The Brimley Bunch

Emma's Baptism

2011-11-30T13:43:00.000-08:00

On September 30, 2011 Emma was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are so proud of her and the decision she made! This is our family before the baptism. Emma and her Daddy!
A very good friend of mine made Emma's dress. It turned out so beautiful. Typically the little girls wear white, but she didn't want white, she wanted this silvery purple material. I think it was a great choice. Something tells me she's not going to want a white wedding dress either.

Emma and Ryan in their white baptimal clothes. Ryan baptized her.

Emma's church teacher made her this amazing towel to use when she was done and needed to dry off. It has CTR (choose the right), her name, and the date of her baptism. She loves it and thinks it is one of the most beautiful gifts. Thanks so much Dortha!

Thank you to all our wonderful friends and family who were able to come and make this special day even more special for her. She loves each one of you and so do we. We appreciate all the love and support we feel from each and every one of you!

Typical Emma and Jax

2011-11-30T13:39:00.001-08:00

During the afterparty at our house, after Classis Skate, this is where you could find Jax, with his awesome buddy Callum. Typical Jax!
During the afterparty this is where you could find all of Emma's friends and cousins. And where was Emma?

Oh here she was!

Typical Emma! ;-) We love our book worm!

Birthday Party

2011-11-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

For her birthday this year Emma wanted to take her friends to Classis Skate. For their birthday they birthday kids get to go into the money tank. They have money in this tube and the child gets to colect as much as they can in 60 seconds while a fan is blowing it all around. It was her favorite part of the entire day. Go figure! For the party favor Emma helped me make scarves for all her friends. It's fun to see them all using them this winter!
They also each got Emma's two favorites...Pixie Stix and Unicorn Pops!

Emma blowing out her GF pan of browies. No one even knew they were GF! Sneeky!

Emma with all her friends and some cousins from Phoenix. PS-She doesn't normally wear glasses. She got them as a favor from Classic Skate and she still loves wearing them around. It's the little things in life.

Hope you had a great birthday Emma! We had fun planning it for you!

September 5th

2011-11-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

For about a year Emma has been eyeing this charm bracelet at the Kids Gap. You pick our the bracelet and then pick charms to go on it. So this year we decided to get it for her along with several of her favorite charms. Needless to say she was VERY excited. This is Emma holding up her bracelet and one of her charms.
Emma blowing out her candles on her GF cake. It actually turned out pretty good.

Her Grams made her a dress for her birthday. It was the same one her two cousins, Lily and Lexie, got. They also got to all help make them with her.

This day is so special to us in our home. It's the day Ryan and I became parents to the most wonderful daughter ever. She is truly a joy to be around and just wants to always make those around her happy too. We love and adore you Emma!

Happy 8th Birthday!

Jax's Preschool

2011-11-30T13:17:00.000-08:00

This is Jax on his first day of preschool this year. He was so excited for it to start. It started the first week of September so he had to wait for 3 weeks after Emma started and lets just say he was less than patient! He was so excited to start using his backpack again!
We are so blessed to have the most amazing preschool right here in our neighborhood. I mean, I literally can see the home from my back bedroom window. Just down the hill. Ms. Jani's Cottage Preschool is amazing and she is the best teacher. Both my kids loved it and Jax couldn't wait to get started again this year. This is Jax explaining his All About Me Poster to his class and to Ms. Jani.

His poster was all about blue and trains. Surprise...surprise. He did such a great job I was so proud of him and his art work.

Have a great year in school this year bud! Love-Mommy and Daddy

Second Grade of Bust

2011-11-30T13:10:00.000-08:00

Emma started 2nd grade this year. I can't believe how fast this is all going. She picked out her outfit and even got a new backpack and lunch box. She really didn't need the traditional tennis shoes this year so she decided for her new school shoes she wanted silver sparkly Toms. So that's what we went with.
I seriously can't get over how big she is getting.

She was so excited she was literally jumping for joy that morning.

Emma and one of her very best friends, Daixa. They have been in the same class together since preschool. We were so excited to find out they'd both be having Mrs. Gabrielsson too. Emma didn't even ask me who her teacher was going to be, it was only, "is Daixa in my class?" They are so great together.

She is having such a great time this year and we couldn't have asked for a more incredibly teacher. Thanks for being such an awesome student Em! Have a great year!

Happy Birthday Ryan

2011-11-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

This year Emma helped me decorate the house for Ryan's birthday. She had some good ideas. She even insisted on using this very Lisa Frank-esk birthday banner. Thankfully, for the picture Ryan stood in front of it where half of the word birthday was missing. ;-) This day is very special to us in our household! It's the day when our very most favorite person was born. Happy birthday Ry!
The kids also helped me decorate the front steps.

Ryan isn't much of a cake person, so this year we did an apple fritter instead. He definetly enjoyed that idea!

We love an adore our Ryan! Happy Birthday love!

Back Yard Love

2011-11-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I LOVE my back yard. I think it is such a beautiful spot right here in the middle of the city. One of my good friends told me she loved it because it was like having our own person park just outside our back door. I love it because it's so green and has the most beautiful big trees and except for the middle of winter we don't see any of our neighbors. This is a look straight on from off our back porch. This is at a slight angle looking slightly north/east.
This is the south side of our property in the back.

In the second picture if you look hard you can see the tops of the fireplace on our lower patio. This is the lower patio that is at the very north/east corner of our property. This is one of my favorite places on our lot! Love having marshmello roasts and just enjoying the quiet!

I have to admit, this yard is a lot of work, but man, in the middle of winter when I look back at pictures like this, it makes every minute worth the effort.

A Fishing They Will Go

2011-11-30T12:51:00.001-08:00

One Saturday this past July Ryan took Jax to a little pond near our house and took him fishing. Jax thought it was the best day ever. He was so proud of his catch.
As soon as Ryan took the picture the fish flipped up in front of Jax's face. I think it looks kind of cool.

Love Daddy/Son bonding day.

Cake and Ice Cream

2011-11-30T12:43:00.001-08:00

For their take home prizes this year, I made little hobo bags using sticks and animal print bandanas. They each also got a safari hat. I think it all turned out so cute. The cupcakes were SUPER yummy. I made cake batter and icing from scratch. Seriously, I drooling just remember how yummy they were.
The kiddos helping Jax open his presents.

Here they are enjoying their desserts.

The little explorers all ready for adventure.

Thanks to the parents for allowing us to take their wild animals on our safari.

Zoo Expedition

2011-11-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

This year Jax decided he wanted to take his friends to the zoo for his party. Unfortunately, due to going to the zoo and space he only got to pick a few friends. One ended up not being able to come, but we still had fun. This is in the van on the way to the zoo. My sister, Jacque, was in town and help me rangle them. This is Jacque on the train with the kids.
The little explorers in front of the dinosaurs that were being exhibited at the zoo this summer.

Taking a break for a little R&R.

I made Jax's invites and I think they turned out pretty cute. The arrow actually spins.

I hope they had fun, I know Jacque and I did taking them.

Happy Birthday Continued

2011-11-30T12:27:00.000-08:00

Jax's adorable Primary Teacher, at church, made him this amazing little crayon holder for church. He loves it and takes it in his church bag every week. There aren't enough good things to say about this amazing woman whom our son adores. PS-yes, I know my kids look like lobsters. We got annual passes to the waterpark this year, and this particular day we went with cousins and stayed for over 6 hours. I know worst mom ever. I totally forgot to reapply the sunscreen. But that was the one and only time we forgot last summer. This is the inside of the crayon holder. Just amazing!
Jax blowing out his candles. Next to him are Aunt Jacque and cousin Mally.

I love this grin. He was so excited by his presents!

After it was dark, we went outside and did fireworks in honor of his big day. Since his bday is 2 days after Independence day they are still legal to shoot of in Utah. He loves them and thinks they are awesome.

Happy 4th Birthday Jax

2011-11-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

Every birthday, be us child of adult, our home is visited by our magical birthday fairy. She is sneeky and no matter how hard Emma and Jax try to see her, she always gets away with it. Her goal is to decorate their rooms while they are sleeping and leave them a little surprise. Fortunately this year, she realized Jax had come into our bed in the middle of the night, which he does quite often. This made it a little tricky for her because she had to decorate our big room instead of just his room. But she pulled it off nicely and he enjoyed waking to her mischeif. This is Jax still asleep on his birthday, if our bed. Oh and I forgot that he brought the dog in with him.
Happy Birthday my amazing little man!
PS-This was last July 6th.

Aquarium

2011-11-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

This summer we got passes to the Aquarium and one of the trips we took in June we took Emma's good friend, Abbie. They had tons of fun! Abbie, Jax and Emma.

Learning lots.

Abbie and Emma touching the sting rays.

Hurry lets try to hide and maybe my mom won't find us. Shhh...

Jax just had to get his picture with Nemo.

Lazy Days of June

2011-11-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Aahh...bring on the lazy days of Summer! Jax and Nana enjoying the summer sunshine and splendor!
Emma...

Yikes...Jax decided to give Barkley a bath. That's great and all, but he used the oh so clean gutter water. Let's just say Barkley got a second bath later that evening.

Vegging on a Sunday afternoon.

Father's Day '11

2011-11-05T18:40:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day Ry!

Emma and Ryan...she made him his gift this year.

The kids giving him one of his presents.
We love and adore you!

Farewell Mrs. T

2011-11-05T18:33:00.001-07:00

Emma had a REALLY hard time saying goodbye to her beloved Mrs. Thomas. I have to admit, so did I though! She was such an amazing and spectacular teacher and we couldn't have asked nor even hand picked a more perfect teacher! Emma was fairly distraught when saying good-bye. Mrs. Thomas made 1st grade perfect! Emma and Mrs. Thomas
Jax didn't much care for getting sprayed by the fire truck.

The last day of school every year Parkside has a Murray City firetruck come and let the kids play in the water. I was shocked at how cold the water was. They were loving it though. Now on to summer vacation.

Pomp and Circumstance

2011-11-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

Last May, Ryan, the kids, and Ryan's parents took a trip out to Reno to see his oldest sister, Jenni, and her family. She was graduating from the University of Nevada Reno and we were so happy to be there with her on her amazing day. We are so proud of her and her accomplishments! Jenni with Jean and Wayne
Jenni with 2 of her 5 kids (Olivia and Aliza)
Thanks for an amazingly fun weekend and can't wait to do it very soon!

Not Above Bribing

2011-11-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

Last May...Jax had his Cottage Preschool end of the year program. He was fine at first with going and sitting with all the other kids. Ms. Jani thought ahead and put him between his best buddies, Charlotte and Brady, so that he would feel safe and comfortable. However, even before the program began we began to worry that he wouldn't make it the entire time on the stage.

At one point I offered him a piece of gum as long as he would just stay up on the stage for the program.

This is where he ended up spending most of it though. Safe in Daddy's arms. ;-)

Happy Last Day of April...I mean November...I mean April?

2011-04-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

I just thought I'd share what we woke up to this morning...oh yeah, it's 6 inches of fresh snow. How exciting, especially on the last day of April. The only good thing about spring snow is that it usually is melted by the end of the day.
The potted tree is a new wheeping cherry we just bought last night that we were planning on planting today...guess it'll have to wait until Monday.

View from our front door. That front corner is where our new tree is going. It will replace the old weeping cherry we had to take out last year due to old age, it was almost 70.

Picture of some of my poor tulips all shivering in snow.

Well happy spring to us! Gotta love when spring soccer games are canceled due to snow. You'd think I'd be used to this kind of crazy weather by now, but really I'm just not.

Easter Duds

2011-04-26T10:38:00.001-07:00

I love Easter, and one of the things I love about it is new Easter clothes. I also love the fact that we always remember to get a new family picture in before said new Easter clothes. Our cute little family hangin' by our daffadils in our backyard.
Ryan and I actually remembered to get a picture of just us for once.

Our sweet little ones.

I loved their smiles/laughs in this one.

She is getting so big, it still surprises me when I see new pictures of her.

This was pretty much the look he gave in most of his pictures.

Or this one, where he was trying to be funny and give himself bunny ears.

Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter holiday with friends and/or loved ones.

Easter Morn

2011-04-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood does an annual egg hunt and pretty much the entire neighborhood participates. We end up using the whole Rainbow Dr. to accomplish this fun event. Once the hunt is over then one of our fabulous neighbors allows us to use their driveway and we have a big pot luck breakfast. It's been a fun tradition that our family looks forward to since moving in almost 5 years ago. Jax and his buddy on our street.
Emma and her friend in our neighborhood.

Easter morning E.B. (Easter Bunny) leaves candy filled end for the kids to find and fills their decorated bags with goodies.

Emma and Jax with the eggs E.B. left for them to find.

Emma and Jax decorating their Easter eggs. This event became a messy one this year and most of my 10 fingers are now stained either pink, blue or green.

Ryan and Jax decorating the sugar cookies.

Jax's token cookie ended up being a frosting mountain. He was so excited to see how high he could get the frosting. Yummy!

Emma decorating her G.F. cookies.

My Top Picks

2011-04-22T11:36:00.001-07:00

Okay...so I always love hearing what other people love to use and can't do without, so here are a few of my top picks around the house that I will always rebuy or won't go without. 1. It took me a long time, years to be more specific, to finally find a mascara I LOVE. This is Studio Fix Lash by Mac. I seriously haven't found a better mascara and I have tried almost everything from the cheap-0 to the expense-o. It makes my lashes look amazing without the spider leg look and it washes off easy, but doesn't rub off throughout the day...worth EVERY penny.

2. This is something my sister got me started on. It's a product made by Laura Geller and I order it on QVC. It's called Spackle and it's an under make-up primer. It seriously makes my make-up stay on all day, which is hard to do since I use mineral make-up and it tends to fade faster than nasty liquid make-up. Anyway, this stuff is awesome and you can even get it with a tint for winter months when you need a little color. Also, it makes my skin feel really soft...added bonus.

3. Okay, I know everyone is partial to their I-phones, but I love my Blackberry Torch and wouldn't trade it for any I-phone. It has the ability to be a touch screen, but it also has a slide out keyboard which is actually how I like texting since I use my fingernails to type with and you can't do that on the touchscreen. It is super easy to use, but has so much I haven't even discovered yet. The only draw back is that it doesn't have an Angry Birds app...but it does have one similar called Angry Farm and my kids love it.

4. In February we started a mini kitchen make over. I got some new appliances and this is one I can't live without now. It's my Maytag Gemini double oven. My hubby ran a gas line from our basement through the floor into our kitchen so that I was able to upgrade from an electric stove to a gas one too. I LOVE...LOVE...LOVE my gas/double oven.

5. This is my favorite pair of shoes. They are cute, comfy, stylish and for every pair you buy, Toms will donate a pair to kids that don't have shoes. They come in TONS of colors and designs and they seriously are THE most comfortable shoes EVER!! I even wear them with casual skirts and they look super cute. The leather insides also allow your feet to breath without them sweating. I bought a pair for my hubby too and he wears them to work with khakis and now hates all of his other shoes.

6. This is my Clarisonic Mia...need I say more? This was one of my pricier items, but SO worth EVERY penny. My hubby got it for me as a gift and it as seriosly changed my skin. It's what the stars use and I totally see why. It feels like a mini facial twice a day and you can use any skin cleanser you want to use. Love...love...love this product.

7. About 6 months ago I finally decided I needed to start using actual skin cleanser instead of just basic soap. Well, actually my friend/neighbor was horrified to find out I used bar soap on my face and then proceeded to explain to me why my skin was so dry. Duh...I guess I just never took the effort to realize. So one night this Cindy Crawford Meaningful Beauty infomercial came on tv and I decided to order and try. Now I'm hooked. I love ALL the stuff that it comes with, not everything is shown in the pic above, and the best part is that it comes out as monthly payments and then ships to me automatically every 3 months. I don't even have to think about it and I get amazing looking skin. This plus the Clarisonic have done wonders.

Anyway...those are my top picks right now. What are some of yours that you can't live without? Share and let us all know. They might become some of our favorites too.

Independence is Hard

2011-03-03T13:18:00.000-08:00

...well, hard on me that is. My kiddos have always liked to play by themselves. That is to say, they LOVE playing when other kids are around and when Daddy is home and being goofy; but they've never just loved playing with me. Case in point: I went in earlier to help Jax find his Mack semi (we had our carpets cleaned yesterday and we're still in the process of putting everything back in their proper places). Once he was found I started helping him take the Cars guys out and started playing with them and him. After about 2 minutes of watching me, I guess try to play with them, my little man states, "um....it's okay to leave now mom." And promptly shuts the door as I'm leaving. Man can we say stab to the heart and twist! I guess I just don't play right? I thought I was sort of fun, but after hearing that I guess not. ;-( I just wish their independence wasn't so hard for me to swallow.

Enjoying the Sunshine

2011-02-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

Last month we headed down to sunny Phoenix for my oldest sister Becky's wedding. I took the kids down about a week before Ryan flew down and met us so that we could get as much Nana, Pampa, and cousin time as possible.

My kids' entire days, from sun up to sun down...and even then some, was spent outside in the backyard on the trampoline. Emma and Jax got in tons of fun time with Courtney. One of their favorite things to do is to feed the horses that live near my parents house. I'm always a little scared that Jax isn't going to move his hand in time when the horse gets to the end of the carrot.
Emma is IN LOVE with horses, so this tradition is ALWAYS observed.

Wedding photos to come in next post.

Ringing in the New Year

2011-02-16T11:36:00.001-08:00

We spent this past New Year's weekend with some of our VERY most favorite people, the Davis Family. They currently live in Logan, although I'm still waiting patiently for them to move back...hint, hint, hint Ryan. (Ryan Davis, not my Ryan). ;-)

On New Year's Day the dad's took the 4 youngest (Emma, Jax, Grace, and Callum) out in the snow on the 4 wheelers. This is Jax all bundled up for the COLD. Despite the cold they still had fun...I'll never understand it though. Emma enjoying the snow. During this time, Martina and I had a great time INSIDE where it was warm and we were enjoying yummy hot chocolate.
It was a VERY busy weekend and every night we stayed up WAY too late visiting. Ryan and I crashed in the livingroom on Sunday afternoon. Thanks for letting us take a little snooze.

Emma and her best friend Grace. Notice they have the same hairdo. They wanted me to do their hair the same for church on Sunday.

Martina and I just before we headed home.

Davis family...thanks for such a fabulous trip. We couldn't have thought of a better place to ring in our New Year than in your wonderful company. Can't wait to see you again!!

Christmas Morn

2010-12-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful and joy filled Christmas. Ours was pretty quiet. We opened presents and then we all went and saw a late morning showing of the new Nartia movie, which by the way was really good. That evening we had a Christmas party at Ryan's parents home. I forgot my camera and didn't get any pictures though.

This is what the tree looked like after Santa paid our home a visit. And yes...that is a new saw and dry wall so that Ryan will finish the wall he started last year. ;-) You can see the insulation hanging out behind the new dry wall. Our little peanuts opening their gifts.
One of Jax's favorite gifts was this set of hot wheel cars that have launchers that you can use to race them.

A few years ago Emma took a huge liking to Nutcrackers. So each year since we've given her a new one for Christmas. This year I found a glittery purple one that she instantly fell in love with.

Jax got a marble toy that Ryan was dying to get his hands on too. Like father like son.

We are so grateful for all the blessings that we have and for all the love that we have in our lives. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2011.

T'was the Night Before Christmas...

2010-12-27T21:54:00.001-08:00

So I don't know about anyone else, but I actually prefer Christmas Eve, to Christmas day. I love all the prep work and all the anticipation and excitement the kids have. I love the images I conjur up about what the next day will bring. Plus we seem to have more traditions for that night than for the following day. Some of you may be familiar with the story, Elf of the Shelf. Anyway, we have a similar elf (his cousin) who took his place this year since original Shelf Elf ran away last year. (I think Jax actually threw poor Elf in the garbage.) Anyway, along with keeping an eye on the kids all month our Shelf Elf also sneaks outside on Christmas Eve and leaves their Christmas pj's. This year Emma vowed she's catch him, and another year went by without her noticing. They were excited when the doorbell rang and on the porch were two boxes and card saying only, To: Emma and Jax.

Emma and Jax opening their pj boxes from Shelf Elf.

Emma was excited by her unicorn pjs and Jax loved his polar bear ones.
Hamming it up for the camera.

Next, the kids went outside and scatter the reindeer food we made. Emma was really worried this year, since we didn't have any snow on the ground and the glitter in the food couldn't reflect off of the snow. I said it would reflect off of Rudolf's nose. She was okay with that explanation.

Then it was time to put out the cookies for Santa. They decided they wanted to leave the gingerbread house they'd made too.

When all was completed it was finally time for brushing of teeth and tucking into bed. Emma went right to sleep, but Jax was all wired up and took a few more times of being tucked into bed. But finally...not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Preschool Program

2010-12-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

Jax's preschool did their holiday program last week. I wasn't expecting great things, only because he doesn't like people looking at him. But seeing that there were about 30 kids all together he seems okay with the situation. Plus, Ms. Jani had the foresight to place him next to friends he knows. They aren't in his actual class but they are friends and neighbors of ours. He got to sit between Kora and Preston. Jax and Kora pre-program.
Jax looking oh so entertained during the program.

Jax receiving his little gift from Ms. Jani after the program.

We were lucky enough to get to have Ryan's parents come and watch Jax's big day. He was so excited when he looked up and saw them in the balcony above.

You did so great my little man.

Cutting a Rug

2010-12-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

At the family party last Saturday night, some of our family members taught some traditional pioneer dances. Emma thought this was the greatest thing EVER. She LOVES dancing and she picked up the moves really quickly. A special thank you to amazing Uncle Roark. He was Emma's partner and was so patient with her and praised her when she was doing a great job. Thanks Roark, she loved every minute of it!!

Celebrating Forever

2010-12-21T15:00:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. No this is not a picture from that evening. We actually ended up celebrating the night before because of a family Christmas party and I actually forgot to take the camera with us when we went out. I just can't pass up the opportunity to thank my fabulous husband for all of his love and support over the past 11 years. He has made me so incredibly happy and I'm hoping he'd say the same about me. ;-) Marriage is such a hard thing and we are always having to work to improve it, but who wants a boring marriage anyway. I know that we aren't perfect, but I know that what we have is real and it's worth working hard for. I'm so grateful to such a caring man who takes care of me and our two beautiful children. I can't wait to grow old and sit on our front sitting area together watching our grandchildren play. I can't wait to watch our hair turn grey and laugh lines turn into wrinkles. Although I will be fighting both of those on my end for as long as possible. I'm so grateful for such a loving marriage and I just wanted my husband to know how much he means to me. Happy Anniversary Ry!

Flegal Christmas Party

2010-12-21T14:31:00.001-08:00

This past Saturday evening, Ryan's mother's family had their annual Christmas Party. Some of our family members work at This is the Place Heritage Park and were able to reserve one of the old pioneer buildings for the dinner and party. Jax with Santa Clause who made his annual appearance to everyone's delight.
Jax with his Great-Grandma Flegal.

Emma, striking a pose with Santa.

Emma with Great-Grandma Flegal. (Emma calls her Old Grandma...too cute!)

All the kids got an amazing gift this year. When Ryan's grandfather was alive he loved to make and tinker with things. He created these beautiful wood tops that you pull with a handle and string. So this year, 2 of Ryan's uncles took the design and remade one for each of the kids. This is no small feet if you know just how many they had to make. They are beautiful and my kids LOVE theirs. Thanks to all for your hard work on the toys and the party...it was a fun treat as always. Merry Christmas!

1st Graders Know How to Party

2010-12-20T10:55:00.001-08:00

Emma's first grade holiday party this year was a "Polar Express" party. They got to bring their pj's and blankets or pillow. They decorated ginger bread houses (which by the way since I helped with the frosting of the houses went home COVERED in the sticky white stuff). I never realized how messy that project could be. They read The Polar Express story and then had hot chocolate and toated English muffins with jam. The kids had a great time and I loved helping! Emma and her good friend Daixa reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas while we were getting all the English muffins ready.
Some of the VERY creative ginger-bread houses. I was impressed at how different they all turned out.

Adventure to the Aquarium

2010-12-20T10:48:00.001-08:00

Last week my friend, Meredith, and I took Brady and Jax to the free day at the Sandy Aquarium. It was pretty crowded, but really not as bad as I thought. The boys had such a good time looking at all the marine life together and Meredith and I had fun battling through crowds of older kids to make sure our little ones weren't shoved aside and could see. All in all it was a fun experience...and free too!Jax and Brady watching a tiny crab in the bottom corner of a HUGE tank filled with jelly fish and other amazing creatures. But they kept finding the tiny crabs in every exibit we looked at. ;-)
Jax touching the star fish.

It was really hard to get pictures because it was so crowded, so these were the best ones.

Here Comes Santa Clause

2010-12-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

We had a ward Christmas party a little over a week ago and a "surprise" guest came to visit the kids. Can you even begin to imagine who the surprise guest at a family Christmas party might be...we'll I guess I can't fool you! You're right...it was Santa Clause. Emma was all sorts of excited to tell Santa she wants a Diamond Castle Barbie Castle. He was nice enough to notice I was wrinkling my nose when she said that, they don't make that toy anymore, and nicely told her that his elves actually made her something else and it's even better. So, "THANK YOU SANTA!"

Jax is our little man of VERY few words. Not that he doesn't talk, sometimes I can't get him to stop. He just doesn't like to talk to people he doesn't know. So in steps our little translator...Emma. She told Santa for Jax that he wants a Thomas toy. Thank goodness Santa already knew that one and will be able to fill that order. Well, 50% isn't bad I guess.

Cheers to Teachers

2010-12-10T19:28:00.000-08:00

So my hat goes off to great teachers. Most especially to Emma's amazing teacher, Mrs. Thomas. Emma came in the house today after being dropped off by carpool and she was sobbing, to the point that she could barely even catch a breath. Needless to say she wasn't able to immediatly tell me what was wrong. She was also wearing an oversized dark red jacket. Okay, thought goes off, this isn't your coat. A flashback to last year when her favorite hoodie was stollen and my fear button goes off. Just then, while trying to get her to calm down, my phone rang. Ah ha...it's the school on the caller id. On the other line is Mrs. Thomas, Emma's 1st grade teacher. She explains that the girl in the class across the hall from their class has the exact same coat as Emma. Their school has the coat racks in the hallways. So apparently when Emma couldn't find her coat Mrs. Thomas took the time to investigate and found out that this other little girl had thought her coat was put on the wrong rack and so she took it, not realizing it was actually Emma's. Mrs. Thomas was calling to make sure that Emma was better and to inform me that the mother of the other little girl had just dropped off Emma's coat and that it would be hanging on their rack if I wanted to come get it. I thanked her and hung up. Just then I realized that I hadn't asked about the coat that Emma was wearing. When Emma calmed down, knowning now that her coat was safe, she told me that Mrs. Thomas wouldn't let her leave into the cold without a coat on. So what does she do, she sends Emma home with her own coat. I mean seriously...how more incredible and loving can you get. We quickly went over to the school, after having Emma make Mrs. Thomas a card, and picked up Emma's coat. We were in luck and caught Mrs. Thomas just on her way home. Emma gave her a HUGE hug, her card, and her coat back. So this is a nod to all those amazing and compassionate teachers out there who love, protect, and teach our children. You are incredible and I want to personally thank you!

The Nutcracker Ballet

2010-12-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

The Monday after Thanksgiving the kids and I took a little road trip up to Logan to visit the Davis family. Their oldest daughter, Alyssa, performed with the Cache Valley Ballet in this years production of The Nutcracker. Emma and I went to the last performance with Emma's BFF, Grace, and one of my BFF's too, Martina. We had tickets in the second balcony and we couldn't have asked for better seat. We were right next to the Cache Valley Ballet board members, so you can tell how good our seats were. PS-thanks Ryan for letting Jax stay and play with Callum, you are awesome. Emma and Grace with their pre-performance goodies.
Emma and Grace looking out from the balcony at the stage. They had a large Nutcracker projected on the curtains.

Alyssa was one of the Russian dancers. Her with the other girls that were Russian dancers.

Emma and Grace with Alyssa after the performance at the meet and greet upstairs.

Congratulations Alyssa!!! You did such a fabulous job and we can't wait to see you in your next performance. Thank you Martina and Grace for being such amazing friends and for such a wonderful evening.

Uncle Joe

2010-12-07T14:14:00.001-08:00

So it dawned on me the other day that I didn't get a single picture on the actual day of Thanksgiving. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was busy in the kitchen. Oh well...there's always my sister Becky's wedding in January for family photos. This is one picture though that I will always cherish. My brother, Joe, doesn't visit, pretty much ever, and so it was great having him here this past Thanksgiving. The kids think he is the best and goffiest, which he pretty much is. We are so glad you could make it and can't wait to see you again next month. Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving too.

Temple Square Christmas Lights

2010-12-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

We went to see the Chrismas lights at Temple Square the Saturday night after Thanksgiving. I seriously think we picked the coldest night ever. We rode Trax downtown and had fun enjoying the lights and the festivities of the season. I think the kids' favorite part was the hot chocolate.

Jax, Emma, Ethan, Caitlin, Maryn, Mallory and Courtney all bundled up. Our family infront of some really pretty red lit trees.

Ryan, Emma and Jax on the train ride home.

My sister Jacque and I on the ride home. You can just make out my dad right behind us.

Mrs. Thomas' Thanksgiving Feast

2010-12-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

This year I am the homeroom mom for Emma's first grade class. I'm loving being able to be so involved this year. For Thanksgiving Mrs. Thomas had the kids each bring in something that was healthy and the kids had a huge variety of foods. From cranberry jelly, to apple and pear slices, to cheese and crackers and even gingerbread man marshmellows. A picture of the feast ready to be consumed.
Mrs. Thomas made the kids say what food group each item came from before the feast began.

Since Emma has celiac we substituted the crackers for her Gluten Free ones. However there were actually quite a few things she could have. It ended up being such a great party. And Emma's Nana, my mom, got to come and help too. Both she and Emma LOVED that.

North Pole Express

2010-12-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

This past Thanksgiving holiday, while my family were all in town, we took a trip on the North Pole Express.It traveled from Heber City, UT to the North Pole and back home again. Jax is HUGE fan of anything trains and one of his favorite books and movies is The Polar Express.This is Jax with Mrs. Clause.

Jax watching out the dark window. He loved watching the moon lit scenery go past. The train was so beautiful. It was over 100 years old. However, since it was so old there was VERY little heat. But all in all it was a super fun time.
Everyone in the train car sang songs and had cookies and hot cocoa. This is Emma and her cousins, Maryn and Mallory, singing Jingle Bells in front of everyone. As a side note, Emma decided she wanted to tell a joke to everyone. This was an issue to me because her idea of a joke is really not a joke. It's a weird story. So I got a little worried and embarrassed ahead of time for her. Ryan reassured me that she's young and just let her be innocent. So this is her joke, "Why didn't the reindeer fly in the sky?" "Because they were sick." See I told you. Then Mallory, who is 9 months younger than Emma said, "Why didn't the reindeer fly in the sky?" "Because they were dead." Ryan turned to me and said, "see at least her joke wasn't as morbid as dead." It ended up just being funny and everyone were really nice and laughed for them anyway. ;-) Thanks train car friends for making them feel good about themselves.

Mallory, Emma, Jax, Maryn, and Courtney getting to meet Santa when he boarded the train at our stop at the North Pole. Jax was so in awe that he couldn't look away.

Our family picture in front of our train car. Man was it freezing that night. The temp was in the teens in Heber City. This was an awesome family outting and we had such a great time. Somehow though I didn't get a picture of my mom, or my sisters, Jacque and Misty. They went with us too.

Buddies

2010-12-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Jax and his best little buddy, Brady. I came across it last night while organizing last months pictures in my computer. Brady came over one afternoon after preschool and the boys had tons of fun playing outside in the leaves and on the swing set. They get along so great and have such similar easy going personalities. Thanks for coming to play Brady!

Trick-or-Treat

2010-11-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Emma and Jax getting ready to head out into the rainy weather that was Halloween Night. This is before they added their coats and umbrellas.
Jax loved his Woody costume, except for the hat. He now calls his cowboy boots his Woody boots.

Emma decided she wanted to be scary this year so she chose what else, a dead bride. Um...okay. We had fun making her costume fancy from just a plain white cloth. Even with all the makeup on you can still see her adorable freakles.

Happy Halloween 2010!

Carving Time

2010-11-01T10:40:00.001-07:00

Last year we realized as we were leaving to go trick-or-treating that we hadn't carved our pumpkins so we vowed we'd do it this year. Well, we almost forgot again, ugh. Ryan is helping the kids get their pumpkins carved on Sat morning.They loved opening them and looking at the creepy insides that got left behind.

Emma and Jax posing with their Jack-o-Lanterns. Don't ask me what happened to Jax's pumpkin's nose, I'm still trying to figure that one out. ;-)

Gardner's Village

2010-11-01T10:36:00.001-07:00

Last week my friend Meredith and I took our boys, who are about 6 weeks apart, to Gardner's Village. I love this place, esp. in the fall. They have it all decked out with pumpkins and tons of Witches. This is Jax and, his best little bud, Brady at one of the many photo perfect spots.

Timpanogos Cave

2010-10-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

We took a day and went hiking up to the Timpanogos Cave. It's funny because I told Ryan that I've lived here for 12 years and never done it. He then turned around and said, "Well I've lived here for 33 and never done it, so I win." I can't believe it took us this long to do it.
The kids were better troopers about the 1 1/2 mile hike than I was. Now I remember why I don't like hiking. It was pretty intense in a few spots. But they both walked almost the entire way up. Jax needed help about the last 1/4 of the way up, and then fell asleep riding piggy-back on Aunt Misty's back on the way down. Then Ryan carried him the last 3/4 of the way. But Emma made it the entire way and loved it.

This is a view of Utah County from about 1/2 way up the trail.

Emma, Jax and Misty enjoying the beautiful Fall colors.

One of the MANY pictures from inside the cool caves. A lot didn't turn out though because the caverns were too dark. For anyone that wants to go, take a jacket. It was freezing. They said it's like being in a refrigerator. But VERY worth it. We had a great time together.

Creek Side

2010-10-13T15:09:00.001-07:00

After jeeping we decided to stop by the creek that we followed the entire way up the mountain and let the kids get out to play. Emma loved walking in it with her shoes off, but Jax was not about ready to get into the cold water. The entire time I was worried about Emma falling in and she didn't disappointment me. ;-) She had a different ride home in the back with nothing on but a hoodie and a blanket.
She found an awesome walking stick she kept trying to insist we bring home. I won that battle.

Jax decided he needed a turn with above mentioned stick.

Ryan was trying to teach the kids the finer points of skipping rocks.

Loungin' by the creek.

Mineral Basin

2010-10-13T10:37:00.001-07:00

The first weekend of October we went with some of Ryan's brothers and their families jeeping up Mineral Basin up American Fork Canyon. It was a perfect day, not too hot, not too cold. Plus we got to see some of the beautiful color changes that occur this time of year. Here is a picture I took looking into our side mirror at Ryan's brother Ron's jeep behind us.
This was one of many beautiful views from our trip.

Some of the spectacular colors we saw. Man this reminds me why Fall is my favorite season.

This grin says it all. It's more than an obsession, it's a love. ;-)

Do You See the Resemblance?

2010-10-08T14:23:00.001-07:00

So this was a picture of Jax at his buddy across the street's birthday party over a year ago. His cute mom sent me a picture of Jax from the party. For the longest time I kept thinking that it reminded me of something, and then the other night we were watching The 3 Amigos and I figured out what it reminded me of...

...the little Mexican village boy from the movie that wanted Dusty Bottom's watch when he died. I pulled up the picture of Jax and Ryan and I started laughing so hard we were crying. I wanted to see if anyone else saw the resemblance.

3 Year Old Soccer

2010-10-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

This fall Jax started soccer. He is on a little team with 3 and 4 year olds. I seriously don't think there is anything funnier than watching these little people play. Jax kicking a goal.
Learning to kick down the field.

Jax and his best buddy, Brady. They are on the same team.

Jax's coach finally just started dragging him around the field to teach him to chase after the ball.We love going to his games and watching how much fun he's having.

Helping Daddy

2010-10-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

Jax always loves helping Ryan wash his jeep.
Oops...dropped the brush into the soap.

Hurry and take the picture mom...I'm getting soap in my eye.

Preschool Presentation

2010-10-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Jax gave his first presentation in preschool. We made a poster together about himself and he got to show all his friends the pictures he chose. It was adorable at how excited he was.

1st Day of Preschool

2010-10-08T13:46:00.001-07:00

Jax started his first day of preschool in September. He is going to the same amazing preschool that Emma went to for 2 years. He LOVES going and he is so excited seeing Ms. Jani greeting him before each class. I still can't believe he is big enough to go to preschool. My favorite part is the fact that his backpack seriously looks big enough that he could put himself inside of it. It's hysterical. I miss him when he's gone!

Happy 7th Birthday

2010-10-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Emma's 7th birthday in Island Park, ID. We were lucky enough that our birthday fairy found her way to our little cabin and instead of decorating Emma's bedroom, she decorated the inside of the cabin. These signs say Happy Birthday...
... Emma

Emma and Jax waiting for Emma's birthday cake.

Emma can't have gluten, so I made her a cake with candy bars instead of a regular cake. She loved it. Thanks for the fabulous idea Becca!

Emma was SO excited to get a pair of Skecher Twinkle Toe sneakers.

Happy Birthday Emma! We are so excited at how big and fabulous you are getting. But it also makes us sad at how fast it's all going. You are amazing and we love every minute with you!

Island Park, ID

2010-10-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day we went to Island Park, ID with the Davis Family and the Westenskow Family. We have so much fun going with them each year. This is Emma and Grace at dinner around the camp fire the first day.
Emma and Grace in their little boat they shared when everyone went floating down the river.

Jax had a fun time riding in the rafts.

Ryan and Jax on our hike to see Mesa Falls.

Mesa Falls was beyond beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the entire amazing trip.

Thanks for the fun weekend, can't wait until next year.

1st Grade...Here She Comes

2010-10-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

Emma started 1st grade this year. She picked out her special outfit days before. I can't believe she's old enough already to be in all day school. Jax and I miss her so much and count down the hours until she comes home. She was so excited she almost couldn't still for this picture.
This is Emma and one of her best friends, Daxia, on the first morning waiting for Jax and I to catch up so we could all go to the area where the kids line up.

Grace's Visit

2010-10-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun time when Emma's "best-est" friend, Grace, stayed with us for 5 days back in August. She helped us celebrate Ryan's birthday, we went to the park one day and the pool another day. They even "swam" in our jetted tub every night. Emma and Grace were in heaven getting to have each other 24/7. Thanks Ryan and Martina for giving Emma the best last week of summer.

Happy 33rd BDay

2010-10-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

We had a great time celebrating Ryan's BDay last August 18th. The kids helped me make his favorite dinner and I tried to make a cheese cake for him. Not my finest attempt at a dessert, but at least the candles stayed in and we were able to eat it. No on really wanted seconds, but oh well.

Ryan, thanks for being so wonderful to us. Thank you for another great year having you in my life. We love you so much and can't wait to make next year's cake better. Although that isn't going to be tough to top. ;-)

AAAAHHHH!!!!

2010-09-22T11:44:00.001-07:00

So I just don't get it...why do children, or little boys to be more specific, have to be so messy and distructive? Do they all wake up first thing in the morning and start their skeeming? Is it their mission in life to create such huge messes that require ALOT of clean-up on the parts of the parents.
I just walked in on Jax, who I thought was just nicely playing in his room with his trains and train table, and yes...he was playing with his trains and train table...but also the bright blue/sparkly kids toothpaste. He had covered all this train track pieces, a good portion of his table, and about 15 of his wooden Thomas trains with this goopy aweful bubblegum flavored toothpaste mess.
Anyone know a good exercist for my 3 year old? Or maybe a padded room I can just go sit in?

Pioneer Day Parade

2010-08-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

For the past 4 years now our neighborhood has done a kids Pioneer Day Parade. The kids in the neighborhood meet in front of a specific house with their decorated bikes, scooters, wagons and selves. They follow the pace car through the neighborhood, past a few of us spectators, to the church at the end of our street. Once there we have a small pot luck finger-food breakfast. The kids LOVE this and they love being a part of something together.
Thanks again for all the participation and for the fun morning. Even though we know the parade literally only lasts about 5 min. ;-) Emma is on her scooter in the middle of the picture.
Happy Pioneer Day!

Lagoon...Take 4

2010-08-04T12:06:00.001-07:00

This was our 4th and final trip to Lagoon this summer. We had to take advantage of the bounce back passes with the 1st and 3rd trips we made. This is Ryan and Emma on I think the lady-bug ride. Mommy and Emma on the Dinasaur Egg drop ride.
Ryan and Emma on a ride I'm not sure of.

Mommy and Jax got really good at chilling on the sidelines this trip.

The More the Merrier

2010-08-04T12:00:00.001-07:00

So my cute sister-in-law has recently had to start chemo due to breast cancer. So I've tried helping lighten her load some and have taken her boys on several occasions. Here is one occasion when Ashton came with us to the zoo. We were also so lucky to have my neice's little guy Kreyton with us too. It was such a fun, easy going day. However, I don't think it could have been any hotter though. I feel bad. I was kind of in a bad mood due to the heat and probably snapped once or twice with the kids. But all in all it was a great day. Time to leave, just one last picture. Man we all wanted to jump in the fountain by then.
Thanks for coming and having fun with us!

Bitter Sweet Good-Byes

2010-08-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

So anyone that knows me, knows that I am a huge creature of habit and routine. I have a hard time just being spontanious. It literally stresses me out. Some say they don't even realize I'm stressed, but that's only because I hide it. So anytime we have visitors it's always stressful to me. Only because things are always changing from day to day and schedules get totally whacked out of alignment. However much this upsets my daily routine, I LOVE having family/friends come and stay. As much as I look forward to life getting back to normal, I dread saying goodbye to loved ones. I hate living so far from my parents and my siblings and their families. I miss my kids always having this extra love and support in their lives. However, I do feel that it makes me appreciate these visits even more. I can honestly say that I definitely cried when it was time for them to go back to Phoenix. I know that my kids and I are missing them all so terribly. Thanks for such a fantastic visit and we can't wait for the next time. Final group hug with Nana.
Jax just couldn't let go.

We love and miss you Nana, Ethan, Maryn, Mallory, and Courtney! (Courtney was only here for a night and then she went back with her dad to Phoenix. That's why she's not in the pics.)

Day at the Pool

2010-08-04T11:39:00.001-07:00

We are so lucky to have such a fun indoor and outdoor pool facility literally around the block from our house. On the last day of their trip we spent it at Murray Pool. Here's Emma and Maryn taking a break during one of the chemical checks the city does. Jax taking a snack break. Nothing like wet hands and orange doritos. Yum! Mallory and Nana taking an ice cream break.

A RARE picture of Ethan. Even though he is broding, I'm still posting it. If he'd give me something better then I'd have posted that one. ;-)

Temple Square

2010-08-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

During the peak visit season this summer we took a trip down to Temple Square in downtown SL. We rode trax down, of course, since it's Jax's favorite way to get around. It was REALLY hot that day, but all the kids were such good sports about being out in the heat.
We did take a few breaks for some indoor tours too. Here is a picture of Maryn, Mallory, Jax, Ethan, and Emma in front of one of the fountains on Temple Square.
We miss you guys already!

You're My Favorite Deputy

2010-08-04T07:47:00.001-07:00

Like I said before, Jax is really into Woody lately. So for his birthday we got him a Baby Woody Plush that comes with it's own blankie. These were just a couple of adorable pics I captured of him loving his new buddy. This is just the sweetest thing ever.

It's Pary Time

2010-08-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

Jax has been really into Buzz Light Year and Woody lately. Probably because of the recent release of Toy Story 3. This however was fine with us since it made finding a theme for his 3rd birthday party very easy. Plus there was so much stuff available to use. Here is a picture of those that attended. Instead of a traditional cake I made these cupcake/ice cream cones. They turned out a lot better than I even thought they would, if I say so myself.
Jax blowing out his birthday boy candle.

The happy crew enjoying their tasty treats.

Happy Birthday Jax!

Rockin' the Zoo

2010-08-01T01:09:00.001-07:00

We have an annual pass to the Hogel Zoo, so of course, whenever cousins come in town we take advantage of this place. Maryn, Emma, and Mallory all decided to rock their zoo hats for this occasion. Hangin' at the penguin encounter.
A VERY rare pic of cousin Ethan and Jax riding the train.

Another pic of Mommy and Jax on their second train trip for the day.

We love the zoo and anytime anyone ever wants to go we're game.

Sharing a Birthday with the Dinosaurs

2010-08-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

For Jax's birthday we decided to go to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum. This place is awesome and one of Jax's favorites. Even though it doesn't have a train. But there was a pony ride, and a buggy ride at the Thanksgiving Point Farm right after the Museum, so he was slightly happy. As it turned out the Museum was also celebrating it's birthday, so a bunch of the dinosaurs were wearing birthday hats throughout the tour. My kids thought this was fun because they truely believed they were celebrating Jax's bday too. So cute, but how do I tell them when this never happens again on anyone elses birthdays. Nana, Emma, Jax, and cousins Maryn and Mallory at the Museum.
Jax was very excited about the water/sand play area.

This was one of their favorite exibits. Why I will never understand. We spent forever here while they explored this horrible thing. I'm not kidding, it actually gave me nightmares that night.

Jax having a good time on his 3rd birthday while holding his Mickey (it's actually a blankie he got as a baby, but he calls it his Mickey). Too cute. Love you Buggie.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jax

2010-08-01T00:37:00.001-07:00

On July 6th Jax officially turned 3. And as per tradition, our house birthday fairy struck again. This is one of our many beloved fairies that live in and around our home and loves to make a showing on special events. Jax and Emma have come to love and anticipate just what their birthday fairy is going to do to their bedrooms now. We are always so surprised that this said fairy is able to sneak in and do some much damage with crepe paper without them even ever sturring. Must be a very sneaky and very good fairy to always pull it off with such grace and elegance.

Thank you Jax for being in our lives and for always being such a joy. Happy 3rd Birthday Buggie!!

Our Nation's Independence

2010-08-01T00:25:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I chose not to take very many pictures on this our nation's birthday. So the pickin's were slim. We decided to go down town to the SL Farmer's Market. Which, was okay, but I won't be rushing back ANY time soon. The amount of acutal booths selling acutal produce could be counted on less fingers than I have on my right hand. The rest of the ENTIRE market was nothing but craft fair vendors selling their homemade goods, or actual food establishment carts. While I think that is nice and all, I was hoping the whole Farmer's Market theme would come into play. Oh well, now the wait for the good Farmer's Market, the Murray City one, begins.

This is a pic of Emma and Jax with their Nana being troopers at the Market. This is another pic of Emma and Jax with the balloons that a clown made for them at the Market.
For our evening festivities we chose to go to Murray park and watch their always great fireworks show. Thank you Murray City for always coming through with fabulous activities for our family. First thing this morning Ryan took Emma to the Murray City Parade while Jax slept. He forgot to take the camera and that is why there is a lacking picture of the said activity.

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and were able to share it with friends and family. Thank you to our founding Father's who had the knowledge, forsight, and inspiration from God to build this nation we all love and hold dear to our hearts.

Lagoon, Take 1

2010-07-17T19:12:00.001-07:00

One of the last days of June we took a family trip to Lagoon. This ended up being one of many trips we would make this summer. This time we did Lagoona Beach with the kids. Jax isn't too big on water so he and I pretty much sat on the edge of the kiddie area the entire time. But Emma, being the dare devil she is went on all the water rides with Ryan. Jax standing in front of what he calls the broken train.
Emma and Jax on the kiddie boats. Emma was such a sport to go on these rides with Jax, seeing that her favorite ride is Wicked. Her motto is the faster and more loops a ride has, the better it is.
A quick family photo op in front of the carosel at the night. Not often we all get to be in the picture together.

Trax to Gateway

2010-07-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

In June when Nana first arrived we decided to take Jax on his first ever trax train ride. Yes...I know the child who is OBSESSED with trains is just now taking his first trax ride. Well, go ahead and call me a bad mom. This is a picture of Jax in front of one of his two favorite things in life, the train track. The only other thing better is the train itself. Emma playing in the fountains at Gateway, in downtown SL.
Emma on the ride home on trax.

Jax and Nana on the trax train ride home.

Water Stand

2010-07-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

That's right, I said water stand...not lemonaid stand. Emma and one of her friends on the street decided they'd get together at the beginning of June and do a water stand. They got a few water bottles, some shot glasses, and made a sign. They charged $1 per shot glass size cup of warm water and made about $10. The poor people didn't even get to keep the glasses when they were done drinking. Thank goodness they are both adorable, or else their water idea never would have taken off.

Jeepin' With Dad

2010-07-17T00:26:00.001-07:00

One of Emma's favorite things is going jeeping/camping with Ryan. At the beginning of June she went on his jeeping trip to Hole in the Rock Trail. It is an old pioneer trail down around Lake Powell in Southern Utah. They went for 3 nights and slept on the trail. She was such a trooper and loved every minute of it. She is definitely her father's daughter. ;-) This is a picture of Emma and Ryan with one of her prizes from the trail. This time she came home with a cow's foot/bone, and a horse's hoof with the horse shoe still attached. Lucky me. This is Emma over looking Lake Powell.
Emma and Ryan on the last day waiting for the ferry to take them back across Lake Powell. While they all waited they took a much needed and deserved swim.

Emma and Ryan on their drive home. Look how happy they are. Now we just gotta get Jax old enough and Mommy will start looking forward to these trips too. ;-) Ry, thanks for taking her and making such memorable moments for her and you and for giving me more pics to blog.

Last Day of Kindergarten

2010-07-16T23:49:00.001-07:00

This was Emma's last day of kindergarten. I think I was more sad than she was. She was actually really excited about the idea of no school for 3 months. I was a little scared thinking about having to entertain her all day. But then I started thinking about having her home with Jax and I all day and was really excited for the summer too. I didn't realize how much I missed her, even for only a few hours a day until she was home with us again. Man I still can't believe she's going to be in 1st grade. She's getting so big and there's nothing I can do to slow it down. This is a picture of Em and one of her best friends, Daixa on their last day. Daixa came over all morning and we curled their hair and painted their finger and toe nails to be all ready for the fun, big day. This is Emma and her kindergarted teacher, Mrs. Hillman. She was so wonderful and patient with Emma and her quarkey ways. Thanks for being such a great role model to all your students.

Cheese Ball

2010-07-16T23:42:00.000-07:00

So over the past several months, Jax has discovered that when you say the word "Cheese", someone takes your picture. He LOVES getting his picture taken, even if his smile sometimes looks very forces. And then he LOVES having you immediately show him the picture so he can admire himself. This was one of those said moments.

The Last Unicorn of the World

2010-07-16T23:38:00.001-07:00

At the end of the school year, Emma's school did a young author's night. They had each child earlier in the year right and illustrate their own book. Then the school had the books set with hard bound covers. We got to go to the school on one of the last nights and all the books were displayed. She was so proud of her book, "The Last Unicorn of the World". She reads it to anyone and everyone she can get to listen to her. I'm so proud of her for all her many talents.

Thinking Pink

2010-06-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my dear sweet sister-in-law, Wendy, found out she has breast cancer. It was a complete shock to her, her husband and 4 boys, and to all of us that love her. I just wanted to do a post about her because she is awesome and I want everyone to know it. From the first day I met Wendy she has always felt more to me than a sister-in-law. She has always felt like a true sister and has always been such a wonderful friend and role model. She has been incredibly brave and optimistic and I know will continue to be throughout her battle and victory with this horrible disease. She is beauty and brains roled up into one person. She had a mastectomy of her right breast last week and was so calm with dealing with it all. I hope that one day I can be even slightly as brave and wonderful as she is. I just want her to know how much I love and admire her for all her honesty and whit. She is one of my favorite people in the entire world and means more to me than she will ever know. I love you Wendy and know that you will win. She saw a t-shirt the other day and it fits her to a tee. It said, "yes they are fake...my real ones tried to kill me." It's this type of humor that I know will get her and her family through the hard times to better days. Thank you for being the kind of person I could only dream of being. XOXO!!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly in My Bed

2010-06-04T21:07:00.001-07:00

So this is the ONLY acceptable time that I can say that there is peanut butter and jelly in my bed. If you haven't figure it out Jax's nickname is peanut butter and Em's is jelly. We woke the other morning to find them both in our bed and asleep the exact same way. Ryan says that Emma is sleeping the exact same way I do. Good to know I look so fabulous while I sleep.
We also awoke to both pups in our bed too. Luckily they know their place and stay at the foot of the bed. And yes...each child has their own dog that usually is in THEIR bed. So if the child comes to our bed, then must the dog too I guess.

May is My Month

2010-06-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

May is always such a fun month for me. It's Mother's Day, my birthday, and usually the weather is beautiful (this year was definitely an exception to that rule). I love Mother's Day and I LOVE my birthday. This year was wonderful yet again. For Mother's Day I got to sleep in while Ry got the kiddos breakfast and ready for church. Unfortunately, I was REALLY sick this Mother's Day so Ryan let me celebrate it the following Sunday. He made me his homemade chicken alfredo and garlic bread. He finished building me my little front patio so now I have a place for my comfy chairs and where I can sit outside one our beautiful summer nights while the kids play or ride their bikes. I wanted to thank all my family and friends for so much love and celebrationing for my birthday. My kids got me a beautiful yellow dress that I got to wear to church on my birthday. Ry got me a gift card to AE and one for a pedicure. He knows me so well. I am EXTREMELY hard to shop for so gift cards ALWAYS work for me. My wonderful girlfriends took me out a couple of times. And my fantastic in-laws took us to lunch. Wow, can't you just feel the love oozing off of your computer monitor?!? Thank you all for all the love and attention, I LOVED every minute of it. PS-I'm loving my patio everynight!! Thanks again Ry and my little peanut butter and jelly (Jax and Emmy).

Spring Soccer

2010-06-03T20:32:00.001-07:00

This spring, Emma decided she wanted to do soccer again. We signed her up with a little league called Holladay Lions. There are 12 kids per team and they play/practice twice a week. Emma loved being the goalie. I secretly think it was so she didn't have to run up and down the field. She got pretty good at blocking the ball. They aren't allowed to use their hands in the league/age because of previous hand injuried, so we had to teach her to block by kicking the ball out of the way. She got really upset one game when the ball got past her. She started sobbing and she said she didn't want her teammates to not think she was good. I esp. like the tear drop clinging to the end of her nose. She is so sensative about feelings.
Jax was really good about hanging out with me, and sometimes Ryan, on the sidelines. As you can see yes...Jax is wearing his WINTER coat. All but maybe 2 0r 3 games out of 8 were FREEZING.

Emma and Jax during one of her breaks from playing.

Waterford Graduation

2010-04-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

For 3 years now Emma has been taking this computer class at Waterford Institute. They develop computer software and offer free classes where they test it out on kids before they use it at their Waterford School down in Sandy. Emma has loved it and is SO sad that she can't go next year. Seeing that she'll be in 1st grade and in school all day. Their teacher Ms. Marj did a little graduation program for all the kids. She had an aisle for them to walk up and then gave them graduation caps and certificates.
Because Emma had been there for 3 years, she was the only one in her class, Ms. Marj also gave her a Princess Grad crown. She was so excited she turned shy.

This is Emma's Ms. Marj. There aren't enough words to say how wonderful and special she is. When we started Emma was really struggling with learning. But she kept helping and encouraging and now it's a breeze. Ms. Marj is one of our favorite people and Emma cried when we drove home. Ms. Marj is caring and loving and we will miss her next year. However when Jax is 4 we get to see her again.

Their graduating class. Such cute kids.

Our carpool group. From left to right, Annie, Emma, Daixa, and Carlyn.

Girl Weekend

2010-04-28T11:10:00.001-07:00

Last weeknd I had a much needed girls weekend. This was the first time I've ever had a night away from Jax and only the second time away from Emma. We started Friday afternoon at the spa and Martina and I had a wonderful European facial. My first facial and definitely not my last. It was wonderful. Then we went up to Park City and checked into our hotel. We had a two room suite. We spent the evening on PC's main street and then visiting for hours in the hotel. The next morning we took our time getting ready, made breakfast and then headed for a day of shopping at the outlets. They had some good deals and we had fun finding fun stuff for ourselves and our kids. Then we ended with lunch at the Loco Lizard. What a spectacular weekend with the most amazing women in my life. Thanks for being such wonderful friends!! Thank you Ryan for giving me the time off and for taking such good care of everything while I was gone.

"Mommy I've Died and Gone to Choo-Choo Land"

2010-04-27T15:13:00.001-07:00

Last March when we were in Phoenix we took a little outting to McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ. It was myself, Emma, Jax, Misty, and Nana. It was as if they made a perfect land for Jax. It was all about trains. We know where we are going from now on each time we visit. Riding the train. It went all around the park.

Looking out the window up in the watchtower.

The kids on the carosel.

There was the funnest playground for the kids. It was a small adobe village.

Posing with the real trains. Em had to hold him toward the camera for the picture. He kept turning around to stare at the train. Obsessed much.

Lucky Day

2010-04-27T13:48:00.001-07:00

So for those of you who have seen the movie, The Three Amigos, you will appreciate this picture of Jax. It was a cowboy birthday for one of our darling neighbors across the street last summer. She sent me this picture and every time I see it I roll with laughter. He looks like Martin Shorts character, Lucky Day, in the Three Amigos. Or maybe even the white version of the little Mexican boy who lived in the village they were saving. Anyway, I just had to share my laugh of the day.

The 3 Ring Service Circus

2010-04-26T23:48:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago I was one of 4 incharge of our church Stake Mother/Daughter activity for girls 8-11 years of age. We decided on a circus theme (thank you Jac for the inspiration) and ran with it. We also decided we wanted to do a service inspired theme too. So our theme was then born, the 3 Ring Service Circus. We decorated the inside of the church gym to resemble the inside of a circus tent. We broke the entire group into 3 smaller groups and they rotated stations. Each station represented one of our circus rings. We tied blankets and pillows for Primary Children's Med Center, we made hair accessories for the church humanitarian center to distribute, and in ring 3 we let the mom's and daughters do getting to know you games. Then we ate lunch (circus themed of course) which was hot dogs, chili, chips, and ice cream sandwiches. I think it was a pretty successful party, but I'm also pretty bias. The only bad part of the entire operation was ripping down the decor. What took us a about 6 hours to set up completely (4 on Fri night and 2 the next morning) only took a little over an hour to demolish. Now I know how sad it must be to be a wedding planner and have to watch it all disassembled at the close of the party. Anyway, I was pretty proud of our success and wanted to share with the rest of you who weren't there to see it first hand and be a part of it.

Feeding Time

2010-04-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

About a mile from my parents house there is some horse property. One of Emma's and now Jax's favorite things to do is to feed the horses carrots. Do you think Jax loved it?

Last year in preschool:
Ms. Jani-"Emma, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Emma-"A horse. That way I can take all my friends and family for rides on me."
Think she loved this experience too?

Flegal Christmas Party

2010-04-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Last Dec. my mother-in-law's side of the family did their annual Flegal Family Christmas Party. These are always so fun to attend since you usually get to see people you rarely see thoughout the year. They always do a live children's nativity story and Santa always makes a grand entrance. Emma sitting on Santa's lap.

This year's children's nativity also included myself and my neice Sheena. Our little lambs wouldn't be part of the scene without their original sheep herders. As you can see from the right side of this picture. Our husbands thought it was funny and took plenty of pictures.

We had the laziest little suckling lambs.

Ryan and I were impressed that Jax went right up and sat on Santa's lap and never once got upset or looked scared. I thought I'd have to enjoy another child experience for the night. ;-)

Happy 10th Anniversary

2010-04-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

So our 10th anniversary was on Dec. 18th. I still can't believe it's been that long. It doesn't seem like it at all. I'm so grateful to have married my best friend. Ryan is so amazing. He always makes me feel special, loved, and best of all is knowing that I'm his best friend too. We have our disagreements just like everyone else, but we've only ever gone to bed really mad once. And the result was that neither of us ever even fell asleep. Then in the morning we couldn't even remember why we began the fight in the first place. I love him more than words can express and am so happy everyday knowing he's there when I wake and when I go to sleep. Happy 10th Anniversary!

My Valentine

2010-02-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

I just want to tell my husband that he is fantastic and that I love him beyond anything I ever thought was possible. He is so great to me and the kids and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect Valentine. You make the sun shine for me. You make the hard times bearable and the good time glorious. Thank you for putting up with all my little quirks. You bear it with such patience and grace. Thank you for 10 wonderful Valentine's Days together. I LOVE YOU, Happy Valentine's Day!!

By the way, we went and saw the movie Valentine's Day last night and it was super cute!! A few spots that were very unexpected, but really funny. Totally recommend it!!

Update

2010-02-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are still here and pluggin' along. Our computer decided to roll over and play dead right before the holidays. So buying the necessary parts needed to wait for just a bit. We are now happy to say we are the proud parents of a beautiful new motherboard. She is so beautiful and perfect. It suprises me just how much we are dependent on our computers. Not just for keeping in touch with loved ones and friends, but also for our daily tasks. I store my recipes in my computer and went without for almost 2 months. I think my family was really getting sick of spagetti. Even I was getting sick of it. I use the computer when helping Emma with school projects, when trying to create documents for church assignments, when trying to do mailing labels, for keeping our finances straight, and so on.... Man what a pain-in-the-you-know-what it has been to be without the sweet and quiet purr of our little black box under the desk.

As for our updates:

-We had a fantastic Christmas season. We went down to Phoenix for almost 10 days. We drove down on Dec. 23rd and drove back on Jan. 1st. Well, the kids, the dogs and I drove back then and Ryan flew home one Dec. 28th. It was our first Christmas Day away from our home since Emma was born. It was fun but quite a chore to back up all their gifts just to haul them all back. But it was well worth it. We had a great time. We spent Christmas Eve at my sister, Jacque's, home with all my siblings and my parents. Then Christmas day was spent opening gifts and our traditional movie, we saw The Princess and the Frog. While in Phx we also saw Shirlock Holms and would recommend it to anyone. Some people really didn't care for it, but Ryan and I loved it. We also got to visit family and friends. Thanks Beth for hanging out with me so much while I was there.

-We have had a fairly quite time the past few months. Emma has been plugging away at school, Jax with playing with his new train table from Pampa and Nana, Ryan with work, and myself with keeping us all in working order.

-The kids at first have been so bummed about the lack of snow, but when they discovered that now our turtle sandbox has been rediscovered they are in heaven again (it has a lid so the sand has stayed dry). However, I am in no way shape or form complaining about the lack of snow and the somewhat warmer weather.

All in all it has been a great 2 months.

Weekend in Providence, UT

2009-12-14T17:24:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-02T15:57:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

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?!?!

2009-10-13T14:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

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.