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

New Window Treatment

Lucas decided that he would put the infant nail scissors to good use! He was in his bedroom and Jed went in to check on him. He came right back out and told me that I get to deal with him.

What he did...











What I bought....




Please, oh please, let this book help me with this little boy!

**I hadn't lost my mind (completely). The computer was defective. The Geek Squad couldn't fix it either, and exchanged it for a brand new one. I plugged it in last night...instantly connected to the internet. Very Happy!!

So Frustrating

A little over a week ago our computer decided to crash. I'm hoping we will be able to recover some of the stuff that was on it. I was so mad because I had been going back and forth on buying an external hard drive. I think I've learned my lesson!! Luckily I had saved most of my pictures on to CD's.

So this past week we bought a new computer. I'm excited about it, but so far I've been frustrated. I haven't been able to connect to the internet. No one has been able to help me fix it. I think I'll take it back to Best Buy tomorrow and hope that they can fix it.

Blogging has taken a back burner, but hopefully it'll be fixed soon and I can return to my normal blogging schedule!

Happy Half Birthday Kody-Boy!

My baby is 6 months old today. I can hardly believe it. Here are some things you may or may not know about Kody.



1. He has the cutest little laugh. Lucas is usually the one that can make him laugh the hardest. It's so fun to watch the two of them interact. Lucas is extremely protective of him and loves to give lots of hugs and kisses.


2. Despite all my efforts, he is no longer sleeping through the night. He usually wakes up about 3:00 and demands to be fed. I am no longer nursing which makes this only slightly easier. He can down a bottle in about 3-5 minutes rather than nursing for 20.

3. He loves baby food. He attacks me because I don't feed it fast enough. He can also hold his own bottle. Now that's a happy day! Bad news is that he's decided to follow in Lucas' footsteps and start spitting up after every feeding. Carrots + Formula = Orange Spit Up = Stained Carpet. Oh the joy!

4. He's a momma's boy. Which I love to a certain extent. He's extremely good at throwing a fit when I put him down. I don't get much accomplished if he's awake because I'm usually holding him. (As I write this he's sittng on my lap because the floor just isn't good enough.) He also knows exactly where I am in any room and if I should happen to disappear out of sight, he'll let me know he's not happy!

5. He can turn circles on his tummy like you wouldn't believe. He's even rolled across the room a couple of times. He doesn't like to practice sitting. We bought a bumbo a couple of months ago, but he's not really fond of it (unless he's getting fed). He'll arch is back so that he doesn't have to sit. He prefers to stand!

6. Even at 6 months, he still loves to be wrapped tight to go to sleep. His eyes will instantly shut if you wrap him when he's tired! I'm hoping he'll out grow this soon since he's getting big enough to manuever his arms free..and then he wakes up!

7. As Lucas would say...he's the best Kody ever! We sure love having him in our family. Even though it has gone by fast, it's still hard to picture life before he arrived. We love you Kody Boy!



And just for kicks...here's a picture of the best Lucas ever!

Feeling so Helpless

My little niece Reese is very sick and there isn't a whole lot I can do. I hate feeling like this. She's been in the hospital for a couple of days now with RSV and she'll most likely be there for a few more. I haven't been able to see her because I don't want to jeopardize Lucas and Kody. She's such a doll and I can't wait to start my babysitting duties again. I just want to smother her in hugs and kisses. Get better soon baby Reese. We love you!

Tagged

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.



10 years ago: (Jan 1998) Enjoying life as a junior at BRHS.



5 things on my to-do list today:

1. Do my hair!

2. Clean my house

3. Laundry

4. Grocery Shop

5. Work on blog book



Snacks I enjoy:

1. Starbucks Toffee Nut Steamer (not necessarily a snack, but my favorite none the less).

2. Taffy Sandwich Cookies by Mother's Cookies. I can eat a whole bag without blinkin' an eye.

3. Chips...any flavored chip or tortilla chips with salsa.

4. Nature Valley Sweet & Salty granola bars. Delicious!

5. Almost anything chocoloate (including dark), except those cherry chocolate things.



Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Pay of any debt.

2. Take Jed back to Brazil to visit his mission and visit my almost mission the Dominican Republic (which may happen this year).

3. Build my dream home with a bigger yard for the kiddos.

4. Decorate my new home pottery barnish.

5. Hire someone to clean my house!



3 of my bad habits:

1. I'm addicted to the computer...photoshop, blogs, shopping, etc.

2. I let the clothes pile up until I have lots of loads to do in one day. I actually don't mind doing it all in one day, but it would probably be a little wiser to space it through out the week.

3. Since I got my new digital camera, I never print pictures...they are just piled on to my computer and CD's. I have sort of fixed the problem by publishing my 2006 blog and I'm currently working on last years.



5 places I have lived:

1. Tremonton, UT

2. Honeyville, UT

3. Mesa, AZ

4. Provo, UT

5. Spanish Fork, UT



5 jobs I have had:

1. Checker, Kent's Grocery Store

2. Medical Records, Dr.s Office in AZ

3. Human Resources, UVSC

4. Administrative Support, Biology Dept., UVSC

5. Administrative Assistant, Pearson Custom Publishing



5 things people don't know about me:

1. I was once pulled over while driving a tractor.

2. When I was younger I use to collect paper towels. I thought the designs on them were so cute. Every time my mom would put out a new roll, I'd tear one square off and put it in a drawer in my bedroom.

3. I use to have this fascination with miniature things. Example...I would want my mom to buy the tiniest bottle of laundry detergent because it was cute. Have since changed my ways...the more for your money the better!

4. I love to shop at name brand stores, but only the sales/clearance section. Won't ever buy things full price. Once I find a good sale, I go crazy!

5. Jed was the first and only boy I've ever kissed!



I tag Shara, Tawnya, Nappy, Janis & My Mom.

Lots of Snow...A Little Sunbeam

This was the picture outside our window on Saturday.

During the night and early in the morning, the wind was blowing like mad. I was afraid the big bad wolf was out there trying to blow our house out of sticks down! About mid morning the wind died down a bit and the snow started falling. It was huge fluffy snowflakes, perfect for snowman making (which we didn't do)! By the time it stopped, we had more snow than I've seen in a long time.

So what did we do during this winter storm?

Jed...he had to work. It's the first Saturday he's had to work. Luckily it wasn't for very long. Later, he took a long winters nap!

As my family can attest to, I am very much a homebody (also referred to as boring)! I'm not one who likes to venture out during insane conditions (or good conditions for that matter). Home is where you would have found me on Saturday. I did go through the toys and put some in a box to donate to the nursery. Although I didn't get rid of a whole lot, it still felt really good!

Nappy decided that she had had her hair color long enough. She battled her way to Sally's and bought some hair color. (Although I tried to get her to stay home and do it a different day.) She spent the afternoon becoming a brunette.



Kody spent his day eating, sleeping, driving, and swinging ...oh ya and smiling!





Lucas played hard, as always! He did lounge around for a bit and requested that we watch Smallville (which we didn't do). He did get to go in the snow for minute when Jed asked him if he wanted to feed Rocky a bone.





Despite the cloudy skies, we do have a shining sunbeam! Lucas went to his first Sunbeam class on Sunday. I had been hoping that Sunbeam's would be a life altering event in Lucas and he would attend his new class WITHOUT a parent present. I think he scared half the primary children with his uncontrollable crying and lack of breathing! I sat through Opening Exercises with him and he seemed to enjoy himself. During Sharing Time he sat with his class on the front row and I sat at the back of the room. He kept checking to make sure I hadn't moved. One time I had stood up to talk to someone and he couldn't see me. He went berserk, but once I told him I wasn't leaving, he went back to sit with his class. The funny part was when they were excusing them to go to classes. He started climbing of the chairs and pushing the people out of the way to get to me. He was crying hysterically again. His poor teachers aren't sure what to do. He said he liked primary so I'm hoping that slowly he'll be able to go by himself.

Little Guy

I finally have an updated *vertical* photo of Kody.










Poor boy...he's been sideways on our wall.

Next challenge...get a good picture of Lucas. He was about 18 months in that one!

Off To a Great Start...

Happy New Year everyone! Last night we rung in the new year with my family. We were too busy having a Wii tennis tournament that we didn't even see the ball drop! Oh well. It wasn't long after 2008 began that we all hit the sack. Once children start arriving, staying up late is much harder...10 is about the limit for us!

This morning we said goodbye to Aaron, Shara and Abby. My parents dropped them off at the airport on their way home too. It was so fun to be together. Hopefully now that they live in Arizona we'll be able to visit more often! :) Tonight Lucas told me that he wanted to "go to visit Sharizona tomorrow"! While they were packing and loading the truck this morning, me and Abby had our own little photo shoot. I love my new flash.

I just love this little girl!



For the rest of the day we were LAZY! I edited a bunch of photos and updated my blog while Jed & Nappy watched Smallville season 6. Having them on DVD is nice because there are no commercials, but...you can't stop watching them. Needless to say, we finished the season today!!

Everyone's in bed and I'm soon headed that way too. Lucas kept telling me tonight "I'm cranky"! He was so tired, but wouldn't go to sleep...therefore the whining started coming at full speed. I told him that if he would close his eyes and go to sleep he wouldn't be cranky in the morning. Let's cross our fingers it worked!






After all the time we spent together...this is the only picture we took of us sisters.