Weekend in Providence, UT

This last weekend we went up to Providence, UT (it's right next to Logan) and spent a fun and snowy time with Ryan and Martina Davis and their family. Emma was in heaven to be with her best friend Grace. The guys took Emma and Grace on the 4 wheelers and sleds on Saturday and this is the result when they came back. All of them were soaked all the way through their snow clothes. The girls had bright red faces, but man they had a great time. Saturday night we went to their ward Christmas party and it was fabulous, great job Martina (she was in charge)!! This is Emma and Grace enjoying the YUMMY food!!

The theme was Christmas around the world and they had a production of different people performing things from around the world. Emma and Jax loved watching all the different dances and songs.

Thank you Ryan and Martina for letting us invade your beautiful new home for the entire weekend. We had so much fun and LOVE spending time with you guys. We miss you and can't wait to do it again!!

Chugga-Chugga Snow Choo-Choo

Our kids and dogs LOVE the snow. So with the last snow storm they took the opportunity again to play outside. Their favorite thing is when Ryan plays snow train with them. He goes first and they have to follow in his footsteps. After a little over an hour of playing outside, Ryan gave Jax one more ride and then they all came inside to thaw out with warm hot cocoa (one of Emma's favorite cold weather treats)!
Seeing their joy makes putting up with the snow and cold that much easier!

The Mis-Adventures of Jax Brimley

The other day we went to help at Emma's school and had some time left over before she was out so I let Jax play on the playground and he was in heaven. The only problem now is that every time we go to the school he thinks he gets to play. He is getting so big it makes me sad. So freakin' cute!!
He wouldn't even think about letting me catch him on the slide so all I could do was get a quick picture of the event.

Autumn Splendor

One of my favorite things about owning a 60 year old house isn't the constant remodeling we are always working on, it's our beautiful mature trees. I have to say they are probably my favorite thing about my house. Right now Ryan is saying he hates the trees. But there is something to be said about how beautiful my yard looks with the brown and gold leaves that are scattered all around. Although this is coming from the person who lives here that doesn't clean them up every weekend in October and November. Thanks Ry for putting up with the mess. Jax is helping Daddy rake the leaves. Although I think he made more of a mess than he did actual cleaning.
Emma looks forward each year to piling the leaves and taking running jumps into them. This is only one of the small piles we've collected this season.

Trick-or-Treat

I don't know about you, but I personally LOVE autumn and the holidays in this season. That is until I have put the Halloween costumes on one too many times. This year we did the church Halloween party, Emma's Waterford Institute party (her computer class she takes), her school costume parade, trick-or-treating at Ryan's work, and then finally Halloween night. All of these events were on seperate days too. Plus Emma's cute friend Carlyn, who lives down the street, is having a post Halloween birthday party and Emma get's to get one more use out of those tights that I love putting on and taking off. I guess I should be grateful that we get ample use out of our costumes each year though. ;-) We had a really fun Halloween, despite my tantrum. I love watching the kids get all dressed up and seeing how excited they are for each new experience. We had fun at all the parties and Emma is already talking about what she wants to be next year and then the year after. As long as there are no tights involved! Hope you all had a happy Halloween too!
Emma and her foofy witch costume!! It's one of my favorite costumes she's had yet.

Aarr matie!! Jax was a pirate again this year and just like last year he wouldn't keep his hat on. I love having such a small peanut that can get 2 years worth of wear out of one costume!

How do I top this next year?!?!

For Emma's 6th birthday party she originally wanted to have a horse themed party. Then she tweeked it to wanting a Hannah Montana/Horse birthday party. Well how do you incorporate both those items, so we had to pick just one. So I made a few phone calls and we were fortunate enough to get "Miss Hannah Montana" to come and Rock Out with all the girls. This is all the girls waiting, not so patiently for Hannah to make her debute.
Hannah came in and all the girls got totally quite, they were so in shock that they didn't quite know what to do or say. It was the first time I've seen that many little girls in one place all speachless.

Hannah posing with the girls. Unfortunately not all of the girls were there yet, but we got most on them in the group shot.

Hannah and the girls Rockin' Out!!

They were learning a dance with poses.

Emma was speachless when "Hannah" wanted to get her picture taken with her.

After the dance and singing session we broke into 3 groups. One group decorated purses that we had gotten for each girl to take home, one group painted our nails, and the other group got to play outside for a few minutes. Splitting into smaller groups made each project less stressful and each girl got to take her time at each station. It turned out so great.

Hannah stayed and sang Happy Birthday to Emma with all of us.

She even helped us enjoy a cake with her picture on it.

The party was a complete success and the girls are still talking about how "Hannah Montana" came to Emma's birthday party. Now I'm just worried about how I will ever live up to such a fantastic party in the future. Oh well, at least I have an entire year to start planning.

Two Teeth Down

Emma lost her second tooth. Her other tooth, again, was already coming up behind the tooth. So we had to wiggle it ALOT and get it to come out. She was really afraid this time around and we couldn't figure out why, when she was so easy going with the first one. The Tooth-Fairy came that night and left her treats for being so brave. We are hopefully going to be more proactive about any more teeth that need to come out and get them out BEFORE the other teeth are already coming in. She is getting so big and loves when her teeth fall out. As you can see from this picture she had just gotten done crying about having to pull it out. ;-)

Happy 6th Birthday Emma

It was Emma's birthday on Sept. 5th (I know I'm a little behind). The Birthday-Fairy paid another visit to our home and decorated Emma's bedroom during the night. She is so creative and surprises Emma every year. Here is just one area of Emma's room that she decorated with special bows. Since we were going to do a bigger party with her friends we just made a little piece of Gluten Free cake just for Emma. Unfortunately Jax blew out the candle before Emma even had a chance so we had to re-light it for her to blow out. I don't know if you can tell or not, but my sister found these awesome candles that the flame burns the same color as the candle. They look really cool when you have a bunch together and can really tell the difference.
Nana and Pampa got Emma a Hannah Montana doll and horse. She is in love with HM right now and it was perfect for her. I can't believe she is already 6. She is getting so big and she is becoming my absolute best friend. I love hanging out with her and being together.

Emma's favorite dessert is vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. So we took the family to Baskin Robbins for a yummy cool treat. Emma got her favorite of course.

Jax chowed down on Ryan's ice cream, but pretty much ate a little of everyones. It was such a fun day.

Emma also loved taking in treats to her Kindergarten class and sharing with all her new friends.

Kindergarten-First Day Pictures

Emma's been in kindergarten for about 6 weeks now and is loving it. I'm slow, I know, but here are pictures from her first day back in August. My mom was in town helping me with my recovery and was so great and got Em dressed in her first day outfit. I did her hair and then my mom took Em since I was barely able at that time to get up to use the restroom.
Emma looks so cute. She has a beautiful scab on her nose from falling on the Davis' trampoline. Thanks again Martina for taking Emma for the week while I was in the hospital.

Emma and mommy before leaving for school. This was my bed and recovery chair for almost 4 weeks after the surgery. Thank goodness for Lazy Boy.

Emma and one of her best friends, Daixa, waiting for the school bell to ring. They are so big and so adorable.

Emma and Nana on the first day, just before leaving for school. She is such a great girl and we are so incredibly lucky to have her in our lives and to get to be her parents. We couldn't have asked for anything better and more loving than her.

Piggy-Back Disaster

Okay, so Emma loves to give Jax horsey rides. But this is done with her on all fours and Jax only a few inches from the ground. Last night she decided she wanted to try and give him a piggy-back ride. Well, considering he's half her weight, the results were less than desired. The pictures speak for themselves. I have to say though that when they were going down, she took one for the team so Jax wouldn't get hurt. What a trooper!
The result.

Happy Birthday Ryan

Yesterday was Ryan's birthday. He's not much a cake person so when we went to dinner I let him choose his dessert to bring home for his candle. He chose a pumpkin cheesecake, and let me tell you I definitely benefited from that decision too. We let the sitter go home, then we sang to him and he blew out his candle, he opened his presents, we put the kids to bed, and then we enjoyed the cheesecake. It was an experience all it's own. If you ever go to Olive Garden you have to try it. Happpy Birthday Ryan!!! We love you VERY much!!!

Getting to Know You

1.Current Occupation?
-domestic engineer
2.What color socks are you wearing right now?
-no socks, my feet are going commando right now ;-)
3.What are you listening to right now?
-the hum of my fan in my bedroom and my neighbor's lawnmower
4.What was the last thing you ate?
-2 bites of Emma's left over PayDay candy bar (didn't want to shove it in my pocket)
5.Can you drive a stick?
-Yup
6.Last person you spoke to on the phone?
-via phone line (my mom), via texting (my dad)
7.How old are you today?
-31
8.Favorite sport to watch on TV?
-Are game shows considered a sport?!?! If not, then none.
9.Favorite drink?
-Virgin strawberry daquiries
10.Have you ever dyed your hair?
-What girl hasen't?
11.Favorite food?
-Burritos from Los Compadres
12.What is the last movie you watched?
-17 Again 2 nights ago and last night we went and saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and then came home and watched The Hangover
13.Favorite day of the year?
-I love Thanksgiving Day
14.How do you vent anger?
-I scrub my house
15.Favorite season?
-Definitely autumn
16.Strawberries or blueberries?
-Strawberries (but I do love blueberry muffins)
17.Living arrangements?
-Alive (jk-a cute little house in Murray, UT with my hubby and kiddos)
18.When was the last time you cried?
-2 nights ago
19.What is on the floor of your closet?
-carpet
20.What did you do last night?
-got a sitter and we had a date night with Ryan and Martina Davis (yeah for date night)
21.What are you most afraid of?
-something bad happening to my children (makes me sick just even thinking about it)
22.Favorite dog breed?
-Shih-tzu (we have 2)
23.Favorite day of the week?
-Used to be Fri (that was Ry's day off) now with his new job he'll get Sat off so it will be changing soon to Saturdays again.
24.How many countries have you live in?
-one
25.Diamonds or pearls?
-depends on the outfit
26.Favorite flower?
-orchids
27.Favorite color?
-yellow and/or brown
28.Favorite smell?
-right after a cleaning rain storm
29.How long with your partner?
-married for 10 years this Dec and dated for 6 months before that.
30.What annoys you the most?
-People that leave the toilet seat up. WHY?!?!

The Tooth Fairy

So for the past several weeks we have been dealing with trying to get out a loose tooth because the other one was already coming in behind it. Last night Emma and Jax were wrestling and Emma proudly announced that her tooth had finally popped out. The dentist has assured and re-assured me that her other tooth will eventually move forward into it's proper place. I hope so since she had perfectly straight teeth and the thought of a crooked smile makes me sad. As you can see one tooth gone and another already prominent in her mouth, just slightly back.
The tiny tooth in the tooth box the dentist gave her on her last visit.

This morning Emma proudly came in to inform us that the Tooth Fairy had made her appearance. She left a pack of sugarless gum and a dollar. What an awesome Tooth Fairy!!

LDS History Museum

We took trax downtown and took the kids to the LDS History Museum and let them explore the "I am a Child of God" children's section. It was smaller than what I thought it would be, but there was lots for the kids to do and was VERY interactive. Emma and Mally doing CTR rub ons.
There was a little stage and dress ups for the kids to take part in the manger scene. Emma esp loved the stuffed sheep.

Building their own temples with blocks.

The trax ride home. Everyone was tired and ready to get home. It was over 100 degrees in SL that day and you definitely felt it.

Raging Waters

A few weeks ago we went to Raging Waters. The kids LOVE playing in the water and I just love being outside in the sunshine!! Em trying to play king of the hill on Ry's back.
Jax loving the cool water.

Jax trying to give cousin Courtney a little peck. He is the best little smoocher and has a pucker like no other ;-).

Pioneer Day Parade

For the past 3 years now myself and a few other neighbors (thanks to those who've helped) have organized a neighborhood kids Pioneer Day parade on our street. We travel down Rainbow and end up at the church building on Brown St where we have a pot luck finger food breakfast. Each year it gets a little bit bigger and this year was no exception. EVERYONE is welcome to going if you are interested for next year!!! The kids love it and it's fun to see their excitement. Emma rode her scooter and Maryn pulled Mallory in Jax's wagon (M & M are cousins).
My sister Jacque and her youngest daughter Courtney at the breakfast. Had to post this esp since Jac just had her hair cut and colored the night before and I think it looks fab on her!!

Ry and Jax enjoying a glass of OJ. Sorry it was watered down. I made it and didn't test it before I put it out for all to enjoy. But no one seemed to mind since it was all gone by the end. ;-)

Maryn, Mallory, and Em after the parade. Emma LOVES her cousins from Phx!!