenagers and adults who feel lucky to have been adopted. Why are their stories never told publicly?
which brings me to my next issue. Why does no one bring up where these children would be if they weren't adopted? Is being raised in foster care or by a mother that is 13, 14, 15 or 16 and does not have the proper education or maturity or most likely finances to parent really considered better than being adopted by parents of another race who love these children dearly and most cases waited years to get the opportunity to be parents? It was stated that now 40% of adoptions are transracial. I would think with statistics like that things should be bound to get better. It isn't so odd to have parents of a different race.
Now as far as raising these children differently than we would our biological children.. may I ask why? When they are adopted they are legally our children. When they are adopted as infants they don't know or understand another culture. Why should we create a culture different than ours? When someone of German descent adopts a child of Irish descent no one suggests that they must start doing Irish jigs in their home to make than child feel more comfortable. Why don't we let these children determine for themselves who and what they want to be? Teach them with love. Teach them to be honest, hard working, caring individuals. Yes, we will make mistakes. our kids might hate us at times but guess what? biological parents have struggles with their kids too. Did we forget that? That is why no one says parenting is easy.. adopted, adopted transracially or biological no one can make the calls of how your children will turn out. Let's not assume we can.

eyes

2011-05-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

so my eye has looked like this for the last couple of days. It just always looks half shut and swollen. Landan swears that it looks normal and that I am imagining it. However, other people have noticed it. Maybe his Lasik surgery didn't work as well as we thought.

I ran the torch run yesterday. It rained on us the whole time. I had to take two scalding hot baths last night before I felt warm again. I ran with the Santaquin, Payson, and Salem police departments and finished my run is Spanish Fork. It was 14 miles. I was happy to have made it that far because I had been sick in weeks earlier and felt like I got really out of good running shape.

The torch run is probably my favorite special Olympics event.

After part of Trey's blanky came completely off, he has finally decided to let Grandma Carla make him a new one. I hope he will actually accept a new bbf (best blanky forever) because he has loved this one soooo much.

Trey came in the door from pre school singing "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars. It was so cute I had to record him. Unfortunately he is way more shy when the camera is on. It is still cute.

mom stuff

2011-05-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

For Mother's day this year, we went to the zoo. For the first time, all three kids enjoyed it. PJ loved seeing all of the animals. For real Mother's day it has been quite uneventful so far.... Landan went to work at 6 something this morning. My kids have been their typical selves. We went to church. I did get a giant size peanut butter cup.

on the train. The only picture we have of the whole family

the 4 kids. Only three of them are mine. The smallest in the bunch is nephew Chad. He and his mom, Kelly came with us.

PJ loves the elephants the most

The giraffes are always one of my favorites.
One of the many reasons I like being a mom is because kids are so funny. I love hearing how they view the world.
funny sayings this week from my kids.

1. Addie's mother's day card: I always want to help you. When I don't help you it is not because I don't want to, it is because I don't feel like it.
2. Me to Trey: Don't you know it hurts my feelings when you and PJ fight? Trey to me: We have a problem I want to better your feelings but I want PJ's to feel bad.
3. Me to Trey: Why do we have mother's day? Trey to me: because it isn't father's day. Is Daddy a dad or a boy?

pot stirring

2011-05-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Just one of the many crappy posts I will be writing in the next several months. For those who are unaware this is about the controversy going on with the new Santaquin Sewer.. and how the town is acting like getting the new sewer is the worst thing ever because most of them have been misinformed about the subject from a small group of men who are finding joy in trying to ruin the reputation of good people. For these men(and their wives) it isn't really even about the sewer. It is about their egos and in their minds winning. The main man behind it even told my dad he would ruin his life if he ran for Mayor. Honestly, why are people listening to him?

We all know pot stirrers. These people love to make others miserable. My psychology answer says that they are unhappy people and since we all know misery loves company, they are dragging others down in the crap with them. However, even knowing that, I am amazed at how many people get plopped into the crap being dumped in the pot. What happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt? or doing research to get facts before forming an opinion? Just because your neighbor is nice and maybe is the primary president does not make her a reliable source. Maybe one should be so bold as to ask where they got their information? did they attend meetings on the matter? Did they read articles written in the paper? Did they look at statistics? Did they talk to someone in charge of the project? We elect city officials to make decisions on our behalf. The reason we do this is because the average citizen in not knowledgeable enough to know what is best for his/her community. So why are so many challenging their leaders they have voted in? Is it because they listened to the pot stirrers, thus joining them and causing a major clog. We we all know what can happen when there is a major clog. Things start to erupt and spew. This town has erupted and spewed with anger and contention. People are lashing out in anger and hating those who were once good friends. I wish people would stop to think about their actions. Should an issue be making them this angry? Could it be that maybe the stuff they have heard is a bunch of crap? maybe it is time to take action and start cleaning out the pot. Every little effort will help. With each person who steps forward and is willing to get the facts for themselves from the proper sources the pot will get a little clearer. Pretty soon we might be able to flush away all of the negativity and once again become good neighbors and friends.

baptism day

2011-04-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day! Addie got baptized. She had a lot of people come to support her. She said she was really nervous. But now that it is all over she wants to do it again. Grandma Patty and Grandma Carla gave great talks and Addie's second grade teacher played the piano for us.

After Addie was dunked, PJ let out a very exuberant "YES" it made most of us chuckle. He is quite an enthusiastic little boy.

Addie looked very pretty in her white dress.

We had family and friends over to the house for banana splits after the baptism. It was a good time. We were so happy to have such great support. I am a very proud mom.

can she really be 8?

2011-04-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

My little girl is 8. It seems like such a big birthday! I feel old. 8 years ago, I was a 26.5 year old happy, very happy, mom for the first time. She was such a cute and easy going baby. I could take her anywhere. She was my little sidekick and people loved her where ever we went. We still have a lot of fun together, when we can get away from the boys and do a girls' day. I am so happy she is my baby girl.

Addie wanted/needed a new bike for her birthday. I went to purchase one while Addie was at dance. I immediately saw the bike I wanted. It said it was on sale for 49.99 Great deal for a 20' bike right? I was going to get it and I overheard a guy tell his son the bikes were locked in so we couldn't get them down. I was like "oh shoot" because I noticed another lady eyeing me. I knew she wanted this bike and it was the only one. I stood by the bike hoping a employee would come around. No such luck. The woman left for a second. I knew I had to act fast I ran down the next couple of aisles and found a guy. I tell him I want a bike can he help. He said to just take it all the bike can just be taken from there. I immediately said " oh crap!" and ran back to bikes, only to find that the woman was hauling off with the bike. I groaned in a way to let her know I wasn't happy. She stopped."oh you wanted this bike didn't you" I replied, yes!" she said, "sorry" and kept walking. She then stopped turned around and said "you can have it. you were here first" So now instead of angry I feel guilty. I find myself saying " no, you got it first, you take it. she told me it was the only bike her daughter wanted. I told her I couldn't pass up the great price. In the end I took it. I went up to pay for it and the cashier told me 80.00 I said " nuh uh! It is on sale for 49.99" she had someone go check. The checker came back and said there was no sale. Someone had just put the bike in the wrong spot. The cashier then mocked me " like we would have a bike on sale for almost 50% off. do you want it or not?" I took it, feeling bad that really Addie would have been just fine with another bike and that poor woman left without her daughter's dream bike. I am still feeling bad.

easter weekend

2011-04-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

We had a fun and busy weekend. Addie and two of her favorite cousins were in dance performance "Disney Spectacular" it was cute. Addie was in "I just can't to be king" from Lion King. Hallie and Brooklyn were in Cinderella. They all did a great job.

We had our Easter Egg Hunt at my parents house. It was a good time as always. I ended up getting the 2nd and 6th place eggs, which equalled out to be 60.00 I also found 5.75 in quarters. With my two prize eggs I had found I was able to cash them in for two 12 packs of diet coke. My kids also got a lot of loot. Grandma really goes out of her way to make Easter fun for everyone.

Addie posing in an outfit from the Easter Egg hunt and the oobies she got from the Easter Bunny.

PJ's new suit from the bunny.

STOP! DROP AND ROLL

2011-04-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

We had our first barbecue of the year. We invited our neighbors the Francoms over for divine dining of steak, chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs. Good times!

We also had our first of two Easter egg hunts. The kids were very excited about this hunt

Landan won the grand prize and gave it to Addie... and then took it back..... and then gave it to her again.

In other exciting news. Trey decided to make himself a snack while Landan was watching them. He put a roll in the microwave and set the time for who knows how long. Landan said he notices something was wrong when his playstation time was being interrupted by smoke and smoke alarms. The roll was actually on fire inside the microwave. We are still working on getting the smell out of our house. What perfect timing for the pre school to take a field trip to the fire station. When we arrived Trey was quite disappointed because he read the words on the building. "Mom, this isn't the fire department. This is the department of public safety building." He then was happy to learn they were the same. PJ got to tag along with me which was a disaster. As soon as he saw all of the fire trucks he started screaming, "fire trucks scary"

He screamed and cried almost the whole time. Then they let him try on the yellow hat, which seemed to take away his fears.

from that point forward he just wanted to be part of the class.

so he is happily posing with all of the real pre schoolers in this photo. All is well that ends well. Right?

paint

2011-04-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

Addie wanted a lime blossom green room. Stewart (bro-in-law) said he would paint it for us. I thought of posting a before and after, after the room was painted. So the before picture was the best one I could find.

before...............................

Trey helped Stewart paint. He had a great time and Stewart was a good sport

Addie was surprised to see the finished room.

I think it turned out pretty cute.. and it is very springy!

mommy and sons vacation

2011-04-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

We had our second annual Mommy and son trip last weekend. It was a lot of fun. There were a few major tantrums from PJ but it could have been worse.

The morning before we left PJ and Trey made bacon. Bacon is Trey's very favorite food

We stayed in the hurricane house. Trey and Waylon chose to share a bed. It was really cute. PJ kept Waylon awake the first night because he snores so loud.

We went shopping for summer clothes, went to the see the movie "Hop" and to pirate Island pizza

Waylon hurt his finger and had to get a band-aid. The other boys could not be left out

We went to the sand dunes. The boys thought it was super fun. In Waylon's words it was "holy moly macaroni and cheese with hot dogs": fun. Carlene and I thought it was ccccooollllldddd.

We also went to the water park. The boys also had a blast there. Waylon was wearing pants so he was hiking his pants up. Trey thought he had to do the same.

Aren't these boys super duper cute?

all wet!

We also went to Cafe Rio. Free quesadillas for kids. That is my kind of establishment. A good time was had by all.

birthday bash

2011-03-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

Landan is celebrating the big 34 today. We celebrated with cake and going to lunch. I bought him a new waffle maker which is a big deal to me because I hate, hate, HATE it when he makes pancakes or waffles. I know that is probably strange to some people, but I cannot handle the mess he makes in creating his favorite breakfast item. Just imagine splatters on the wall, counter tops and floor and pancake batter isn't the easiest to clean up.

Addie got her pictures taken by a friend on Saturday for her baptism. These are my three favorites.

miss payson 2011

2011-03-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Addie with new Miss Payson 2011

It was an interesting year for miss payson. This was 8th year doing the choreography. My choreography compared to years before was very tame. However, for the first time I had a girl complain that it was too Provocative. She was so offended by it that when I said I wouldn't change it for her she decided to opt out of doing the production number. I couldn't get the video to upload so if you want to see it check it out on facebook.
Addie of course, was thrilled to be a part of things. After the pageant she had all of the contestants sign her program and get pictures with her favorite contestants.

first attendant

Second attendant

This girl was Addie's favorite. She won miss photogenic

the other happenings while we were moving

2011-03-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

My friends from the 14th ward had an awesome girls night out going away party for me.

Addie had a dance performance at the Covey Center

Addie and Maddi had tons of fun carpooling over to practices and performances and were very good at convincing the mothers to buy dinner each night.

Addie had her second grade program. Mrs Brost and I have been working on it since the beginning of January

Trey has started reading Sweet valley twins and is a fan of Elizabeth Wakefield.

back in business

2011-03-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

We are all moved in and almost adjusted to our new place. It is a friendly area with tons of kids. Addie has already made some pontential new BFF's.

front of the house with the red door that Trey finds so exciting

PJ's new room

Trey's new room is very Trey-ish.

The family room with the new sectional

my kids love their new backyard play area

more of the backyard. I like the deck

a view from our deck. If you look closely you can see the garage of my sister Carlene's house. My kids are going to love living that close to them.

moving on up to the east side

2011-02-22T21:39:00.000-08:00

yep, we are moving. It sucks.. I don't want to move so nothing is getting done. I feel like Scarlett O'Hara " I'll think about that tomorrow" But Trey loves me. He is turning into quite the affectionate little boy. I love it! He worries about my feelings and apparently my health... It is funny what works with kids to behave. For a couple of years I thought nothing would work with Trey. He didn't stop throwing tantrums for anything. Until one day I told him with all of his fits he was making me sick. I immediately got an "I am sorry mom, I'll be good" and as long as I keep throwing out the sick factor he behaves really well. I am praying it doesn't stop working for me.

v day

2011-02-14T18:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day

I let Addie invite a few friends from her class over last week for a Valentines day party. They made sugar cookies and then ate them at their tea party.

After the tea party they took a plate of cookies to their second grade teacher, Mrs. Brost.

For Valentines day, Landan got me flowers. If you know Landan, this is a big deal. He usually doesn't even acknowledge Valentines Day at all. And he thinks flowers are stupid.

I bought the kids pillow pets for V day. They were a big hit!! They have carried them around all day. Addie says she can't wait to go to sleep so she can sleep on hers. Addie named her pillow pet, Pinkypie. So naturally Trey named his redypie and PJ's is brownypie.

Caught!

2011-02-05T12:24:00.000-08:00

Trey holding his card made by his pre-school class

Tonsillectomy recovery has been terrible! There have been several sleepless nights due to his level of pain and then when given the Tylenol with codeine it makes him hyper. So sleeping has been difficult. He is sad, cranky and hurts a lot. He also has been begging everyday for bacon. Turns out when forced to live on Popsicles, ice cream and jello, it no longer is a treat.

On a happier topic, Landan completed his last day at FedEx on Saturday morning the 29th of January. Monday, he went to a job interview for a diesel mechanic at Ryder. A few hours after the interview he got a call saying that he got the job and was to start the next day. So unemployment this time around ended up only being one day of missed work.

Another naughty PJ story:

Today, at Walmart, PJ ran away from me while at the checkout. When he came back he had a huge bulge in the front of his pants. I said "PJ what do you have?" He ran off. I chased him down feeling quite embarrassed that I am trying to reach my hands down the pants of a screaming child in Walmart. I am sure that it was quite the sight for passers by. Anyway what I finally retrieved out of his underwear, YES, he shoved it in his underwear, was the candy bar sized pack of starbursts. So because of the locations of the stolen treat I felt my duty was to buy the treat. However, I wouldn't let PJ have it, which caused a whole other battle on the drive home. He kept taking his seat belt off and trying to climb over the seat to find his candy. After a few times of stopping the car and putting his seat belt back on I decided I had to teach him a lesson so I pulled over took him out of the car put him on the sidewalk and told him if you can't obey you have to walk home. I got back in the car and pretended to start driving off. He started crying great big alligator tears. I thought maybe he had learned his lesson. After getting him back in the car and driving for maybe 30 seconds his seat belt was off again. I pulled over again and took him out of the car. I was waiting for him to start crying but he didn't this time. So while I was trying to figure out what my next step was, I looked across the street and saw people glaring at me out their window. I quickly gathered PJ up and drove off. I am sure they thought I was terrible and going to turn me in. I don't know what to do with this kid. I am really considering contacting a police friend and seeing if he can scare PJ into wearing his seat belt.

what a week!! And it is only Wednesday

2011-01-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

One week ago, we found out Landan was getting laid off from FedEx. His last day is the 29th. We are not super happy about being unemployed again. We decided we need to take full advantage of the last week of our health insurance. I made an appointment for Trey to get his kindergarten shots. Landan made an appointment for himself to stock up on his meds. Both appointments were scheduled for monday.

The weekend brought fun activities for Addie. She went to a princess party with her cousin Gracie at grandma patty's house. they were pampered and primped and learned how to be princesses.

My friend Ryan asked for Addie to be a model for him last friday for a photo shoot. She really enjoys doing this especially since Ryan brought cupcakes and rootbeer.

Monday rolled around and I took Trey to see the doc. We were thrilled to hear that our boy who has always been extremely small on the charts is now average. He endured 5 shots and didn't even flinch. He only said " that hurt" when they were all done. We were told that his tonsils were quite large and could be obstructing his airway and making it hard to swallow, which totally made sense since for years he has been choking on food, holding food in his mouth and then spitting it out, gagging on things etc.... She told us to go see a specialist. She got us an appointment for the next day. Tuesday we went to the specialist. the PA and the surgeon both said the tonsils should come out. I informed them we only had insurance until friday. So they scheduled Trey's tonsillectomy for Wednesday.

This is before going into surgery.

He got to play in the toy room

after surgery, he did not want to wake up. I thought it was kind of cruel that they kept bugging him.

When he finally did wake up he was not happy. He just kept crying.

He is doing much better now. Of course they doped him up before sending him home. So time will tell... I think after three days of doctors and hospitals he is entitled to a break. Poor kid!

busy

2011-01-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

Yes, another PJ project. And if you are sick of reading about naughty behaviors by my boys, just think about how sick I am of cleaning up. While I was at BYU today, PJ also made cupcakes, took a bath with no supervision and flooded the bathroom (again) filled Addie's laptop with lip gloss. Where was Landan? working on a car in our garage. I mean it is hard enough to keep PJ out of trouble when he is being supervised...

Addie had her first day of preteam and loved it. She spent her whole Friday doing gymnastics. Because being on preteam in the best ever!!

This morning, We had our annual special Olympics unified bowling tournament. Our team (the fantastic 4) took the Bronze medal this year. All of the other Nebo Athletes also did well.

So I mentioned I was at BYU today. Addie was invited to go there and meet the gymnasts and do some fun stuff with them. She invited her friend Ellie and the two girls had a great time.

After it was over, I gave them a mini tour of the Richards Building, including walking underground, which is terribly exciting when you are 7. We also went to Red Robin. It was a fun and busy day!

Jesus wants me for a sunBEAM

2011-01-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

I know when you see a picture of this sweet boy, you automatically assume I am going to share a story about more naughtiness.. okay, that is partially true. PJ and Trey did manage to pull all the insulation off the walls of the unfinished part of our basement. PJ also decorated his bedroom floor, walls, and bed with fingernail polish. But really the story I wanted to share today was PJ's first day of sunbeams!

I can't believe my baby is in sunbeams! I had been telling him all week that he was going to be in primary now. He acted like he understood. He seemed excited. After sacrament meeting he was pulling on my arm "come on mom let's go" I thought this was going to an easy transition. We arrived at the primary room and I tried to get him to go through the doors. Instead he bolted. He ran upstairs to the nursery. I tried for several minutes to take him back in to primary. He would not go. Finally, I had the brilliant idea to have his old nursery leader take him in. She did it, and it appeared to work. However, I found out later, that he escaped from the primary and was heading back up to nursery, the bishop caught him and brought him back. PJ, then fell asleep on the bishop and didn't wake until church was over. So he doesn't even know if he likes sunbeams. I guess we will try again next week.

Addie is super excited! She is officially on pre team at gymnastics. Coach told her if she works hard she could be competing this Summer.

new year naughtiness and other happenings

2011-01-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

We are now in the year 2011! Can you believe it? I remember entering 2000 so well. I am 100% so far on exercising. Although it has all had to be on the treadmill. I hate the treadmill. I swear running 3 miles on the treadmill is worse than running 10 miles outside. I am hoping in the next couple of days to venture outdoors again.

New years Eve we had a slam bammin party. It started with my kids and I playing games and then the favorite part blowing on horns and attacking each other with silly string.

We then went up to Carlene and Kyle's house to play games. We are quite the partiers, with our abundance of carbonated beverages and plenty of chips and dips.

New Years Day, Addie and I went to Centerville for our social worker/friend's daughter's baptism. We had a good time but came home to a disaster! The boys had glued and entire notebook of paper, page by page to Addie's bedroom wall. It took lots of scrubbing with hot water and soap to get it off. They also broke the vacuum, tore up a loaf and bread and left all of the bits on the floor etc... and my dear sweet husband was unaware that any of that happened.

Later that night, we had scary experience with Trey. I don't know what caused it, but he momentarily quit breathing and fainted. It was terrifying for me and I hope it never happens again.

Sunday, while I was taking a nice bubble bath the boys decided to do the dishes. They put an entire bottle of dish soap in the dishwasher. I came out of the bathroom to find our kitchen completely covered in bubbles. I didn't think to take a picture of it until it was mostly cleaned up. But it was very bubbly.

On to new years resolutions and predictions

I just hope to have a better year than 2010.
go somewhere I have never been before
not get stressed about things I can't control
Find some new interests
Be a good mom

I predict that my boys will still be naughty this year

kids say the darndest things!

2010-12-30T16:18:00.000-08:00

My kids keep me laughing! Yep, I think they are cute. Every parent should think their kids are cute and funny and super smart. Because if they don't who will? well.. maybe grandmas... and a few doting Aunties

Everyone loves Addie's new whiteboard. Trey was writing on it. I went in to see what he was doing and saw that he had written "Trey loves Utes Utah" now the reason I was so proud is not what he wrote but that he could write it. He has been reading and spelling for awhile now. But he could not even write one letter at the beginning of the preschool year. Landan, however, is extremely proud of what he chose to write.

Trey also has recently added two new words to his vocabulary "decapitated" as in "My stop sign got decapitated." and "Fragile" used in the sentence, "Be careful PJ, Daddy is fragile."

Addie was so upset that I was leaving to go out with the girls the other night. She thought she should be included in dinner with the friends. After all she is 7. This was what my kids looked like as I was heading out the door. The boys couldn't wait for me to leave. Daddy doesn't enforce many rules when he is in charge. Addie was sobbing.

Landan wants a dog. No one else in the family wants a dog. Addie said " nobody likes dogs, except for people who do." She is so wise.

We had a fun movie day with Carlene's kids. They watched Ramona and Beezus. It is such a cute show. I highly recommend it. I had to take this picture it is so rare to see all 5 kid sitting at the same time.

PJ, the other night was supposed to be in bed sleeping. However, I heard loud music coming from his room. I caught him multiple times that night, jamming out with his guitar. It was kind of hard to be stern. He looked so dang cute!

christmas eve christmas day

2010-12-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve morning my kids were up bright and early. They were so excited about the day. It started with a yummy family breakfast, followed by opening their pajamas and presents from each other.

new jammies by the tree

Then it was off to the Huff-Montgomery party. The kids had alot of fun playing with this race car track. Trey and Peyton got to take a track of their very own home with them.

We played "don't forget the lyrics" with Christmas songs. I was really good at this game. Then we rushed home to get in bed so Santa could come to our house.

Christmas morning was magical. Trey was delighted to get all three traffic signs he asked Santa to give him.

PJ was ecstatic about getting his paper Jamz guitar.

and they got a Thomas the train track to share. Trey got Rosie the train and PJ got Duncan.

Addie was thrilled to find two new gymnastics suits.

But most of all, she was very VERY excited to get her school teacher set up.. This is included desk and chair, barbie laptop, whiteboard, awesome leopard print lamp and all of the desk drawers were filled with teaching supplies such as stickers, notebooks, calendar, planner, scissors, glue sticks, stapler and so on.... She said it was the best Christmas ever. She even said she was glad she got this instead of the ipod touch she asked for.

Christmas afternoon we went to the DeGraffenried family party. We opened up the letters we wrote to ourselves 5 years ago. We had a couple pinatas, talent show and came home with a year supply of food. Which is what we said we wanted. I made sure to include diet coke and ketchup with my year supply request and I was not disappointed. My mom and Carlene made cute aprons for all of the grand daughters.

Christmas was so good to us, I think we might do this again in 364 days.

top things to do on snow days

2010-12-21T20:04:00.000-08:00

Top things to do on snow days: besides clean out closets and fight with the 7 year old who thinks cleaning her room requires moving out. Because surely I don't love and appreciate her if I ask her to do such strenuous tasks. (Her words not mine)

make gingerbread houses

make sugar cookies

eat sugar cookies

go on a ride in the tractor with cousin Maddux and Uncle Bones

have a snowball fight

build a snowman

pose for the camera... and make sure to have at least one child use socks for gloves

throw snow at the camera person

sip hot cocoa with candy canes

make jello stars and eat them. Some might have had a little bit of toe jam in them as well.

The most wonderful time of the year

2010-12-14T18:20:00.000-08:00

Lately, Pj has been waking up so early in the morning, I have been making him watch Disney channel in my room while I stay in bed trying to sleep. This morning I did fall asleep and woke up with no PJ in sight. I found him at the computer naked as a jaybird. Is this what we would call the butt crack of dawn?

We went to the mall for a winter photo. Kiddie Kandids is back in business and I got a coupon for a free 11x14 so I said "Let's do it"

Here is their pic. They no longer give the pictures the same day. It won't be done until Dec 20th.

Carlene and her gang also did pictures. My mom came along as well to try and get grand kids to cooperate.
This is what the girls did to entertain themselves while waiting.

Then my kids went to see Santa again. PJ loves Santa and ran to him, hopped right on his lap and started talking to him

We saw Judy at the mall and she went on the train with us.

We also went to the Christmas store. My kids loved it! But it is definitely not a store for 6 little terrors.

For family night we went with my mom and dad to see festival of the lights and the lights and Salem Pond. Addie loved being able to stick her head out of the moon roof. She waved to all the people. She felt like miss America

My boys loved the lights! They oohed and awed and grunted at all of the neat lights. It was a fun night.

I am making sure that this year we do as many Christmas activities as possible. In years past, I feel like it sneaks up on me and we miss out on doing a lot of fun things.

the fun never ends

2010-12-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

We are definitely staying busy around our place.

We took the kids to see the lights at temple square for the first time. It was a beautiful night. Trey asked me what princess lived in the castle. I had no idea he wouldn't know that was the temple. However, he did think Provo town center was a temple.

We have also recently been to the childrens museum. We got our tickets from living social. We were able to all go for 20 bucks. My kids love this place more and more each time we go.

My parents took Landan and I to Texas roadhouse for my birthday.

We went to the Santaquin light parade.

The kids were making Christmas pictures and after leaving them unsupervised for a few minutes this is what we saw. I don't know what everyone is supposed to be except that Addie said Trey is Rudolph.

this was fun scrubbing off in the tub!

more happenings

2010-12-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

Before I forget to mention it again... We had a great Thanksgiving. We had Thanksgiving with the Huff Clan. We had a fun time visiting and eating and then going to see "Tangled"

Thanksgiving morning, Carlene and I ran the Earn your Turkey 4 miler in 7 degrees. It was as terrible as it sounds.

This week I took my kids shopping to buy their friends christmas gifts. It is fun to see what they think their friends will enjoy.

We had a fun time at the Heelis Christmas party. My kids won prizes and got to visit with Santa for the second time this season.

This is us before heading out to the party

Peyton wanted to show Santa is Thomas the train shirt.

Trey wants to make sure Santa knows to bring him Rosie the train and candy.

Santa reminded Addie she was on naughty watch and said she needs to help out at home. He was really nice about it .. BUT... Addie still burst into tears after getting off of his lap... made me feel bad for a moment. I am just hoping she will learn something from all of this.

first visit to santa

2010-11-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

We went to the mall to see Santa. Not one kid cried this year. However, Addie was nervous because Santa sent her a message through PNP (portable north pole) and said she was on naughty watch. She thought Santa might mention something to her while she was sitting on his lap. She was really relieved he didn't say anything. But Man she has been helpful the last couple of days. She has mopped my floors, cleaned the bathrooms, tended the boys....

We also went on a train ride. Trey and PJ were in heaven. The train went around the entire main floor of the mall. Good Times!

After the train ride, we bought some cotton candy. It was a fun day! I wonder how many more times we will see Santa in the next month.

WOOT WOOT

2010-11-23T16:03:00.000-08:00

Addie had a great day at school. They had a few assemblies and a thanksgiving party. At the Reflections assembly she found out she won the dance category. She was very excited to receive 5 bucks. They also had the Ken Garff reading assembly where she was awarded " Most improved reader" She also got to get checked out a half an hour early since I was at the class party and everything was done by that point. Now hooray for Thanksgiving break. I hope the blizzard isn't going to be as bad as everyone is saying.

when you've only got a 100 years to live

2010-11-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

As long as I can remember I have always wanted to be older. That is until I turned 28..Suddenly I realized that many years had escaped me. Now I am getting older way too fast. My kids are growing up too fast. My life is passing before my eyes and I am not ready. I haven't accomplished anything yet. "15 there's still time for you".. where was five for fighting when I was wishing those years away.

2010 has not been a good year. In fact it probably goes down as one of the worst years of my life so far. But it has been a year of growth(not physically, I hope) in fact I may have aged 3 or 4 years this year in knowledge and understanding. However, amongst all the hard times I still feel blessed. I still have great family and friends and everything we need to survive as a family.

List of good and fun things this year

went to Disneyland
Landan got hired at FedEx
Addie turned 7
Trey turned 4
Celebrated 12th anniversary by going to Vegas
ran a lot of races with one of my favorite sisters
Both boys gave up the diapers. (super good thing)
got to go to 5 birthday dinners of my closest friends since High school. I am so happy since graduating 15 years ago that we still get together for each others birthdays. I have the best friends.
expanded my dinner menu. thanks to a favorite cousin with an awesome food blog.
Had a girls trip with my mom and sisters
Had a girls trip with Addie, Carlene and Hallie
Had a boys trip with Trey, Carlene and Waylon.
Peyton turned 3
We have all been fairly healthy and that is a great thing

I believe we are the masters of our fate. We can't control some things but we can control how we get through them. In about 24 hours I turn 34. This year is about having no regrets, moving on, and making the best of things cause "every day's a new day"

Photos were taken by Jared Heelis

halloween and such

2010-11-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

October was a very busy month. It seems like we had an overload of fun activities and not so fun activities.

Halloween adventures took up a lot of our time. We went to a family Halloween party with an awesome haunted house. Trey had a school trunk or treat and Addie had a Halloween party at her school.
We had SEP conferences. For the most part Addie is doing great! She told me before the SEP that her teacher would say she needs to work on her handwriting, quit talking so much and stay in her seat better. Guess What? Addie was exactly right. Next time why bother hearing it from the teacher. I will just ask Addie and save me a trip. Ha ha!

On Halloween (utah halloween) I ran a Halloween 5k and managed to be the top female finisher. I was awarded with 2 Jazz tickets. The seats are right behind the Players bench. I wish I cared. We also went trick or treating. Trey and Peyton loved it. Addie complained about being cold the whole time.

We also went to pirates pizza this month.

Trey's preshool class

Addie and her besties at her school

Addie with cousin Gracie and cousin chad

My kids on Halloween

Trick or treating wagon style.

Peyton turns 3

2010-10-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Peyton had his 3rd birthday on the 29th. I woke up that morning at surprised myself by feeling really sad about it. Since I think Peyton is our last kid, it really hit me that there are no more babies in my house. You would think I would be happy since the last couple of years have been really difficult with the boys. Oh well life goes on.

I made invitations online for Peyton's birthday. They should have arrived according to their estimation by the 20th at the latest. On the 25th I had still not received them. I emailed the company. They immediately responded back with "that's weird, we will check with the mail system."Next day I asked them what they found out. I received no reply. I couldn't get them by phone or email. I finally took the picture they sent me to approve and printed it out. So the invitations said proof on them. But I covered it with a sticker. The day before Peyton's party the mailman brought the invitations to my door.

In case you couldn't tell by the invitations it was a Thomas the train birthday party. During the entire party my mom, Carlene and I were pulling the kids away from the cake and train set. My mom said the party would have been just as successful if all they did was come over to eat cake.

We played pin the 1 on Thomas. The kids liked seeing Grandma try to play.

We played Thomas the cake walk

Eating cupcakes after everyone had a chance to win. BTW, cupcakes with 3 and 4 year old kids is not the best idea.

We had a pinata.. Waylon really gave it his all! Poor pinata

you can't go wrong with a pinata.

Each of the kids got to take a turn wearing the Thomas the train costume

finally, it was time for cake.

Peyton loved opening presents.

This was the mess I was left with after the kids went home.

Later that night we went to Hogi Yogi with all of the grandparents to have frozen yogurt. Peyton had a very good birthday.

mom and daughter weekend

2010-10-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

So it was the annual Mom and Daughter girls trip with Carlene and Hallie. We went miniature golfing, did lots and lots of shopping, and went to fun places to eat.

Addie and Hallie totally didn't get the competitive part of mini golf. They just usually placed their ball in the hole and ran off to the next one. At least they had fun.

We took advantage of Saturday nights kids eat free.

See how grateful my child is to get free food.

we bought bracelets to support a good cause.

The rats left Hallie and Addie presents. Good thing we didn't see the rats

Addie woke up with her hair looking like this

We enjoyed yummy food and root beer floats at Red Robin

Addie wanted me to write that we had so much fun that the adults were too worn out and Addie had to drive us home.

aren't we a funny people

2010-10-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

I love facebook and I hate facebook. It is so good for keeping in touch with friends, new and old. It is how I find out everything that is going on in my family, neighborhood etc...
I personally love when people use it to post pics of their kids and the cute things they say ( I better love it because I am sure guilty of it) I love it because it is nice and shows me how much they love them. Makes me feel that I can relate to them, we have something in common.

I love when people use it to send out reminders of events that are coming up! I can always use the extra reminder.

I love it when people just post funny things that put a smile on my face.

I love it in times of tragedy, grief and sadness how people reach out with their kind words to show love and support.
I love that anybody can ask any sort of question and someone has the answer. For example: last year I wanted to surprise my mom with a CD of Chester the chubby elf, a record we used to dance and sing to at Christmas time. I couldn't find it anywhere on the Internet, so I threw it out there on facebook and within minutes, good friend Shirley had the answer of where to find it. That was so awesome!

I love all the dinner ideas, and fun activities for the family I have discovered by reading friends posts.

But I am amazed at how sometimes facebook turns into a place where people state things that they would never be so bold to say in person.
I hate it when people post mean things because I can't turn away from it. I feel that it is my obligation to stick up for whomever I think is getting the bad rap. I realize it rarely does me or anyone else any good. It usually just makes the problem bigger and messier with more people getting involved... but I can't help myself.

I hate it when people post something on facebook but then act mad that People know about it. I want to scream "duh you just posted it for 400+ people and you are going to get mad that people are talking about it. What part of facebook did you not understand?"
I hate it when facebook fights turn into grammar/spelling lessons instead of sticking to the topic in debate.

I hate it when people claim they are not drama, but everything they post on facebook is drama. If a drama mama is who you are, wear your title proudly.
I hate that I am posting about facebook on my blog and that I am on facebook and have a blog. (But I love it!) Truly truly a love/hate relationship with facebook. kind of like my addiction to diet coke only there is nothing I hate about diet coke...

So I am going to sign off with my facebook advice: If it isn't something you would ever say to someones face, don't say it on facebook.

things keeping us busy

2010-10-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

The beginning of October my mom, sisters and I went on a girls trip to St. George.

We stayed in a very nice house owned by Carlene's inlaws. We all got our own rooms. Hooray! because I didn't want to hear anyone snoring or talking into the wee hours.

We went to see a play at Tuacahn. It was raining and so it was canceled.

Angie, Kristine and my mom were so upset...

so very disappointed.

So went back to the house and ran up and down the stairs and then went to the movie "you again" in our pajamas.

We all had a good time.

In much sadder family news, 5 year old niece, Lily died of a severe reaction to E-Coli bacteria. (She is the one in pink pants) She was a very sweet girl. We will miss her.

In very happy family news, we were able to go watch Foed and Kelly legally adopt Chad and then become an eternal family.

Addie, chad and Kelton inside the court building after finalization.

We went to the pumpkin patch with Grandma Carla. The kids had loads of fun.

Addie jumping of the hay.

Trey also went to a different pumpkin patch with his preschool class.

Addie had a tea party with a couple of friends from school. That is all for now!

Because I have to throw a post out like this occasionally

2010-10-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to be Christ like? Or even just a good person?

People of my same faith often get a bad rap. It makes me mad when we are misrepresented and accused of things that are not true.. However, sometimes I think some members bring it on themselves with their 'holier than thou" attitudes.
So I ask you, what does it mean to be a good christian? Here is what I came up with... this is my own opinion and I am not preaching. I also am not suggesting that I am perfect in the areas I will mention. Because that would be very FALSE!!!

I think being a good christian means we are always striving to do our best. I also think it means we admit when we make mistakes. We correct our wrongs and we are honest with ourselves and others. A friend of mine once told me that I am brutally honest about myself. I took that as a compliment. I don't want to be one that portrays somebody that I am not. I want people to see me as a good person for the good that I do, not for the good that I preach that I do.

I think being a good christian means we don't judge others. One lesson I have learned in the last couple of years is unless you are the one in the situation you really don't know what it is like or what the whole story is.. give people credit that they are doing their best and making the best decisions for them.

Ask people if there is some way you can help.. don't offer unsolicited advice.

Be tolerant of others. This doesn't mean condoning behaviors against your personal belief system, but it does mean allowing them to make their own choices. We don't have a right to tell others what they are doing wrong, unless they ask us for our opinions.

stick up for others.. I have learned that sometimes this doesn't get the results that I had hoped for.. in fact, sometimes, I feel that I have been punished for sticking up for people. But I still think it is the right thing to do.

teach through example. I think this means be yourself, live the way you know is best. but don't tell people how great you are.. If you are truly great, others will see it and want to be like you.

Serve others. Even if it is inconvenient or uncomfortable

Love one another.. Jesus said love everyone!

fun pictures

2010-10-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

My friend asked if he could take my kids pictures for practice with his new camera. My kids had a blast posing for the camera. Well, some kids liked it more than others you will probably be able to tell who by the amount of pictures each kid is in.

sleeping beauty

2010-09-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Addie performed in sleeping beauty this weekend. She and cousin Hallie were both blue birds and bees. They had a lot of fun this summer preparing for it.

Addie with the Lilac fairy and sleeping beauty

with their flowers after the show

Waylon and Brooklyn went to the matinee. They all had fun before we left for the show, playing and posing for pictures. The bees are stinging poor Waylon and Brooklyn

Brooklyn trying to catch those naughty bees.

It was a fun show. I am glad we are done with it. It was a loooong day!

hair cuts

2010-09-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

My boys hate getting their hair cut. Trey used to love it but now thinks he has to cry. Peyton has always hated it and even cries when he sees Aunt Carlene carrying her Box of hair stuff.

Peyton's sad face is very convincing.

Look how happy they are with the end result!

happenings

2010-09-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Fall in in the air! There is something about fall that makes me feel happy. The only problem is.. it never lasts long enough and winter follows it.

This is Trey skipping. I think he is the most adorable skipper in town.

We are decorated for fall and have secured all of the Halloween costumes.Landan and Foed have converted the boys to being Utes fans! I don't mind.. It means free time for me while they watch the games together.Addie had cousin Thea over to play. They played spa. I walked in the room to find Thea on the floor with pickles on her eyes and lotion being rubbed on her face. It made me chuckle.

Peyton is now the designated car washer. He thinks this is great fun!

Because of Landan's newish work schedule, I have been able to help out in Addie's classroom every Monday. I have really enjoyed being able to observe her in school.
I have also started Christmas shopping. I am hoping to be completely done before December. Addie wants gymnastics stuff. Trey wants apples. (love it) Peyton wants Thomas the train items. I think they are all reasonable requests. Hopefully they don't change their minds before Christmas.

yard sale/labor day

2010-09-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

some of the cute clothes I sold. It was a little sad to say goodbye to the baby stuff

I had my first ever yard sale on Saturday. It was a lot of work!! I did manage to bring in a couple hundred dollars. However, I gave away two boxes of free stuff at the end. Thomas and Meghan also gave the desk they didn't sell for free. The people seemed really appreciative so it made it worth it. The kids who were the recipients of the free toys were so excited like it was Christmas. It was really a" feel good moment"

I was sicker than a dog running my 5k this morning. Carlene told me that was no excuse not to run. So I ran it. I did okay. I took 3rd in my age group and 15th in women's. But I really felt horrible. These picture were taken by my cousin Jared. I just wish My eyes didn't show signs of my unhealthiness.

first day of preschool

2010-08-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

the 4 cousins in the same class
The school year has officially started. Trey is excited to have several of his cousins in the same class. He did really well this year. No tears or sadness with going. He was actually quite excited. This year the tears came from PJ who wanted to attend school too. I had to carry him out kicking and screaming!

Trey and Waylon on the way in the doors for a very exciting first day of school

Trey was still happy to see me once school was out. He apparently had been needing to use the restroom for quite some time but was not about to ask his teacher to go. I really hope he gets over that shyness.

PJ had a blast at the city center. They had lots of fun things set up as part of "get healthy week" He threw a mighty temper tantrum on this slide because someone rudely suggested he wait his turn instead of getting in front of everyone. The nerve of some people. tee hee! Also notice the mismatched socks. PJ has decided he dresses himself and this day he not only wore socks that didn't match but also two different shoes. He is quite the character.

carnival fun!

2010-08-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Trey and Addie had fun at the carnival. Trey finally enjoys the carnival rides. Now we just can't get to each ride fast enough.

second grade sassiness

2010-08-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

Addie was up and ready for school this morning before the sun was up. She woke me up and said "mom I am ready for school. I did my hair and everything. Let's go" I had to inform her she still had a couple of hours until it was time to leave. She was also super excited that I said I would walk her to her class this morning, since Landan could be home with the boys. She asked me if I would take picture of her in her classroom. She also mentioned many times that she had tingles in her tummy. We head off to school and the minute we park the car Addie is out the door and running. I yelled for her to slow down and her response was " Ugh Do you have to walk in with me?" So I remind her that she wanted me to. She says "Fine" We walked into her classroom with only one other student so far. I told Addie sit at your desk so I can get a picture. She does the big eye roll and looks at the little girl in the classroom like she is just so embarrassed. I went home deflated because mom went from being the coolest ever to embarrassing in about 5 minutes. I knew this day would come. sigh

In other news: Trey threw up on me while I was writing this post. At least it was just me and the kitchen floor and not on the carpet.

Oh how boring another 5k

2010-08-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

Addie convinced Trey to play pageant with her. They had a great time. I was laughing so hard at Trey that Addie then had to put on the same outfit she put on Trey so I could give her plenty of attention too.

I ran the Wasatch Mental Health Wellness 5k run today. I didn't have a great run. I just struggled from the half way point to the finish. Just one of those days I guess. I did manage to get second in my age group, 11th overall female and 30th overall. Oh and the worst part of the race was when a woman in the 45-50 age group thought I was in the same age group as her. ouch!!

orchard days

2010-08-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a big day of celebrating. Carlene and I ran the 5k in the morning. In the womens 5k I finished 2nd overall and 1st in my age group. Carlene finished 9th overall and 1st in her age group.
After the run we rushed to the parade. It was a great parade as always. My kids got enough candy to last a lifetime.
We decided not to go to the rodeo this year but in our backyard we can see the fireworks perfectly. Addie and Trey were so excited to see the fireworks. Unfortunately by the time they started, Trey was too sleepy and said he would rather go to bed.

cherry pit spit

2010-07-31T18:27:00.001-07:00

My dad and Kristine and I were part of the cherry pit spit today. Unfortunately, none of us made it to the finals. My best spit was 26.3 feet. I now have one year to improve my pit spitting techniques so I can dominate the competition next year.

Addie is taking swimming lessons and doing quite well.

She said it is the best part of her summer

My boys are enjoying life. They really enjoy wagon rides. They even enjoy it when it is boiling hot outside. Probably because they are not the ones pulling the wagon. I can't believe summer is almost over. I am kind of sad about it.

24th

2010-07-26T18:33:00.001-07:00

Well, Carlene and I ran the speedy spaniard 10k on the 24th. It was fun!! stats: 63/350 female age group 18/86

Afterwards we went to the parade. In the late afternoon we went to the DeGraffenried 24th celebration bash. We had boat races and forklift rides.

The big treasure hunt is always the favorite. The kids learn about their ancestors with each clue and then get big bags of treasures at the end of the hunt. It is split into 2 hunts. The first one is for the children 5 and under and the second for 6 and older.

6 and up

5 and under

landan, the children and I played basketball. I was showing the kids how it is done.

A cat adopted us. One day he/she (haven't checked) showed up at our door and hasn't left. Apparently the cat doesn't know my track record with cats. The kids named it Quincy.

PJ loves Quincy but I am not sure Quincy loves Pj.

Vegas Baby!

2010-07-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

Landan and I just returned from our anniversary trip to Las Vegas. We stayed at the Stratosphere. We watched a lot of people jump from the top and they paid 100.00 to do it. CRAZY! Here is Landan looking down from the top while drinking his dew.

We of course had to play the nickel slots.

We spent some time at the pool. I was trying to get rid of my neon legs and farmers tan. And of course I had to bring along a trashy magazine to read.

We were able to go to dinner with our long lost family who lives in Vegas. It was fun to see them.

My boys didn't seem to care that I left them. Upon my return they just made their list of requests such as waffles and chips and to watch "little Einsteins" Addie was sick the whole time we were gone. Poor girl! and poor Carlene!!.

The kids in their 4 for 10.00 t- shirts from Vegas. I guess it is good to be home.

full house

2010-07-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

This week I had the joyous opportunity of tending Carlene's three kids while they went away. After four nights of very little sleep, I am beat! We had so many adventures like the water park, where they played in everything but the water

They had pillow fights

and we went on bug hunts

They entered the Macey's coloring contest.

and spent a good share of each day on the john deere. We also watched movies, ate Wendy's, attended library reading time which was also a photo shoot for the City's website. Afterwards we went to the Red Barn for ice cream. Hallie and Waylon got to spend some time with their Grandma Ruth. Trey and Waylon had a playdate with Aunt Lacee, Maddux and Swayzee. Grandma Carla did her share of entertaining. I guess it takes a village to babysit Carlene's Children.

I saved the best news for last... Now it is Carlene's turn to take our kids and we are off to Vegas to celebrate our 12th anniversary.