The Johnson Family

Honestly!

2012-02-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a bit since my last post and things are going wonderfully! I am in love with this new life I have. I am loving having more time with my family, more time for my church callings, and more time to [attempt] to clean my house. I also have started cooking! [gasp]. I love getting Simon off to school every morning, and having a little solo time with Lucifer [Lucy] before he gets home. It allows me to give 110% when I am at work, which is nice as well!

I honestly don't even miss the significant pay decrease. Honestly! I have an amazing testimony of tithing, because somehow it's all working out! I also am really enjoying the challenge/creativity that comes with pinching pennies. Honestly!

One of my favorite penny pinching finds right now has been home made laundry detergent. I was super hesitant when I first saw this. Then I saw how easy it was. Then I saw the 406 amazing comments (not one bad one!). Then I saw how much money I could save. SOLD! So, I tried it. And I love it!!!!

Go to beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com to see the ingredients/instructions, and all the fantastic comments. $20 is all it takes to get all the ingredients, and it should last 9 months to a year!! Try it...I dare you! If anyone has any other awesome money saving finds, I'd love to hear them!!

[I promise one of these next days I'll get some pics of the kids on here.]

Faith

2011-11-19T15:26:00.001-08:00

I could inundate you with a million pics from the last time I blogged

(but I won't).

This post is definitely going to be more for my own journaling purposes, but for those of you that wanted an updated pic of my kids feel free to skip all the ramblings and just sit back and admire my beauties! Anyway...here you go.

I decided to title this post simply "faith" because apparently that is what God is trying to help me learn. This last couple months have been life changing for me. I've had some big decisions to make....and a few that were made for me, and I feel like my life is in a completely different place right now than it was just a few months ago.

First, my job.

I have been struggling for a while now trying to figure out the work/life balance. I know there are many people out there that make it look easy, I was and am not one of them. Things kept popping in my mind that made me really feel like I needed to be home with my family more. I realized my wonderful babysitters saw my kids for more awake hours than I did and although I love them dearly, that bothered me.

I also realized that if there should be some sort of natural disaster the likelihood of me being with my kids was nil, and I hated the idea of someone else having to take care of the most important things to me in such a scary time.

Than I kept having a quote come into my head...

It's by Pres. Kimball (I believe) and it says "When you put God first, all other things fall into place, or fall out of your life completely".

So, I started to realize that in my job I was certainly putting my job first, my family second, and sadly God was coming in a close third.

So, I thought hard about it. Prayed about it. Ignored the answer I was getting for as long as I could. And than decided to step down. I was tired of the stress, the extra hours, and the bad mood and attitude that the stress was making me bring home to my family.

Now, I'm just a normal-payed-by-the-hour employee that has to ask permission to go on break....and I've never enjoyed my job more! I haven't been this happy at work in a really long time. Granted the significant pay decrease makes me want to vomit whenever I think about it, I have FAITH that Heavenly Father will help it all fall into place.

Second....

Cody and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary in Sept. Cody got me flowers, and I got him a positive pregnancy test. Yep, unplanned! I told him on the phone that I had gotten him something but I wasn't sure he would like it or not, and that it was unreturnable, so if he didn't like it I really needed him to pretend he did. This played a large role in me making the decision to step down at work. I figured since it was unplanned, that God clearly had a different plan in place for us.

Third.....

Just when I had finally talked myself into being excited about having another baby, I went to the doctor for my first ultrasound. Everything looked normal, other than there was no heartbeat for the baby. I know that most women have at least one miscarriage in their life. And I think you always kind of prepare for that in the back of your head. But, truth be told it absolutely broke my heart. But again, I have FAITH that Heavenly Father has a plan for us, and this was something that we were meant to go through.

So, needless to say....my life has changed significantly in the last few months. I've gone through some changes that have strengthened my testimony. I know a few things for sure. I would rather be poor, and live in the gutter, and be with my family....HAPPY, than to have more than enough money, never see my family and be miserable. I know that I wish I could see the whole "picture" of my life so I could better understand some of these trials that Heavenly Father makes us go through. But I also know that I need to just trust Him!

Anyway,
I know this was a lot of rambling to some of you. Again, this was more for my own journaling purposes. Everything else has been great! Simon is in kindergarten and is loving it! Lucy is about to start nursery and I'm loving that! We had a great Halloween, and we are looking forward to a great Holiday Season (with a lot less stress!!!!).

Busy Summer

2011-08-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Here is our Summer....in no particular order.

Miss Mae learned to walk....

We cruised in true style...

Simon got some fishing in (or, maybe just some good boatin')...

We explored the wonders of Yellowstone (and indeed saw a couple bears!)...

Simon got some clubs and insisted on "looking at them" while he ate....

We had icecream....

Played with good friends....

...

Um....and had more icecream...

And played some serious T-Ball.....

Inbetween all these fun memories we made a ton more memories! It has been a great summer, and we are excited to start a new season with Kindergarten, Hoodies, Crispy Leaves, Halloween, and just maybe a little more icecream!!!

Miss Mae Turns One!

2011-06-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that it has already been a year since Lucy was born! She has grown and changed and blessed our lives so much! I can't imagine our life with out her!

Here is a little bit about our little girl.

Her name is Lucy Mae, but is often called Goose, Goosey, Miss Mae, or Lucy Goosey. Cody often calls her his princess.

Lucy has had such a calm temperment. Those who have baby sat her know what I mean. She never crys, goes right to sleep when its time to, and sleeps all night (thank you Goose!)....That is until she turned 1.

Now, Lucy is independant. She DOES NOT want help to do anything! She has a tantrum or two under her belt since turning 1. She has thrown herself dramatically on the floor (a trick I didn't think she would learn for at least another year.).

But....she still gives amazing loves with slobbery kisses and pats on the shoulder. She blows kisses. She pulls silly faces. She LOVES chocolate.

And she still sleeps through the night (thank you Goose!)

I can't imagine our lives without Lucy!
We are so blessed to have her!!

Grandma Downs

2011-05-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

Grandma Downs

I thought this was a great picture to begin this post with. This is my Grandma Downs holding Lucy on the day she was born. May 21, 2010.

Yesterday, May 21, 2011 Grandma Downs passed away.

Grandma was such an amazing woman and I am so proud of the heritage that her and my Grandpa Downs gave us. Grandma was such a fun lady and was always such a good sport with all our families adventures. Grandma hosted many, many, many cousin sleepovers, taught us lots of crafts, played many a game of Old Maid (and taught us how to be good sports.). Grandma made me beautiful dresses (and comfy undies), and always added a ribbon when she would braid my hair.

I will miss you very much Grandma!

Here are a few pics of my grandma. They are all of her holding Lucy. Simon is always on the run after a hug, so it's hard to get a pic of that kid. :)

Holding Lucy at the 4th of July parade in Hyrum. Another fun tradition that we shared with Grandma. We always watched the parade from her house.

Grandma holding Lucy on Christmas morning. It was so fun to have Grandma watch Simon and Lucy open presents from Santa on Christmas morning this last year.

Lucy also celebrated her 1st Birthday on May 21. So it was a bitter sweet day. I will post her birthday on a later date.

2011-02-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

Simon: "Mom, do you think we could move the little TV downstairs in to my room?"

Me: "You'll have to take that one up with your dad."

Simon: "That's never gonna happen!"

Simon Says

2011-02-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

A few more Simon Says moments I wanted to be sure and capture before I forgot them...

I showed Simon a picture of a darling little home made bowtie and asked him if I made one if he would wear it. His response "Mom, you only wear one of those if your getting married....or if you are going to kiss a girl."

"Mom, when I'm older I'm going to live in my own house." (thinking for a second)..."but I'm going to have to borrow your car."

Gosh, I love that kid!!! He makes me smile at least once every day (even when I am utterly frustrated with him).

Gettin' Big

2011-01-30T20:53:00.001-08:00

My kids are getting bigger and I'm not liking it! OK...it's a little fun to hear some of the grown up conversations Simon has now. And it's fun to see Lucy try her best to crawl. But I think you moms know what I'm talking about when I say I want my kids to be little forever!

Simon is a CTR now, and he takes this very seriously!

One day he was being particularly naughty and he finally broke down crying and explained "Mom, it's because I'm not wearing my CTR ring!" He also has mentioned "Why do we always have to chose the right? Why can't we sometimes chose the left?" We are learning.... :)

Well, now that Simon is "all grown up and is a CTR now", he has decided that it's time to shave. If you all remember, he had a phase where he was absolutly sure he was a warewolf....so of course he is sure he has a ton of facial hair. It's pretty funny!

Simon has also been spending some good times out in the snow with his BFF's. Such a handsome kid!!!

From left to right....Kamden, Avery, Cason, Simon, Dirky.

Lucy is also growing so much faster than I want her to! Here are just a few random pics so you all can see just how beautiful she is.

Ugh....those eyes....I swear!

I'm not 100% certain, but I think Lucy has Grandpa wrapped around her little finger!

Anyway, we have had tons of fun since my last post! Christmas was fantastic, New Years was uneventful but fun, and work has been good!
We are pretty boring around here, but entirely happy!

Halloween and Randomness

2010-11-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of blogging lately. I've been busy, and well....just lazy! :) So here are some random pics for your viewing pleasure. :)

I lu lu lu lu love this pic!!!!

I decided I wanted to have Lucy be Lucille Ball for Halloween. And my amazing mom pulled off this fantastic costume! I laugh every time I look at it!

Simon decided to be a vampire. I was a little disappointed cause I wanted him to be something really unique....but I think he actually makes a great vampire!

Oh the jealousy...I wish I could sleep this sound, and look this cute!

Hayley and Lucy.

Jen and Lucy. (I love the fat face. Lucy's, not Jens.) :)

Enjoying the last of the good weather.

My Dolls

2010-10-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

I know.....right?

Love them.

First Day of School

2010-09-08T22:02:00.001-07:00

Seriously folks....he's pretty dang handsome, right? Simon started his second year of preschool yesterday. He was so excited to see his "buddies" (I love how he says that!). This year Kamden will be joining him (My apologies Teacher Tana! Together they might be some trouble!). Add his good buddy Owen to the mix and I can only imagine the damage they can do!

Here are a few pics of Miss Lucy Mae. She has grown so much in the last couple weeks. It's crazy! She has added so much to our family and it's been so fun to watch her grow. Simon sure does love her and she lights up as soon as he walks in the room.

Simon had the sheer pleasure of letting Lucy have a sucker for the first time. She freaking loved it if you can't tell! She got so mad when we took it away! Great- another sweet tooth in the family! Simon thought it was pretty fun to be the one to give it to her. Now we have to watch him extra close cause he thinks it's fun to let her "try" other things as well. Not good!

Simon has been enjoying riding the 4 wheeler with grandpa this summer. The kid is all boy!!! He has a serious need for speed!

We took Lucy on her first camping trip for the Downs Family Reunion. Besides the fact that we all got sick and had to come home early....she loved it! She loves being outside and she slept really good each night! I'm glad she enjoys camping!

This is just one of Gregs famous "self portraits" he does. He is pretty skilled if you ask me! I sure do love my family and am so glad we all have such a great relationship!

Randomness

2010-06-17T13:06:00.001-07:00

So, here are a bunch of pics. Although our lives have completely changed, there isn't really much to tell about. Life with 2 kids is actually harder than I thought. Everything we attempt to do has to be planned around "eating" time. The idea that mom sleeps when the baby sleeps doesn't apply when you have a 4 year old. But I will say how greatful I am to some amazing neighbors who have pretty much adopted Simon, so that has made things a little easier! Plus my mom has been an amazing help, and thanks to her I actually get to shower now and again. Ah, things will mellow out shortly I'm sure, and I will find my new rhythm....until than, here are some pics to enjoy!

My mom has this huge snowball bush in her back yard, and Simon discovered it also made a pretty great hut! Doesn't it look so fun?? I miss the days of finding/building huts!

And here are a few (ok....a lot) of pics of the beautiful Miss Lucy Mae! I think she is stunning!

Simon loves to hold her and kiss her. He is a pretty great big brother!

I seriously didn't pose her like this!

Simon Says....

2010-06-01T17:28:00.001-07:00

So, although I have totally been enjoying Simon playing outside so much with this new baby around, it stresses me out because he WILL NOT stay out of the road and watch for cars! I don't know how many times I have to go out and yell at him to watch for cars!

The other day I go out to once again loudly remind him to get out of the road and his response to me was....

"Mom, this is just a dream! This is not really happening!"

What the.....????

Introducing Lucy Mae Johnson

2010-05-23T19:06:00.001-07:00

Welcome to this world Lucy Mae Johnson!

What a crazy weekend it has been! We went in Friday morning to have our little Lucy....start to finish labor was only 4 hours (it's really fine to be jealous if you'd like!)....and Lucy joined us Friday May 21, at 11:47am. She weighed 8 lb. 1 oz. She was a little bruised up in the face from coming out so quickly, but is still ridiculously beautiful (in my opinion!)

She looks so much like Simon did when he was born.

This was Simon getting to hold his baby sister for the first time! It was a pretty great moment!

Simon LOVES to hold her! He can go from being a total monster to being the sweetest thing ever when he gets around her. He is so protective (he does NOT like flash photography around her!) and doesn't like to take turns holding her...he just wants her all to himself!

Stay tuned for more pictures to come! My mom took a lot more than I did so far....that's what grandma's are for, right?

Our First Rodeo!

2010-05-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

You may have seen before in previous posts that our little Simon has decided he is part cowboy. I have absolutly NO IDEA where he is getting this from, but I will admitt it's pretty cute!

Anyway, he practices his bull riding on grandpa's back and has also learned about mutton bustin'. So, we decided to have our very first family rodeo event on Health Days and let Simon give the Mutton Bustin' a try.

We have been talking about it for awhile now, and made sure he knew just exactly what Mutton Bustin' was (for those of you that don't know...it's when the kids ride a sheep and basically hold on for dear life.) He totally wanted to do it!
Simon's cousin Sid even decided he would give it a try! Don't they look like awesome little cowboys? Simon even went over by himself to get registered, and to pay his money.

After a very long day sitting in the sun waiting for his event....it was finally time. He went with dad, waiting in line....meanwhile I was being a very nervous mom! He did good till it was actually his turn to get on a sheep and than he bailed out. I guess seeing all the other kids fall off and start crying made him think "this is crazy....I'm out!". So, I guess I am still the proud mom of someone who does not succumb to peer pressure! :)

And I think he is still the BEST LOOKING COWBOY in the entire world! Love you Sim's....it was a good try! There's always next year!

Happy Mothers Day!

2010-05-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day to all those amazing moms out there! For some reason this was kind of an emotional mothers day for me....not a sad one in any way- but I guess being 9 month pregnant and simply the idea that I have a whole new mothering experience on the horizon there were a few times I got a little emotional! I can't think of anything I have done in my life (or will ever do) that is more challenging than being a mom. There are so many days and nights that I absolutly hate the fact that I have to be a working mom! I often hate that my house is usually a disaster. And I hate that it's usually my husband that ends up cooking our family a hot meal. My kids will probably never come home from school to their mom cooking yummy cookies. But, I also can't think of anything that I have ever done (or will do) that is more rewarding! I am amazed every day at the new things my little man learns. Today Cody asked Simon what he loves about mommy....here are a few things he said (and yes I got teary!)
-"she says it's OK to get hurt and cry"
-"she takes good care of me."
-"she says we should always be nice to people"
-"she always tells me to be a good example."
Who knew he was actually listening???
But I do want to thank my mom for showing me the greatness of motherhood! I am 30 years old and I still need my mom! She is my best friend, and the best example I have ever had in my life! When I think about my mom the number one word that comes to mind is "Service". If you know my mom you know exactly what I'm talking aboout. She is the only person I know that will purchase something just in case someone might need to borrow it. She puts everyone else's needs in front of her own. She has done so much to help me....there is no way I could ever repay her! She is such a hard worker and is constantly "doing". There are very few times that I can recall seeing my mom just sit!
I love the worrier in her, and I think she passed down that gene to me! I remember growing up hating the fact that I had to check back in with her when I came home at night, cause she had to know all her "chick-a-dee's where safe and sound", but now I'm glad I had someone to worry about me. And still 10+ years later when I travel for work there are times when I'll call my mom before my husband to let her know I got there safe and sound.
I love you mom and I'm so greatful for the lessons you have taught me, and for the mother that you have taught me to be!

Blogging Hiatis

2010-04-20T13:36:00.001-07:00

So....It's been over a month since my last post, so I thought I'd do a little chatching up while I still can. WARNING: MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF PICTURES IN ABSOLUTLY NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!

A couple of my friends that I haven't seen in awhile were begging me to post a picture of me being fat and prego (OK, so maybe they didn't exactly phrase it like that)....so I thought I would appease them, but I guess also for journaling purposes I may want to look back on this and be greatful when I'm skinny again!

So, friends....here you go! Me at 8 months pregnant...only 38 days to go (but really, whose counting?).

When people say it takes a village to raise a child I now completely know what they are talking about! We are loving the good weather and Simon is having a ball playing with all his buddies in the neighborhood (and there are many!). I think we need to post different colored flags in the front window for each kid we have at our house...that way you can just look out the window and know whose house your kid is at at any time. Great idea, huh? This is Simon's best buddy Kamden. They are one a couple days apart in age and I'm sure we are all in for some serious trouble from these two in the future! Quick story....they both have power wheel four wheelers and one day decided to go to the park by themselves without telling anyone. Funny, but can you say "grouded"?
Simon turned 4 on April 10. I can't believe my little man is 4 already! He is so funny right now and is getting so grown up and indepentant! I'm kind of loving it! He loves Spongebob and wanted a Spongebob party. My amazing mom made this cake for him (don't worry mom, I won't tell anyone about the first attempt!).

And he finally got the 4-wheeler he has been dreaming of! All of the neighborhood kids have one and yes, I became that mom that had to have what the other kids have! He has been having a blast on it....and getting into trouble all at the same time! (see the above story!)

For his party they also played "Pin the pants on spongebob". I loved it and thought it was so cute! Thanks mom for thinking of it! Grandpa Mike even had some fun playing it. :)

Usually for Simons birthday we go to Hogle Zoo. Due to the lack of funds this year, we decided to just hit Willow Park. I think Simon liked it just fine. My mom and dad came with us and Simon got to have some great grandpa bonding time!

We have spent plenty of time with grandpa on the real 4-wheeler too! Simon looooooves the 4 wheeler!!! (I think grandpa kind of does too!)

My grandma sent Simon a birthday card in the mail (seriously....there still is nothing funner than getting mail!). I love this picture, cause she sent some money for Simon in the card. Can you tell he is excited???

We did lots of Easter Egg hunts!

And of course some car trouble! But luckily Cody is a man of many talents and was able to save us a lot of money by fixing it himself! Hooray! And of course had to have a lesson with Simon on auto repair! :)

Simon also had his Special Day at Preschool. It was so fun to go and watch him. They sang a song to him and he got to show the class pictures of him and tell all about himself. I won't lie...I got a little teary! (It's the pregnancy, OK!!!)

So....now you know what we have been up to this last month! Not to mention Cody has been working really hard on finishing a room in the basement for Simon. It's been a busy month and I"m sure the next month is going to go by quickly!!! YIKES!!

Kidney Cancer Awareness Month

2010-03-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

So, March is Kidney Cancer Awareness Month. I decided to change my blog to an orange theme (I am slightly color blind, so my oranges and reds look very much alike...hopefully it is indeed orange.). My amazing brother in law is fighting the ugly cancer right now, so I thought I'd do a little blog post for him. Hayley and him had these awesome bracelets made (sorry, no pic of it) that say "Travstrong" and I've had a ton of people ask me about it at work. Probably because I'm not really one to wear jewelry. I love this bracelet, and Trav....we love you! Is it inappropriate to say "Happy Cancer Month"?? Ya, probably. I'm not great with words. You all know what I mean.

Kids Say....Part 2.

2010-02-18T21:58:00.000-08:00

Did you know....Simon is a warewolf? He is. Truely. In his mind, he really thinks he is a warewolf! He has noticed that he has two teeth that are really pointy...this must indeed prove that he is a warewolf! He has learned to howl like a warewolf and today he asked me when he would start growing hair on his hands? I just laughed and said I don't know. He thought for a minute about that and said "I hope that doesn't happen till I'm a little older cause I think that will scare the kids in my preschool class." Correct. That would indeed scare the kids! :)

He also has informed us that warewolfs are really really really good at playing Mario Kart. So, he has been playing Mario Kart non stop lately. I'm not a big fan of kids spending a lot of time gaming, and I'm afraid we have created a monster (literally!). But, it is winter and it is pretty entertaining to watch him play!

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

2010-02-07T20:56:00.001-08:00

I have to post this one more for my own memory cause it made me laugh so hard.

I was getting Simon ready for a bath and as he was on the floor taking off his socks he says to me
"Mom, remember when I was a baby and I wasn't such a problem for dad."

I laughed so hard! I told Cody and he chuckled, but I think it made him feel bad. You see, Cody has been the stay-at-home-dad the last couple weeks, so he is with Simon a lot. And Simon is 3 and is truely such a little rascal lately! So, unfortunatly it's Cody that ends of being the "punisher". So, apparently Simon has interrpreted this as "being a problem for dad."

It gave me a good chuckle for the night!

Cowboy Up!

2010-01-31T12:04:00.001-08:00

I know....right? So cute!!! Simon has been obsessed with being a cowboy lately! And I can honestly say that it is by absolutly NO influence from Cody and I. We are not cowboy folk here! I think he must have spent some time with my Grandpa Downs in heaven before he came down. :) He loves to ride his toy horse "Ponytail", and is determined that he is going to ride bulls when he is older (um...I'm pretty sure I get the last say in that one!). He watches the movie "8 Seconds" about once a day and can't wait to try out the "Mutten Busten" this summer in the rodeos. What have we done? Where did we go wrong? Since we don't listen to country music at our house my sister brought over a couple CD's that she burned for Simon full of cowboy music (he only likes the boy cowboys to sing....no girls!) It just really comes to show that you can influence your kids, but they still have their own little personalities!

I love you Simon!

"Whatever you are, be a good one!"

-Abe Lincoln-

No Title Needed

2010-01-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

Stress

Stress Stress Stress Stress

Stress Stress Stress

Blah! Ugh! Geez! Sometimes I wish I could just have a free pass to go and just get stone cold drunk!

Prayers

2010-01-12T22:13:00.001-08:00

We have been trying to be better at saying prayers at night with Simon. I always look forward to hearing Simon pray. It just absolutly melts my heart and no matter what he prays for (it does get interesting) you can always feel the spirit in the room.

Tonights prayer consisted of this....

"Bless the race cars that they won't crash. And bless the bears in the zoo to be nice.
Amen."

A Week Off!

2010-01-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

This week has been WONDERFUL!! I have had the week off from work and let me just say it was mucho needed!!! I think my boss was afraid I was just going to walk in and fire someone at work. Pregnant + Post Holidays = Give that girl a vacation before she snaps! I'm so glad I have a boss that is so forgiving and patient!! :) So, I decided while I was off I would get my house clean and try to do some organizing! No the nesting phase hasn't kicked in...I just finally have a little bit of energy! Simon has loved helping me clean. I got a bunch of these wipes back when I was really into couponing (thanks a lot Albertsons for selling out! Boo to you!!). And let me just say they have been worth every penny! Simon LOVES to use these wipes! He has cleaned my baseboards, chair rails, every flat surface in my house, bookshelves, my railing, you name it...he's cleaned it!

Here's a pic of him going to town on my floor. Let's just say it has kept him busy for HOURS!! And that equals a happy mom!

I also decided to go through the bags of handme down clothes that my two fabulous sis-in-laws have been sending my way (in hopes of me having a girl). Let me just say I had no idea what a project this was going to be! Girls, I mean this in the nicest way possible....but good grief!!! There was A LOT OF CLOTHES!!!! :) I'm not complaining- I am not sure I will ever have to buy a single girl thing till Lucy is 20!!

This bin is 6-12 month old ONLY! That's right....it's overflowing!!!

I'm going to have to change her clothes 5 times every day just so she can wear everything! I'm so greatful though that I have sil's with such awesome taste in clothes! Thanks for sharing with me! Oh, and let me just say this little girl already has a shoe collection larger than anything I have ever owned!!

Enough about girls....

Simon has hit that age. The age that dads instantly skip to when they find out they are having a boy. The pics will speak for themselves.

Shhhh...he's hiding! You have to pretend you can't hear him laughing hysterically!

He's smart enough to find some protection while he reloads his nerf gun.

Good grief! I've got two little boys to deal with!

I love watching them play together like this! Cody literally morphes into a 3 year old and they both have so much fun!

Are we buying Pink, or Blue???

2010-01-07T09:55:00.000-08:00

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

We are so freaking excited to be having a little girl! I almost started crying in the ultrasound cause I was so excited! I'm noticing everything pink now!

Here are a few pics from the ultrasound. Sorry they aren't very good pics!

I love this one cause you can so clearly see her face (we will be naming her Lucy)! And her little hand is sitting on ther head.

We can hardly wait for Lucy to join our family! Simon is still dead set on naming her Sally...he just won't give! Not sure what we are going to do about that. Maybe when she is born she will just look like a Sally (but I strongly doubt it!). Then again he was dead set on naming a boy Diggerbutt!

Sledding!

2010-01-07T09:46:00.000-08:00

We got to take Simon sledding with the Johnson clan. It was so much fun! It was snowing lightly, wasn't too cold....so it was perfect!

Climbing back up the hill is never fun! I took video of their first ride down....but it wouldn't load on Blogger.....sorry! They did indeed crash, and Simon loved every second of it!

We were a little limited on the number of sleds we had, but the kids were pretty good at waiting their turn!

Who do you think is having more fun? Cody...loved it!

Gosh I love this kid!

Holiday Time, Family Time!

2010-01-07T09:19:00.001-08:00

WARNING: Lot's of pics....and they are in no particular order! Just be glad I am actually blogging! :)

So, the holidays have come and gone and we enjoyed every second of them! We were so excited to have Jody home from Texas and to be able to see their family. That is the greatest part of the holidays for me...being with family!

Here is a great pic of all the cousins on the Johnson side. Pretty cute kids...I know!

These 3 played so great together! It's not very often you see Ady seperated from Kutter!
Simon and Brielle played so great together. He loves her so much and can switch from punching the boys to talking in a high pitched voice and being so soft with Brielle.

Look at that look of disappointment that all the presents were opened! Geez kid! (see, I told you these weren't in order.)

We were able to convince Simon that he didn't want the $100 dinosaur robot (cause Santa still sends mom and dad a bill for the toys!), and luckily he fell in love with these little baby dinosaurs! MUCH more affordable! :) Thanks Santa for finding them!

This is Simon Christmas morning. It was such a fun year even though he was miserably sick (and Cody too!) He was up and ready to go to open presents.

I thought he would be more nervous to visit Santa. But he did great! Man I love that kids smile!

Chillin' with Uncle Greg.

The kids made Gingerbread Houses at Grandma Tana's. They made a huge mess...but had tons of fun!

Grandpa Joel showing off his gingerbread house! Ya right!!! This is one of moms Christmas decorations!

Winter Wonderland!

My Man!

2009-11-24T09:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry Ladies....He's taken!

I wanted to do a post about what an amazing husband I have! I have been thinking this week about all the things I'm greatfull for and I couldn't stop thinking about Cody. Here are just a few of the MANY reasons I love him and am so very greatfull he is mine.

1. He puts Simon to bed almost every night. I don't think you realize just what a chore this is. Unfortunatly I work a lot of nights so he is stuck with this duty. But the thing that impresses me even more is the fact that when I actually do get home in time to put Simon to bed and let Cody have a night off, Cody instructs me to go have a relaxing soak in the tub cause he knows I don't feel well, and yet again, he will put Simon to bed.

2. He makes dinner.

3. When I inform him that I won't be able to attend his favorite family Christmas party because yet again I have to work, instead of being upset he calmly says "That's life. We can go next year." Even though I know he looooooves that Christmas party.

4. Even though it's agains EVERYTHING he believes in, he turned on our Christmas lights BEFORE Thanksgiving cause he knew it would make me smile when I pulled in the driveway.

5. He teaches Simon so many great things.

6. He saves all of the Chili's Molten Lava Chocolate Cake for me to devour even though we were supposed to share it.

7. He helps me be a better person.

8. He has more patience than I can even imagine having.

9. He understands the importance of family.

10. He loves me unconditionally. When I feel fat, when I feel ugly, when I have one of those days when I just can't stop crying.

I am so lucky to have Cody and I love him so much!!!

Halloween

2009-11-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

So, this year for Halloween Simon decided he wanted to be a ghost. Sounds good, right? But he had specifics....after a few minutes showing him different ghost costumes online, I realize he wants to be the kid with the sheet thrown over his head and holes cut out for the eyes. Cute, I know...but my pride got in the way and I just couldn't bear the idea of looking like a "shmuck mom" who put no effort into her kids costume! I know, it really should be all about what the kid wants....but I just couldn't do it. Anyway, while we were debating over what to do for a costume Simon was on a Smurf kick. I have the DVD's (nostalgia!) and he loooooves watching it! So, I just happened to mention "Simon, you could be a smurf!" and he was sold (whew!). So, he chose to be Brainy Smurf. I think it turned out pretty good and it fit his personality so well!

He got good use out of his costume. We had a work party which he got 2nd place for best costume (proud mom moment!), we went to see Cody's Grandma, went to Travis's work trick or treating, dressed up for preschool, and then the actual Halloween night. Geez...I'm surprised the costume actually made it through all that!

This is "Teacher Tana" aka my mom. She is a great sport to dress up with the kids in preschool!

Here's the cousins trick or treating at my moms. Ady was a clown, and Sienna was a bumble bee. So cute, right??

The kids making the rounds. I love watching them get older and understanding just how this works. Simon had a couple trips and falls, but if you know Simon your not surprised!

Now for my dad....I'm not really sure what to say. My dad has never really been a "Halloween Guy". He basically tolerates Halloween and that's just how it's always been. This year he surprised us (and mom) by dressing up. So, introducing Dad aka....Marley Dude!

I know....your speechless!

Cody has also been busy building Simon a headboard now that he has a big boy bed. Here is the finished product and seriously, a picture just doesn't do it justice! It's beautiful and he did such an amazing job with it!!! It turned out just how I wanted, and Simon freaking loves it! We are going to try and finish a bedroom for Simon downstairs so we can have a nursery again for the baby (that still feels weird to say!), so someday when that is done I'll post a pic of the whole set up.

One last thing. The other night while I was at work Cody was putting Simon to bed. Here is the conversation that was had....
Cody: "Simon, your dad sure does love you!"
Simon: "Your son sure does love you!"

small pause

Simon: "Loves important."

I love this story!!!!

Just Stuff...

2009-10-26T15:57:00.001-07:00

I know I suck at updating my blog! Wait....don't I say that in every post? Well, here is literally a huge download of what has been going on with our family this past couple months.

Quite a few weeks ago we decided we needed to hit the zoo one last time before the weather changed. It was a lot of fun. Simon loves the zoo and is such an animal kid! My favorite part was all the baby's at the zoo. The baby elephant was so fun to watch, I could have watched her all day long!

The giraffes (hmmm...I don't think they tell you how to spell that in school!) are one of my favorites.

The baby giraffe.

So, me being the brilliant mom that I am taught my kid (keep in mind, I sometimes don't think things through very well) to do the fist pump thing to get semi's to honk at you. Every kid should know how to do this, right? Well, being the adult in this fun game soon (very soon) found out just how annoying this game could be! Simon did this the ENTIRE way home!!! Ugh!

So, in other news...after feeling pretty crappy all weekend long I decided to take one of these fabulous tests....and lo and behold....Simon is finally going to be a big brother! We are indeed pretty excited about this! Simon says it's a girl and her name is Sally. Hmmm....we are going to need to think about that one. But it is interesting that he hasn't once wavered on whether it's a boy or a girl. Intuition? Anyway, I'm supposedly due on May 20th. And believe me when I say it's going to be a looooong 9 months! I have been so sick and just overall blah. I hope this stage soon passes!

Anyway, I caught this pic of Simon (that's a guilty face if I've ever seen one!). He has decided that he likes to sit behind the rocking chair in his room and break his crayons in half. Strange, I know! But it was funny to catch him in the act!

This is Simons new big boy bed (just waiting for Cody to build the headboard). Now that he is going to be a big brother, he needs a big boy bed. He loves it and is pretty good at going to bed now! Yeah! Now we gotta finish a room in the basement for him so we can have the nursery back!

I also took Simon, Sienna, and Ady out to gather leaves around the block. Simon and Sienna needed them for pre-school, and Ady loves stuff like that, so it was fun! We had to stop at every single house on our journey, so it was a pretty long stroll around the block!

Simon and I also decided to make some halloween cookies. He loves helping in the kitchen, and I usually don't have the patience to let him. We had a good time. Sorry that I didn't bring anyone frosted ghost cookies, but if you saw the amount of coughing on these cookies that took place you would have been so grossed out.

Simon helped rake the very few leaves from our very small tree this morning.

And Hayley invited us to go with her and Sienna and Ady's kindergarden class to the pumpkin walk. It was so nice to go in the day when it's not so cold, not so crowded, and so much more enjoyable! It was a fun day!

Anyway, that has been a quick recap of what's been going on in our lives lately.

Good Times

2009-09-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

So, here's what's been happening since my last post. Simon has started preschool and he loves it! I'm afraid he's not always the well behaved boy that I always hope he will be....but hopefully he will learn! He has made a couple new friends at school and it's such a fun new chapter in our lives!

Simon and his cousin Sienna are in the same preschool class....heaven help Teacher Tana!

Simons good buddy Hannah is also in his class. She is so stinking cute! He is pretty protective of her and Sienna both! It's pretty cute!

We have had a couple camping trips with my parents in their trailer. I'm thinking we are going to get some great use out of that trailer! :) Simon is now old enough that he knows to stay away from the fire so it makes it a little more relaxing!

And Simon has spent loads of time with his neighborhood pals! I had to get a picture of them all together. Before we know it they will all move on in different directions with different friends (hopefully they will all stay friends), but at least for now they can just be best buddies! It will be fun to see them grow up together!!!

(Brock, Nick, Carter, Dirk, Simon, and Camden)

Summer is over, and I'm ready for fall to begin!

Words of Live By!

2009-09-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

"If you want to feel good about your whole day, go into your closet, find your swimsuit and put it on. Walk out to your bathroom and look in the mirror. Nothing worse is going to happen to you all day."

Thank you Amber for sharing this quote with me! It will always and forever make me smile!

A Great Birthday Surprise!

2009-09-02T10:52:00.001-07:00

For my birthday my sil's surprised me with this awesome gift! One of Hayley's friends takes these amazing photos, so she surprised me (which is amazing cause Hayley can not keep a secret!) and had Simons pictures taken without me even knowing! It was such a fun surprise and than her and Heather had a couple of them put in a frame for me to hang up. I have such great Sil's!! There were so many great pics, but here are a few of my favorites!

Thank you so much Noell for taking such great pics! You are so talented!!!

Lagoon Day

2009-08-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

For my birthday (ah-hem 30th birthday!) I wanted to not think about getting older, and enjoy being a kid again. So, we packed up and went to Lagoon (it's what FUN is!). I haven't been for a couple years and I couldn't wait to enjoy the fun with Simon!

He had a hard time warming up to the rides, in fact I didn't think we would be able to get him on any rides. Luckily "Bulgy the Whale" came through for us and he loved it! PS...these pics are in no order what-so-ever, just deal with it! This is Simon on the kid swings. He really liked this ride and I really wanted to puke!
And of course he couldn't resist the airplanes! PS, we have no idea who the kid on the back of the plane is....but Simon thought it was cool that he was giving that "bigger boy a ride on his airplane!".

Here is the adored "Bulgy the Whale". He rode on this ride probably 5 times! I love it if he loves it.

Ah so handsome!

It was a fantastic day! And I can't wait to go again!

What we have been up to...

2009-08-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

So, I've been absent from the blogging world for a little while....sorry for the one of two of you that actually follow my blog! :) Between just enjoying the summer and really just not being on the computer much I just haven't had much to post. So here are a few pics from a few of our adventures this summer...

Every year the Downs side of my family get together for our annual family reunion at Bear Lake. It was so fun! I look forward to this weekend all year. It's been a tradition since I was a pre-teen, and now it's fun to watch our kids get together and play!

Simon enjoyed helping Cody fish. Um...they didn't exactly catch anything, unless you count the weeds in the back cast. But it was fun to watch the fish jumping in the water.

Nothing beats spending the day with Grandpa!

We went hiking to White Pine with my dad, Aunt Josie, and Uncle Dave.
I honestly didn't know exactly what kind of a hike it was going to be. I was pretty tired after and was also impressed that Simon did the hike (with a little help from grandpa and dad's shoulder rides). It was a beautiful hike though!

In the many years of my life that we have gone to Bear Lake I have not once stopped by the scenic over look. So, we decided to stop this time.

July also included Birthday month for Hayley! :)

And I had the pleasure (insert sarcasm here) or spending a week in Phoenix for work. Um....can anyone say 114 degrees????

And of course we spent a lot of time running through the sprinklers. I love this pic of Simon!!

Well, there you have it. Our fun filled summer thus far. We still have a Lagoon trip planned, and of course ahem- my birthday. :)

What Makes Me Smile...

2009-07-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of people have commented in their blogs about things that make them smile. I've been pondering this as I read their blogs and thought I'd make a list of my own. Some of these things may only make sense to me. In no particular order (and family and friends is a given!)

1. Flowers. I love beautiful flower beds!
2. Simon. Everyday he does something that makes me smile.
3. Cody. All the little things he does every day that make me know how much he loves me.
4. Ady and Sienna rocking out to Hannah Montana.
5. "That's what she said".
6. My moms Sunday Chicken. Comfort food at it's finest for me.
7. Music. Particularly anything from the 90's.
8. Bachellorette.
9. Caesy's version of "I Love To See The Temple". When she was little she used to sing this and the line that says "While I am young"... she would say "While yum yum yum". How can you not smile at that?
10. Another Caesy song when she was little.... "God Speed" by Dixie Chicks. It used to (and still does) make me cry every single time I hear it.
11. My mom and me saying the same thing at the same time.
12. Drop Dead Fred.
13. "All I heard was blah-blah-blah, your a dirty tramp" (Cami, that's for you cause you make me smile all the time!)
14. A great book.
15. Holidays
16. A long hot shower.
17. My little Sunbeams
18. Stacey meeting me half way.
19. The good old days.
20. short hair

I'll quit at 20, but I'm thinking how much fun it would be to try for 100! Maybe I'll do another 20 list sometime.
I'd love to know what makes you smile???

Hmmm....

2009-07-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

Should I be embarrassed

that the guy at the Wendy's drive through

knows me by name??

Ponder....and get back to me.

Words of Advice

2009-06-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

I was browsing a very good friend of mines blog, and saw this quote and I was so greatful to have seen it! Thank you Merrilee for posting it. Sometimes I look back on things and think "this isn't exactly what I had planned". I didn't want to be a full time working mom when I was little! I wanted to be home playing with my kids, making a delicious meal for my family, finishing the last touches on a beautifully cleaned house as my husband walks in from work. Sound a little "Brady Bunch" huh? None the less, it was my dream. Here I am living Plan B. Don't get me wrong....I am sooooo happy! I have an amazing husband who loves us and supports us, and I'm sure at times feels the same way I do since he is the one having to make the delicious meals for us, and he is often the one having to straighten up our house as I walk through the door from a long day at work. So, although I am extrememly happy, sometimes I start to get a little selfish and think....why can't I have that dream again? So, I absolutly loved this quote and it put things into perspective for me.

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around and shouting that he has been robbed. The fact of the matter is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

Gordon B. Hinckley

Blast From the Past (Part 2)

2009-06-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wish you could go back in time? If I could pick one time period to revisit it would most definatly be the early 90's! Oh, the 90's was a great time in the world, and a time that probably influenced my personality more than any other time! Of course, the 90's had it's share of "bad ideas"....

Heat activated clothing??? Could the inventor of this tragidy please step forward? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?

The horrendous (is that a word?) trend of the "Rachel Hair". I admit, I sported a similar style at one time. I do believe the term "bad hair day" stemmed from this very style! Sorry all you millions of girls out there that went for this look. Really, what were we all thinking?

That goes for you too Miss Bangs! Such a pretty face.... She could so be the poster child for AquaNet Hairspray!

And my husband would kill me for catagorizing "Blossom" with the "bad ideas". Apparently he was a fan. I heard Joey's "whoa" one too many times and "Six" was just plain annoying.

But the 90's introduced some brilliant ideas as well. Many of which I supported. For example...

Doc Martins! How cool were these?? Loved them, never owned any, wished every day of my junior high school life that I could afford a pair!
Overalls. Thousands, if not millions of people everywhere are disagreeing with me right this minute, but I lived in my overalls! I had no boobs, and no butt, so I had nothing to attempt to show off anyway. But going to the bathroom proved to be a pain in the butt!

Yes please. All of it. Bring on the flannel! I am a grunge girl at heart and this is my idea of style!

Speaking of grunge....the 90's produced some of the BEST music to date!
Nirvana....
Kurt Cobain. Beautiful.

Early 90's here, and the complete opposite of grunge. But Tommy was a little bit of "eye candy" for me. And yes, I had his poster on my wall!

Janet Jackson. Now I'm talking "Rhythm Nation" Janet. My brother was a Janet supporter and we spent many hours practicing her Rhythm Nation moves on our own kitchen chairs. Unsuccessfull!

"How do you talk to an angel?" That angel would be Jamie Walters and he indeed had the voice of an angel! Many dreams involved this beautiful man! :)

Another favorite. Blind Melon.

But for those of you who know me best, you know that my heart will always belong to the fella's of "Alice In Chains". All time favorite band! True brilliance and gosh they are good looking. R.I.P. Layne!

Some of the TV shows that made me love the 90's...

Fresh Prince. I didn't watch this for Will (never really have been a fan of his), but Carlton was halarious! I so loved his signature dance move.

Saved By The Bell. You may still find me watching this show anytime I can find it on TV. Oh, the fashion trends in full force! A.C. Slater....need I say more??

Seinfeld helped mold our generation! So many one liners and inside jokes.

And my all time favorite cartoon, Anamaniacs. I really do need to find these DVDs and watch them with Simon. I think (desperatly hope) he would like it!

And Hayley, this one is for you. Beverly Hills 90210. Again another show that encompassed all things 90's. So many of our trends came stright from this show.

And to wrap it all up....if you want a glimpse at all the greatness that was the 90's. Fashion, music, and style....it's all represented in my favorite movie of all time. Empire Records. My friends can vouch for the fact that I can quote this movie from start to finish! Empire Records was my dream life.

So, that's my recap on everything that was great from the 90's. I'm sure you have your own memories from the 90's. And maybe now you will understand me just a little bit more (awwww...it all makes sense.)

Blast From the Past (Part 1)

2009-06-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

So, the other day I was reminiscing with a friend about the brilliant fashion and trends from the 80's. Oh! We had a great time thinking about the stupid things we wore and all the trends we wanted to follow! Here are a few of the trends that I indeed represented (and sometimes wish upon a star that they would come back!)....

This one is hard to see....but I'm sure you all remember the "skill" involved with pegging your jeans? Ya, I did that!

This one I could handle coming back, although my biker shorts underneath my skirt never looked this scheik.....never!

What little girl didn't have jelly shoes?? And do you remember the open sores on your feet from these damn shoes? No? I do!

Let's all have a moment of silence for the "hammer pants". I remember real tears streaming down my cheeks sitting in the car in ShopKo's parking lot begging my parents to let me have a pair! Um...yes, I won. And no, I don't want to talk about it.

That's right girls! Banana Clips!

Now let's discuss some of the fantastic shows that caused us to follow these trends. Here are a few of my favorite shows from the 80's.

Punky Brewster.

Do any of you remember how cool her bed was? It reclined and tilted.....oh so jealous!

Kids Incorporated...K-I-D-S. I'm not sure of the exact moment of my nervous breakdown as a child. It was either when I found out that WWF was fake, or when I found out the kids on Kids Inc were lip syncing. That was a very.very.bad.day!

Perfect Strangers.

And here are a few of the guilty pleasures I entertained in my high tech cassette player.

Pc Quest.
Not many people enjoyed the music of this group. But I had many a night laying in bed dreaming of one of them serenading me!

Rick Astley. Never gonna break your heart. Never gonna say goodbye. Never gonna tell a lie. Or hurt you! Who knew he was a white guy??? And did I care? Umm...no!

So, now you are all free to judge me! Judge away! But I'm sure there are a few of you out there that would love to devulge a few of your favorite memories of the 80's!

Where have I been....What have I been doing?? Bring on the #'s!

2009-05-26T22:24:00.000-07:00

Weeds pulled.....
Hundreds (not thousands thanks to that cool material stuff you can put under the dirt!)

Hours worked.....
Ugh! Must I relive all those hours?

Calories burned......
Hopefully enough to lose a pound or two!

Times I've had to tell Simon to stay out of the street.....
At least 20!

Times I've teared up watching Simon make new friends......
A couple dozen!

New neighborhood friends Simon has made......
4 (Nick, Carter, Camden, and Dirk....we are in trouble when these boys get older and more mischevious!)

Loads of laundry done.....
0 (I told you I've been busy....just not busy cleaning my house!)

Books finished.....
1 (Thank you Jen Lancaster for so many good laughs!)

Victory!!!

2009-05-21T00:41:00.000-07:00

Yes Please!

I am completely shocked that Kris won! I have been a Kris fan from day one, but I just thought for sure that Adam would win....I mean, didn't we all??? Cody told me that if Adam won than I would never be allowed to watch AI again. So, every week, Cody was there....cheering on Adam. I was prepared to say my goodbyes to Paula, Randy, Simon, and even Kara.

Take that Cody! Looks like we will be enjoying yet another season of AI soon enough!

As for the show....all you had to say was Jason Mraz and I would have been satisfied! He is definatly on "the list" (but that's a completely different post). But to add along with that Lynol Richie, Santana, and Kiss???? I couldn't ask for more! I will give Adam a little credit....although I am not a fan of his wardrobe, he sang "Beth" remarkably, and I thought Queen was the perfect duet for him!

I am going to bed with all smiles tonight!

Now I just can't wait for Kris's first album!!!!

Buds

2009-05-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

I was just playing around on picnik.com and loved how this pic turned out. So many people think that Simon and Sienna are twins...but alas they are only cousins. But they do act like siblings (they fight as bad as siblings do) and I love watching their relationship grow.

Mothers Day

2009-05-10T23:25:00.001-07:00

What a wonderful Mothers Day! I love being a mother and I love the many Mothers that surround me! I have so many great examples in my life and so many "moms" that help me raise my little man....I am forever grateful! Above is a pic of me and my mom and my sister Jen and sil Miranda. These women are all such great examples to me and such great moms! I'm so blessed to have them in my life. I didn't get a picture, but much love goes to my mother in law and two more sils Hayley and Heather. They are also amazing examples to me and such amazing moms!

My favorite part of the day was when Simon came in from outside and had a bouquet of dandylions he had picked from the yard and said "These are for you, Mom!" I thought Cody had put him up to it, and it meant even more once I realized he did it 100% on his own! I love my little man so much!!!

Cody and Simon also got me this awesome garden bike to put a few potted plants in! I have wanted one for quite awhile and am so excited to get planting! Poor Simon just doesn't understand why he can't try to ride it!

After church it's always time to make the "rounds" and wish our Mom's a great Mothers Day. We started at my mom's house and had a BBQ with my family. It was so great to have Greg and his family and Jen and her family (minus a few of the Soto's). Simon is always so excited to be with Sid. He trys to hard to be big like Sid.
And I'm always amazed at how grown up and beautiful Caesy is! Wouldn't you just kill to have those beautiful freckles?? She hates them, but I wish she could see just how georgous she is!

Sid was showing us his "ladies man" faces. He devulged some information about a new "lady friend"! With that "come hither" look I'm sure the ladies will be flocking around him! He's such a funny kid!

I'm so bummed I didn't get more pictures once we went to the Johnsons. I guess I was too busy getting my butt kicked at Canasta. But I did get a pic of the kids playing. They were pretty good and actually allowed us to play uninterrupted. I love it when they play good together!

Thanks again to all the many moms in my life! And to my mom....thank you so much for all you do for me and my family! You have been a great example to me and I hope I can be even half as good of a mom as you are! I love you all!

My New BFF

2009-04-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

If you want some seriously funny entertainment.....visit my new BFF's blog at www.jennsylvania.com. OK, she is unaware of the fact that we are BFF's, but I'm confident that on the magical day that we finally meet she will realize that we are soul sisters!
Jen Lancaster + Amy Johnson = Best Friends Forever.
(hmmm....did I just cross the "creepy" line?)

2009-04-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

I love my little cowboy! I wanted to journal this little story because I never want to forget it. The other night Simon and I decided to go to McDonalds so he could play in their playland. He was so excited and ran right over to play. There was an older little boy there playing and he went up to Simon and started teasing him and just kind of being mean to Simon. I've never wanted to punch a little kid before! Anyway, Simon came running over to me and I thought he would start crying or something. Instead he had this huge grin on his face and pointed to the other boy and said "Mom, that boy is my friend!" I know that's a silly little story, but I was so proud of Simon! Instead of getting his feelings hurt he made a new friend! As soon as the older boy realized he hadn't bothered Simon at all he left him alone and Simon had a blast playing. I hope Simon always keeps such an optomistic view on things! I love him so much and I learn so much from him!

I Don't Want to Brag, But.....

2009-04-23T22:19:00.001-07:00

Thank you Hayley for the inspiration on the title of this blog! So, I was sitting down, clipping my coupons and Simon decided he wanted to clip some coupons of his own. I figure your never too young to learn the value of a dollar....so the clipping began!

After much consentration...the first coupon was clipped! I'm pretty proud of him! He did a pretty great job!
And alas! The results of our labors! I spent $110 and saved $100!!! I will go ahead and chalk that one up as a success! But even more than the savings- I enjoyed watching Cody's face when I showed him what we saved!

I think Cody has finally realized that the cost of the paper is well worth the savings!

My Little Cowboy

2009-04-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

My sister and her family gave Simon his birthday present on Sunday. They got him all cowboy'd up! Now, let's be honest....I'm not a country girl. But seriously, there is nothing cuter than a little boy in cowboy attire! They went all out! Boots, Wranglers, shirt, and cowboy hat! As soon as he got it all on he instantly had a little "swagger" to his walk. It was so funny!

Favorite pic of the year! I just love that goofy little grin! Jen, you did a great job taking all these pics!!!

We got to enjoy the warm weather and we all played a little crokett (hmmm...I'm sure I didn't spell that right!). It was so much fun! Simon played with us and actually did pretty good hitting the ball!

Maybe he is destined to be a cowboy! Cowboys always have skinny butts!

Thank you Soto clan!! Simon loves being a cowboy!

Michael Alleman Memorial Run

2009-04-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

So, one of my favorite things about working for Best Buy is the opportunity to be involved in a lot of community fundraisers. We came across this particular fundraiser and I was super stoked to be a part of it. Amy Alleman (girl in the hat on the end) is actually my age and has two young boys and just lost her husband in Iraq. So, her friends and family hosted a 5k run to help her and her family. I can not even begin to comprehend what her and her family are going through right now!

These photo's are in no particular order...but here you go. This is the Best Buy group that ran. This is right after the race. Amy Alleman is on the end with one of her little boys. She is such a nice person and she has such a positive attitude!!
Me and Tyson were the last of the Best Buy group to finish. At least we finished! I was pretty proud of us for doing as well as we did!

Kraig was second from our group.

And of course Drew was the first from our group to finish. He is a marathon runner so this was no surprise to us! He decided to do this run instead of the Boise Marathon! Thanks Drew!!! He was even nice enough to come find me and Tyson after he finished and run the rest of the way with us! :)

We really are such a great looking group, right? Thanks fella's for running with me!

Busy Weekend!

2009-04-12T09:54:00.001-07:00

What a busy weekend! Friday was Simons birthday! I can't believe he is 3 years old! He is getting so big and way too sassy! :) We started out the day by going to "Baby Animal Days" with a friend of mine and her little boy. Of course I forgot to take my camera (so unlike me!). That was super fun! This year Simon was determined to have a "Pirate Party". So a friend of mine said she would make him a pirate cake. I can't believe what an amazing job she did with it! I looooooovvvveee this cake! She did such a great job! This picture really doesn't do it justice! By the way Cami, it was delicious! It did break my heart to cut into it though!

Ady and Sienna were good sports to dress up like pirates with Simon. I'm loving Ady's "arghhh" face!

Simon had to inform me the "pirates don't smile". Maybe he has seen "Pirates of the Carribean" too many times! Don't judge me!

The grandparents always spoil Simon so much! Grandma Linda and Grandpa Mike got Simon a "motorcycle bike". If you just call it a bike he will be very quick to correct you!! It's a "motorcycle bike!"

The Wolfleys gave the perfect gift....a huge pirate ship! Simon loved it! He was super sad that the Wolfleys couldn't make it. He kept saying "I know my cousins live really far away, but they will come to my party." We would try to explain to him that it was too far away and he just kept saying "No, they will come to my party!" It was kind of sad! So, Wolfley clan.....we missed you!

Grandma Tana and Grandpa Joel got Simon a bouncy horse. It was a hit! Simon went from Pirate to Cowboy in about 2 seconds flat! See what I mean? Both grandparents spoil him rotten!

I think the Kidmans won though....they gave Simon a little car bubble machine. Thank you Kidmans for the extra layer of film that is coated on every inch of my carpet and walls! :) Payback is a bitch! :) As for what me and Cody got Simon....we had to stick with the boring gifts (cause really, how do you compete with all that??). So we got him a few books, a couple puzzles, playdoh, and a movie. Oh ya, and a helmet and knee pads for his bike. Cody got him his first fishing pole too! I think Cody was more excited than Simon, but I think Simon just doesn't quite realize what it is yet.

After all the fun and games the kids sat down to watch a movie while the rest of us played some games! Thank you everyone for helping Simon have such a great birthday!

Sun, Savings, and a Serenade!

2009-04-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

Today has been a fantastic day! Lately it seems like it rains or even freaking snows on my days off! So, we definatly enjoyed the weather today! We started out the day by running into town (Simon thinks "town" is Kmart, so he was mad when we drove right past)! Anyway, I've been watching for some great deals to use my coupons on and I found this great deal I was pretty stoked about! I got all 4 of these Kraft Ranch Dressing for.....FREE!!! Yeah!

Then we spent the rest of the day outside! I got all my flower beds ready for some new plants and had a great time watching Simon enjoy the sun! Every little thing is a new "treasure" for him lately!

This pic looks like he's crying or screaming...he was actually singing to me! Awww I love that kid!

First Attempt

2009-03-30T23:03:00.000-07:00

So, I'm attempting this whole Penny Pinching thing and I have

learned some great things from "The Obsessive Shopper"...and I finally was able to go out and give it a try. So, here is my win from my first attempt at pinching my pennies. You pro's out there won't think this is a huge success.....but for my first try, I'll take it!

Out of pocket: $110

Saved: $68

My New Discovery

2009-03-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

So, I'm in the shower this morning.....

Shaving my legs.........

And I discover something. Something I've never noticed before......

"Doest my eyes deceive me??? Could it be????"

A calve muscle!!!!

Good friend, it's been a long time since I've seen you! Welcome back!

Feeling Frumpy

2009-03-14T23:39:00.001-07:00

So, here's the deal! I have never been one of those size 2 girls that always looks in the mirror and says "Oh, I'm so fat!", but I've also never been one of those girls that really ever had to worry about my weight before....until now! You know, you give a kid room and board for 9 months and they just make a wreck of the place (Thanks a lot Simon!!). So, ever since Simon was born I've been struggling with my own self image. I shall call this term "frumpy". You know, when you go through your entire wardrobe and nothing looks good, you settle for a comfy pair of "jammy-pants" and t-shirt. So, yes....somedays I feel like this:

But, I really really really really want to feel like this:

So, I'm finally going to do something about it! Hopefully by posting this you can all keep me focused! So, I'm on day 2 (baby steps) of no soda and I've started running a couple nights a week (very late at night when no one can see how slow and out of shape I am). I also started working out in my basement to this incredibly awesome dvd. I know, some of you say "why don't you just go to the gym?". Lets be honest here. You know on a workout dvd how they have that one person that is demonstrating how to do the "handicap/elderly" level?? You know, instead of full leg kicks, they show you small toe taps? Ya, that level kicks my ass! So there is no way I'm going to embarrass myself like that in a gym. Plus, I have recently discovered in the confines of my own basement that I uh....well....um....lets just say I focus so hard on some muscles that I completly forget about other muscles.....

So, you see why it's a better decision for me to workout at home! :) Did I really just share that? Um, yes I did! Anyway, so this new DVD is amazing and if you want a great work out you should check it out!

It's called "The Biggest Loser/ Cardio Max". The thing I love the most about it is there aren't a bunch of ridiculously skinny girls doing the workouts! They are bigger, out of shape people that are just in the same boat as me and I feel better about myself (and more motivated!). So, wish me luck in my journey to a better self image! If you see me drinking a soda please throw it away for me! :)

Twilight

2009-03-04T09:51:00.001-08:00

OK.....I finally saw Twilight! Thank you Cody for taking me out on a date....he's still regretting the movie decision! :) Since I'm sure I'm the last person on earth to see it here is my review!

I absolutly loved it! Of course as with everything else, the book is so much better! I like my own interpretation of the characters and the scenery better than the movies portrayal. I thought Bella was perfect! Just as I imagined! I really hated who they picked for Edward....at first. But I will say by the end of the movie I was so in love with him! I thought Alice was perfect, but Carlisle was nothing like I pictured and Charlie was so different too! Jacob also was nothing like I pictured but I liked him. The movie had some seriously corny parts, but it surprisingly fit perfectly with the book! I mean really, how do you make someones skin sparkle without looking corny! And the whole runny really fast got quite a few eye rolls from Cody. But I was smiling like a little 14 year old through out the entire film and I am dying to see it again already! I guess the plus side to waiting so long to see it is now I don't have to wait too long before it's out on DVD. It is a must buy for me! Let me know what you thought of the movie!

"DisneyDan" as Simon calls it!

2009-03-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

Preface: If your not interested in seeing all these pics and reading this unbelievably long post, but you are interested in the "Penny Pinching" party that we are going to have please skip to the next post and leave me your email address so I can send you an invitation!

OK....so seriously I have a ridiculous amount of pictures on here! So many in fact that I just got denied by my own computer to put anymore on this post! Crazy right? But if you know me, you know that I am always taking pics!!! I believe my grand total from this Disneyland trip was 1,098 pictures!! Don't tease me! I get enough crap from my family!

Like Hayley, I use this blog as a scrapbook/journal so this post is more for me and my family....so feel free to skip ahead.

Here we go.....so, we were able to go to Disneyland with Cody's family for a week and it was absolutly amazing!! I was worried that Simon was still a little too young and wouldn't really get the whole "magicalness" (yes, I think I made up that word) of Disneyland. I was wrong. Although he maintained a pretty "stoic" face through everything I believe it was simply because he was just taking it all in! He even went on more rides than I thought he would. I think his favorite part of the whole trip was meeting all the characters. Don't worry...I didn't post all those pics. The cinnimon rolls and poppy seed muffins every morning for breakfast is probably a close second for him! :) Warning...these pics are in a pretty random order, so just bare with me!

This is the new "Finding Nemo" ride. A personal favorite for me. It was fun to sit between Simon and Brielle (cousin) cause they totally loved it!

Sienna developed a little "crush" on Trayson I think. Doesn't she just look "flirty"? Trayson is such a good cousin....he is always looking out for everyone!
I totally enjoyed seeing Disneyland through the eyes of the kids! Such fun memories!

The girls all went to meet all the princesses. They were lucky enough to be able to meet all 6 of them. I wish I could have seen Ady and Sienna's faces cause they are soooo into the princess thing! In fact one of the days there Ady wore her princess dress and another little girl passed by her and just stared cause she thought Ady was one of the real princesses there! Priceless! Hayley....your a beautiful princess too! :)

OK, OK...I know I said I wasn't going to post any character pics on here....but I love this pic! And Goofy was one of Simons favorite characters to meet! He was so funny and gave every character "knuckles". So fun!

This is one of our first nights making the long, long, long trek back to our Hotel (OK, it was just across the street from the park, but after walking around the park all day it seemed really far away!). We were all so stinking tired but sweet little Sienna still had a little skip in her step and kept us all laughing!

Cody and Breje. I cannot believe how grown up Breje is! It was great to see that she isn't too grown up for some Mickey ears and a quick pic with her Uncle Cody!

I'm always good for a kiss from Simon! He just melts my heart!

I was amazed by Travis on this trip. We will never know if he actually felt good or not cause he never once complained and it was so fun to see that this whole week was 100% for his girls! He made sure that they did everything they wanted to (with a few exceptions due to height restrictions,) and made sure they were always smiling! And lets be honest, when they smile- we all smile! It made me smile that during our last night while we were all waiting for Fantasmic to start he had to hurry and take Sienna on "one last ride". It was so cute! Every day he made time to dance with one of the girls and it was just amazing. Trav....we sure do love you!

After only one ride with Simon on something that goes in circles Cody called it quits for those kinds of rides and I immediatly got volunteerd (sp). I loved it though and Simon just grinned and grinned. Yes, I walked off the rides a bit dizzy at times....but it was worth it! This is me and Simon on Dumbo.

Simon loved the carousels! I was a little nervous that he would hate them since he wanted nothing to do with the carousel at Hogle Zoo....but he loved it!

This picture cracks me up and in my opinion should be a commercial for Disneyland. Ady in her princess dress and Mickey ears, holding hands with her mom and dad. And no, Sienna didn't get left behind....she is in the stroller in front of Travis.

The whole gang of cousins (plus Grandpa Mike) all sporting their Mickey ears and autograph books! Thanks Grandma Linda for spoiling the kids (and adults) so much!!

Trayson is another one that is just getting so grown up! Now tell me he doesn't pull off the "celebrity" look! What a little heartbreaker!

Heather wins the title as "Aunt Teacup" (Cody doned the title of "Uncle Teacup" after our trip a couple years ago with the Downs family) since she was a good sport and took all the kids on the Teacups. Thank you Heather! Simon loved it, and there is noooo waaaayyyy I would have made that ride without puking!

Buzz Lightyear was another of Simons favorite rides. Shocker since it involves shooting things (did you catch the sarcasm there?).

The big man himself! Mickey was actually one of the first characters Simon met....so I don't think he really knew what to think.

We had such beautiful weather the entire time we were there! It was so nice and we even got a little sunburnt.

Such cute kids! One of the few moments that Simon wasn't hitting or hugging someone!

I will say that the hardest part of course was the "traveling" portion of the trip. With 7 kids all under the age of 12 my anxiety level was raised! Trying to make sure none of the kids ran into the very busy street or making sure that none of the kids got lost or stolen for that matter was enough to make me a little grouchy. But we all made it home in one piece....so mission accomplished! Now that I think about it Mike was the only one that ever got "lost". Go figure! This pic is of all of us outside of LAX waiting for our bus (I warned you these were out of order).

Simons first ride on a plane was a success! No pukes or poops- victory! He cracked me up when he pulled out the SkyMall magazine and was all grown up looking at it! What a funny kid!

And here's a few pics of us all at the airport. It amazes me how much like brothers Simon and Kutter look!

All in all it was a fantastic vacation! We walked our guts out (averaging 10 miles a day) and ate many a churro! The kids enjoyed swimming in the pool a couple nights and my legs enjoyed the jacuzzi as well! Fantasmic was amazing and I was able to actually enjoy it this time (long story!) and I even teared up a little watching Ady and Sienna enjoy the magic of Fantasmic. I surprised myself and Linda by going on a few rides that I normally wouldn't have done. Splash Mountain was definatly not my idea of fun, but I loved watching Ady be brave and put her cute little hands up on the Rocky Mountain Roller Coaster, and I heard her giggle on Space Mountain (surprisingly I heard her giggles over my own giggles), and I giggled so hard on Indiana Jones that I thought I would pee my pants! I loved that ride! Thank you everyone for such a fun vacation! One that we all will remember for a lifetime!

Consider Yourself Invited!

2009-03-01T00:06:00.000-08:00

OK....I haven't been to great at updating my blog lately! Be careful what you wish for though, cause I have an insane amount of pictures from Disneyland that I will try to post tomorrow. Anyway, I wanted to throw out an invitation to anyone that is interested for our "Pinching Pennies Party" that we are going to have. It will be Saturday, March 21st, at 2:00pm at my mom's house. Leave a comment on this post with your email address if you want details and an official invitation!

The "Family Ghost"

2009-02-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

So, if you ever think that your children don't learn anything in Nursery.....you are wrong! Yesterday we asked Simon what he learned in Nursery that day and he proceeded to tell us that he learned about a "big, big, family ghost". We were confused of course until he started to tell us that "David was scared of the storm but the 'family ghost' made him feel better." and that "the 'family ghost' makes us happy!" Um, yes I may have gotten a little teary eyed! Clearly this "family ghost" is the Holy Ghost that they learned about! I love that Simon loves Nursery so much! He has the greatest Nursery leaders in the world and he looks forward to seeing them every week. In fact yesterday when I was combing his hair for church he asked me if I could comb it like Brother Roberts! So funny!!! We definatly needed to see this sweet side of him since lately he has been nothing but trouble! He has mastered the art of talking back to us (mom and dad, I apologize if I ever did this because now I see how mad it can make you!!). If we tell him to get dressed he says "I am! Now nock it off!" or now he'll tell me "Don't talk to me like that!" Simply obeying is not an option for him I guess! Arghhhh! I have heard that the terrible 3's is worse than the terrible 2's....and he is almost 3- so BRING IT ON! He may just end up being an only child at this rate! :) But on top of all of that he really does have his sweet moments and one little hug and kiss from him can erase all those frustrations!

Party Being Planned...

2009-01-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

So, my mom decided that she will throw our "Penny Pinching" party at her house. So, I just need to know what night works best for most of you. It has to be either a Thurs night or a Sat night. Let me know if your interested and what night works best for you and we will get it planned. As soon as I get the details worked out I'll let ya'll know when and where. Let the saving begin!!! :)

Pennies are being pinched!!

2009-01-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all of you that posted ideas to help me in pinching my much needed pennies! I don't I've ever had that many comments on any of my posts before so it sounds like I struck a nerve with a lot of you! :) A good nerve of course! In fact I have had so many comments from people between blogging world and facebook world that I think I might be interested in hosting a party that can teach us how to be better with our money. I am also looking into a class that is offered (it's FREE!!!!!) and once I find out when and where I will post it for you all. So, if you SERIOUSLY are interested in attending a "party" let me know....I don't want to host one if no one shows up (you know who you are!...Ok, I'm usually that person!). I've heard so many people that are spending like $50 on groceries but coming home with $5,000 worth of groceries (OK, slight exageration....but it's my daydream, let me have my moment!). I'm so excited to learn and to be able to breath again!! Thanks again for all the great ideas! Keep them coming!!

Penny Pinchers....Advice Needed!

2009-01-11T21:25:00.000-08:00

"Money Money Money! Aint it funny....in a rich mans world!" Thanks to my amazingly talented neices, I know this Mama Mia song well! This post is all about asking you smart money managers out there for a little help! I was reading my cousins blog tonight (thanks Kylie!) and she was talking about using coupons and being more of a smart grocery shopper. I loved reading her post and realized there are probably a lot of great ideas out there that help people save money! Keep in mind before you start shooting out too many ideas....I work 50+ hours a week and a lot of my "spare time" (ha, that's a joke!) is spent trying to be a good mom. So, sometimes I just don't have the time to clip a million coupons. But that being said I want so badly to be out of debt and to be able to be a little smarter with my money....so BRING IT ON! If you have a fantastic budget idea or a plan that helps you save money...PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!

A Wonderful Holiday!

2008-12-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

Awww....Christmas finally came and was wonderful! Aside from everyone being sick (but it sounds like everyone was sick this year!) we had a great Christmas! We enjoyed visiting with family that we don't often see (thank you blogger for keeping us connected!). And I enjoyed being a kid again on Christmas Eve and playing the fun kid games and being excited for Santa to come! We spent Christmas Eve this year with the Johnson Clan and we had so much fun! All the kids got new Christmas PJ's and Simon was so excited to get them on!

Christmas morning was spent at home where Santa could be sure to find us (and boy did he!). Simon ran right past all his gifts to look out the window to see if he could see Santa. My mom and dad came over Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. It was so great to not worry about work and to just enjoy the day. I wish I could say the same for Cody though....he was pretty dang sick on Christmas Day and has been sick since! Poor guy! I finally got sick on the day after Christmas and have been sick ever since as well.....so it hasn't really been a fun weekend! Anyway, here are just a few of the many many many pics that I took. And seeing as how my cough medicine has just now kicked in it will be wise for me to end this post! Nothing good ever comes from "drunk blogging!" Hope you all had a great Holiday Season!

Simon and Sienna....innocent? I think not!

Me and Simon getting our gingerbread house decorated.

Simon definatly did not win the candy bar sleigh race....but you would never know it by this pic!

Simon and Sienna at grandma Linda's Christmas party.

Just for Fun!

2008-12-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

Just playing with "picnik" for a little while. OK, like for a couple hours! It's so addicting!

Some Holiday Moments

2008-12-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

So tonight was moms anual "Lighting Ceremony" Christmas Party. It's probably one of my favorite events of the year! I can't believe our family is actually getting big enough that we can have our own Christmas party without joining up with cousins and such (I don't mean that to sound bad....I love the cousins party too!). Simon had so much fun and as always is attached to Sid at the hip!! We had yummy dinner and than made gingerbread houses.

Here is Simon displaying his work of art! Don't mind the "bowl hat". Weirdo!

My mom's tree this year is a must see! Apparently she asked my dad to help decorate the tree and this is his idea of decorating! The picture really doesn't do it justice! Knowing my mom she will keep it up this way all season just to prove a point!
Santa visited the mall again this year and Simon got to give him his wish list (which consisted of "a toy"....that's what he told Santa he wanted!).

And he got these wonderfully cute Christmas socks in the mail from my Grandma Downs. He freaking loves them!!!! Can you see how excited he is???

Hope you all are having a fun Holiday season so far!!!

Turkey, Christmas Lights, and Some Funny New Words!

2008-11-27T18:01:00.000-08:00

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS A LOT OF PICTURES!!! SORRY!

So, let me start off by saying this has been one of the crappiest week ever! I have had the absolute worst head cold that I have ever had. In fact, at this very moment I am super doped up on cough syrup, Mucinex (the good stuff that you have to fill out a form to get), and sleeping pills since I have to get up for work at 2:00am (that's right, I said a.m.). So, if this post doesn't make much sense, I blame all of those things! Anyway, so....work has sucked trying to get everything ready for Black Friday (might I add, I hate all you early bird shoppers that make me hate Black Friday!!!) :) So, I have been miserably sick all week....but how cute is my kid that on his own, he asked Cody if he could buy me a flower to help me feel better! Break my heart!!! So this is a pic of the beautiful flower that he picked out for me to help me get better! The vase is huge, but it's the only one I had (and at least it wasn't an empty milk jug....that one was for you Mike!) How could you not feel better after such a sweet gesture??

With this head cold I have also lost my voice. In fact it hurts pretty bad to talk. Of course this is the time that Simon decides he wants me to read to him constantly. It was so funny cause the night he brought me the flower he asked me to read him a story. I explained that my voice was gone and that it hurt me to talk so I couldn't read a story. My cute kid looks up at me with his puppy dog eyes and says "but I bought you a flower so you would feel better!". So sweet, right? Broke my heart, so of course I cowboy'd up and read him a couple stories!!

So, speaking of funny things Simon is saying right now.....he came home from Grandma Tana's the other day and told me that he "bumped his uncle". Of course I made him repeat this numerous times cause I just didn't understand. Finally he pointed to his elbow and said again, "I bumped my uncle!". I love it when kids just can't get the word right! I laughed pretty hard (which did not feel so good on my throat!)

This is Simons "uncle".

This morning I woke up to Simon asking for his "boggels". I again couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Finally I went into his room and found him hard at work "fixing" his bed with his screwdriver. And of course he was wearing his "boggels". It was so cute! He will wear those "boggels" all day if you let him! Thanks Trayson for letting him borrow your tools! He loves them!!!

Today was also Christmas decorating day! Well, at least for the outside! Cody surprisingly loves to decorate outside for Christmas! He gets pretty excited and of course we ususally end up with some new decoration. I think this year he has decided he wants a giant wreath to put above the garage. Anyway, Simon thought it was pretty fun to help!!!

Than at last it was time for the turkey!!! My favorite dinner of all times!! This year we went to my grandma and grandpa Nymans. There weren't too many of us there this year. I can't remember a time when there was so few for Thanksgiving. But it was nice because we all got to chat. Sometimes there is just so many people that you don't really get to talk to anyone.

Simon had to show us his big "Incredible Hulk" muscles after he ate!

Simon and Great Grandpa Nyman

Simon and Great Grandma Nyman. She is soooo tiny!!!

And of course we ended the night with turning on our Christmas lights!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Be nice to your cashiers if you go out shopping!

He Melts My Heart!

2008-11-03T21:57:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about how my little boy is just that....a little BOY! I'm amazed at all the "little boy" things that Simon does even though he's surrounded by girls all the time (no offense Ady, Sienna, Jaycee and Hannah). I used to say that boys come out of the womb making machine gun noises (somehow girls can't make that noise), but now I really do believe that! Although he is around little girls as his play mates he has somehow learned a few things like....

How to "punch fight" and make the punching noise with his mouth.

How to "sword fight" and make the sword clashing noise with his mouth.

How to tackle (and actually take you down).

How to love watching Star Wars over and over and over and over.

How to call Barbie comercials "stupid".

How to pick his nose and wipe it on anything, anywhere.

How to "rock on" like any rock star would.

How to laugh at a fart...anytime, anywhere.

Not sure if this one fits in here...but he somehow has learned how to comb my hair like a "Jedi Princess". (OK, that's just sweet!)

He'll run around in a diaper, with his "big boy" underwear pulled up around his chest (all of this through one leg hole), his spiderman socks pulled clear up to his knees, his sunglasses with no lenses on, and pretend that he's a super hero (He is to me!).

Where did he learn all this??? I guess boys are just boys and you can't do anything about it. But I don't think I would anyway....I love Simon so much and have so much fun watching his imagination grow. I find myself laughing so hard I almost pee my pants some days!

I love you Simon!

Happy Birthday Greg!

2008-10-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

So, Sunday night my family got together for my brothers birthday and had a little Halloween Party! It was so fun being together. I didn't realize everyone was dressing up (I thought it was just the kids), so Mom borrowed me a crazy hat and tie. Cody and my dad were party poopers and wouldn't wear anything to dress up! Losers! Even my Grandma Downs came dressed up as Old Mother Hubbard. It was so fun!

Simon is a monkey and I'd say it fits his personality right now.
Greg and Miranda....always such good sports!

Jen had a pretty impressive Edward Sissorhands (uh...how do you spell that?)

Greg and my mom.....aw, I love my mom! She is always up for a good time!

After dinner we stripped our costumes and did us a little pumpkin decorating. Simon was so excited to pick out his pumpkin, and I think he picked out the perfect one. From the look on his face, he thought so too!

Of course there is always time for fun and games afterward! Thanks mom for throwing such a great party! Happy Birthday Geek!

My boys!

2008-10-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

Somehow I missed this picture as I was thumbing through what I wanted to post! I instantly sighed and thought "I love my boys!" I love how tender Simon is. When he feels like hugging you, he'll hug you! So many times he'll just look up and say "I love you!" just cause he wants to! And by the way....I have to add....doesn't Cody look so rugged and handsome???? My, my, my! :)

A Weekend with the Wolfleys

2008-10-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

I know you may think it's a miracle.....2 posts in the same month! Well, hold on to your hats folks....I've got more to come! I'm slowly catching up on my blog with all of the events that have happened this month! There's just too much for one post! Be patient mom, I'll do the Halloween Party tomorrow! :) So, a couple weeks ago we got to spend the weekend in Mt. Home with Heather and Jody and their family! It's always so fun to get out of the valley (although Mt. Home really is nothing much to behold!) and it was great to see the family!

Simon was so excited all week to ride Jody's new horse "Suger Legs", but shocker, once we got there he wouldn't go near the horses!

Mike had an eventful ride wich consisted of Suger Legs taking off on a little jont! Does Mike look a little nervous???

Here's my proof that I rode the horse! Trayson is on the horse in front and Kutter is sitting behind me. I loved the ride. The weather was warm and the rocking motion of the horses walking almost put me to sleep!

We also got to launch a rocket (boys and their toys...and I mean Mike, Cody, and Jody!). All of the kids got a chance to launch one. It was fun to watch the "big boys" have fun with it!

Pretty much Simon and Kutter were inseperable. I loved watching how rough and sweet Simon could be all at the same time!

They Rocked it Hard!!!

Brielle loves the horses! She pretty much has no fear and I caught this picture of her trying to give it a kiss! She is so sweet!!!

Simon thought it was pretty cool to not be the "baby" and he was pretty sweet with little Brielle! He sure does love her and as rough as he can be with the boys, he is sweet as can be with her!

This was what you would see most of the trip. Simon thought it was great that Kutter would let him ride him around like a horse! They laughed and played this little game most of the trip! Sorry Kutter....but thanks for being such a great sport!

Best Buds!!!

And of course, no trip is complete without a little story time with Uncle Cody!!! Cody sure does love his nieces and nephews!

Thanks Wolfley Clan for letting us bombard your home and showing us such a fun time!!!

So much going on....too little time!

2008-10-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

So much has been happening since my last post....sorry for all the pics! It's been a busy couple months! Caesy had a sleepover with us one night and Simon had a blast! He sure does love all his cousins! Me and Caesy stayed up way too late doing our nails and watching a chick flick! Then she came to church with us. Simon was in heaven having Caesy to entertain him through the meetings!

Earlier in the month we went with the Johnsons to Hogle Zoo. It was so fun! Simon loves to see all the animals. The temperature was just right and we really enjoyed ourselves!

I loved seeing thier faces in "awe". These two are so fun to watch. They fight like brother and sister, but they always seem to get over it and have started playing really good together. I'm so glad Simon has a cousin his age that can be his best friend!

Me and Ady were "twins" that day. We both had blue on, so I wanted a pic of us together!

What can I say....so cute right?

Hayley, Travis, Sienna and Ady

Once again, one of the few moments when these two are being cute together! Simon is being the gentleman and helping Enna balance! It just melts my heart!

That's all I'm going to bore you with right now! We also went to Mt. Home to visit the Wolfleys and I have a TON of pictures from that. Also, we just had our pumpkin carving night with my family and celebrated Greg's birthday....but I'll have to post all that hopefully tomorrow! Pumpkin Walk- Here We Come!!!

High School Memories!

2008-10-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

1. Did you date someone from your High School? Yes, I dated people from my high school. Surprisingly I didn't date Cody while we were in high school. I actually didn't even like him!
2. What kind of car did you drive? I got to drive the hand-me down Sunbird that my sister drove. That car went through 3 kids and still was one of the best cars ever! I miss that car!
3. Did you pass your Driver's License test on the first try? Surprisingly yes I did. I think I was just lucky that I was one of those late birthdays...by the time it was my birthday the drivers Ed teacher was just ready for summer. He asked me to turn left and I had to hold my hands up and do the whole "L" thing.
4. Were you a Party Animal? Not at all! I did hang out with some people that were partiers, but I guess I just never saw the thrill in it all!
5. Were you a flirt? No, I was actually quite shy. I just kind of hung back and did my own thing.
6. Were you in Band, Orchestra or Choir? I wasn't in any of the above during high school. I tried the band thing in 7th grade and that's all I could take of it.
7. Were you a nerd? I think I was. I never missed a day of school, never sluffed, usually got to school early and sat by my locker and did homework. Yet I'm still dumb as a brick! Go figure!
8. Were you on any Varsity Teams? I'm not that talented!
9 Did you get Suspended or Expelled? Not much of a trouble maker here! Well, unless I was sitting by Aaron in Earth Science. He had a tendency to get me into trouble!
10. Can you still sing the Fight Song? Did we have a fight song?
11. Who were your favorite teachers? There are a few teachers that stick out in my mind...Mr. Cottle, Mrs. Burningham, Coach Snow, I'm sure there were other great ones, but that's all I can think of.
12. Where did you sit during Lunch? In the lunchroom with Austin and Dan.
13. What was the name of your school? Sky View High School
14. What was the mascot and school colors? Bobcat. Blue and Yellow
15. Did you go to Homecoming? Yes, that was one of the few events I attended. Awww the memories!
16. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you? Not in a million years! Maybe I would lighten up a little bit and not take it so seriously! Have a little more fun!
17. What do you remember most about Graduation? There was a really big Jazz game on that night so everyone had their headphones on listening to the game. I sat by my buddy Austin. I remember the after party and being so sad that my good buddy Fish wasn't there.
18. Where did you go on your Senior Skip day? I didn't know such a day exhisted!
19. Were you in any Clubs? Don't judge...but I was in the ballroom dance club!
20. Have you gained some weight since then? Let's not even talk about it!!!!
21. Who was your Prom Date? Junior Prom was Deven. Senior Prom I didn't get asked to. I blame Austin...I think people thought he was taking me since we were such great friends and were always together.
22. Are you planning to go to your 10 year reunion? That was last year. I drove by on my way home from work and there were only a couple cars in the parking lot. Sad! I still see most people anyway!
23. Did you have a job while in High School? Ya, I worked in a little sandwich shop called "let 'em eat subs!" Lame, I know!

Buddies!

2008-09-16T15:59:00.001-07:00

So today Merrilee and I decided to get together and take our kids to the park. Merrilee used to babysit Simon so him and Ryker are pretty good friends. Since I can't convince Merr to move across the street from me we don't get together very often! We got some lunch and visited and the boys ran around and literally touched every tree (we aren't exactly sure what game they were playing).

I made them link arms in the picture above, and than I think they were embarrassed that they did that. How do kids know to be embarrassed so early in life?
After walking around and looking at the animals we stopped for a little drink. I love the team work here! Unfortunatly Simon wasn't strong enough to push the button when Ryker wanted a drink, so Simon got more turns!
We hated pulling them apart since they were having so much fun, but it was nap time (for the moms maybe)! :)
And of course I had to post a pic of the beautiful Miss Kate. Isn't she a doll? She so loved the swing! Look at that grin! Thanks Merr, Kate, and Ryker for a fun afternoon!

2008-09-16T15:57:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday was me and Cody's 7 year anniversary! I can't even believe we have been married for 7 years! Some days it feels like it has only been a couple years, and some days it feels like it's been forever (and I don't mean that in a bad way....it just feels like we have always been together). We have both changed so much and find ourselves growing closer and closer together. Just when I think I love him more than I possibly ever could something happens in our lives that make me realize I haven't even begun to see the amount of love I have for him! Thank you Cody for always making me laugh, for sometimes making me cry, and for always making everything everyday better and better! I love you so much and I am so excited to see where the rest of our lives take us! Happy Anniversary!

Viva Seattle

2008-09-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

Last week I had to go to Seattle for work. It was actually a pretty cool city and I wouln't mind going there again with Cody! Here is a couple pics from the trip.

These are my traveling companions. I of course was the oldest one there so at times I felt kind of like a babysitter. Not that the "kids" I was with were in need of a babysitter. But I think I get that "motherly instinct" from my mom and feel like I'm responsible for others! They were fun to be with though.

We finally made it to the space needle. It was pretty cool. We didn't actually get to go to the top cause others were starving. But I made sure to get a pic to prove that we went there.
We also made it to the Music Experience Project (or something like that). Luckily for us it was free admission the exact day and time we were there. Normally it's $15. So we got to go around and check out all the music museums and stuff. It would have been a lot more fun if I had had some music fans with me!
It was a fun trip, but as always it's good to be home. I miss Cody and Simon too much to really enjoy travelling! I wish I could take them with me!!!

Simon and Sienna

2008-08-29T10:50:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon this pic that I took of Simon and Sienna back in April. It brought a smile to my face so I thought I would post it. These two are cousins and are only 2 weeks apart in age. So, quite literally they are growing up together. They fight like cat and dog, but every once in awhile they find some common ground and you get a priceless scene like this! I get quite excited when I think about the scheming and trouble these two will get into once they reach school age, and I see them being quite protective of each other once they reach high school. This picture makes me wonder what they were doing in heaven while they were waiting to be born! Probably a similar scene!

New Family Pics!

2008-08-21T21:39:00.001-07:00

Of course I couldn't put all of the pics on here....mostly cause I don't have time. But my Mother in law paid for all of us to get family pics done for a school fundraiser and as you can see, they turned out great!!! I'd give credit to the lady that took them, but I don't remember her name!

Here is the entire gang!

Grandma and Grandpa and all the grandkids!
I love this one cause it totally shows Simons personality! He was hugging us both so tight!

This one is my absolute favorite pic! I think my kid is pretty much the cutest kid in the entire world!!! And man, my husband is handsome!!
Hayley and Heathers family pics also turned out amazing! I am so glad to be a part of such a great family! Thank you Linda for such a priceless gift!!

Lovin' our Ducks!

2008-08-12T09:10:00.001-07:00

We are having so much fun with our ducks! They are possibly one of the greatest pets I have ever had! Incredibly low maintenance, and so fun to watch play! We have had them for a week now and they have almost doubled in size! If it's possible I think they are even cuter now than when they were babies! They look more like ducks instead of chicks. We now let them just roam the yard and they are getting more and more used to us. They don't get scared as easily. They keep "running away" to our neighbors yard but they always come back! I guess they have kind of turned into a neighborhood pet since everyone enjoys watching them.

Simon likes to chase them around, and then they turn around and chase him. It's pretty funny!

They like to play in the water so I let Simon have at it with the hose. I'm pretty sure he had more fun than they did! A lot of people have inquired about this duck as a pet thing...I highly recommend it! They eat very little (we just get grain from IFA). They actually eat the bugs in your yard (that's the main reason I got them, so they would eat the bugs that are eating my plants!) and their poop fertilizes the yard. Surprisingly it's not too messy (the poop that is). Just hose it down! They for the most part stay put in the yard, and if they do wander off they always come back to eat. If any of you have any questions let me know! They are sooooo fun!!!!

New Ducks and Some Family Time

2008-08-03T20:47:00.001-07:00

Somehow, Somewhere I got it in my head that I wanted a couple pet ducks. I blame Tyler at work! I thought as they grow up they would be a fun addition to our yard. Surprisingly Cody said we could get some. So, after a couple weeks of hunting (well, not literally "hunting") a friend of mine from work found these ducks for sale in Hyrum. Simon was waiting outside for me when I got home, excited to meet his new pets.

We let Simon name them so of course they got named Donald and Goofy. To be honest I'm a little surprised that he didn't name them Buzz and Woody (he's just slightly obsessed with Toy Story right now). The next day at work Cody called me to say that the ducks were gone! Gone? Like dead? No, they had just ran away....but of course with how little they were that inevitably meant they were dead. I hunted for awhile around the yard when I got home....in the window wells, in the rain gutter, in the flowers....everywhere. No luck! Well, when we woke up this morning Cody looked out the window and said "you have got to be kidding me". There were the ducks! They had found their way home...and they are only a week old! I'm so proud of my little duckies!!!

Today we also decided to skip church (shhh, don't tell!) and spend a little family time up the canyon. We just walked around and enjoyed being in the mountains for a little while. Simon ran around, me and Cody held hands and it was just a really nice day!

New Friends and a New Experience

2008-07-27T14:01:00.001-07:00

So, apparently Simon has developed an imaginary friend....sort of. His name is "Real Guy" and we have yet to figure out if he lives in the pantry or if he indeed is the pantry door. He also has a pet alligator! Yes, quite the imagination! Simon keeps reminding us that he is a really nice guy! Weirdo! Of course I had to get a pic of Simon talking to "Real Guy".

On Wednesday my in-laws ward had a family fun night at the pool. Cody decided to go fishing instead.... (butt!), so me and Simon went we the Johnson Clan. We had so much fun! Of course Simon started off the evening with a scraped up knee (what else is new?). But once Hayley was able to actually get Simon to go in the water he had a blast! The poor kid basically jumped up and down in the water the intire time. If any of you have ever done water arobics before you know how much this must have wore him out! Finally "Uncle Kyle" was able to talk Simon into going down the water slide with him. I can't believe he actually went down! As soon as he came down he demanded that Mom go down the slide with him next. So, of course I did.....we had a fun bonding moment doing that! It was great!
Hayley and Trav.
Yes, I'm a brave soul to post a pic of me in my swimsuit just out of the water. I had to have proof of the fun we had!
Ady, Simon, and Sienna. They are all smiles! You can just tell they had the time of their lives even though it was now time to go home!

Memories

2008-07-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

I think about 8 of my links have been doing this, and it seems like fun, so here you go.
1. Leave one memory that you and I had together, as a comment on my blog. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Better Late than Never!

2008-07-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got some pics posted on here from the 4th! We had a fabulous time at the fireworks on the 3rd! I'm pretty sure I was more excited than Simon. He puked right before they started, but he loved them once we got him settled.

Simon and Sienna. Best of friends.....for now. :) I love the pics of them when they look like they are in full conversation.
Hayley and Trav. I love you guys!
Simon was having an intense conversation with grandpa. Of course it ended in a wrestling match!
We did fireworks at my parents house on the 4th. We missed Jen and Jason and their crew, they were dealing with a family emergency (see her blog for details). Simon had a great time playing with Sid. Anyway, that was our 4th of July holiday! We are headed off on vacation to Bear Lake and then to camping. So, I'll post new pics when we get back!

Your Beautiful!!!

2008-07-01T22:13:00.001-07:00

I wanted to do a little post specifically for my niece Caesy. Caesy has the most beautiful freckles you have ever seen and she HATES them! I just don't get it! I know so many people that would kill to have her beautiful freckles! So, I wanted to do this post to show her a few of my favorite models that are even more beautiful because of their freckles! Some of them are hard to see because it's such a small picture, but these women love their freckles and know that they are unique because of them!

I think she is so stunning!
Caesy, I forbid you to ever wear this much eye makeup! :)

Caesy, you are beautiful with or without freckles! Your freckles make you unique and I love them so much!!! I wish you could see just how beautiful you are! Love you tons!

Doing a little catch up!

2008-06-28T23:02:00.001-07:00

Ok, I know.....I'm basically sucking at this whole blogging thing lately! Here are just a few pics of what I've been up to this week.

One of the things I really enjoy about my job is the opportunities I have to do community work. Best Buy is really big on getting involved in the community. This last Tuesday we got to participate in a golf tournament. Of course I'm the one that always takes the pics so there are none of me, but here is TJ (my new manager that I love to death!!!), Stewey, and Kelsie. Again, Stewey, TJ, and Kelsie. We actually golfed pretty good! And of course we had a great time! Then last night Heather and Jody and the kids came up for a family reunion. I love seeing how big their kids get everytime we see them!
Here is Brielle. She has got the greatest smile! I admitt she kind of makes me a little baby hungry! But how could you not be when you see that cute face?
It's so fun to see Simon interact with the boys! Even though we go months without seeing them they just seem to pick up right where they left off! There's never a shy moment. Trayson and Kutter are so great to put up with Simon always hugging them and trying to be as big as they are!
This picture was priceless! All the kids were gathered on the deck eating their popsicles. This is one of those pics that will be fun to look back at in 10 years and see how little everyone once was!

Don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys!

2008-06-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

So, I was running errands with my mom (cause let's be honest.....I love spending time with my mom!) and we found ourselves at Cal Ranch. Well, thanks to my Grandpa Downs I have this soft spot in my heart for cowboy hats. My Grandpa Downs ALWAYS wore a cowboy hat! So, I found this little cowboy hat and put it on Simons head. I didn't think he would like it, but he wouldn't take it off! He loved it. So, it was a must purchase! And seriously, how cute does he look in it??? We taught him to say "Howdy Ma'am" and he tips the corner of the hat. It's so cute! I think Grandpa Downs would be pretty proud!

My newest hobby!

2008-06-11T21:52:00.001-07:00

So, I've taken on a new hobby....biking! You might find yourself thinking "where in the world would you get the idea to do that?" Let me explain. Best Buy has started becoming a lot more involved in community events, and well....I find myself volunteering. Hey, it beats going to work, right? So, when Kelsie found out about this Womens only bike-a-thon we thought "sure, why not?" I would like to think that I'm a reasonable person and I'm sure somewhere in my mind the thought "I haven't even sat on a bike for over 10 years" popped up, but it didn't. "Sure, I'll do it" is what I found my lips saying. Well, we found out the SHORTEST distance was 36 miles. Now, those of you that know I'm a genius when it comes to geography realize that I had no idea just exactly how long 36 miles was! I thought "I bet from Best Buy to Smithfield is at least 20 miles, so it shouldn't be that bad!" WRONG!!!!!!!!!! (That's only 6 miles!). So, once I was committed I found the dreadfull map that opened my eyes to just exactly how long 36 miles was! And that was the shortest distance! So, I decided I must begin training (this thought appeared to me a week before the race....convenient, I know!) So, because I don't even own a bike I called my dad to see if I could keep his bike at my house so I could ride whenever possible. His exact words to me were "you can borrow my bike, but you aren't riding 36 miles!" I said "no dad, I really am riding 36 miles!" He said, "Again, you can borrow my bike but you WON'T ride 36 miles." This was not a matter of him giving me permission to ride that far, it was simply that he didn't think I could do it! :) Let the training begin! So, two of my fabulous friends from work, Kelsie and Cami biked the 36 miles with me and we now have a bond that can never be broken! We totally did it! We finished the race (oh wait, sorry Cami...."non competitive" bike-a-thon). I must say, I'm pretty dang proud of myself! The race took us from Wellsville through Mendon, up around Benson, back through Logan, Mendon again, and ended back in Wellsville. For someone who wasn't even sure she remembered how to ride a bike (BTW: it's true, once you learn, you never forget!) I was amazed that we finished! Me and Cami decided we are going to do it again next year, but I think we will shoot for the 60 mile race. Kelsie decided this bike thing just wasn't for her. Kelsie, you need a lighter bike!!!

Kelsie, Me and Cami.
This was our first "break stop". This guy was dressed up so we took the photo opp.! Yes, that's right, we are in full spandex!! Don't judge us!
We had to take a "check the map" break. I think we were by Cutler Dam here.
Cami had the lightest bike, so she got to have the "Cool Runnings" moment at the end!

What I've been up to!

2008-06-01T20:59:00.001-07:00

I really am not doing a great job with keeping up on my blog! I really have been so much busier at work and Simon seems to be taking up a lot more of my time (who knew 2 year olds were so demanding????). But, I will admit, when I have had a few extra moments, this is what I have been obsessed with.....

Now, some of you may have already read it so you will know why I'm not blogging much! I love this book! I was obsessed with the Twilight series so I was super stoked to pick up her newest book! Now, if your expecting another "Twilight"..don't. It is nothing like her last books, yet equally as good....at least I think so! Has anyone else read this yet? Did you like it??? That's all I've got for tonight! I've found a couple new blogs that I'm excited to go check out....so, later!

Feeling Better!

2008-05-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

So, all day I was feeling a little bummed about my fabulous parenting skills (see post below for full story). I know that it was comical...believe me, it took everything I had not to laugh when Simon said those things! But it did actually make me feel a little bit like I'm not raising my kid right. Cody says I'm really good at taking something that's "not a big deal" and working it over in my mind until I have 10 zits and an ulcer and all of a sudden it's the end of the world! Well, I came home from work tonight and was watching one of my favorite TV shows "Still Standing". If you have ever seen this show you will understand why it made me feel better! This couple is pretty much a perfect comparison to me and Cody (if only I looked like Judy!), but it made me feel a little more normal!

Parenting 101: FAILED!

2008-05-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

I just have to quickly post a few of the comments my 2 year old has made today!
First, I was attempting to get his pull-ups on him (because he refuses to wear his diaper some days) and I said "If you don't get dressed we can't go play outside!" Usually this works miraculously, but today the response I got from my kid was "Bite me!" Yep, you heard right...my two year old has turned into a teenager! That's not all. As I was sitting down to some delicious pancackes Simon decided to climb up on the table. I kindly asked him to please get off the table. His response "Fine! Relax!" What????? Are you kidding me??? Nope, still not done. So, I'm in the bathroom getting ready for work and he's sitting on the floor playing with a shoe box. I'm not sure what triggered this but out of his mouth I hear "Holy S***". Where have I gone wrong??? This was a huge wake up call for me that my kid will repeat ANYTHING that he hears you say! So, I guess I've got to clean up my act! As my mom would say, I guess I need to re-enroll in parenting 101!! My apologies to the moms that may hear this out of your kids mouth.....Simon probably taught it to them!

Mothers Day Weekend

2008-05-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

What a fabulous weekend! This year we decided to spend Saturday with my mom for Mothers Day and Sunday with Linda. That way we aren't so stressed out trying to spend quality time with both of them. So, on Saturday Greg, Miranda, and Sid came down and Caesy was there and we went to the Health Days parade. Simon loved it! It was a little cold for me and Miranda, but it was worth it cause the kids had so much fun! It was fun to also have my Grandma Downs there with us this year!

It so fun watching Cody be such a great dad! He loves doing all these activities with Simon. He really liked showing Simon the "fast cars" in the parade.
After the parade we went back to my parents house for a cookout and some much needed relaxation! I'm pretty sure Greg got uncle of the year for playing with all the kids! Poor Miranda has to deal with two kids all the time!!! :) No, Greg is so fun with the kids, they love him!!
And of course, anytime I can get a picture of Caesy and her beautiful freckles, I must do it! I love her so much! She is getting so grown up!

Sunday we spent the day with the Johnsons. It was so great to see Heather and Jody and the kids. Sorry I have no pictures from Sunday....my battery died!!!! AGHHHH!

Anyway, we had an amazing dinner and played some games. Simon sure does love his cousins! He needs that "boy bonding" time! He was so wore out when we got home! He played pretty hard with them! It's amazing to me how he can be so rough with the boys and then so gentle with little Brielle! It's pretty great!

I had an awesome Mothers Day! I got a fabulous card from Cody and Simon (what is it about your kids scribbley pictures that can melt your heart?). I got Mario Kart for the Wii for mothers day, but I couldn't wait for Sunday....so, I've been playing with that for a couple days now! So fun!!!

Anyway....Happy Mothers Day to all those fabulous Mothers out there! I love all the moms in my life and I appreciate all they do for me and my family!!!

An Update! (No it's not the end of the world!)

2008-05-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

OK, OK....I've been a little absent from the blogging world lately! My apologies to all of those that actually find my life interesting enough to be mad that I haven't blogged for awhile!
I have been so busy!!! Here's the low down..... Usually when my life is too busy to blog I can always make a little time at work for it (shhhh, don't tell!), but work right now has been even busier!! We just got a new general manager (the 5th one in 4 years....sounds like great job security, eh?) and he has us doing a lot!!! I am such a big fan of this guy! I actually enjoy my job right now! He is super motivating and he inspires me daily to do my best! I know that sounds super lame and cheesy, but I'm so tired of crappy managers! I have had one other great manager in my 4 years at Best Buy and it's amazing the difference it makes! If I'm stuck working full time for the rest of my life, it's at least a plus that I can enjoy my job! So, between that and attempting to keep my house clean, and chasing around a very "terrible two's" child I have been a little busy! I will try to do better! For now, that is all I've got to write about!

My Handsome Boy

2008-04-19T13:51:00.001-07:00

Just playing around on picnik! My kid is just so handsome, right? I especially love the second one. I hope he never loses that smile!

My Newest Obsession!

2008-04-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

This is my newest obsession for the moment! Have you seen the show? I sit by myself and laugh so hard that I ought to be entered into an asylum! These guys are so funny and have just way too much time on their hands! My particular favorite is the episode where Rob's parents come to visit him. If you haven't seen the show yet, I strongly suggest watching....but you might want to have a spare change of pants handy! :) As a side note, if any of you know my brother and his friend Tyrell....you will get an extra laugh!

Rice-a-Roni, the San Fransisco Treat!

2008-04-16T10:57:00.001-07:00

Here are just some pics from my overnight stay in San Fransisco. I had to go for work meetings and really was only able to site see for a couple hours. I've never been to San Fran before, and it was fun for a day....but I don't think I'll be vacationing there. I'm not so much a city girl! If you are jealous right now because I was in some warm weather...don't be! I wasn't! It was FREEZING cold! I even had to stop into a gift shop and buy a warmer jacket cause I wasn't having any fun!!

Here is the....um....I think maybe the Golden Gate Bridge??? Sure, we will go with that answer!

This was just off Fishermans Warf. You probably can't tell but there are sea lions all over on these little dock things. They were so noisy!! But it was fun to watch them play and just be lazy in the sun! Here are my fabulous traveling companions! I also met up with some fellow Best Buy managers that I no longer work with. It was so fun to see them and hang for a day!
This is (I was told) the original Joe's Crab Shack. Not sure if that's true or not, but I took a pic anyway cause Cody loves Joes!!
Again, another pic for Cody! My man loves his chocolate!
Sadly, we didn't actually take a trolly ride! It was more than I wanted to spend and the wait time was rediculous in the cold weather! So, instead we took the taxi ride from hell!! If you have been to San Fran you know that there are these crazy hills to drive on....well, the taxi drivers fly down them! I thought I was on a freaking rollercoaster! It's safe to say I tried to walk everywhere else possible! I hated those taxi rides!

This is on the deck where we ate lunch. It was way too expensive for how non appetizing it was!
Alcatrez! It's hard to see...my camera doesn't have very good zoom! We wanted to take a tour but they were all sold out! For my fellow "So I Married An Axe Murderer" fans....I was hoping for the tour and for a tour guide named Vicky! :)
They had this pretty cool war ship there. We didn't have enough money to take the tour inside, but I got a pic anyway.
Bubba Gumps!
As you can see it was pretty much just a business trip! No one brought any money to do anything fun and we really didn't have a ton of time to do anything anyway. But it was fun to get out of the valley for a couple days anyway....but it's always even nicer to come back!

Hogle Zoo!!

2008-04-13T16:05:00.001-07:00

My Birthday Boy!

2008-04-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little boy is 2!!!! I know these pictures are kind of skiwampis (yes, you heard me right), but I'm in a hurry and absolutly had to post these pics before I had to go. Anyway, we had such a good time. We had family over for pizza, cake and ice cream. Simon got spoiled (what else is new?). He is such a handsome boy and I am so glad he is a part of our family! I am so sad that he is getting so big, but at the same time he gets more and more fun everyday! He is so smart and I love all the new stories he tells and the songs he learns! He is such a loving kid and is even starting to be a little nicer to his cousin Sienna! :)

Kite Flying....Fisherman Style.

2008-04-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

In between sessions of Conference we decided to all go to the park and attempt to fly kites. I say attempt, because that's pretty much all it was....an attempt. We had a few successfull launches, but the wind just wouldn't keep up! When I was little my dad used to help us fly our kites with a fishing pole. That way you can get your kite way up there and it doesn't take a million hours to reel it back in! Cody thought it was worth a try!

Cody was able to get it way up in the air where the wind wouldn't die. Simon thought it was pretty cool and kept pointing to it "so high".

This might be one of my favorite "Simon Faces". It's just so funny! He's concentrating so hard....I love it!

And of course daddy has to go check out the fish in the creek. I don't get many opportunities to take pictures of Simon with his dad because Cody hates it when I take his picture....so I take it when I get the chance! I love this picture of them!
It was a lot of fun to get outside, even though it was a little chilli!

Whoops...I forgot!

2008-04-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention Miranda as one of my favorite photographers! You MUST check out her blog and hopefully she will post a few more of her fabulous pics!

A few shots

2008-04-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

I by no means am a great photographer, but I was actually pretty excited with how these turned out after playing on picknic tonight.

I am in love with this picture! I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. If only I could be as great as Noel and Kellee....maybe someday!

Enjoying Some Sun!

2008-04-04T14:34:00.001-07:00

It was such a nice day yesterday I decided to take Simon to the park by Grandmas house. He so loves being outside. Usually it's a battle to get him to come back inside, but can you blame the kid? I think we are all a little tired of being cooped up!

Usually Simon loves going down the slide, but this day he wasn't having it! Grandma, bless her soul, even tried "showing" him just how fun it was! Apparently Grandma didn't make it look too fun, he still didn't want anything to do with it! Nice try though grandma....it sure did make my day!

I guess you could say this was Simons first time "running away from home". Of course he really wasn't. We keep this suitcase full of toys for when he used to go to Kelsies. Well, I guess the last time he went Cody just left his suitcase in the garage. So, I couldn't pass up the photo opp.

I vividly remember my brother truckin' it down the road when he was really little with his suitcase all packed. If I remember right all he had packed in there was some spare underware. Good boy Greg, mom taught you well! Never leave home with dirty undies!

PS

2008-03-31T17:16:00.001-07:00

Holy Cow....that post was really long! You don't have to read it! I was just rambling on!