...a Green and Yellow Basket

Lucas and I decided we were going to plant some flowers. Since there aren't many flowers to choose from yet, I thought it would be fun for him to plant some seeds and watch them grow. Of course, he was all excited about this! He picked out his very own Diego gardening gloves (who knew they made them so small?!), a green watering can (just his size!), a yellow and green bucket & some 10 cent seeds. Now he tells everyone to look at his new flower garden!













Praying that the 10 cent seeds will grow!

Rancherito

Here's a serious overload of pictures. For your convenience I've clumped them. (I'd hate for carpal tunnel to set in with the all the scrolling you'd have to do!)

We spent the weekend basking in the sunshine in Southern Utah. We drove down Friday afternoon and stay with Jed's parents. We spent some time at the park and, of course, Lucas was in Heaven. We went to dinner at Cafe Rio for Nathan's upcoming birthday and played games that night.

Saturday, the boys got up early to golf and the girls had a shower for Mariann. She's due in about 6 weeks with a little boy and we're so excited. She looks so darn cute with her little tummy. After the shower we headed to the ranch for the traditional Easter with the Beatty family. We had a great time hunting for eggs, playing in the dirt, eating hamburgers, riding the four wheeler and visiting with family. The weather was perfecto! Lucas got a nice sunburn on his face. Lucas crashed on the way home and slept till 5:30 the next morning. Lucky me, I got to get up with him! I was so tired, I had to take a nap before we headed home on Sunday.

Thanks for letting us come Grandma & Grandpa, we had a great time. Love you!

Happy Birthday Grama Carole

We hope you have a very happy birthday today. You are a great example to us and a wonderful grandma to the boys. We love you lots!

2/3rds of a Year

This babe-ilicious is 8 months old today. What's it like being 8 months old? One word...BUSY!

There's no stoppin' this little guy. He's mastered the army crawl and has reached speeds up to 1 foot per second. He gets up on his hands and knees and starts a rockin', but hasn't quite made the connection that he can move that way. He still hates to sit, although his mean mom makes him practice daily! I feel sort of jipt (how do you spell that word?). I love the stage when they sit but aren't quite mobile yet.

We think he has HLS or Hollow Leg Syndrome. Lucas was also unofficially diagnosed with HLS so it may just be hereditary. This kid can eat. He'll will down anything you put in front of him, including Lucas' sippy cups if left on the floor! Unfortuantely he still has some reflux. We can almost guarantee somethings going to come back up sooner or later. Luckily it's not projectile like Lucas' was. (Sorry...was that TMI!)

As of this past week, he's officially been integrated into all types of Stage 1 baby food. For the past couple months he's been on a strict veggie only diet. Dr. B. recommended we start with green (blahest), yellow (blaher) , than orange (blah). Just this last week I introduced the fruits...which of course he loves! Not following this pattern may have been our mistake with Lucas. He wouldn't touch anything green when he was a baby. He also enjoys smashed up cheerios during Sacrament Meeting!

He tries to blow bubbles. So cute! He blows bubbles when you try to kiss him. He blows bubbles on your cheeks. He thinks he's funny, and of course, he is! He can also give the biggest, wettest, most slobbery kisses in the world.

Oh Kody...we love you so much!

ABC'Z

A - Attached or Single - Attached
B - Best friends - Jed, mom & sisters
C - Cake or pie - Lemon Pie
D - Day of choice? - Saturday is a special day...
E - Essential items - Cell Phone, Diaper Bag
F - Favorite clothing items - Shirts
G - Greatest Ambition in Life - Watch my boys grow up to be outstanding young men.
H - Hometown - Honeyville
I - Indulgence - Shopping...online for my clothes, in store for the boys.
J - January or July - July
K - Kids - 2 of the most adorable boys in the whole world
L - Life isn't complete without? - Family, Friends, Faith, and Food
M - Movie - How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
N - Number of brothers and sisters - 3 sister, 2 sister-in-laws, 4 brother-in-laws
O - Oranges or apples - Like 'em both
P - Phobia - Heights...hands are sweating just thinking about it!
Q - Quote - Forever, For Always, No Matter What (not really a quote, but it's our family motto)
R - Reason to Smile - Visting Teaching's done for the month!
S - Season of Choice - Anything above 60 degrees!
T - TV shows - Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Curious George... :)
U - Unknown fact about me - I highly dislike the day I have to wash my hair...it takes me all day to get it done!
V - Vegetable - Most anything with the exception of Peas.
W - Worst habit - Spending too much time on the computer, letting my laundry pile up.
X - xray or ultrasound - Ultrasound. The only xray's I've had are teeth ones, and I find them very uncomfortable!
Y - Your favorite food? - Mexican Food, Anything grilled (except fish).
Z - Zodiac sign - Scorpio

Snowball Effect

Let me start by saying blogger owns me! I spend my day thinking up things I can post about. Of course, most of them end up being about a person, place, or thing related to me. BUT, along with those very journalish entries, come the crazy hair brain topics. I usually write out the entire post in my head and then, fortunately for you, I've kept it tucked away in this crazy mind of mine...until now! This is what you'd find etched on my brain today...

Nine out of ten times, if I tell Jed I'd like to eat at Cafe Rio or Costa Vida, he will have already eaten there for lunch. Happened again last night. I say "I'd like to eat at Costa Vida". He says "ehhh". I say "GOSH DANG IT, YOU ATE THERE FOR LUNCH TODAY, DIDN'T YOU"!? He says, "I can eat there again". Head to Provo...first stop Home Depot. Jed needs a new hammer since someone decided they needed his more than he did. Jump in the car, and head in the OPPOSITE direction of before mention eating establishment. "Are we not going to Costa Vida?" He replies, "I really don't want to eat there again.". I suggest another place in Springville just as Jed pulls out his phone calendar. He says "I'd rather get something to go." Ah yes, the real reason surfaces...the Jazz game is on. OH BROTHER! Where does he take me for dinner, drive thru Burger King! We get home at 7:45, he turns on the TV to the Jazz game. I think it's just starting...nope. We get home with 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter! I say, "I thought the game was just starting?" He says "Nope, started at 6". Don't get me wrong, I like the Jazz and the last few minutes of the game were great last night, but that's not the point! I actually have to say that Jed's pretty good about not making it a big deal if we don't get to see every game during the season, which I am very grateful for! This just happened to be funny.

Which leads me to my next mind topic...

American Idol. During the remainder of the Jazz game American Idol: The Result Show was one. We were flipping back and forth. Of course, timeouts & commercials vary in length equaling Jazz 90% of the time, AI 10%. And even though there were only 6 minutes left in the game, it still went almost 2/3 the way through AI. I've tried to watch it this season, although I have missed a few episodes. I'm not very musically talented, although, I'd like to think I can hold my own with the Hymns (as long as there is someone singing Alto right next to me)! I'd like to see Brooke win it, can sing, play piano & guitar, very talented. Agree with Simon...can't understand a word that Amanda sings! Felt bad David A forgot the words on Tuesday. He looked so nervous. Wasn't too disappointed with the decision to send David H home. Didn't really care for the singing or his past profession! Favorite American Idol....Carrie Underwood! You know who else can sing...Trace Adkins.

See how one thing leads to another...

Celebrity Apprentice...LOVE THIS SHOW! I know, many people think it's lame, but not me or Jed or Nappy or my dad. I'd take this over the real Apprentice any day. Maybe it's because everything's for a good cause. We are what you would consider the "Trace for Apprentice" fan club. I think he has a good shot at winning it too. I've never been a huge fan of his songs, but his personality is to die for. The way he sold that push vacuum cleaner even made The Donald want to buy one. And as for Mr. Trump (not on my top 100 favorite people), my heart grew 2 sizes for the man when he chose not to fire Tito, Trace, Steven or Marilu. I was beginning to think he's emotionless, but nope...he has a heart! Watch tonight...it's "Omarosa Free"!

And that was only this mornings topics...

Fess Up...

Who taught my child to say,



"Okay...Fine...Vomit!"



Seriously, any time I ask him to do something, this is his reply.

Honey to the Ville

Me an the boys went home last Wednesday to visit grams and gramps. This is the first time we've been up there since Christmas. Lucas was in heaven since he got to help feed grandpa's horses and also ride the four wheeler to feed Untle Boyd's horses. Mom & I went to Logan on Friday to find some bathroom rugs for their bathroom they just had remodeled...which is beautiful! My mom has bought/returned so many rugs that we were beginning to think that the acting rugs, a.k.a towels, were going to become permanent! The ones she finally decided on are dark brown, soft, and look great!

Jed came up Friday night after work. He and I went to see Vantage Point on Saturday and then met my mom, dad & boys for lunch at the new Center Street Grill in Brigham. Brigham & Tremonton could really use some good places to eat! Later we went to visit my grandparents. We sure love them and Lucas loves their M&M dispenser!

Jed woke up not feeling so well on Sunday. Lucas & I went to Sacrament Meeting with my parents. Afterwards, we picked up Jed & Kody and headed in to Brigham to see Great Grandma Valentine. I forgot to take the camera, so we didn't get any pictures. We love to visit with her and hear all about the family. We're grateful for her example and love her very much! We ate dinner with my parents and then headed home. Thanks grams & gramps for letting us come stay with you, we had a great time!














Jed stayed home for work yesterday because still was feeling horrible. He went to the dr. last night and found out he has Pneumonia. He's on antibotics now, so hopefully he'll start recovering soon. He's home from work today too.

Sweet 22!

Happy b-day sista! I hope you have a wonderful day. I'm so glad that we live close enough to do so many fun things together. We love you Tawn!

He's on the Move

For the past week Kody has been perfecting the army crawl. Lucas didn't start crawling like this until 10 months. My baby's growing up too fast! Hopefully the video will work, it's kind of a large file. Lucky for you, I stopped recording just seconds before a massive spit-up!




And a picture of the little munchkin...

My Middle Name

So my cousin Janis tagged me to come up with words that describe me from the letters in my middle name. Other people she tagged have middles names such as Lyn, Kay, Dawn & even Clouse, but me, my middle name is E-L-I-Z-A-B-E-T-H. Nine letters to be exact. I've been trying to come up with words that describe me, but its been difficult...I'm mean what possible "Z" word describes me...Zippy, Zany, Zit-free?? So, thanks Janis (Cook...only has 4 letters!) for making me think...this was hard!


Example - good or bad I am an example to those I meet and especially my boys. It's funny how kids can make you more aware of the example you are setting.

Logical - I'm extremely logical. I think things through and I don't just do things to do them. It has to make sense to me before I'll do it.

Ipod - I've never wanted an iPod, but since Jed already had one, I got the new one that came with the TV. It has like 20 songs on it, and I plan to put more, but for right now, I've decided to use it to better my life. I have a horrible habit of not reading my scriptures consistently. So...I've downloaded 1 & 2 Nephi and have started listening to them on the iPod. So far I'm at 7 days straight...14 more and it should be a habit! I also download the Joseph Smith lessons to try and be prepared before each Sunday.

Zesty - (as per Jed). I'm assuming that he meant a zest for life, but I guess he could have meant hot and spicy!

Addicted to Photoshop, actions, photography, sun, shopping, Victoria's Secret bras, and Twix.

Blogger - my way of keeping a journal. I have published the past two years in books so that I'll have them forever. (and in case blogger ever decides to erase my life!)

Exhausted - my dear boys have decided that they should arise before the sun, usually around 6ish. They use to sleep between 7:30 & 8. I'm really missing my extra hour and a half. Maybe they are preparing for daylight savings, or at least preparing me!

Testimony - a testimony that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. When I know that I've done everything I can and still fall short of the mark, he'll make up the difference. A testimony that we can be an eternal family forever. Something I was reminded of while witnessing the sealing of beautiful baby Kaiya to Chris & Karli on Saturday. Despite the life's challenges, it's all worth it in the end!

Haircut - I had my haircut on Saturday and I LOVE IT. Thanks Whitney.



**P.S. I love having a middle name, especially Elizabeth. I'm named after my Grandma, who I love and admire so much. And... if we should have any little girls, they too will have a middle name.

Funny Funny Lucas

I had to jot down a few funnies that Lucas has said lately...

Yesterday I asked him "Lucas, did you poop again?"

His answer "no mom, I didn't poop."

I replied "are you lyin'"

his response "mom, you tall me a animal? You tall me a lion?"

While trying to climb out from under the table he hit his head and said "aw man, dat so diffitult".

Other common sayings that come from his mouth...

"Why Not" (after almost everything I say)

"Aw... dang it!"

"div me a chance"

"dats not fair"

He's such a character.

Hint of Spring

I looked out the window and what did I see...

If you guessed popcorn...you lose!

I saw rain. "What's so special about rain" you ask? Well let me tell you. It was the kind of rain the comes down while the sun is still shining brightly. The kind the comes down really hard and than stops within minutes of starting. The kind that comes during Spring and Summer. Does this mean I'm being teased?? Most likely. Especially when I can look at the yards around us and see more grass than snow. I look at our yard and see work...I mean rock and dirt.

Oh well... gotta take the good with the bad.






Yesterday Tawnya and I got to go to lunch with one of my most favorite people in the world...Karli. We try to do a lunch once a month, but sometimes it's hit and miss. Her little girl Kaiya is the sweetest little thing. Karli and I worked together at UVSC and became instant friends. She has one of the neatest stories and is most deserving of every blessing that has come their way. Her cute little family has an exciting weekend ahead and I couldn't be more happy for them. Love ya Kar.

The K.T. Adventures

Tawn and I started our weekend of fun on Friday...hence the K.T. adventures. Clever...don't worry, it didn't take me long to think it up! Anways...we spent Friday making a bunch of freezer meals. Now, we would have accomplished a bit more if T had shown up on time, but whatever! I'm so excited to have some meals in the deep freeze again! It makes my life a bit easier. Cook for a day...eat for a month (or two weeks due to T interpretation of "lets start in the morning")!
I have forgiven T...otherwise we wouldn't have spent Friday night at the Kesler home playing some serious Ravin' Rabbids and eating the Pizza Hut special.










Let the adventure continue!

Jed had promised me a day were I could go do what I wanted, with no children. I took him up on that offer and invited T to come a long on Saturday. She ended up driving since my car is on the brink of death...sometimes it acts like a drama queen! First stop...the Cheesecake Factory! Oh my deliciousness! It was packed with a 15-30 minute wait...and that was before noon! We splurged on the scrumptious avocado eggrolls, yummy pastas, fresh lemonade w/sugar on the rim & the best Dulce de Leche Carmel cheesecake in the whole world! With our doggie bags in tow and our cheesecake to go, we headed to Tai Pan. Oh the possiblities... We bought a white pitcher to put a cute tulip arrangement in, that we came up with on our own! Despite what our husbands may think...they aren't weeds...and it's going to be dang cute and springy! Next on our trip southbound along the I-15 Interstate...IKEA. How could someone not enjoy this store??!! It may be large, but me oh my, it has was everything I need (or want) and more! I am now the proud owner of end tables, a coffee table, the cutest Hydrangea pictures for my kitchen and jelly filled cookies. A little something for everyone.





As Tawn and I discussed the possibilties of making this a regular occurence, we thought of the best solution. For every hour they spend on the golf course, we get an hour to ourselves. Sounds like a plan. I'm already dreaming of more K.T. adventures...pedicures, the movies, shopping, Las Vegas...

That night we thanked the boys for watching the babies by taking them out for a nice dinner at P.F. Chang's. They paid of course! Very yummy!

**Lucas spent the weekend up in Honeyville. He wanted to go visit grama & grampa so I sent him with Nappy. Since he's not really into cooking, I figured this was the better option. I think he gave them a good work out!

Tradition...Tradition!

Just so you're all aware, Valentine's Day and the corresponding weekend belong to us...The Valentine's! Jed and I have made it OUR weekend, and this year was no execption. We left Friday for our third annual Valentine Getaway. We stayed in the Marriott, which wasn't quite as nice as last year's Little America, but much more convenient. Everything was within walking distance. First we had to take a picture of the two of us. Having a remote is so much fun! We took lots of pictures and then while looking at them, realized Jed's vest was quite bulky. So we did another series without it, but the pictures ended up too dark. So you get the vest picture.

Next we went to dinner at the Blue Iguana just a hop, skip & a jump away...yummy! Later we went to the Off Broadway Theater to see "The Phantom of the OBT", which was pretty funny! Jed wasn't sure what to expect, but ended up liking it. We did end up driving to the public parking lot by the theater cause it was too cold for me to walk!





This morning we went to breakfast at the hotel restaurant and than packed up and left. On our way out, we stopped for a steamer at the hotel Starbucks....delicious! We went TV shopping and then to the movie "Fool's Gold" (thanks Shara & AC)! I love this weekend when it's just Jed & I, even if it is just for one day. We get to relax, talk & laugh...I love you LOVE!



Grandma and Grandpa Valentine came up to stay with the boys. Lucas was so excited and could hardly wait to play with them. We did miss the little guys, but they were in good hands and we didn't worry about them at all! Thank you so much for coming. We love you!


This was the view from our window...can't beat that!

Happy Valentine's Day

About my Valentine...

Who is your man? Jed

How long have you been together? married 5 1/2 years...known each other since we were in carseats.

How old is your man? 27

Who eats more? Jed

Who said "I love you first? I did

Who sings better? I say Jed, he says Me.

Who's Older? Me

Who's smarter? We both have our areas of smartness...I know nothing about concrete, he knows nothing about Photoshop!

Who's temper is worse? Not sure...

Who does the laundry? That would be me!

Who does the dishes? Me...every once in awhile he'll rinse them off as long as I put them in the dishwasher!

Who's feet are bigger? Jed's

Who's better with the computer? Me.

Who mows the lawn? Jed

Who pays the bills? Me.

Who cooks dinner? Me.

Who drives when you are together? We argue over who has to drive...usually Jed does though. I'd rather be a passenger.

Who pays when you go out to dinner? Jed

Who's the most stubborn? Probably me.

Who is the first one to admit when they're wrong? Me.

Who named your dog? Jed

Who kissed who first? I kissed him first.

Who asked who out? He asked me out first.

What did you do on your first date? Very very first date...we went bowling when we turned 16. First date, post mission, we went to Logan and saw "A Beautiful Mind".

Who's more sensitive? Me

Who's taller? Jed

Who has more friends? I would say that we're pretty even on this.

Who has more siblings? I do...3 sisters, Jed..2 sisters.

Who wears the pants in the relationship? I wear one leg and he wear's the other!

Happy Valentine's Day to my boys! I love you all so much.

Surprise Visit

Imagine my surprise when I opened the door yesterday and it was not the UPS man*! Nope...it was Tawnya & Reese. Not that we didn't just see them on Sunday, but still, it was a surprise nonetheless. Of course, she had to interrupt Lucas' project, which he no longer wanted to finish!


Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to take the little ya-hoo's for a walk. This just happened to be Reese's first trip into the great outdoors. Kody decided he would just sleep. And Lucas couldn't get enough. He and Tawn threw snowballs at each other.

Lucas can't get enough of Reese. Which would explain why every picture I try to take of her, a piece of Lucas' heads always in it! Yesterday he told Tawnya, "Tawna, she's so pretty"!




Protecting himself from a snowball




Taken a couple of weeks ago, but one of my favorites!


Relaxing sideways in the swing...he thought he was pretty funny!

*I was expecting an important golf delivery for Jed

We Love Chicken

Last night I took Lucas and Kody to the UVU basketball game. The halftime show was a bunch of mascots playing a game of basketball. Lucas could hardly wait to watch Nappy as the chicken! We had a great time watching them try to find the ball (not an easy task when you don't have full vision). Nappy's team won 4-2 and she even scored one of their two baskets! Lucas spent the rest of the game cheering for the basketball team...clapping and yelling "go Wolverines!" He was hilarious to watch. I had no idea he had such team spirit! We also had to get pictures with some of the mascots. Even though he knew Jess was the chicken, he still wasn't to sure. She had to take of the head so he could make sure it was her before he would get to close!


Our Favorite!





"Grizzbee"....Utah Grizzly's Hockey Team


Mountain View Bruins


"Hootz"...Orem Owlz Baseball Team. Lucas chased him down to get a picture. He kept looking back at me and telling me to hurry.


Not to sure what to think!


Willy the Wolverine...Lucas' idol! He watches his every move.

Lets Talk Poop...

That's right...POOP! I should be embarrassed to talk about such a subject (on a blog no less). But NO...at our house it's discussed as if we are talking about the weather (which we discuss a lot these days)! We've had two different doctor's visits this week for the said topic. Two kids...both on opposite ends of the poop scale! Is there such a scale?!







This little "squirt" decided he'd had enough of being healthy! He had to go and get the Rotovirus. Which is transmitted through the tiniest particle of.... yup... you guesseder Chester! Eeww....Gross! Lucky for us, it could be worse. His symptoms started Wednesday when I noticed he had diarrhea (several clothing changes a day) and was sleeping a lot or staring off into space (not typical Kody). Later that day he started to get a fever and wouldn't finish eating his bottle (again...not typical Kody). That night as I was holding him, his head kept dropping like he couldn't hold it up. That made me nervous so I headed to the after hours doctor. Of course, there's not much you can do, but watch and make sure it doesn't get worse. Other than the diarrhea he seems to be back to his normal happy self.





Today was Lucas' follow up appointment for his chronic constipation. Poor kid. It's extremely frustrating for me and it's got to be frustrating for him too! We want to get this taken care of so that maybe he'll want to potty train in the near future. They did an x-ray of his tummy, which he thought was so cool. He definitely entertained the technician with his constant talking. She thought he was hillarious. He was suppose to hold really still so that she could take the picture. He would do really good until the thing he was standing in front of would move (see pic), and he'd look back at it like it was attacking him. She tried it 3 different times and finally said that would have to do. She let him pick out a piece of candy which, of course, happens to be Lucas' favorite food!

The x-rays didn't show much back-up which is good and bad. Good that he's not backed-up, bad because I wanted a possible reason for this problem. So...we're starting the clean out process again. Wish us luck on our quest for one, soft stool a day!

I guess if I wanted an easy fix, I could let Lucas catch what Kody has!!


So I just re-read this post and.... it stinks! Ha Ha!

V is for Valentine

In my efforts to be a better mom, Lucas and I have started our own little "preschool". Every day we spend some time doing different activities. This week I chose to focus on the letter V, color Red, and the Heart shape. See where this is going??

Here's todays project....





I spent quite a while last night on a website my sister Tawn found. It had some great learning activities and fun things to do. The best part...it's free! A lot of the websites I've looked at require you to pay for the preschool in a box or books, etc. Thanks Tawn!

Talease also has some ideas from her classes in Early Ed that I'm really excited to get. Hopefully I'll be able to start some sort of routine that both Lucas and I can benefit from.

Any fun ideas, send them my way!



Tomorrow's project....Vacuuming!

Important Correspondence

Phil the Groundhog
Punxsutawney, PA


Dear Mr Groundhog,

In only a few short hours you will be asked to arise for a hole to predict our next few weeks of weather. I'm asking you, no I'm begging you...don't look down!

Sincerely,


Me