Keepin' up with the Keepers

A long time coming

2012-01-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

This post is really a long time coming. But I choose not to feel guilty about it. Three kids, busy job, 2 church callings, hubby who works a lot...I could go on and on with excuses. But I'd rather not. Look how much cuteness y'all have missed, though, during my blogging sabbatical:

Alexa turned FOUR months. We went to Disneyland:
Alexa rolled over for the first time in California:

Alexa rode her first ride:

*please ignore the akward angle I'm holding Alexa at; they made me try and tuck her under the bar. I'm not a no-blanket feeder, thank you:)

I really do want to be brief with explanations on this lengthy post, but I have to mention two funny Ethan moments in the restrooms at Disney!
1. Pointing to the child-size urinals, "Hey, they have little Ethan potties!"
2. Again, at a urinal, "Hey, that boy has my same underwears!"

Alexa's hair continues to grow longer and longer (only on the top, of course.) We call it the "Donald Trump".

Cassidy had her first day of 1st Grade! She's getting way too big. Okay, old, not big. She's the smallest in her class:)

Alexa just gets cuter:

I started a little [free] preschool for Ethan and a few of his buddies. I call it "Little Dudes Preschool". I was nervous at first, but I am really loving it, and so are the kids, especially Ethan. He loves that Mommy is his teacher.

Alexa turned FIVE months:

We took family pictures and everyone pulled these lovely faces in the bright sunlight:

Joel turned the big 3-0! He celebrated with "over-the-hill" balloons and tried out Ogden's iFly, an indoor skydiving experience. It was pretty funny watching him try to walk back out of the air tunnel. You'd think they would turn off the air before you try and exit. I'm pretty sure they leave it on just for their enjoyment.

Alexa turned SIX months and learned to sit:

I made cute matching shirts for the kids for Halloween:

And I made Ethan's "Thomas" costume! I was SO proud of it. And SO disappointed to realize that it's not safe to trick-or-treat down staircases when you can't see the feet or stairs in front of you! He took it off, and I held it up each time a door opened:)

And in case you can't tell, Cassidy was a clown and Alexa was a pea in a pod:

Alexa also had this skeleton costume that was so DARLING cute:

Cassidy lost her first tooth. And now Ethan keeps pulling on his, because he wants a dollar, too:

We saw the Christmas Windows in Ogden, a family favorite:

proof of the toupee that you will never see, because I'm a perfectionist and I can't handle it, so I always put her hair in piggies:

We hosted Joel's family and made Gingerbread houses (another favorite tradition):

It took a few minutes to say goodbye to everyone at the door. Then I walked back into the kitchen to see my Gingerbread house already half-destroyed by this hungry monster:

We went to the Newgate Mall to see Santa, since that is the only mall that lets you take pictures with your own camera. At least it WAS the only mall that lets you take pictures. I decided $16 for a 5x7 was highway robbery. So no first pic with Alexa and Santa. I'm so heartbroken!

Instead, we did our own mini photo-shoot behind the Santa display:

I HATE STATIC ELECTRICITY. I am super-charged and I shock EVERYTHING: my kids, my dinnerplate, the mouse to my computer, lamps, remote controls, everything. With every touch. Seriously, I have irreparably damaged multiple electronics (a mouse, a cordless phone) with just one touch. But I have to say, it does wonders to Alexa's toupee:

Christmas Eve at my mom's house is my favorite day of the year:

Alexa loves the attention she gets at Grandma's:

She was baby Jesus this year, and LOVED all the kids coming over to pet her and dote on her!

Christmas morning-ready to run downstairs!

Ethan got this present from his grandma and grandpa and had been pushing it around the house and begging to open it DAILY. "But it's mine!" he would say. "Grandma and Grandpa gave it to ME." He was so excited to finally open it. Forget Santa and the bike that was sitting right next to the tree! He had to know what was in this present! (it was a tunnel and tent, by the way, that he loves to sleep in:)

Alexa loved her toys, but she wanted the wrapping paper. She started scooting Christmas morning.

Trains, of course. Santa knows his stuff:

I took the kids to the Aerospace museum a few weeks ago and they absolutely LOVED it:

even Alexa loved it:

And I found my fighter-jet that I had misplaced:

The kids' Activity Center was WAY cool, I highly recommend it:

Apparently Alexa didn't turn 7 or 8 months, but she did turn NINE months:

And now she's a crawling baby. I'm not stressing out quite yet, since she is new at crawling, and crawls pretty slowly. But I'm sure I'll be baby-proofing soon.

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Oh, and by the way, I did it. Well, I guess I did it with a few months to spare, because I actually shed the baby weight before my baby was nine months old this time! Lots of 5k's, Zumba, bananas and willpower. Go me!
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We finally went sledding this year with what little snow we had. Alexa seemed to enjoy it, and the kids had a blast!

Well, there you have it. August 2011 through January 2012. Did I make a resolution to blog more this year? Nope, no promises. But feel free to check again sometime. I blog when I feel like it, and don't when I don't. Thanks for stopping by!

Hiking, running, football, haircuts, look-alikes and Bear Lake. Oh yah, and a PUPPY!

2011-08-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Disneyland, but for some reason I felt like updating this past summer first. I'll post Disneyland soon.

A couple months back we went on a fun hike with the kids.
On the hike, there was a little spring that trickled down this creek. We thought it was a good time to teach the kids about water safety, since the rivers were super high, and we were going to be crossing one soon. We told the kids that they were not to touch ANY water anywhere, without asking Mom and Dad first. And to be super-careful over bridges by holding hands, etc. Just SECONDS later, I lie not, Ethan leaned over the little bridge and FACE-PLANTED into the little stream. We grabbed him too quick to snap a picture, but it was pretty funny. And completely ironic. Well, if the lectures didn't teach him, this little testing ground did:)

And then this little missie turned 3 months (over a month ago, I'm lame:)

I ran a 5k on July 4th. They had the race chip-timed for the first time this year and the event planners were pretty excited about it. Well, the company they hired completely botched it and everyone's times got messed up. They announced the "winners" and they went up there and told them that they saw people come in ahead of them. Stupid stupid. They told us all they would work it out and post our times soon on the Internet. Well, 3 weeks later I finally called them to see what was going on. They said, "Oh, you got second in your age division. We can mail you a ribbon if you want." Lame. Anyway, my time was 28:35. Not super-terrible, for my first 5k back. (Not super-great, either).

Ethan took a little ball class this summer where he learned to play soccer, baseball and football. It was way cute.

And take a look at this! My Little Ethan looks just like Jonathan Lipnicki from Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little.

Cassidy had been growing her hair out all year, but I had finally had enough! Watch it go...

tada! Aaah, much better. I don't do tangles.

And our biggest news on this post...

we got a DOG!!!

He is half-pug, half-pomeranian. He's a cute little guy, but oh my. Puppies poop everywhere.

Joel had always wanted a dog, so he is just thrilled.

A few weeks ago we went camping at Bear Lake with Gus (the puppy).

The campground we were at was so awesome. It had a pool, a super-fun park, tennis, mini golf, a game room...

...and these awesome bikes called a Surrey!

two people pedal and the kids sit in front! It was a little hard, but too hilarious to not try. Such fun.

And of course, we had to enjoy some famous Raspberry Shakes!

The lake part was the most un-fun and un-eventful part of the whole trip:)

Beautiful Bear Lake

Alex and Becca

2011-08-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Alex has a little friend named Becca who is just 5 weeks younger. I thought it would be a good idea to have them wear matching outfits and take pictures. I was wrong.

Becca was sad. The girls wouldn't even look at each other.
So we switched their places, which only helped for a few seconds.

Then Alex got hungry.

Maybe we'll try again in a few months:)

One word to describe NM: po-dunk

2011-07-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

My school sent me to a training in mid-July for the IB program (International Baccalaureate). It is a great program that gives students an international diploma they can use at universities around the world. Here in the states, an IB diploma often translates into 2 years of college credit, depending on the college. Anyway, they sent me to New Mexico to be trained.

I was not ready to leave my newborn, so Joel and Alexa tagged along for the ride. I had heard both good and bad stories about UWC, the location of the training. I had no expectations. The castle, where many of the classes were held was truly beautiful. But that's where the beauty stopped. I had never been to New Mexico, but wow is it ugly. I didn't see one single patch of alive grass anywhere. Not at the college, not in front of any houses, not even in the town's center by the shops. Just dirt and weeds.

They put us up in dorms, so Joel's bathroom was down the hall, and mine was upstairs! There was no AC, just a little fan we paid $5 to rent (and Joel BROKE it).
The college was set on the only hill in all of Montezuma and had a billion stairs up to the castle. Of course, they put baby and me in the LOWEST dorm building. So we trudged up these bad boys every day to get to class. Free weight loss is what they called it. And this is the last stair case. We were in B4, which was 4 buildings down from this little flight of stairs:
Poor Joel had to scale those stairs each time I had a break or lunch so I could feed the baby. But Alexa truly loved all the daddy-attention. And the attention of all 147 teachers attending the training, for that matter. She was the star of the show and everyone LOVED her. She hammed it up:)

Check out her sweet dimples:

The school did offer some "field trips" if you were willing to pay. But $30 each just to sit on a bus to Santa Fe with the baby didn't sound super-appealing. But one afternoon Joel and I decided to venture out to the nearby town of Las Vegas! Yes, it's really called Las Vegas, NM. It was a mere 6 miles away. We figured we could walk there in 2 hours or so and then take a taxi back.

It was hot. Really hot. We nearly died. There was only dirt and weeds to look at. We passed by a building that had a weird fence. "Honey, why does that fence have barbed wire on it?" I wondered aloud, after 1.5 hours walking. "Because it's a prison," was Joel's response. I didn't stop to snap a picture, I just got out of there as fast as I could!

Las Vegas was lovely. They had one stop light. And every once in a while, they even had a sidewalk:

Then, when we were just 2 blocks from our destination, it began to downpour! I am not sure which word would best describe it...monsoon or deluge...they both don't capture the extreme weather, just as this picture doesn't:

We did finally make it to the city center:

We shopped at the one clothing store, and then discovered that there is not one taxi in the entire city of Las Vegas. Thankfully, a helpful worker from the college came to get us.
The training wasn't all bad, despite the complaining above. In fact, the French IB training was very well done. Our presenter was fabulous, and for me, it was just nice to hear French all day for 5 days. It was a much needed boost to my language skills, which lately have consisted a lot of "Je m'appelle... Je voudrais... Ou est la bibliotheque?" Also, the food was all included and it wasn't half-bad.

The last night there the students who work there in the summer put on a program for us. This is the boys dancing to "Thriller":

After the program, there was a dance. Everyone was drinking and having a good time. Some of my co-workers who have been to this training told me that I had to stay for the dance, just to observe the hilarity of the drunken teachers going wild. Well, I have to say I was disappointed...because the wildest teacher out there was probably me. No, I wasn't drunk. I've never had a sip of alcohol in my life. But it all began with the Macarena. I was trying to sit back and watch like I had been told, but the teachers were doing it wrong. So I had to set them straight. And from there, it snowballed. I was suddenly the ring-leader, throwing out my best Zumba moves and having a great time. Man, I love to dance. Am I good at it? Certainly not, but neither were these teachers, so it was all good.
I have rambled on way too long, so I'll make the birthday part short. We were returning home on July 15, my birthday. My day began with class that morning, and then a 2 hour busride from Montezuma to the Albuquerque airport. The Le Bus bus was full, so we got to ride on the hot school bus, with everyone's windows rolled down and wind flyin' everywhere. We arrived at the airport at noon and our flight left at 5:30 p.m. so we "shopped" around at the airport and Joel bought me a present there. Then we flew home. Lamest birthday ever. Don't worry, Joel made up for it the next day by making me a Dutch Oven dinner. Yummm.

Oh yah, and on the way out of NM, our pilot said to look out the window at the huge NM fire:

crazy, huh?

Can you really spraypaint a fridge?

2011-07-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Long story short...yes you can:)

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Last year Joel was the sweetest husband ever and painted our cupboards white. I didn't realize what a task I was asking of him until it was too late. Holy cow, painting your cupboards is a big job. We had a black oven and a black dishwasher, and so with our tax refund this year we bought a black microwave. (We saved the rest, in case you were thinking that was one expensive microwave!) Now the only problem remaining was our ugly white fridge. But that's an expensive fix, to the tune of $800.

Then my friend gave me this link on how to spraypaint your fridge! For real. I just had to do it. Okay, I made Joel do it. But here is the before: Well, we had bought the supplies, and had everything ready to go. Joel started to push the fridge towards the deck, but it would NOT fit through the door! So he made this bubble in our kitchen, since the epoxy paint can get really nasty. It was quite the bubble.
Joel got SO covered in the spraypaint! Thank goodness for the bubble he made; our whole kitchen would have turned black. It was making the plastic rip and stick to his shoes and was much more difficult than we anticipated.

Thankfully Joel survived with only minor side effects:)

And voila! Sorry the lighting is bad in the pic. But I couldn't be happier. Joel is one amazing guy! Oh, and he re-hung the pot rack and moved the island to its new location. It feels like a new kitchen and I love it!

*just a note - if your fridge fits out the door, this project would be a LOT easier. Town-homers like us, good luck:)

It finally got warm!

2011-06-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Last week the kids and I rode FrontRunner down to the chalk art festival at the Gateway. It was really fun. The kids loved the train ride, of course. They got to draw with chalk in the kid-section: There were lots of fun chalk pictures, many of fun disney scenes:
And some were really amazing!

Cassidy saw Snow White and told her she would go visit her in Disneyland on her sixth birthday.

There was a witch telling stories:

And of course, to cool down the kids ran through the water fountains:

...or at least they considered it. Poor bubs.

Cassidy liked it, at least.

So while Cassidy got soaked, Ethan and I got in line at the KSL tent to get a raffle ticket. They gave him these SWEET glasses:

If you thought that looked geeky, take a look at Cassidy's modeling of the glasses:

Yep, I love my geeks!

And Baby Alexa slept through the whole thing like a dream, despite the heat! Best baby EVER. ...Did I mention she sleeps through the night? Really, we wake up around 6:30 a.m.

So then they started calling raffle numbers and we won a Harry Potter movie and some Chik-fil-A coupons. But a kid who won 3 xbox games wanted to trade! After making sure it was okay with his mom, we made the trade. The trade also included this:

That's Droobles, a Harry Potter gum that looks and feels like cotton candy. Sounds gross? Yep, it sure is. Seriously nasty stuff.
Once we had had our fun, the kids wanted some ice cream to cool off (since Ethan didn't cool off in the water, the little bum)

It really was a fun day!

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Cassidy recently went to a princess birthday party for her friend Daphne. She was pretty excited about it. They even had hairstylists come in to do the girls' hair.

That's really all I have to say about that, since I wasn't really there.

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Yesterday we went to Cowabunga Bay! Have you seen it from the freeway, down by Ikea? If not, look over next time you're on your way from SLC to Provo. It looks SO fun!

Before we delve into the photos of Cowabunga Bay, please allow me to list the pros and cons of the water park so you can make an informed decision. If you've been on the fence about going, hopefully this will tip you one way or the other.

The slides are pretty fun, but there are no tube-slides and I'm not a super-huge fan of smacking my butt and back every few feet on the junctions of the slides. It's not painful, just a tad annoying. They have no pools at the bottom of the slides, so you don't have to worry about your little ones drowning at the bottom of a slide, which is great. Although, there is a slight con to that for the ladies, as we often use that pool to...ahem...adjust ourselves before we emerge flawlessly from the water. I apologize to any bystanders who witnessed my lovely wedgy-adjusting:) Also, if you do go, make sure you not only check the temperature for the day, also check the WIND! Holy cow, it was way too windy to stand in line freezing wet. And there are little water-shooter-thingies all over the playset. So as you're standing in line freezing, there are little punk 12-year-olds squirting water at you. Not so fun. I'm sure all that water squirting you wouldn't be so bad on a calm, hot day. Quite genius, actually, since usually the problem is getting too hot waiting in line. Cassidy had fun on the smaller slides, but she was scared of the larger ones. My overall analysis of the park is that it is best-suited for children ages 7-12.

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Did you just skip over that big huge chunk of writing? I wouldn't blame you. If you missed the explanation, we went to Cowabunga Bay yesterday:

Ethan loved the pool. And only the pool. I liked it because he could touch the whole way across:)

Alexa hung out most of the time in here, just holding all our towels and stuff for us:

Then when it got a bit shady, she came out to lounge by the pool:

Then she got really brave and decided to try out the lazy river with us:

Alexa's first time in a swim suit:

She was much happier once returned to her little retreat:

It really was a pretty fun day.

Blessing Day

2011-06-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

Alexa's blessing was last Sunday, on June 5. It was a beautiful day and Joel did a great job. Alexa slept right through it and didn't make a peep.I paid a friend to crochet Alexa's dress and it turned out SO DARLING CUTE. My friend Celeste is amazingly crafty in every way; you should check out her blog. I took these photos myself with our cheap-o camera, so that's why they're not professional quality. But I thought they turned out pretty cute.

Oh my goodness! I really really love my baby girl.

What's Up?

2011-06-12T17:12:00.001-07:00

So I used to be fairly good at keeping the blog updated. I choose not to let myself feel guilty, though. This blog is supposed to be something I enjoy, not something I feel obligated to do. That's how I feel about things like scrapbooking. I was in the mood to scrapbook (and had the time) a lot when Cassidy was small. And she has a bunch of scrapbooks dedicated just to her (nine, to be exact). Ethan has two, and I feel like that's plenty. And now it's probably time to embrace the idea of just a "family" scrapbook and so that is what Alexa will have. Oh well; we love her just the same!

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So this post is updating you on what you've missed:

First up, Alexa fits (or should I say "used to fit") in Cassidy's dolly bed! Cassidy had her dance recital in May and did VERY well! It was her best performance by far.

She also graduated kindergarten:

I had to go back for 2 days of work, which was so silly! So I just brought Baby Alexa with me. No kids showed up to class besides asking for yearbook signatures, so it wasn't a problem. (Don't worry, I know it's a public blog. My principal was in on the action:)

Alexa has been smiling more and is so close to laughing! We keep trying everything to get that little giggle out.

And Baby Alexa turned 2 months! She is big and healthy.

Now that summer's here (at least the school calendar says so), the kids are in swim lessons. Ethan (in yellow, schmoozing over the cutie on his right) went to class and we realized that his teacher was my French student! Cassidy is also next to a kid in yellow. We were excited that their swim lessons were side-by-side, so I can watch them both. The kids love swim lessons and were counting down the days until they began!

Joel is such a sweetheart and worked for a full day sanding and staining our deck last week. Then, when he was nearly finished, he stood up to stretch, leaned back against our window and "crack!" The window cracked in a spiderweb-like fashion. Of course I was frustrated, but I felt so bad for the guy. What a reward for all his hard work.

At least the deck looks good!

Sweet Deals!

2011-06-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

I discovered a new store yesterday called Once Upon A Child. They are very similar to a Kid 2 Kid, with good-condition used children's clothing, toys, furniture, etc. A friend told me about them, that they were having a 70% off sale until 1 pm. It was already past 11:30, so I headed straight there. They have so much stuff! The aisles were packed, so I just grabbed what I could that looked cute and jumped in line before 1. The line was an hour wait, but I scored some really awesome stuff! I bought 38 items of clothes and spent $61.70! That's an average of $1.62 per item of clothing. I saved over $135.I snagged some cute back-to-school stuff for Cassidy, and of course a bunch of cute baby stuff:) I even found some cute stuff for Ethan for church.
Some of the items were brand new! I got these 2 cute dresses and 1 overall for Alexa. The orange dress had an original tag of $22 and I snagged it for $2.85, the Osh Kosh overalls' tag said $28 and they were only $2.50 and my favorite, the purple knit dress was tagged $34.75 and I got it for $3!

And I have been searching for a nice glider rocker for some time now. I found one there! It's microfiber and looks brand new. I had been looking mainly at yucky used ones on KSL, so this nice-looking one for a good deal was a welcome surprise.

I normally don't post about deals, but I was on such a shopping high when I got home! I love me some great deals.

I hate vegetables

2011-06-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

Warning--This post is very grumpy and probably belongs in a personal journal. Feel free to skip it!

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I hate vegetables. There, I said it. I hate them. I pretend to like carrots, broccoli and corn, but even those don't excite my tastebuds. I really should eat healthier and would love to be skinnier, so I have been trying to eat more fruit. But we have a problem there, as well. I am allergic to WAY too many fruits! The only one I can think of that I have never had a reaction to is bananas. And let's face it--they have the shelf-life of like a day.
Now I'm not saying I need an epi-pen everytime I eat an apple, but the reactions vary from itchy lips and throat with peaches, extreme sore throats with too much melon (all melons), to itchy, puffy eyes when I touch my eyes after eating many fruits-apples, peaches, pears, grapes, melon...the list goes on. I know, I know. Don't touch your eyes. Easier said than done. *Yes, I have heard that it may be the chemicals or pesticides they spray the fruits with. But that doesn't explain the melon, PLUS I'm way too cheap to go organic.
Anyway, this is all just another excuse. I should eat healthier. Lately I have been VERY upset with the scale. I have been being careful with what and when I eat (like not eating after 9 pm), exercising daily...but there are quite a few pounds that just won't move. Please, don't comment on here about how I look, I'm not looking for affirmation. I just need to vent. I know I should just be happy with the size I am, especially sine I just had a baby. I admit, I'm not huge. But it would be nice to see the scale move down, rather than up. Seriously, it has gone up more often recently than down. Stupid scale.
And do you know what makes me really mad? I have been jogging for a while now, and I am still slower than mud. I don't blame the effort, I blame the weight. It's like I'm wearing a backpack of the pregnancy weight I put on and it slows me down! So if I could lose the weight, I could run faster. But perhaps if I could run faster, I would lose the weight. Grrrrr. I had my 5k time down to 26 minutes last year. I know that's not great, but it was great for me. And I had great intentions of hopping right back into it this year. I think I may be lucky to come out with a time of 35 minutes at the 4th of July 5k.
The food thing is really hard for me, too. I really am a fat girl inside. I rarely ever truly feel full. Even after a full meal. I can eat more than half of a large pizza by myself...actually, I could probably eat the whole thing if I didn't stop myself. I always have to stop myself eating. Someone who doesn't get full shouldn't get hungry, right? Like their stomach has no feeling? Wrong. I am the hungriest person I know. It doesn't seem fair.
Wow, actually writing this down is making me realize what a spoiled brat I am. Waaa, I had a baby 2 months ago and I'm not super-thin and fast. I am lame, so I apologize. Perhaps I should hide this in my journal and not broadcast it on the Internet. Oh well, too late. Sorry!
*Let me warn you--I don't enjoy advice. I'm WAY too picky of an eater and too lazy of a cook to take any food advice. I promise, it will just make me feel guilty for what I don't & won't do. I really just needed to vent.

Happiness in Family Life...

2011-05-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, time is flying by so fast. Baby Alexa is already over a month old. She is starting to smile in response to us, but it's not super-consistent yet. Besides that, it's just eat, sleep and poop. And look super-cute while doin' it!

This pic was when she was almost 2 weeks:

I love the way her hair curls after a bath (it only lasts about 5 seconds):
And our biggest news lately: Ethan is potty-training! He is doing pretty well. This is him, after he earned enough potty stickers to go to Hollywood Connection. He only smiled like this BEFORE the ride took off. He hated the "dragon monor-coaster". But he enjoyed the other rides.

I bought these matching pillowcase dresses on Etsy for the girls to match for Easter:

And Ethan got a new suit:

hehehe, I love my little bundle:)

Alexa's first outing in the "train", as the kids call it. I bought that trailer like 2 years ago, with this intent...who knew it would take so long to fill the back seat? People comment on it wherever we go, though. I love my wagon.

One month old:

aaawwww

If you know me very well, you know that one of my favorite favorite things is the Tulips at Temple Square. If I were Oprah and had a "favorite things" episode, these might just be number one:

If only they could always be sweet like this:

Yay for warm weather, FINALLY! The kids have been outside all day every day this week. Let's hope it stays...

My April Fools Baby

2011-04-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

These first two pictures are of Alexa today, 5 days old. Isn't she so sweet? She looks just like Cassidy to me. But please, allow me to start from the beginning. I love being induced. I see no reason to go through the worry, anticipation, and most of all, the waiting to go into labor. I prefer to have it all planned out. My bags are packed, my house is clean, my husband has taken the time off work, the children have babysitters...and again, I don't have to wait. My doctor said I could be induced 7 days early, which happened to put Alexa's birthday on April Fools Day. Fun fun. Some people told me it was a terrible idea, that she would come out a boy or something. We went ahead with the induction date anyway.

I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 7:00 a.m. that morning and thought for sure I would have a baby by early afternoon. Well, the April Fools jokes began early, because as I was showering at 5:45 that morning, the hospital called and told me they were really busy and would need to push back my induction. Great. Then when I got to the hospital, they were out of Pitocin. Really? A Labor/Delivery ward out of Pitocin? That's just sad. I finally got started at NOON. The epidural didn't work quite right, labor was taking FOREVER, they had to keep increasing my Pitocin, the list went on.

Finally, it was time to push this baby out. I heard someone say that her cord was wrapped around her neck 3 times, so I started crying. My doctor kept telling me to push, but I couldn't, because I thought she was dead. I just kept crying. But they finally convinced me and we got her out.

Baby Alexa was born at 8:35 p.m. and weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz. We were very excited. She was healthy as could be, so apparently the cord around her neck was just another of nature's April Fools Jokes on Mommy.

No delivery story is complete without the "lovely" first Mom and Baby photo, messy hair and all: First Bath:Cassidy and Ethan were so funny when they met Baby Alex the next day. Ethan stood in the corner for a few minutes and wouldn't go anywhere near her. They both warmed up after a few minutes and couldn't stop stroking her hair.Baby Alexa's first time in clothes:When I bought these little jammies, I thought there was no way she would ever fit into them. But I brought them to the hospital, just in case she was tiny. So far they are the only thing I have found that truly fits her tiny body.The other day she soiled through an outfit, so I sent Daddy upstairs to change her. I assumed he would bring her back in jammies, but he came down the stairs and said, "Look, it's her first time wearing a dress." What a cute hubby I have. He is SO in love with Alexa. I just thought this was sweet, my little family hangin' out:Ethan found the camera and took this of his face:Ethan fell asleep on the couch yesterday, so we took a picture. Then we thought, hmm...he can't hurt her when he's sleeping, right? So we stuck Alexa on him:

Baby Alexa is happy, healthy, and adorable as can be.

And the rest of us are just trying to catch our Zzz's when we can!

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p.s. if you thought these pictures were cute, please continue on to the next post. Cutest pictures EVER.

Alexa's 1st Photo Shoot

2011-04-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

Baby Alexa had her first photo shoot right there in the hospital, when she was one day old. The photographer was excellent. So much improved from those awful blue and pink splotchy background pictures we've all grown accustomed to. Those of you who are worried about copyright laws, fear not. We purchased the cd, and with it came the copyright release:)

The rest of this post needs no explanation, so enjoy:

There are many more photos, but blogger is struggling to handle these photos, since they are much larger files than photos I take with my own camera. I gave up on uploading, and I figured you would get the point by now: Alexa is VERY cute.

Alexa's Room

2011-03-22T12:33:00.001-07:00

Cassidy gets to share her room with Alexa, and she is super-excited about it. She recently just moved into her big-girl bed and I cried. Yes, I know she's 5 1/2, but still, she was my first baby and she's getting so big! We've gone with a butterfly theme in the girls' room:
I am particulary proud of Alexa's baby mobile. I took an old junky mobile and made this:
Cassidy's bed, dresser and the changing table were all white, so I had Joel paint the crib for me to match. I love how it turned out, but I feel terrible, because I didn't realize what a huge project it would become until it was already too late. Let's hope I don't change my mind on the crib color for the next baby...

My sisters and mom helped me make Alexa's butterfly quilt:

Then I made a matching changing pad cover for the changing table. I also made these bow hangers to hang above, and love how they turned out:

That's the whole tour of the girls' room. Lots of butterflies, lots of pink, and not much space. Such is life. At least it all fits (barely).

Ethan's twin dog

2011-03-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

Ethan got a lot of stuff for his birthday, but this is MY favorite thing he got:

A new outfit for his Build-A-Bear dog that matches his clothes, even down to the glasses!

Hehehehe!

Ethan's train party

2011-03-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ethan LOVES trains. For his birthday, he just wanted trains. So that's exactly what he got: Talk about a spoiled baby boy. Too many trains!

In case getting a truckload of trains wasn't enough, we decided to let him have a "train" party. He was VERY excited on the way to his train party:
His train party was really on the train! (FrontRunner, that is):

Coloring Thomas Train pictures:

Then we climbed on the old trains at Union Station:

My little train conductor:

Opening presents on the train:

Then he came home and blew out his candles:

It was a fun-filled day!

La Caille

2011-03-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

I took my French students to La Caille on March 2. It was pretty fun. Only problem was the paths around the gardens were NOT SHOVELED. Prego Cindy slipped down the stairs. But the food was outstanding, and I was super-brave and gulped down my snail like a good French Teacher. That thing was really ugly-looking, and...we won't even talk about the texture. I digress. All in all, it was a good experience. I hadn't been to La Caille since I was in eighth grade, so I was nervous. But it went very well. I guess this means we can go next year, too:)

Cassidy and Ethan go to the "ball"

2011-02-13T12:45:00.000-08:00

I got asked to help chaperone the Valentine Dance at my school, so I decided to bring the kids along to make it more fun. Cassidy was looking forward to the "ball" for a long time. My date was Daddy and her date (aka Prince) was Ethan. I ended up taking tickets which wasn't much fun, but the kids had a good time inside dancing around while Daddy recorded them and took pictures. Plus, the photographers took a free photo of the kids for me, so I hope that turns out! Anyway, here's some pictures. I put the video on facebook rather than here, since for some reason, facebook handles my flip video camera much better than blogger does. Hopefully blogger gets with the program soon.

prego pics

2011-02-12T10:39:00.000-08:00

I am now nearly 7 1/2 months along with Baby Girl Alexa! Woohoo! It's hard for me to post these pictures of my chubby self and not cringe. But I'm sure I'll appreciate them someday (like when I'm skinny again:) Anyway, here they are:

Cassidy actually took that one of Joel and me all by herself!

Cassidy also took this hand "heart" one:

Cassidy and Ethan's Workout Video

2011-01-24T20:32:00.000-08:00

flip video

2011-01-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

This video is lame, but I am just testing out our new flip camera and how it loads onto the Internet. I plan on using it a bunch in French class with dialogs, as well as to take lots of video of baby Alexa!

Our Lame-cation

2010-12-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

We've all heard the term "stay-cation" over and over, which implies that one stays home, while having the fun of a vacation. This was almost that. Does it count as a vacation if you are only 25 minutes from home? We got a last-minute deal on a condo in Eden, so off we went...

...or so we thought. The stupid place we were going to turned out to be at the tippity top of mount Crumpit, which only snowmobiles, 4-wheel drive cars and chains could get to. So slap on some chains, you say? Easier said than done. I was supposed to work 3 times that week (I couldn't get it off, so that's why we chose someplace close) and I REFUSED to take chains on and off my tires each morning at 6:15. So we ended up in a hotel that night in good ol' Ogden. No pool, like the condo we were supposed to go to, so we improvised:
The bright side of this dilemma was that our hotel was across the street from the Ogden window lights.
The snow made everything so gorgeous that weekend!

The view from our 6th floor in the hotel:

The end of the condo story is that they put us in Wolf Creek, which is seven miles down Mount Crumpit from the original condo. Much better, with plowed roads and everything! (still no swimming pool:(

So we went sledding in the plethora of snow:

I am sad while I type this, as right now there is NO snow to be seen ANYWHERE!

Ethan wasn't too thrilled at first:

We sled all the way down the canyon to see this big guy:

(okay, that's not true, but we did go see Santa)

And then we went sledding some more:

They were so cute pulling the sleds up the hill!

Ethan was very brave and rode on Daddy

We decided we hadn't packed our suits for nothin' so we went swimming at a local pool. Somehow when we got there, we realized no one had packed Ethan's swimsuit. So he just had to wear a swim diaper and the plastic pants. He didn't mind.

That is the end of our Lame-cation. Lame that we were close to home, lame that I had to work 3 times out of a 7 day vacation. But Joel had taken the days off work, and we were NOT going to let them go to waste!

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In other news, Cassidy had her dance recital yesterday and did a good job, I think. It was hard to tell, because she was in the back and we had a bad angle and kept having a hard time finding her. But she looked dang cute!

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Oh yah, and Baby is a girl. ETA: April 8, 2011

Her name is probably ALEXA

CORNBELLY'S! The other happiest place on earth

2010-10-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ever since Cassidy has been in school, Ethan has been sacking out everywhere, out of boredom: Poor thing
For Joel's birthday we went rock climbing in Sandy.
Joel is a better climber than I am.

This is the bouldering cave. Joel is really upside down, although he didn't stay that way for long before falling back down.

me, too.

my awesome friend made these adorable matching skirts for Cassidy and me:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

Go check them out on etsy.com. Her name is sewitseamsbyme.

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CORNBELLY'S!!!

I know there are many cornmazes out there, but Cornbelly's is BY FAR the best of the best! They have a few cornmazes (which are impossible to get out of, by the way...we totally had to cheat.) Anyway, they have SO MUCH to do besides the corn mazes!

Here is the jumping thingie:

Lots of awesome slides:

fun trains to climb on:

The classic cow train:

Big chair:

fun little houses to play in:

pumpkin princess:

little train:

tractor go-cart races:

and a sandbox full of corn (cornbox):

These pictures don't even begin to show the fun that was had at the cornmaze! Things we did that are not pictured: Hayride, hay mazes, duck races, pig shows, big swings, haunted maze (okay, we didn't do the haunted maze, but we thought about it). The only problem is that Cornbelly's is at Point of the Mountain, so it took over an hour to get there! But it was totally worth it. If I lived there, I would SO get a season pass!

first day of school...long overdue!

2010-10-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

For Cassidy's birthday in August she got a new bike and helmet, so we decided to get Ethan a helmet, too, since he FLIES down our little slanted street on his little push bike. His first time wearing the helmet, he turfed really bad and did a somersault. His helmet saved him.Cassidy loves her new bike.
Their helmets are the same size, and Ethan's fits tighter. hmm...

Silly kids

pretending to sleep

Cassidy's first day of kindergarten:

I so would have cried if I was there, but I had to work. So Joel took these pictures:(

She loves taking the bus. But Ethan thinks she rides it around all day, and then comes home. If I tell him that Cassidy is at school, he says, "no, Cassidy a school bus."

Cassidy and Bailee

Ethan gets really bored without Cassidy around. He climbed in the ottoman and told me he was sleeping. He was only pretending. Then 2 minutes later I looked again, and he was out for real.

So cute!

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I should probably update on all the Kieper happenings, since I haven't posted since August. School is going well. I only teach every other day, and I can't tell you how nice that is! I feel so spoiled. The High School students aren't quite as energetic but I'm getting used to it. I do miss my crazy, always-volunteering jr. high kids.

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We had a Chinese Teacher move into our house for the school year. She rents a room downstairs. It's been pretty great. She enjoys spending time with the children and teaching them some Chinese, but also keeps to herself a lot. So I don't feel like my space is totally gone. We have enjoyed taking her places, especially the fair. I think the fair is the most funny and perfect place to experience American Culture. She was in shock.

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If you didn't gather from the last post, we are expecting baby #3! The due date is April 8. Gender is still unknown, but the doc says we'll probably figure it out next time, so in about 2 weeks. We're thinking the baby is a giant baby boy (because the baby measured large at the last appt.), but we'll keep you posted!

Announcing...

2010-09-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

busy busy birthday

2010-07-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

I promised many many pictures of our adventures this week, so here they come! We had gone to visitsaltlake.com and bought the 2-day connect pass, and it came with a third day free. So for three days, we did everything we could: Discovery Gateway, Clark Planetarium, the Lion House for lunch, This is the Place park, Hogle Zoo, Snowbird, Living Planet Aquarium and Thanksgiving point (the ancient life museum). The connect pass is an awesome deal, even without the Lion House lunch. Factor that in, and it's a steal! mmm mmm good.

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Discovery gateway had some way cute things to do (but still not better than the Treehouse museum)
We rushed over to the Clark Planetarium to catch the 2 movies that were included: iMax Under the Sea 3d and Invasion of the Space Pirates. The iMax movie was really neat, and the space pirates one...was all info and no movie, despite its catchy title. Don't waste your time. We left early. The kids liked the displays at the planetarium:Lesson learned: this is what happens when you make silly faces at your kids so they will smile for a picture:

After the movies, we went back to Discovery Gateway to have more fun. This simple fan with a tube around it kept us entertained for a long time, blowing these coffee filters:
They have a helicopter outside, which is cool:

This is the Place park is my FAVORITE! The kids really enjoyed the big train:

and the little train, too:

The kids got to ride ponies:

Ethan won't go down a slide at the park, but he'll hop on a pony, no problem:

and pet animals, too...I still don't understand the slide thing.

Hogle Zoo:

Do you see baby elephant Zuri back there? So cute!

It was really hot at the zoo, so we mainly just visited the highlights. We did see a bird show that was really neat. The kids enjoyed the kiddie play-area and pretending to be gophers:

After we left the zoo, we headed up to Snowbird for some cooler temps. We rode the tram up to the top and it felt SO nice up there! Aaah, the reprieve from the heat. We hiked down to the nearest chair lift (or "big swing", as Cassidy calls it) and rode it down.

And then we splurged and paid to go down the Alpine Slide (not included with the connect pass). The kids LOVED LOVED LOVED it! Again, I don't understand why Ethan refuses to go down the slide at the playground. He went FAST and wanted to do it again!

Then we walked over to the new ropes course just to see if we wanted to do it sometime, and they let us do it for free! It was very high and Cassidy was very brave.

On Day 3, we went to the Living Planet Aquarium. I was very impressed, although the "Utah" section was a little cheesy, showing kids what they eat for dinner after their parents go fishing.

Again, leave it to Cass to ruin a perfectly good photo. She did that on purpose:

Then we rushed to the ancient life museum at Thanksgiving Point.

The kids really enjoyed playing with the water. I felt badly that we had to rush home, but Joel only asked off 2 days of work and had to work at 3.

We were so wiped after 3 days of go-go-going, so we came home and crashed for 3 hours! But we had so much fun these past few days, it was well-worth it!

Best Birthday Ever!

(did I mention that Joel spoiled me with balloons, breakfast, and a bunch of gifts? He's the best.)

Summer Fun

2010-07-16T16:37:00.001-07:00

We have been having lots of fun this summer. Last week we took the kids to the Treehouse museum, and they LOVED it. And now that we've finally been to the Discovery Gateway, I'm sorry to say, Treehouse wins. if Ethan gets any cuter, I might just die.

Joel ran in the 4th of July 5k with me again this year, and pushed the kids! He's a tough one. At least he didn't beat me this time!

I was very proud of my 3rd place ribbon

(in my age division, not overall:)

Cassidy has been in 3 parades, and it's so cute! But after the last parade she asked, "Can I be done with parades?" So I think I'll let her watch the next one and catch candy with Ethan.

We went hiking last week with my friend Mary and her little guy was so cute in the backpack!

this makes me laugh:

Cassidy does this for photos ALL the time and it drives me crazy! Look what a perfect picture it would have been! Stinker.

Why a toilet, you might ask?

Cassidy found my camera and took lots of pictures like the toilet, and this one:

gotta love her.

birthday week and teaching news

2010-07-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

Summer has been really fun, going to Vegas, barbecues, Lagoon, swimming...and this week for my birthday we have decided to do the SLC connect pass. By doing 2 days, we get the third day free, so we're going to try and do it all: discovery gateway, clark planetarium, Lion House for lunch, This is the Place park (my personal FAVORITE), Hogle Zoo, Living Planet Aquarium and Thanksgiving Point. Okay, that's not really ALL that's included with the pass (there's lots more), but it seems like a lot to me! I'm very excited, and I'm sure many photos are to come from those adventures.

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I have been running more 5k races, and have improved my time once again. I actually got third in my age division in the 5k on the 3rd, so we'll see if I can beat that time. My time was 26:30 and my new goal is 26 flat.

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But my BIG news for now is that I got a teaching job. I will be teaching French at the local high school (sorry, public blog). It was a hard decision, because my old job at the junior high wanted me back. And I miss that job a lot, so I was very tempted. But the schedule at the High School will be much better for my family, since I will only be working every other day (A/B day schedule:). I had my interview with the High School this morning, and they called an hour later to offer me the job. Say yay!

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Ooh, and can I brag about an awesome date I went on the other night? We had gotten some fun date stuff from our ward auction, so after a fun family day swimming at the surf-n-swim, we used the free babysitting pass and headed out on the town. We went to Boston's for dinner, played laser tag (I got creamed, and I'm pretty sure the guy running it even shot Joel a couple times for me), then we went to a Colors concert in the park, and then rented a movie afterwards. It was SO much fun! I still love Colors, and am so sad they have parted ways. But it was fun to see them together again, even just for one night. I heard they're doing a real reunion concert on Sept. 11, so in case you're interested, I'm sure you could google it. Anyway, I had a fun fun date with my cute cute hubby.

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Sorry, random post, I know...

green light

2010-06-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

I officially have the green light from a {new} doctor. Is this really news? probably not. But I'm excited. Soon soon...

It's what fun is!

2010-06-14T11:04:00.001-07:00

We went to Lagoon last Thursday with our friend Marianne (whose husband's name is also Joel and works at the Olive Garden, as well. Unfortunately, he couldn't come). Anyway, we had so much fun! I never did grow out of loving Lagoon. These pictures loaded backwards, but it shouldn't really matter to you. This whale ride has got to be the cutest thing ever:
Cassidy loved the "scary" rides, like the egg drop, and her favorite was the Bat!
It started to hail on us, and then it rained really hard and we were freezing...but we stuck it out, anyway! Those are Marianne's two cute kiddos with Cassidy and Ethan:

the train...Ethan loves all trains:

Cassidy always preferred Marianne's family:

Cassidy and her friend Noah were SO cute together! They were holding hands, tickling each other, hugging each other...they reminded me of myself as a dating teenager! If they end up together someday, they will have a GREAT story to tell!

Ethan was afraid of the huge ferris wheel, but I enjoyed the free snuggles:

I shouldn't say we really toughed it out, because we did go home to get warm, dry clothes on after a while. But we came back for more fun. It was a blast!

pre-school graduation

2010-06-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

I have previously mentioned her pre-school graduation, but here are the pics:
Mrs. Banu

Cassidy is all done with pre-school and is signed up for kindergarten! So crazy! She has been learning to read and gets a sticker on her chart each time she "plays school," which is doing hooked on phonics. She is working towards getting a new fairy movie. It has been less than a week, and she can already read at words (sat, cat, bat), an words, ap words, ag words and ig words. Harvard, here we come!

*Oh yah, if you missed her dance post, go see it below. She is ADORABLE!!!

crafty day

2010-06-14T10:34:00.001-07:00

I was feeling pretty crafty the other day, so I ran to the DI and got some used frames.

Actually, I had been inspired last Wednesday when we made this whiteboard (glassboard, really) at our Relief Society Activity:

I got some extra vinyl letters, because they were the wrong size at first. So the other day I made this extra one. Watch out...next birthday or wedding, you're getting a to-do list:

I found a nicely framed The Living Christ, but I already have one framed out with pictures of Christ, so I stuck in a proclamation and painted the frame black:
These next ones are my favorites. I found some crafty wooden frames and used mod-podge to glue on scrapbook paper. Then I painted the edges and added some ribbon, and our engagement photo. I LOVE how it turned out and it matches our room so perfectly!

This was the true reason for my DI excursion. I needed something to hang my necklaces on so they won't get tangled in my jewelry box anymore. Again, it's scrapbook paper mod-podged to a frame, with a mirror in the middle. I added some ribbon again, 3 nails, and voila! I'm so proud of it! I haven't had such a crafty day in a long time! So, here's my question: is it good as is, or would it be cuter if I got some white vinyl lettering down the side that says "Jewels" or something? Let me know...

This last one I did a couple months ago, but I figured it couldn't hurt to include it in my crafty post. It's in Cassidy's room and holds all her bows. So cute, but I didn't realize how fast it would fill up! I need longer ribbons.

hehe; I love crafting!

My so-called life

2010-05-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

I couldn't think of a good title for this post, so please ignore the fact that I'm sure this post has no similarities to the 90s show.

updates:

*Cassidy graduated from preschool last Friday and her class sang some songs. I can't believe that my little baby girl will be going to kindergarten in the fall. It freaks me out.

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*I got a new calling that I'm seriously freaked out about, but I will tell you what it is next week after it's official.

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*I might apply to be a French teacher again, this time at a High School. Okay, "might" is not quite strong enough. Probably, most likely, yah, pretty much for sure...

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*the kids got a new playset for the backyard, and it is WONDERFUL. I can send them out there and they play and play. When the kids were playing outside before, it always had to be out front, so they could ride bikes or something. And I don't let them out front without me. The new playset has really changed my life.

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Memorial Day:

*I ran a 5k today and got a Personal Record! (27:30) Hooray! Now I want to get down near 8 minute miles, so I can get my time to 26 minutes.

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*We took the kids shopping and to the park for lunch today. Always fun.

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*I walked the kids to the store for some ice cream cones and to rent a movie. It has been a pretty fun Memorial Day, despite the fact that Joel's at work :(

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Sorry there's no pictures in this post. At least I posted, right?

Cassidy's Spring Dance Recital

2010-05-31T16:42:00.000-07:00

Cassidy's dance recital was last Thursday and it was so cute! She was very excited to show off her dances on the "big big stage".

She had 2 dances: the Rainbow Song, sung by Kermit the Frog, and "the monkey one". (I don't really know the names). She did really well!Her friend Connor brought her some flowers. It was the cutest thing EVER!
Here is one of her dances. The quality is really poor, because I took this with my camera. Joel took better videos with our video camera, but they are too hard to upload to the blog. Cassidy is second from YOUR right (for most of the dance).

i live for vacations

2010-05-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

This picture really sums it all up: fun in the sun, yet relaxing all at the same time:)...but if you want to hear/see all the details of our trip, continue on below

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Our family went to Las Vegas last week. We got an awesome deal to stay at a condo for a week, so off we went!We met up with my cousin Natalie while we were there, and she took us hiking at Red Rock. The kids loved it, and Cassidy really liked meeting her cousin Joshua. I'm holding her little girl Avery in the picture; she's so tiny and cute! And Natalie's new baby (not pictured) is to die for. I want a baby girl.

This picture makes me laugh; each and every one of them are pulling a funny face:

They had a way cool visitor's center at Red Rock.

Our condo had a nice pool with a beach, and a lazy river!

We met up with some friends we met on our cruise who live in Vegas. They took us out on their boat.

I tried wakeboarding for my first time, and got up on my first try!

Joel got up, too. It was a good day. Thanks, Sabrina and Jason!

MnM factory:

Cassidy was in heaven

We took the kids to the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. It was so cool!

Ethan kept saying there were "scary fish"

Cindy and Joel in the human tank:

(the tank went up and over your heads in an arch, so you could see the fish all over)

I made Cassidy touch a stingray. You would have thought I killed her. She did NOT like it.

The kids liked the gardens at the Bellagio:

but then they fell asleep and missed the water show:

Joel had never seen it before

We sat through one of those "2-hour" presentations that turned into 3 1/2, just to get tickets to the Tournament of Kings. It (the tournament) was really cool, but those condo people can be pushy.

I won that mug I'm holding below by making the top 10 in the laser quest. Basically, you go in a room with security lasers all around, and try and get through them without touching them. It was a really cool game, and if it didn't cost $5 each time, I would have liked to see if I could do better.

We went to the Adventurdome at Circus Circus and the kids loved the rides:

They had a 4-d Sponge Bob Movie

This is Aria, a new casino at City Center:

It was a good trip, and a terrible drive home (Cassidy puked)...but it is nice to be home for a couple days, until we go to the cabin with my family. We're not even putting the suitcases away:)

dippin' dots and much more

2010-04-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

I should really post on this blog more often, since my scrapbooking has slowed down lately. So here are many pictures of my busy children:

We bought Ethan in a big boy bed in February and he took it like a champ! He was super-excited about it, and slept in it with little trouble the very first night!
There was a "free" day on Frontrunner in Feb, so we hopped on board, and checked out some old trains at the Ogden station. My kids LOVE trains. A train passes by our house every half-hour or so and Ethan announces their passing EVERY time.

Ethan's birthday was in March and he did a pretty good job this time opening presents (with big sister's help, of course).

He received mostly books and movies, but he got these awesome trucks that can ride over anything. They're pretty sweet.

And of course, his favorite present was going to the pet store to get a 13 cent goldfish named Nemo. Cassidy also got a fish and named her Dori.

Instead of a big party, we celebrated at the Treehouse museum with Michael, Ethan's friend who is 5 days older. It was a double celebration:)

The music room is definitely my favorite.

The kids played school

and drove the fire truck

This picture may not look amazing, but it took like 15 tries to make them both look. Thank goodness for digital.

We came home afterwards for birthday cake for the boys. Michael wasted Ethan in blowing out the candles.Ethan dove head-first into his cake.

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Ethan is admiring his fish. We have caught him spitting in the bowl, and even scooping out water and drinking it. The poor fish.

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Cassidy got her first book of Mormon a few weeks ago; she actually really wanted one to bring to primary. She loves showing it off. When we first handed it to her, she opened it and said, "We believe dat men will be punished for day own sans..."

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We have been enjoying warmer weather (until just recently) and have been on a few bike rides. Don't be fooled by my smile; pulling those two kids is SO hard!

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Mustache March. Need I say more?

I'm so glad it's April now!

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And last, but not least, my latest find:

dippin' dots

fresh from my front yard.

That storm was a doozey!

2 CUTE!

2010-03-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

Ethan turns two years old this week, so we took him to the fine photography studio at Target (pronounced Tar-jhay) today to get his pictures done. He didn't smile much, so we captured many "thinking" poses.

No, I did not steal these photos...they are low resolution from the website, and thus unprintableHe did smile when Mommy and Daddy joined in on the fun.
My baby is two! It makes me want to cry.

hehehe! His little tongue is so classic Ethan!

*most of the pics have no glasses because it was a chore and a half to avoid the glare.

Oh my goodness; we love our baby boy!

Rocket Ship

2010-01-25T15:26:00.000-08:00

Joel and I took a little cruise to Mexico last week while the kids stayed home with Joel's brother and sister-in-law. It was fantastic. Don't be afraid by the long post...it's long in photos, but short on words:) It was a bit overcast as we left L.A.

and it started to rain as we pulled out.

lame, I know, but the "king of the world" pose is always a must:

(the wind really was holding us up)

first formal night:

Cabo San Lucas shopping mall:

We also went kayaking and snorkeling in Cabo, and it was SO amazing! But those pics are on our disposable waterproof camera...I'll post them later.

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This was our taxi in Mazatlan. Those drivers are crazy! There wasn't even a speedometer in the taxi. Good times.

The ship had a rock-climbing wall

midnight buffet/dance party:

Their ice and melon sculptures were amazing.

Puerto Vallarta was our favorite:

Joel took this one by himself, and captured the two of us as well as the "Puerta Vallarta" sign on his very first try. Way to go Joel!

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We took a 1/2 hr. boatride out to the jungle, rode a military-looking truck through the jungle, rode mules up the mountain, then hiked a ways. Then we rode ziplines, repelled through some waterfalls, and climbed across some rope bridges to get to the bottom. It was the most beautiful, amazing, exhilirating thing I've ever done in my life. To say the least.

arch we saw on the boatride:

Then we decided to eat some authentic mexican food rather than head back to the ship. Our table overlooked the ocean:

I wanted to capture some pictures near the crashing waves, but I wanted to stay dry. It was quite the task, and I kept running away.

I wish we had video of me bookin' it away from this one:

Puerto Vallarta sunset on the beach:

second formal night:

We sat at a table with Sabrina and Jason, who are from Las Vegas...and happen to be LDS. There were quite a few of us on the ship! They were lots of fun.

In summary, it was an amazing trip. The days at sea were pretty rough and cold, but the Mexican ports more than made up for it. There were a lot of singing and dancing performances on board, some funny game shows and comedians, I entered in a biceps contest (and lost miserably) and Joel was a judge and nearly got a lap dance from an old lady. And he gave HER the prize! I digress. My favorite ship entertainment was definitely the ice skating. The show was spectacular! You would never guess we were on a moving ship. And of course, the food was amazing and plentiful.

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We bought this shirt for Ethan in Mazatlan and were very proud of it:

It's a monkey with a flap over its mouth

and it says "raar" (according to Ethan).

and we brought Cassidy a little Mexican dress.

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There's nothing like a good week away from your kids to realize how much you really love them. We missed them like crazy and are happy to be home. Thanks, Ken and Lauren, for taking the kids for us! You deserve a medal of honor.

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Oh, and it turns out Cassidy thought we were on a "Rocket Ship," since she had never heard of one before. Hence, the name of the post.

If you want the good news, skip to the end:)

2010-01-03T21:52:00.000-08:00

Beware: extreme complaining below. If you are experiencing any sign of the winter-blues, please skip to the happy parts at the bottom!

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The year 2009 was definitely a trying year, especially as far as medical troubles (and bills). Ethan started off the expensive year with his torticollis (his head was cocked to one side). He had to go to physical therapy for a while to get it fixed. Then, not too long after, he got bit by a spider (so we believe) and nearly lost his toe. That was a pretty pricey ER visit. Then Cassidy decided to flip off the couch onto our window-sill and gashed her forehead open. That was 7 stitches at the ER. Then we realized Ethan needed glasses, and he is not on our vision insurance. Plus, you can't just send a baby to America's Best for an eye exam. He had to see the ophtalmologist. Ouch.

We were really feeling bad for our year in medical bills at this point. Then Cindy had a molar pregnancy, which required many tests, a D&C (surgery), more tests, another D&C, and then a laparoscopy/laparotomy. And of course, more tests. Bleh.

After all this, we had nearly made it to the new year with no more surgeries or ER visits. Then on Dec. 28 Ethan biffed it in the kitchen and bit THROUGH his lip. We finally got wise and just took him to the instacare. I hope when the bill comes, it looks better than all those ER ones!

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I did promise some good news, so here it is: Cindy went to the doctor the other day and they did a pregnancy test, and it came back NEGATIVE!!! I know that sounds lame for someone who has had 2 D&C's, but molar pregnancies shoot out mega-amounts of pregnancy hormone, so this is HUGE. And very exciting. My doctor practically did a celebration dance.

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So here's to a happy, healthy, ER & surgery-free 2010!

homemade train table

2009-12-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Ethan got a train set, but it kept coming apart on the carpet, and he can't put it back together himself...nor can his big sister. So Daddy bought a board for it to go on. Then we decided to make it cute with an airstrip, river, pond, streets and helipad.and voila!

I love how it turned out.

funny car ride

2009-12-29T20:18:00.000-08:00

I don't really know what was so funny this day in the car...

but we were all bustin' up!

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cute pic of Cassidy just for fun:

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T19:38:00.001-08:00

one-two-three-four-five

2009-12-19T09:03:00.000-08:00

Ethan can count to five, and it blows me away! We didn't even teach him; he just did it one day. And Cassidy can count to 30. That's not really new, but she wanted to show it off in the video, too. So enjoy watching my brilliant babies!

(turn off music on sidebar first)

A Happy Post

2009-12-14T08:07:00.000-08:00

...okay, well it's mostly a happy post. I'll give the bad news first. My grandpa ("Papa") died yesterday. But it's not really bad news, because he wanted to go. He has been without my grandma for 15 years, and in lots of pain for the past few years. I will miss him, but I know that he is with his sweetie now.

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Onto the happy stuff...I am feeling better each day, and hope to be off bed rest soon, because I am going stir-crazy! Plus, if I can't get out of the house, I will need to hire someone to finish my Christmas shopping! I still can't laugh or pick up the kids, but I'm hoping that will change soon.

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We went to see Santa last week and Cassidy was very brave. She had rehearsed the entire scene with me prior, so she spouted off her list flawlessly. But, just as one child becomes brave, the next one suddenly is not. Ethan wouldn't sit on his lap, so Joel had to hold him. At Newgate Mall they let us take the pictures ourself (just fyi).

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Cassidy had her dance recital Saturday night. I was still quite sick, but I couldn't miss it! She did SO well! She is now the oldest and tallest in her class, which is so funny! She was in the very middle, and she was smiling and doing the moves full-out! It was nice to see her do well for once, so I can feel justified paying for the class each month!

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I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

I'm still alive

2009-12-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

That's the good news.

_____________

The bad news?

I had another surgery. And I lost a lot of blood again (600 cc's). After the surgery, they said all was well and sent me on my way. I went home in quite a bit of pain, took a nap and woke up to a WHOLE HECKA TONSA PAIN all over my body, esp. the tummy and shoulders. I called my doctor in tears, and he said to come back in for a laparoscopy (a teeny camera that goes through the belly button). They found that I was bleeding internally (400 cc's), so they performed a laparotomy to suck it all out. I stayed the night at the hospital and got home today around noon.

I am doing better gradually, but am still in a lot of pain. I can hardly move and am on bed rest. I can't even lift my own baby, and it breaks my heart. I can't even laugh or cry without pain. So please, keep away the jokes and sad stories. But I know reading this must bring you down, and I don't want to do that, so here's a funny pic:

Have a great day! I really do appreciate all the love and support of my friends and family. You guys are the best!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving...

2009-11-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

As you know from my last blog post, there is no baby on the way. In fact, the prognosis is worse than anticipated. Unfortunately, I lost so much blood during surgery that they stopped the surgery before finishing. They were hoping they had done enough to end the molar pregnancy. But, the ultrasound on Monday would prove differently. There are still some remnants of the pregnancy left, which means I'm still pregnant with no baby. They are hoping the rest will pass on its own, so I won't have to go into surgery again. Even if surgery is on the horizon, they will want to wait for my body to recuperate fully.

That being said, I want to point out the positives in the situation. It has been very rough, but somehow, because it is the season of Thanksgiving, I am constantly reminded how much I have to be thankful for. I have two sweet children who are the light of my life. I have a wonderful husband who honors his priesthood and provides for our family and takes care of us. I have wonderful family and friends who have done so much for us recently by babysitting, bringing in meals, or just cheering me up by coming to visit.

And I have the knowledge that my Savior has felt my pain. He has born my griefs and knows what I am going through. It is in Him that I find comfort. We all go through trials, and and all for a reason. We may not understand them now, but I know that we will come through stronger if we simply put our faith in the Savior.

Thank you again, for your prayers and support. This too, shall be but a small moment.

no baby

2009-11-15T17:59:00.001-08:00

This has been a hard week, to say the least. I had just announced last week that we were having a baby. Monday was my first appointment, and unfortunately, when they did the ultrasound, there was no baby. They did some bloodwork tests to make sure, and it turns out I had a molar pregnancy. I won't go into the gory details, but it's not a safe pregnancy for the mother. So they scheduled me a D & C for Friday morning. They said I lost a lot of blood during surgery, so I was in the hospital a few hours longer than anticipated, but am doing much better now. It's definitely difficult going through this, but we are pulling through. We really are going to be okay. They say we can try again in 6 months (a little further away than we'd wished, but do-able). We thank you all for your support.

family photos

2009-10-10T20:28:00.001-07:00

My brother-in-law took these pictures for us today and I just had to share! he only wore his glasses in a couple pics

awwww!

brother and sister

those are Cassidy's new boots from eBay...I love them!

this pose didn't work out too well:

Kieper Family 2009

tada!

My handsome baby boy (with glasses)

2009-09-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

So Ethan has been going cross-eyed quite often for the past few months. Our pediatrician told us we needed to see an ophthalmologist to get it checked out, because we don't want his eye to go lazy. So we made the appointment some time ago, but they were booked out until mid-September. We finally had his eye appointment and it turns out he needs glasses. Ethan would hardly hold still for the doctor to see in his eyes (plus he kept squinting them shut). This means the perscription Ethan has is not as accurate as it could be, but the doc says it should still help. If he keeps going cross-eyed, though, we may need to have him wear a patch over the good eye to strengthen the bad one. I am just heartbroken. My little 18-month-old needs glasses! Oh, and the doctor thinks Cassidy may need them, too. So we have scheduled her an appointment for November.

The saga continues...I never realized before, but optical centers carry VERY FEW (if any) eyeglasses for babies! So Ethan had two pairs to choose from (the other four pairs were pink). And one of the two pairs would not stay on his face for a split second. So really, we had no choice in the matter.

We were very scared when the glasses arrived, thinking he would NEVER wear them in a MILLION years! He had thrown the hugest fits just while trying the glasses on. Well, Joel sat down with him and a handful of mnm's and just kept popping the things in his mouth and cheering. Ethan was distracted enough that he eventually forgot about the glasses on his face. So now that is our strategy. He gets an mnm every time we put his glasses on, and he gets some thoughout the day for keeping them on. He does pretty well. He'll usually go about 20 minutes before prying them off. But then he needs like a half-hour break once he does pry them off, because he will NOT let them back on!

It takes one handsome baby to make glasses look good!

He's still cute as ever!

{lucky for us}

back in the habit

2009-09-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know it's super-lame to post pictures of scrapbook pages on a blog, but I was so excited that I am finally scrapbooking again! During school my excuse was that I was too busy teaching, but once I was done teaching my excuse became that I was so far behind, I didn't know where to begin. Well, I finally found a fun place to begin...our Disneyland trip! Thanks for getting me to scrapbook, Sheila! It was a lot of fun!

Those of you who know me well know that I love to scrapbook (although I'm not amazing at it...don't look too closely!) and that when I do it, I do it A LOT. So here's hoping I can catch up the last year of scrapbooking, and if not, at least I have these pages of Disneyland! Fun fun.

*I promise not to post every single scrapbook page, don't worry!

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So what's a blog post without an update?

Cassidy is now in pre-school and loves it! She gets so excited, and knows that she is a big girl now. When I ask her what she learned in pre-school she always talks about the toys she played with, and then after much prying, will add something about abc's or coloring:)

Cassidy took swim lessons over the summer (and failed). I didn't know that was possible.

[She wouldn't stick her face in the water.]

She loved every minute of it, though! Next year we'll prep her a little better on the whole face-in-the-water thing.

We went to Lagoon, but Daddy had to work until 5. So it was me and the kids, which turned out SO much harder than I thought! Then Daddy joined us after naps at home.

A few weeks ago we joined my mom and dad at their condo and had fun swimming, playing racquetball and hiking at the ski resort. That hike was killer.

That is all the most recent happenings around here!

Princess Party

2009-08-14T23:41:00.000-07:00

Cassidy just turned 4, and since she is so in love with princesses, she had a princess birthday. She got 2 princess dresses (one homemade, one not) and a bunch of princess toys and books. She loves her new Belle dress and wears it every day and everywhere.Check out her cheesy grin:

dancing like a princess:

The homemade pink dress I so lovingly made for her out of curtains (with the help of my friend Cassie). Yep, that's right. Curtains. I thought she would love it and wear it everyday. Not the case. She largely prefers the Belle dress, much to my dismay.

Cassidy's "Princess Party" with her friends:

We played the "poison apple" game (hot potato):

Cassidy got spoiled with princess presents:

The girls played "stick the princess sticker on the castle"

(my rendition of pin the tail on the donkey.)

Then the girls played freeze dance and danced like princesses:

Then they decorated wands with sticky jewels:

Showing off their wands:

Happy Birthday!

Blowing out the candles:

Cassidy had a fun fun princess party with her friends, and she talks about it all the time!

July

2009-07-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

July has been a pretty busy month. On July 4, we all ran the Freedom Run 5k and Joel pushed the kids!Then it was off to the parade where Cassidy was on a float for her dance class.Then our neighborhood threw this huge awesome block party with blow-up toys, barbecue, slip-n-slides... and yet somehow our wagon became quite the hit of the party. My sister Sheila and her kids came, too.Ethan had lots of fun. He actually was strapped in the wagon at first so he couldn't run away while I was feeding him dinner. Well, I kept getting distracted and would look over and the wagon with Ethan inside would be far away, because the kids were all pulling it around. So then I strapped him into my sister's stroller:

Then we walked to fireworks that night. We turn so many heads with our awesome wagon and trailer! I love that thing.

Then Girls Camp was July 14. It was crazy, but fun. I was at Girls' Camp on my birthday, so we celebrated a week later by going to Snowbird and doing all the fun stuff: zipline, alpine slide, tram, rock-climbing wall, scenic chair lifts and hiking. It was so so fun; I can't think of a more fun date Joel and I have had EVER.

I somehow missed the memo that there would be snow up there and was wearing flip-flops. We hiked down from the tram to the next chair lift and went over some pretty large patches of melty snow {slush}. My feet nearly froze and I was slip-sliding everywhere, yet Joel was laughing at me the whole time.the chairlift down:
For the 24th we went up the canyon with the fam and had a fire, roasting hot-dogs and making s'mores. Note to self: next year, wait until after Labor Day to make a fire. It was too stinkin' hot! Nobody wanted to get near the fire. But we had Ethan strapped in the stroller so he wouldn't get too close to the fire. Finally when we let him out, he was so excited and was all over the place!

What does this picture have to do with anything? Nothing, really...I just thought it was cute. And technically, it was taken in July. The kids love their swings daddy hung for them:)

Oh, and Cassidy is taking swimming lessons. It's SO funny! She thinks she's a mermaid or something. Her teacher will ask her to kick, and she will do it in slow-motion with this princess-look on her face. It looks like synchronized swimming. She's our little weirdo! (Sorry, no pics. Pictures at the indoor pool turn out horrible)

Who's cute?

2009-07-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Cassidy loves to pull Ethan around on her bike, and he loves chasing her. They do this ALL the time.

Ethan's tricks:

CALI

2009-07-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

I am not so talented arranging the pictures; I am sure that would be better horizontally (CALI). Anyway, our trip to California was a blast. These posts are a bit out of order, but we were in California for 9 days (2 days driving). We first went to Knott's Berry Farms and LOVED it. Then we went to church (super-cool family tradition instilled by my mother), the beach, Disneyland and then to the North to see Joel's family.

I think the kids loved the beach more than anything else we did in California.

Sand in the hair and loving it:

Cabin

2009-07-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

The second half of our California trip was up North to visit Joel's family. They currently have 4 dogs and Cassidy was TERRIFIED. She would scream bloody murder and climb anything nearby to get away from them. That night, Bella, the little chihuahua, climbed on her while she was sleeping and licked her face. The next day we told her the story and how much Bella loves her. So she started coming around:We went to Joel's grandparents' cabin, which is so cute!

That day we did a pretty easy hike to this dam.

Cassidy stayed here with grandma Kieper while I went out on...
this...

and nearly fell to my death.

Okay okay, my pose looks way fake. Sorry.

The next day we went on the HIKE OF DEATH. Really. Ethan was in the backpack and still almost died. There was this waterfall and pond-ish area of the stream at the top of the hike and Joel's dad and brother jumped in. Then, after much convincing, Joel jumped in too. The water was practically arctic and so Joel had to hug us to share the love.

Oh, and he sunk his watch.

Ethan was very happy to get out of the hiking backpack.

He was a royal grump that day. Cassidy tried really hard to be a trooper during the hike. But, she enjoyed the occasional shoulder ride from any volunteers. This time it was Grandpa Kieper:

It was SOO hot on the hike back down, so I dipped my head in to cool off.

Ethan was really warm and sweaty, so we dipped him, too:)

Somehow I never got a picture of all of us; our camera does horrible indoor and night pic's because the flash is broken. But it was nice to see Joel's California family, since we have only seen them on rare occasion since we got married. Cassidy loves her grandparents and gave them all hugs goodbye.

Since we were already in the mountains at the cabin, we decided to go up and over the mountain to go home to Utah. (Okay, it was really mapquest that decided for us). Anyway, I am not sure at what elevation we started, but we knew we were getting high up when we saw SNOW in California. There was one sign we saw that said "Caution: 26% grade." I have never even heard of such a steep slope! We climbed all the way to 9726 feet, but I missed taking a picture of that sign.

The drive home was SO horrible that I have since vowed NEVER to drive over 6 hours with children in tow, EVER again! We had toys, treats, movies, bottles, blankets, surprise presents, and still we had to stop SO much just to calm baby Ethan down. He was a crank and 1/2! We were in Wendover around 8:00 p.m. and he would NOT calm down so we had to drive around until we found a park for him to be let loose in for a while. We arrived home 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning and had 9:00 church teaching Nursery. It was tiring, to say the least.

Not to take anything away from the trip, though...it was a blast.

(keep scrolling down to see Disneyland:)

Disneyland!!!

2009-07-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

We just got back from California Saturday night (Sunday morning, really). We went for many reasons, including seeing family, going to the beach, just to get away... but one of my favorite reasons was for Cassidy to go to Disneyland and see the princesses! Cassidy was very excited about this "big big castle."
Toon Town:

Honey I shrunk the Audience: still a classic, although it scared the kids.

My favorite part: the princesses. We waited in line for over an HOUR to see three princesses and were DYING. And, while we were in line, rumors were flying that all the favorite princesses had gone off to some breakfast thing and we were going to see Pocahontas, Mulan and Jasmine. Still good, but that's NO Cinderella! Well, when our turn finally came, we came around the corner and saw Ariel. Cassidy was in awe. She ran up to her and they started dancing together. The people just behind us in line were freaking out at how cute it was!

Next up was Belle (the rumors about which princesses we would see were way wrong). All the princesses kept calling Cassidy "Cinderella" because of her dress. She was in HEAVEN and to tell you the truth, so was I.

While she was visiting with Belle, it was time to switch her out, so Cassidy got to see Sleeping Beauty, too!

After Sleeping Beauty, Cassidy saw Mulan and had no idea who she was. But she hugged her anyway. I was a bit sad that we hadn't seen Snow White and Cassidy was really sad that we hadn't seen Cinderella. But this was our day at Disney's California Adventure day (we had gone to Disneyland the day before) so off we left.

As we were rushing to our next destination, Joel saw Snow White just standing on the street with a SHORT line (which is CRAZY). So we waited the 5 minutes and got a picture with her too! I was completely happy with our princess visits for the day!

As we continued down the street at CA adventure, we saw Sully and hopped into his short line!

Cassidy called him "kitty" and he gave her a big hug:

Then, since Cassidy was still in her Cinderella dress, she was getting special attention from everyone around. One worker asked if she could do anything, like help us see Snow White and we told her the only princess we hadn't seen was Cinderella. So this worker told us where to go to see her in a show, and which side to sit on to see her afterwards. We saw the show and it was cute. After it was over, we walked towards the stage (along with everyone else) so we could get in line to see her. Well, she saw Cassidy, reached through the crowd, grabbed her hand and walked with her to the place where she would take pictures. I almost died.

Cassidy was so happy.

This one's going up on the wall:

Cinderella kissed her:

We finally changed Cassidy out of her princess dress and rode some rides that day. But I have to say, I thought the princess dress would be a hinderance, but it really got us the royal treatment everywhere we went!

The kids loved the rides (even Baby Ethan). Joel and I never really got to ride together except on kiddie rides, but we did get really short lines with Single Rider passes!

It was pretty much the best trip ever!

the good, the bad and the ugly

2009-06-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Where to start? I guess with the ugly. A couple weeks ago Ethan woke up screaming in the morning. He would not calm down, so Joel took off his pajamas and yelled for me to come in. Ethan's second to baby toe was shriveled up and purple, like it had been strangled to death. I freaked out and was ready to take him to the ER. I started massaging his foot as Joel was getting stuff ready for us to go. As I was massaging his foot, the toe turned pink again. Hooray! But it kept getting bigger and bigger. It eventually got a lot of blisters so we had to go into the ER anyway. The doctor said it was a spider bite and the toe had shut off blood supply so as to not spread the venom. So by massaging it, I SAVED the toe but SPREAD the venom. AAAHH! So scary. The doctor cut off the blisters and wrapped his foot. His toe looked like a burn victim. It was so sad to see my baby like that! His toe is doing much better now.

Onto the bad. Joel's car broke down. And now we have only one car. I totally called it, too! I just knew that on my last day of school, since I was quitting, Joel's car would break down and we would have no money for a new one. I should have knocked on wood. Actually, the car didn't wait for my last day. It died a week early.

Now the car breaking down, that just sucks. This next one is heart-breaking. Be prepared. Cassidy LOVES dance class. It is her favorite day of the week. She was very excited to perform in her beautiful fairy costume. Her performance was on June 2. I got her all ready to go. She looked SO cute!! I didn't have time to take a picture, because we were running late. So I thought I would just take a picture after the performance. She did one dance and it was cute. But, as she was exiting the stage, she ran into a pole and got a really bad bloody nose. It bled all over her dress and we had to go home before her second dance. As we got into the car, she said, "You fix my dress and I will dance again, OK?" Aww, break my heart!

This is the ONLY picture we got of her: Now for the good. Finally. I am done teaching! I got back on Thursday from Lagoon day with the 9th graders, and my 7th and 8th grade students had written all over my board. If you can't read it, it just says how wonderful and amazing I am and how much they'll miss me:)

I almost cried.This one on the right side it says, "Have another baby and name it after me." -Lexi. Hehe.On Friday I bribed my students with candy to come say goodbye. It totally worked. I have loved teaching and will miss my students. They were so much fun! But now I get to stay home with the kiddos. Hooray!Now for my favorite news: Ethan, with his foot wrapped and all, started walking just over a week ago. Yay! He's a big boy! He took three steps at my mom's house. He is so funny! He always opens his mouth so wide when he walks because he thinks he's so amazing! His record so far is 9 steps.
He looks just like Daddy.

This past weekend we went to a friend's cabin and had lots of fun. We went on a hike with the kids yesterday morning and they kept "hiding" so they could jump out and scare us. They were VERY good at hiding, as you can see.

This is them jumping out to scare us. Raaaaaaaaaar!

Ethan had a nice, easy ride.

The highlight of the hike was when the girls found a bird that sang to them.

In summary, life is hard, but life is good.

fire pole

2009-05-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

I took the day off school today just for fun. Long story short, I have extra time I need to take off before school gets out. Use it or lose it, they say. So we went for a bike ride. We had big plans to bike to this "nearby" pond and then eat lunch. Well, this pond wasn't quite so "nearby" as we thought. After biking for an hour, we decided it was time to quickly settle on the next park we came across. The kids didn't care; they thought it was wonderful! Cassidy has now figured out how to go down the fire pole at the park. It scares the bejeebeez out of me! She is so tiny. But I love how she sticks her little foot out to the pole. So cute!

Sorry the video is sideways. I swear, I rotated it before uploading it to blogger. Just cock your head:)

Ethan fell asleep on Cassidy's shoulder on the way home! I almost died. He is so sweet! We did make it home o.k. but my legs are still jelly and it has been 9 hours since we got back. I may just have to skip school tomorrow too!

Whoop! There it is!

2009-05-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

Ethan's new favorite thing to do

2009-05-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

He does this most every day

so naughty!

the tulips at Temple Square

2009-05-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

I enjoy the lights at temple square, don't get me wrong. But the TULIPS at temple square are what I love. They only bloom for a few weeks, so if you haven't already seen them, hurry up!

(my friend Jing who shares my classroom and teaches Chinese)

my baby talks!

2009-04-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

I thought I would write this in a post, mainly so I don't forget. It was SO amazing. Joel's mom was here this past Sunday and she gave baby Ethan a ball. We tried to get him to say "ball" and he didn't respond. Up to this point, all he had said was "mama" and "dada". So we weren't surprised. Then a few minutes later, reaching for the ball, he said, "ba. ba." We were very excited. Later grandma said, "yes, you love grandma" to which he responded, "yah." He did it again a few minutes later, too. Then that night Joel was trying to show him to say "all gone" with his hands and he did it and said "a ga." Hooray! From 0-3 words in one day! Go grandma!

Then the next day he said "ka" for car. And today he kept pointing to cars on the road and saying "ka." I am floored by all of this! It's just crazy, how they grow up on you in one day. Literally. I will post videos soon:)

Business Trip

2009-04-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Joel had to go to Idaho Falls on business, so I decided to tag along with the kids! I didn't have my hopes up for it being a fun trip, so perhaps that is what made it so fun! We got there on Friday afternoon and went to see the falls (of course) and walked around. Cassidy even chased some ducks.

Don't ask how Joel got this shot; it looks like it could have been our engagement photo! See the perfectly placed temple in the background? Good work, honey!

We went out to dinner that night, swam in the pool, and then just kicked it at the hotel. The next day we went swimming again bright and early, and then went with my friend Danielle* to a Mother/Daughter activity that she had found. It was so good to see her and her sweet new baby girl. We got WAY spoiled at the activity with free Jamba juice, getting our hair done, bought some new shirts and bought a bunch of Melissa and Doug** puzzles. Thanks, Danielle!

Then Joel got off a bit early, so we rented some bikes and a bike trailer and biked around the greenbelt (the falls). I got greenie butt*** pretty bad, but it was SO fun and beautiful! Joel and I are seriously contemplating buying bikes and a trailer now.

The kids LOVED riding in the trailer!

awwww

Joel was asked to stay an extra day, so we were in Idaho on Sunday, as well. Well, our hotel checkout time was at noon, but Joel worked until 4. So I checked us out of the hotel all by myself, then we went to church until 2, and then fried ourselves at the park for a couple of hours. But it was nice outside (aside from the blazing sun), so it wasn't so bad. Overall, a super fun trip!

*we met in Paris and have not seen each other in years; no she is not French

**Melissa and Doug products are the very best in the whole world. Google it.

***Greenie butt is a term used by missionaries new to a bike area when they get a sore bottom.

Easter Egg Madness

2009-04-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

Silly Baby Ethan

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T14:55:00.001-07:00

Today was our ward Easter Egg Hunt. Cassidy loved it! And those bunny ears...have already been destroyed (dragged through the mud). Ah well, at least we got one good picture first! Happy Easter!

April Fools!

2009-04-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you who read the next post down previous to this post, SORRY! It was a horrible April Fool's Joke. I played the same joke on my students today at school. They all believed me, too. I told them I would not be back after Spring Break. They were very upset. I hope you will all forgive me! Happy April Fool's Day!

he he he

Je suis enceinte!

2009-04-01T11:29:00.001-07:00

That's right! For all you non-French speakers, the name of this post means there's a special someone in my tummy! We went to the doctor today for the first time and saw the baby on ultrasound. We will post pictures once I figure out how to upload them (I will need to borrow a scanner...anybody have one I can borrow?) So cute! We are excited:)

Yummy Cake

2009-03-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

Mmm, yummy cake!

almost one

2009-03-01T18:10:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's already time to plan Ethan's first birthday party. I still haven't even lost the baby weight! He has grown so fast.

Here's a fast-forward look at how he's grown.

my newborn:
two months:
three months:

four months:

five months:six months:seven months: eight months:

Nine months:

ten months:
eleven months: (crawling!)

Wow, how time flies! We love our little man! He already has five teeth. Some of his new "tricks" are: crawling, saying, "mama" (only when he's sad), saying "dada", pulling himself to standing next to anything semi-sturdy, shaking his head "no" and actually meaning it, a one-handed wave (see his video below and you'll see the improvement), dancing, getting stuck under chairs, and much more. He's a fun little guy! Check back later for the highlights from his birthday!

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Don't be fooled by this happy post. I am actually home sick right now; that's why I have time to make this post. We had been sick for almost two weeks, and were totally on the mend. We had about two days of good health, and then BAM! stuffy noses, sneezing, coughing, sore throats, and pink eye. Yep. No fun.

Oh, and if you look closely at the pictures above, you'll notice Baby Ethan's head cocked to one side. We just learned that he has Torticollis, and has to go to physical therapy once a week. Very sad, the poor bubs. It could be a lot worse, with a helmet and everything, so we are really grateful it is not very severe.

tantrum

2009-02-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

Cassidy had this hilariously un-called for tantrum the other day. I don't know why she thinks that stuff like this will work to get her what she wants. But we all got a good laugh.

Baby Ethan is learning so much. His "wave" might not look like one to you, but believe me, it shows much improvement! And I love his drunken "no" headshake.

how to order a pizza

2009-02-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

I received this email that said, "102 manières bizarres de commander une pizza par téléphone..." which is "102 bizarre ways to order a pizza over the phone." I shared some of them with my French class, and they thought it was hilarious! My translations aren't the best. Somehow French jokes don't always make sense in English, but I thought I would share the highlights:

1. Push the buttons on your phone randomly, and then ask the person to stop doing that.
2. Order a Big Mac
3. Before hanging up, say, “Forget we ever had this conversation.”
4. Say that you've got a competitor on the other line and they're offering you a lower price.
5. Just give them your address and say, “Surprise me!” then hang up.
6. Don't tell them which pizzas you want. Spell the names.
7. Say hello, wait five seconds, and then act like it was they who called you.
8. Give your order very deliberately, like you planned it out. Then when they ask if you want drinks, panic.
9. Tell them you are lonely and just want to chat.
10. Change your accent every three seconds.
11. Act like you are old-time friends with the person on the phone.
12. Try and sell them a pizza.
13. Order ten different very complicated pizzas. Then cancel the order, explaining how you moved and you forgot to change your speed-dial.
14. Hold the phone far away from your face while giving your order. Then, at the end, bring it close to your mouth and yell, “Good-bye!”
15. Ask the person to verify that your pizza is indeed dead.
16. Ask to see the menu.
17. Ask if the delivery boy knows how to repair a broken water line
18. When they give you suggestions, tell them you won't be swayed.
19. Tell the person taking the order that this relationship of yours cannot go much further.
20. Give them your fax number and ask them to fax you the pizzas.
21. Demand to speak to a manager. Then give the manager your order, as usual.
22. Record a loud thunder clap and play it during your conversation. Scream, “Aaaah!” and hang up.
23. Ask if they have payment plans for the pizzas.
24. Ask them to deliver you the pizzas without a box so you can get a discount.
25. Ask if the box is edible.
26. Ask them to guess what you want.
27. Ask for a round box, so your pizza won't slide.
28. Tell them, “You'd better hurry. I just gave the same order to the competition. The first one here wins!”
29. Ask the deliverer to come on foot, to cut down on pollution.
30. Ask if it is possible to pre-order a pizza for next Christmas Eve.

Disclaimer: These pranks are to be laughed at and not performed.

I am in no way urging or condoning any reader of this blog to engage in such childish behavior.

Any performing of these ridiculous pranks is on your own conscience, not mine.

Ethan's most amazing ride to date!!

2009-01-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

Today Cindy and I (being Joel, of course) decided we should make Ethan's 10 month video. Ethan loves his bike...but he doesn't know how to ride. Some simple cleverness from Cindy and we had our video. We had way too much fun taking this 10 second video. Enjoy!!

Extreme Bedroom Makeover

2009-01-22T18:34:00.000-08:00

Okay, well it was extreme for me. Do you ever feel like it's hard enough to keep your house looking presentable, so then your bedroom just becomes the dumping ground for everything that has no place? That's what our bedroom felt like. We rarely display our bedroom, even when guests come over, so it was easily overlooked. But I finally felt like it was time to have a "grown-up" bedroom, with matching furniture and all.

So here is the before pic:Okay, that's not really our bedroom. I never took a before picture, but I totally should have. This picture comes close to the feeling of our old room. Just take away the messy clothes on the floor, but leave the clutter. Take away the matching headboard and dresser and put in no headboard, and a broken cluttery dresser. And that was our bedroom. Very sad.

So you can imagine how excited I was when we finally could go to IKEA (I've been planning to for months) and buy our bedroom set! We didn't buy the entire set. We had gotten the headboard on KSL, so we bought new dressers and nightstands from IKEA. Add a few lamps and a bedspread from IKEA and a couple knick-knacks from other places and Voila! Our room looks just like page 166 in the IKEA catalog.
It is such a more calm space now. I actually enjoy being in my room. Hooray!

Just when I felt like I had gotten the last space in this house organized and the way I want it, our ceiling leaks and makes a huge bubble. The plumbing in this place is a joke. So Joel got to cut a big hole in the ceiling:

And now it looks like this:

He promises it will be done by next week. I actually believe him, because he only cut the hole less than a week ago, and is nearly finished. Here's to hoping!

Cindy is in no way affiliated with IKEA stores or any of its subsidiaries.
She simply likes the cheap prices and the tiny couches! (although she doesn't own one)

time for a post

2009-01-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

I don't really have too much to say on this post, but I thought these pictures were cute. Cassidy got this Cinderella dress from Santa and she loves it. She wears it every day.

This is the BEFORE picture, before Ethan's first real hair cut (from a stylist). My friend cuts hair and she came over to cut his hair. Notice the hair going over the ear. It was time.
Joel also needed a hair cut badly, so she cut his hair, as well.

The double before shot:The during shot:Okay, so I forgot to take the 'immediately after' photo because he was so sad and tired, but look what I can do with his hair now: I love it!!!

(Before when I would try to spike his hair, he looked like a Who from Who-ville!)

There is no "after" shot of Joel. What a bad wife I am! But really, we all know what his hair cut looks like every time, right? I'll post a wedding pic and you'll see his hair cut. Don't think I think it's bad. I love his hair! He's a stud.

Cassidy loves apples. So much so that she steals them, and then this is what we find:

(little tiny niblets missing from the apple)

There was one day last week that I could not get any hot water upstairs for the life of me, so Baby Ethan ended up taking his bath in the sink. Very cute, but holy cow. I had to wipe down the entire main floor; that kid splashed a good 10 foot radius each direction!

Santa also brought Cassidy a shiny red trike for Christmas. She has had a hard time learning to ride, so Joel came up with the brilliant chalk idea to teach her to steer. She picked it up really quickly! Check it out:

He budged!

2009-01-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

He budged! I looked over the other day, and I saw Baby Ethan budge towards a toy. So I grabbed his bike and backed it up and shot this video. Within seconds, he was a scootin' baby!

He scoots all over now.