Jensen's

They're only enchiladas...

2012-01-23T15:35:00.001-08:00

I have been blessed with some amazing, loving, caring and wonderful people in my life. We have supportive and honorable family and friends. I know that if I ever had any need, I would only have to ask and they would be there.

I know that if my kids were lacking, someone would give them everything they needed. If I need a babysitter, I have so many great people that would gladly be willing to help. I know we would never go hungry, homeless or without any of our needs being met. I know at least a dozen people that would walk through fire or snow to save any one of us. And for all these amazing people in my life, I can't tell you how grateful I am and how much I love you and are grateful for you!

But then there are those people that make you enchiladas, and those people are as rare as they come.

I have amazing parents. I was raised in a loving, household with parents that are coming up on their 50th wedding anniversary. They came to every dance recital, awards assembly, and concert choir performance, and even as a misguided teenager, I never had to guess if they loved me.

And while I know they would babysit any time I asked, give us food if we were hungry, give us shelter if we had no where to go, and walk through fire to save us from a burning building... I also know they will bring me enchiladas without even asking. Because that is what kind of people they are.

I was lucky enough to catch a cold/flu last week and have just been miserable, especially since you can't take much of any kind of medication when you are pregnant. Was I functioning? Sure, is there any other choice when you are a mom? But it didn't matter that I was "okay" my mom made us dinner, my parents both came and watched the kids so I could have a break, and to just lend support. I didn't have to ask for help, it just came.

I really hope you have people in your life that will make you enchiladas too, because they are pretty rare and more valuable then anyone else you have to ask to walk through fire for you.

Too Impatient

2012-01-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

We decided we couldn't wait any longer and decided to pay to have an ultrasound done to determine the gender of our new little one.

Ally REALLY wanted a girl!

Alex REALLY wanted a boy!

Devin says he wants a sister, but that is only because he is constantly coached by Ally.

My nieces REALLY wanted a girl!

My mom and sister really wanted a girl (I even got a purple blanket for Christmas for the baby)!

And me? I just want a healthy baby!

Here are a few pictures:

Yeah, they don't look like much in the pictures. It was really fun to watch the baby kicking and moving around on the ultrasound though!

So, what do you think we are going to have?

Hmmmmmmm....

It's a GIRL!!!

So, *most everyone* got what they wanted! (Sorry Alex, you and Devin are just going to have to deal with the minority!)

"I'm Sexy and I Know It!"

2012-01-17T15:39:00.000-08:00

That song by LMFAO is my kids new favorite, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Devin is especially cute when he sings it. One day he put on his sister's pink boots, strikes a pose for me and says, "I'm sexy and I know it!" It made me laugh!!!

Two Months in One Post

2012-01-17T14:58:00.001-08:00

The last 2 months have kind of passed by in a blur for me... which sadly happened over my favorite time of year. Why? Well, I have been sick... very sick. This is the worst morning sickness I have ever had of my 3 kids and it has not been pretty. I actually lost 10 pounds, which normally would be a good thing, but when you are throwing up every day, it doesn't feel so great. But I haven't thrown up in 6 days, so I am going to pretend that it is better now, and hopefully it is in the past.

So I am going to put all of the fun of our holidays into one post, which makes me feel sad that I missed pictures of all the fun we had.

We decorated our tree over Thanksgiving weekend:

One of my favorite parts of decorating the tree, is when little ones put all of the ornaments in one spot. It was just so sweet!

One of my favorite parts of the season was going to see The Forgotten Carols with my sweet friend, Jamie. It really was beautiful and made me feel the Spirit of Christmas and our Savior so much.

We also took a couple of trips to see Christmas lights. We drove through the lights at Thanksgiving Point and took a trip up to Temple Square.

Ally had a couple of performances with school too. She is in her school choir this year and they had a Christmas performance. She goes twice a week to school at 7:45 am to practice. Sometimes it's hard for her (and me) to get out of bed that early every day, but it made their choir REALLY good. I was so impressed! I did get a few pictures of her in her performance:

They sang "I Want Chocolate in My Stocking for Christmas" and threw tootsie rolls out at the end of it... this was Devin's favorite part!

Alex celebrated his 35th Birthday a few days before Christmas too! He was nice enough to let the kids open his presents for him, so they could get in some practice before Christmas.

Alex was sweet enough to help Ally make a gingerbread house, because I was in the middle of a long puking session.

Then came Christmas Eve at my parents house and Christmas morning. I only got a few pictures, but it was fun... except I was oh so sick on Christmas Day (probably from staying up all night because I was soooo excited to give the kids their presents!).

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and Holiday Season too!!!

The Stinker aka Devin

2011-12-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

Remember how I couldn't get any good pictures of him? Well I decided to try and get something on my own... now I don't have the skills or equipment like Cameron, so I guess this is just the best I am going to get for now.

Here is how we started out:

I got several of these grumpy pictures!

But then I told him I was going to tickle him:

And I got the right picture:

It may have been the right picture, but it was the wrong photographer, because Cam's got mad skills, and I am just a mommy that likes to take pictures of her kids!

The whole process took less then 30 seconds, why couldn't he have cooperated for 30 seconds last time? Rrrrrr!!!

Oh well, maybe next time we will hide my sister's cool train and he will actually sit happily for a picture!

Family Photos

2011-12-03T19:03:00.001-08:00

My sweet nephew took these pictures for us. Devin was an absolute pain-in-the-you-know-what, but they still turned out cute, despite him being annoying.

I really LOVE the ones of Ally!!!

Blessings Coming... Ready or Not!!!

2011-12-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

There is big news at our house:

Our family will be getting bigger... I don't have any fancy way of saying it, just: I am pregnant.

I have to mention this is a big surprise for us... um, I mean a HUGE surprise for us. First of all, we had decided about 6 months ago that we were done. I didn't want to do foster care, I didn't want to adopt... life was good, perfect. I love my two kids and everything was perfect and we decided that was enough...

But someone else had other plans for us. Heavenly Father decided that our family was NOT complete, and if I wasn't going to do anything about it, He was. So, the girl who is really not supposed to be able to get pregnant, is now 9 weeks pregnant.

I had my doctor's appointment and we heard the heart beat, and everything looks good.

Am I still in shock a little? Um, yeah. I have to admit the thought of sleepless nights, going through another c-section, possible bedrest again, and did I mention sleepless nights?, (this is one girl who loves her sleep!), is completely scary and overwhelming. But am I excited for this new little life? YES! And while I am still feeling overwhelmed and a little nervous, I am also feeling extremely blessed. This is going to be one very special little spirit that needs our family, and I can't wait to meet him/her!

Fireman Devin

2011-11-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

Devin was a lucky little boy last week. His Uncle Dave is a firefighter and brought the fire engine home with him one day to make something for it... of course that meant Devin got to see it and even take a drive!

He happily tried on the firefighter costume and proudly wore it!

Uncle Dave even let him sit in the driver's seat.

Even though she was too "cool" to admit it, Ally thought it was pretty cool too.

He even let them hold the hose and pretend to put out a fire. Devin loved it!!!

Wearing that heavy hat and carrying that hose was just too heavy... so he took off the hat for a few minutes to really get the work done. And he was so proud of himself!

Then it was time to take an actual drive in the fire truck. I will let this picture tell you how Devin felt about that:

Thanks Uncle Dave! Your the coolest firefighter we know!!!

10 Candles on 11/11/11

2011-11-16T08:30:00.001-08:00

That's right, my little girl proudly announces she is double digits now... 10 whole years old.

Birthdays around our house seem to last around a week or so... trying to squeeze everything in.

First we celebrated with my side of the family the Saturday before her Birthday.

The next day we had Alex's parents come over to celebrate with us.

We also gave her our presents that day too.

Her main present was a karaoke machine. The kids LOVED it!

Even Grandpa Sam got in on the action.

For her actual Birthday she invited 8 friends over for a party and a sleepover... this will be the last time I ever have that many little girls sleep over at my house! Can I just say it was CRAZY!!!

Happy Birthday my not-so little girl. I am so proud of the amazing, sweet and beautiful young woman that you are. You bring me so much joy watching you. You are so alive, outgoing and fun to be around. You have a sweet, sensitive side that makes sure no one is left out and always included in your fun. I love who you are and am so proud and awed by how incredible you are. Heavenly Father truly blessed me in allowing me to be your mother and watch you become who He wants you to be. I love you!!!

Devin's Halloween Preschool Party

2011-11-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

I didn't take this picture, his teacher emailed it out. But here is Devin's cute class dressed up in their costumes:

Happy Halloween! - 2011

2011-10-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

How can it already be the end of October???

We watched The Addams Family (the newer version with Cristina Ricci) about 6 months ago... and that is when Ally decided that Wednesday Addams was her costume. Amazing, that 6 months and she never changed her mind... unlike her little brother.

Doesn't she make a VERY convincing Wednesday?

Devin started out wanting to be Buzz Lightyear... crazy me, I bought the costume over a month ago. He changed his mind so many times... but mainly wanted to be Mario. Well, he got to be Buzz anyway. :o) And he really loves his costume so much that he wore it for 4 days straight... the only problem was getting him to take it off for church on Sunday.

We did our annual pumpkin carving...

Went to Ally's school Halloween parade...

Trick-Or-Treating was a lot of fun this year. This is the first year that Devin wanted to participate. In fact, he wanted to go again the day after.

Hee Haw Farms

2011-10-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

Before Halloween my friend, Brandy and I took our kids to Hee Haw Farms. It was really cute and a lot of fun.

There was fun slides and tunnels to crawl on.

There was a petting zoo that the kids loved!

They got to ride on little animal cars pulled by a tractor.

We bought our pumpkins there.

We took a hay ride pulled by a tractor.

There was a huge corn maze, but it was getting dark and cold so we didn't attempt it. I don't think the little kids would have made it anyway!

Disneyland Days 2 and 3

2011-10-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

We had originally planned on going to Disneyland on Tuesday and Thursday, but when we woke up the next morning and Devin was begging to go back, we thought, "Why not?" And we packed up and took off and bought 2 day park hopper tickets.

We started out in California Adventure Land... we ran to The Tower of Terror first, because the wait on that ride can get really long. Ally really didn't want to ride this ride... but like mean parents we told her she had to try it once. We even told her she should hit us in the arm if she didn't like it....

She hit us in the arm. :o)

We went on a bunch of calm rides after that... the look of horror on Devin's face on the ride following Tower of Tower, sums up how he felt about it.

We spent most of that day at California Adventure.

Here is Devin meeting a few of his heroes.

The new Ariel ride was a hit with my kids. We rode it 4 or 5 times because the line moved so fast.

Another ride that we all loved was the Toy Story ride... but the line DID NOT move fast, and they don't offer fastpasses for it... but we still rode it 4 or 5 times those 2 days.

One of the most memorable parts of that day, was seeing Mickey. We were lucky and happened on him when the line was really short. Devin ran up to him and through his arms around him. Of all the characters I thought he would love to meet the most, it wasn't Mickey. But his reaction was the best and he LOVED it!

The following day he got to meet a couple more of his favorites. I thought they would be his favorite... and while he loved him, he still loved meeting Mickey more.

He wasn't as fond of Buzz... personally I thought he looked a little creepy, so I totally understand!

We wanted to buy our kids the traditional Mickey Ears... only Devin fell in love with Sherriff Woody's hat, so he skipped tradition and went for love!

Those above pictures were taken while waiting in line for Disney Junior Live On Stage. It was one thing I really wanted to take Devin to see, because he loves to watch Disney Junior! I wasn't sure if he could sit still that long... but I was so wrong! It was completely interactive and fun! He LOVED it!!! That is one other thing I HIGHLY recommend for little ones!!!

We finished the third day off watching the parade.

I have to admitt I was a little sad when it was all over. It was the best experience I have ever had at Disneyland... and I didn't want it to be over, sore feet, exhaustion and all.

I hope my kids remember this vacation as fondly as I do!

Disneyland - Day 1 - Mickey's Halloween Party

2011-10-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

Disneyland... it really is the happiest place on Earth!

Thanks to a friend we heard about Mickey's Halloween Party on Tuesday night. We weren't sure about going, but it was the best experience we have ever had at Disneyland and I highly recommend going! If you are going for the candy, you will wait in really long lines but get more candy then on Halloween. But if, like us, you just want to ride the rides, you will walk on most every ride. Amazing!

The official party starts at 6 pm, but they let you in 3 hours early, so we were standing at the gate waiting to get in at 3 pm.

We wanted to ride Pirates first... it's tradition. But it is closed until Christmas. So we went to The Haunted Mansion first... probably not too smart, looking back.

It was really amazing. They had completely transformed it to a while new ride! It was all themed from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Riding in the elevator to the ride terrified Devin, and I was really worried we would be done... but no, as soon as we got off he said, "Let's Go Again!!!" This kid is made of steel!

One of the great things this year is Devin just met the 40 inch height requirement. This meant he could ride every single ride in Disneyland, except Indiana Jones.(the only problem with this is he got measured on pretty much every ride).

Here are a bunch of our monents captured through the night:

We can't leave out Devin's favorite ride, Buzz Lightyear, that we rode about 10 times over the 3 days.

Finally was the fireworks... pretty amazing. Devin was a little terrified of the Pumpkin King's big face that appeared in the sky... he had already been scared by him at The Haunted Mansion.

We stayed until 10:30 (which was 11:30 Utah time)... Devin fell asleep on my lap on the shuttle to our car from Disneyland.

It was such an amazing experience!!!

Six Months of Waiting

2011-10-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

We made our reservations 6 months ago and have been counting down the days until we could go on our vacation to California.

We left after the Fun Run and drove to Mesquite. We parked in a casino parking lot, and ate at McDonalds (gag!). We were getting ready to go to bed when we noticed out batteries were too low. So we packed it all up and headed over to buy 2 new batteries for our trailer at the local Wal-Mart. Two hundred dollars later and we were back in our parking spot and fast asleep.

The next morning we got up and drove to Barstow. We didn't really need to take 3 days to get there, but since Alex had Friday off we decided to take 3 days instead of 2.

It was nice and warm there, in the 90's... so how in the heck was the swimming pool so COLD!!!???

Oh, how I wish I would have gotten a picture of the look on Ally's face when she jumped in without testing the water first!

Sunday we drove into San Juan Capistrano at Dana Point. We stayed at Doheny State Beach. Oh the beach... every time I go I am determined to never leave!

Sadly this is where my complaining about losing pictures comes in. We bought a new camera, a small point and shoot. I love my big Nikon camera but it is just not practical to carry it hiking or around Disneyland. So during my learning curve I lost a bunch of picures. All of them from the beach. :o(

Fun Run

2011-10-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

Ally's school does the same fundraiser ever year and it is my favorite!!! First of all I don't have to buy anything stupid like expensive cookie dough or wrapping paper, meaning 100% of my donation goes to the school. But it also requires the students to run for 2 miles... promoting physical fitness. So I am ALL about this fundraiser!!!

This year it was on the Friday before we left for vacation, so Alex took the day off to run with her. Give Devin a few years and the 4 of us can run it together!

This is her cute class this year:

(did I mention I got suckered into being room mother again this year?)

First mile, looking pretty confident:

Second mile, "Daddy's pushing me too hard!"

Alex is pretty competitive and he wanted to win... even though there are no winners in this race.

They came in as one of the top in her grade... Alex says he is going to start training her next summer and they are going to WIN next year. (insert me rolling my eyes here!)

But it's all good in the name of fun!

It's all down hill after I fall behind! - Devin Started Preschool

2011-10-29T07:46:00.001-07:00

I am behind... I know it! And it has been driving me crazy... especially since I use this as my journal and I have missed so much.

First of all, Devin started preschool. He goes to Miss Stephanie's preschool and (now) he loves it!

The start of school brought big changes for him. First of all his best buddy and sister started leaving him everday, and that was pretty traumatic for him. Along with her starting school, it meant that she would no longer be going to the gym daycare with him every morning... it meant he had to GO ALONE! It took 4 or 5 days of crying the whole time for him to get adjusted. Now he happily goes every day without any tears.

Well, the other big change started as well... preschool. I was SO nervous! Like I said he is pretty attached and I knew it was going to be rough on him. The first day I left him crying... and I cried the whole drive home. The second day was the same thing... but the third, there were no tears. Now he asks all the time when he gets to go to Miss Stephanie's. He even got an award for good behavior a few weeks ago! I couldn't have been more proud if it was the Nobel Peace Prize!

So my pictures disappeared along with some other awesome ones I will probably be complaining about in a different post as well.

We went on his first fieldtrip to Cornbelly's pumpkin patch and it was so much fun!

But all in all, as excited and sad as it make me feel, my little man is growing up!

Rivalry Week

2011-09-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

And we are so ready for it!!!

It seems like just yesterday

2011-08-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

that Laura and I were kids, playing together. Sleepovers, monopoly, vacations... everything. Technically, Laura and Linda (twin sisters) were my big sister's best friends, but I was always doing everything with them too.

I think that is one of the miracles of Facebook... finding people that were "lost" but definitely not forgotten. I hear about them all the time because my parents and her parents are still in the same neighborhood, but luckily I got to "talk" to Laura again through facebook!

And let me tell you, she is one amazing woman!!! She is one of those people that you are pretty sure has it all together and you can't help but admire. I just adore her!!!

Anyway, we were able to get together and catch up while our kids played. Here are some pictures of all the fun they were having:

(Isn't her little boy just adorable!???)

(I think my little boy is pretty cute too!!!)

And how did Ally take to playing with playing with 3 little boys? She LOVED it! All three of them adored her so much that this was her solution to all three of them wanting to sit by her:

She is going to the BEST babysitter in a few years!

The Start of Fourth Grade

2011-08-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

School started yesterday, and Ally was off to FOURTH grade!

Devin is very upset with Ally going to school. He cries over and over, "Can I get my Ally back?" The first day it lasted about 15 minutes... today 30 minutes. Will it be better tomorrow?

(Disclaimer, yes I purchase my daughters clothes... but I have a 2 rules: her clothes have to be modest and they have to match. So I think she looks cute in her spunky, Ally way).

Some Last Summer Pics

2011-08-23T14:54:00.001-07:00

I need to post the first day of school I wanted to post a few pics that I somehow missed from Summer.

This is from a trip we took to Hogle Zoo.

(they were getting sprayed by the dinosaurs)

We also took a trip up to Snowbird last week. We wanted to get a day pass to do the slide, tram, etc... but it was Oktoberfest and it was too busy. (WHY is Oktoberfest on August???)

3 Years Old

2011-08-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

Devin turned 3 this past week. He was thoroughly spoiled and loved all of his presents.

Thursday morning, we let him open the presents from us.

We gave Devin a party at Kagaroo Zoo and let him invite a couple of friends to play.

Then we went back to our room and had pizza.

Then it was time for presents.

Which didn't go so well, as Devin opened one present and didn't want to open any more.

Then it was time for cake.

(This cake was such a dissapointment... in my mind it turned out so much cuter then what I ended up making... I am beginning to think cake decorating is just not for me).

Saturday, we had our families over for a bbq to celebrate.

This time I wasn't going to make another Buzz Lightyear cake, so I cheated and made cream-filled cupcakes.

Sun, Water, Boating and FUN!

2011-08-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

So we were off to Willard Bay again this past week, and we had a great time.

Here is a peek at what we did in pictures:

Devin perfected his swimming skills:

And of course there was family tubing:

Devin didn't really like it... in fact, the boat going fast made him a little nervous:

We all got lots of sun... in fact, Ally got her very first sunburn. We are sunblock nazi's, so it has never happened before in the past 9 years.

It was a lot of fun!!!

Our Weekend

2011-07-25T08:01:00.001-07:00

was busy, but oh so fun!

Thursday, the kids and I met up with some friends and went to Monkey Island, then Ally was off swimming and sleeping over at a friends.

Friday, I babysat this cutie along with his brother and sister.

Saturday we went straight to Seven Peaks in the morning and it was great because it wasn't busy and we got to ride the slides a ton of times. Then it was Cafe Rio for lunch, and back home for nap time.

That afternoon we decided to pull the sprinklers out for the kids.

Sunday, for Pioneer Day we went to our friends house for a bbq and fireworks.

Happy Pioneer Day!!!

Eating Chicken by the Chickens

2011-07-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

It's Cow Appreciation Day, and that means if you dress like a cow you get a free meal at Chick-Fil-A. We LOVE Chick-Fil-A, so we couldn't pass this up.

So I dressed up my cuties, and let them color some masks and they got free meals.

We also planned to meet friends at the Thanksgiving Point Farm, so we took our food there and ate at a picnic table in front of the chickens... isn't that disturbing?

We had a lot of fun at the farm!

July 4th... no 5th... no...

2011-07-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

So, we tried to celebrate the 4th of July. First off, Ally was in Fish Lake so we tried to do a few small fireworks with Devin, but it started raining, and we decided to do them all the next day when Ally was home. (we also had Cafe Rio for dinner, do you think that is unAmerican?)

So we got ready to do our fireworks on the 5th. Ally invited her best friend, Morgan, to sleepover and watch the fireworks. We actually did a few fireworks.

See, crazy Alex with this firework? When he was doing that Devin shouted out, "Put it down you Moron!" Ok, I had to tell him not to use that word, because obviously it's just not nice. He learned it from the movie Cars... but inwardly I was laughing my head off, because it was so flippin' funny!

But sadly it started to rain again. We powered through it sprinkling, but when the heavy rain hit we had to end it.

(there was a couple of very disappointed girls from the rain).

It has actually rained every night since, so we are going to save our fireworks for Pioneer Day, July 24th... hopefully we will get clear weather this day!

Slacker

2011-07-04T18:27:00.001-07:00

I have been a total and complete slacker. We have done SO many fun things that I should have a million pictures of... but I have no excuse, I am just lazy and missed too many opportunities.

Here are a few I did get.

First off, we went up to Willard Bay. We went swimming at the lake and even visited Lagoon for a day. It was a blast! Here are a few things I actually did take pictures of:

We had electricity at this campspot, which meant we got to use the microwave, air conditioner and yes, even the t.v....

I wish I would have got some swimming pictures at the lake, the kids had a blast!

We came home for a few days and then it was off to Fish Lake for the 4th of July weekend, only a couple of pictures here too:

There was 26 of us all up there, here is most of the group:

And here is a cute picture of Kaylee, Emily and Ally.

My niece Emily (in the middle) made the skirts for the three girls. Cute, huh?

The fun ended quickly there, though. The very first night, we were up with Devin all night with a fever. He continued to get worse the next day, so we packed up and went home the next evening. Luckily we made it home before he started throwing up. We left Ally with my parents to have fun, though.

On the way home we saw this and had to stop to let Devin see one of his heros:

Broken Hearted

2011-06-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

Sierra Vista will always contain a small part of my heart... I lived there four years, grew up, welcomed Devin into my life... so much that means SO much!

It breaks my heart that the fires are tearing it apart. The mountians that we hiked, the rock that Ally kissed because it looked like a heart, the waterfall that became our greatest challenge and the rattlesnake we saw there that scared me to death... all gone, all burned.

But that's not the worst part. The people that I love are in danger. So many houses have already burned down, and so many people have been evacuated. My heart breaks for their terror.

So, if you have a few extra prayers, send them to all these people that are wondering if they will have anything left at the end of the day, and the firefighters that I personally know that are doing what the can to save them.

My prayers and heart is with those amazing people and place that I learned to love...

All a Blur

2011-06-11T19:14:00.001-07:00

Have you ever been so busy that you spend ever free second of the day running around ragged, and every minute of the day is so full that you fall into bed every night with still SO many things left on your to-do list? Yeah that was pretty much the entire month of May. There was parties, movies, the skating rink, track, swimming lessons, play group, babysitting, Pirates 4, field trips, sleepovers... only to name a few. So, I am not going to play catch-up, it would just take too long. So I am going to remember the month of May as a blur... Except that we finally finished laying sod and we now have GRASS!!! Alex and I did it all by ourselves and it looks great... pictures are coming...

Anyway, my camera charger has somehow disappeared along with several socks that make a lot of incomplete pairs... I ordered a new one, which should be here soon... and also means I will find my old one as soon as it arrives.

The first 11 days of this months have been filled with sleepovers, the park, Seven Peaks, visits to grandparents, birthday parties, picnics, ice cream parties, playing with friends, visiting bounce houses, babysitting, freezer club, visiting friends, play dates, sewing new curtains for our trailer (yay!), tieing a quilt for the trailer (mostly my mom on this one), Kung Fu Panda 2, bbq's... you get the idea. It has been oh so fun, but oh so busy!

So, I am going to try and be better! Not so much because I know I have so many readers dieing to know the intricate details and going-on's in my life... but because it is my main form of journaling and I am missing too much!

One little thing I have to mention is just too cute. Devin is OBSESSED with Toy Story, and I mean OBSESSED! He loves that show... well all 3 of them! When he first started watching it he would run around the house playing Buzz. He would always come up and say, "I am Butt Licker!" I know a little crude, but it made me laugh so hard... it only took a few days of me helping him enunciate and now he says it correctly, but it was oh so cute while it lasted!

Finally A Little Spring

2011-04-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

Finally the day was warm enough to be outside! So we met up with some friends to go to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point, and it was a lot of fun.

It was fun to spend the afternoon with good friends!

All Snuggly

2011-04-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

The other day I went in to pull Devin's blankets up before I headed to bed, only he wasn't in bed, and this is where I found him:

A different night I found him all cuddled up with Baby Jaguar.

My favorite night, I didn't get a picture of... He was so tired that he fell asleep in my arms while I read him a bed time story. There is never a better feeling then snuggling a sleeping toddler in your amrs!

Easter

2011-04-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

The kids had a great time coloring Easter eggs. Devin ended up with neon blue an green hands... but the green cup he spilled didn't stain and the die came off in the tub.

The Easter Bunny brought both of the kids their baskets.

Then it was time for hunting eggs...

But Devin refused to leave his brand new cars and would not even consider leaving them to find eggs.

SO it was left up to Ally to find them all... and she finally found all 40 of them, the last one was a little tricky...

(who knew the Easter Bunny could hop so high?)

Ally got to wear the new outfit my mom had made her to church.

(isn't her new haircut cute?)

Spring Break (minus the Spring)

2011-04-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

Our computer had a virus so I have been unable to download any pictures for a while... now I get to play catch up.

Ally had Spring Break a few weeks ago and we decided to do lots of fun stuff... only it was WAY too much and while fun, it was crazy!

Monday was the only day we didn't have aything planned. So we cleaned and grocery shopped... and Ally played with her bff.

Now Tuesday Ally went to my parents to sleep over, so Devin and I were left alone... but not for long. We went with some friends to Monkey Island in Lehi. Devin had a great time and we were there for a long time!

On Wednesday, Devin and I headed up to Salt Lake to pick up Ally and spend the day with my parents. We took the kids to The Discovery Museum at the Gateway.

Thursday, I had a picnic planned with another friend... only it was freezing that day! So we met to McDonald's for lunch and the kids played at the playplace. Then we ran home to give Devin a quick nap. After that I took Ally and her bff to Chuck-E-Cheese, where they had a birthday party. I had to take them home so I stayed, bought tokens and let Devin play all the games. Then we went home and Ally had that same friend sleepover.

Friday I babysat for 5 hours for a friend, and Ally went to Trafalga with her friend. By the time this day was over, I was way past exhaustd!

But, we weren't done yet. Saturday, Ally had a primary activity in the morning and then both the kids went to a birthday party in the afternoon.

Sunday was church and then over to Alex's dad's to drop off a present to his half brother.

So it wasn't very Springy, and it wasn' very relaxing but we were VERY busy and had a lot of fun!

Wherever the road may lead...

2011-04-26T12:17:00.001-07:00

This has been a tough one to write... mostly because I don't think I am really ready for this.

If you don't know the story of Finn, do a quick catch up here, or the rest of this is just not going to make sense:

http://jensens22.blogspot.com/2010/03/story-of-finn.html

It all started several months ago, a prompting, a feeling... it was time; time to do foster care again.

What was my first reaction to this? "HECK NO!" and a complete decision to ignore that train of thought.

I was pretty good at ignoring that nagging feeling for a few more months, refusing to give in to that not-so-subtle command.

Then Alex and I were watching The Blind Side, and as the emotions of that amazing movie overcame me, I guess it was easy enough for the Spirit to wiggle it's way in and say, "It's time."

What did I do this time?... even though I was in an emotional euphoria from the movie, I am embarrassed to say my reaction was the same, "I am happy! I have two amazing children, I am enrolled to go to UVU in the fall, my plate is full. So, NOOOOOOO!"

Only this time, the ignoring it factor just didn't work as well. So many little moments and promptings... pleadings.

Ok, maybe there is supposed to be another child in our family... Alex's new amazing job matches a huge amount for adoption, I spent hours searching the internet, emailing an amazing friend that did that very thing...

But you know what? That wasn't what I was being asked to do. I was being asked to do foster care... not adopt, not try infertility treatments... foster care.

Really? I have free agency, right? I don't have to do this. I know Heavenly Father was with me last time, and I KNOW He remembers me back then, He can't really be requesting this of me.

Yes, I have free agency... but the Spirit has never, not once, let me down in my entire life. So I will obey.

I call, make appointments... half-heartedly, I have to admit. I set appointments for months in advance, drag my feet. I listen closely to Alex tell me that it really isn't something he wants to do again...

Then the month passes and the appointment is there to meet with DCFS. I almost cancelled it too many times to count. The man comes and talks to us, telling us everything left to go through, the classes, the home study, background checks, what to expect... I've been through this before. It's like I am not really there, almost checked out of the experience. But I agree to the classes, fill out half the paperwork and prepare for the classes to come...

We need babysitters for the classes... surely it isn't worth the stress, right? We need to move the office back downstairs, oh the pain of it. I don't know if Devin could handle another needy child in our family... actually I don't think *I* could handle another needy child. Only, something strange happens. Alex is suddenly not against it any more... what happened to my ally?

So, here I am, sitting with complete mixed emotions. Am I resigned to my fate? No, I realized something important, I DO have free agency. I don't have to do this. I know Heavenly Father is asking this of me, but I also know that He will still love and accept me, even if I choose that I can not go through with this. This is completely my decision.

So, I am moving forward, still extremely cautious and unsure if this is something I can do. What will this accompolish? Will it bring another child in our family to be ours forever? Will I be there to mend a broken heart until a mother can stand back on her own two feet? Or is it merely an experience to banish my past demons? Is that even possible?

I don't know, but I am going on this journey, unclear where I am headed, but I will follow to wherever the road may lead...

The Weather

2011-04-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

is just so fickle these days.

The last weekend of March, gave us this:

(Two sick, but adorable snuggling kids).

Then the weather took a beautiful turn. We spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday outside! We took the kids to the park, we went on walks... it was beautiful!
We even worked in some yard work:

But when we woke up Sunday morning the ground was covered in several inces of snow. Big sigh, this girl belongs in the sun!!!

Couponing

2011-04-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever used coupons before? I had... but only every once in a while. I seriously thought they were too much work, not worth it... and let's face it: down right dorky!

I have always watched the store ads, buying in bulk when things go on sale, etc.
However, The Krazy Coupon Lady made me want to try couponing... now I am so hooked.

Now I watch the sales AND use a coupon on what is on sale. See the above picture? What I purchased is a result of that very tactic. I spent $60 on all of that at Target... that's after using $40 worth of coupons. That includes the big box of Tide and Downey (on sale and when you buy both you get a $5 gift card). I spent 75 cents for the cake mix and frosting. Excedrin cost 20 cents. The concealer isn't the brand I uually buy, but it was free. The dressing was 40 cents each, hostess cupcakes and ding dongs were $3 for both... I could go on, but... (on a side note the Nesquik and milk weren't on sale but Devin HAS to have it... and the bananas were expensive but when Devin was crying for one I thought it was one of the best "treats" he could ask for).

So, while I watch the commercial for "Extreme Couponing" on TLC and the lady says she paid $6 for $600 worth of stuff, I am pretty sure I will never be that good. But I feel pretty good about the $60 I spent on $100 worth of stuff. So add me to he "dorky" list!

Proof

2011-03-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

For those of you that see my daughter's room in it's "normal" state, here is proof that every once in a while it actually is clean.

Go Cougs!!!

2011-03-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

BYU did amazing, Jimmer was great... I don't care if they lost to Florida, they still rocked!!! Thank's for such a fun reason to cheer for basketball this year, Cougars!!!

Widowed

2011-03-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

I think I should be allowed to file for spousal support... you know an actual husband that comes home during the day and supports me.

Seeing my husband for less than two hours a day is not what I call great... especially since he is usually dozing in front of the t.v. for at least an hour of that.

I asked him if after he has there for a while, will it get better... and you know what he had the audacity tell me??? NO... I mean seriously, why not dash all of my hopes with two letters?

As you can tell, the "single-mom" status is not sitting well with me these days...

Scented Playdough Recipe

2011-03-09T07:33:00.001-08:00

I've had a couple of people ask me what recipe I used for the scented playdough, so here it is (and in case I ever lose it too):

Kool-Aid Scented Play Dough

1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I use Crisco oil)
2 (1/4 ounce) packages the same flavor kool-aid unsweetened flavored drink mix
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
5 teaspoons cream of tartar (I used more like 2 tsps and it turned out fine!)

1 In a pot, combine water, oil, Kool-Aid, and salt.
2 Heat and stir until salt dissolves.
3 Add Flour and cream of tartar all at once to above.
4 Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until well mixed and dough forms a ball, (this should only take a couple minutes).
5 Remove from heat once the dough forms into a ball.
6 Cool on a clean baking sheet, kneading the dough as soon as it is cool enough to handle.
7 Cool completely, and let your kids play away!
8 (On occasion, I've mixed in a matching essential oil to enhance the fruity scent if I only have one package of a Kool-aid flavour on hand.) Store this Play Dough in a resealable plastic baggy or plastic container.
9 It should last for a couple months, depending on how often your children play with it.

This recipe is from here:
http://www.food.com/recipe/kool-aid-scented-play-dough-56797

Ally's Scented Playdough Factory

2011-03-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Ally received yet another big project for school. This time they had to *make* something to sell to other third graders. They have earned fake money for behaviour, turning homework in, memorizing poems, etc. and will get to spend money at the market.

It took a couple of days of brainstorming, but we eventually came up with the idea to make homemade playdough... but not just any playdough, this is scented playdough. It is scented by koolaid packets, so it doesn't have the nasty salt smell.

So, we've spent a couple of weeks making 5 different colors/flavors and dividing them up into individual packets. We still need to make her poster and the tags that go on each one announcing the flavor and price... it's due Thursday, but we will make it!

But, my kids couldn't stand the fact that they couldn't have the playdough, so we had to take a package of each color to play with...

Then I made a rose and taught Ally how to make them...

(I usually make it with fondant for cakes, but hey, same thing).
So Ally made some roses:

She is a perfectionist and was upset that they didn't look like mine, but I think she did a great job!

Time To Move Again

2011-02-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

I am pretty serious about this... but it just isn't going to happen. Big sigh.

Around this time Alex and I have dreaded moving back to Utah. The cold, the snow... did I mention it is really, really cold? If it weren't for family, we would be out of here...

So, while I sit on the couch with a 2 year old with a fever of 103, and stare out the window at the nasty cold, white stuff, I will pretend I am here...

Or here...

Or just anywhere that the sun is shining.

Spoiled

2011-02-19T19:27:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's me!

Do you know what my honey got me for Valentines Day (after we both agreed not to get anything for each other, of course)? A Sony Reader!!! I love to read, I mean seriously, if I could forget the whole world and keep my nose in a book all day long, I may actually be tempted. So now instead of having to keep looking for books at the library I just download them online... I can even "borrow" books from my library that way! I am so in love with it! Even if Alex does complain that he is a widower now...

Is that all? Nope. We went out for Valentines today and my friend watched our kids. He actually suffered through a musical production performed by BYU students! Now that is love! (he actually said it wasn't too bad after it was over though).

After a fabulous dinner he took me shopping and I got 3 new shirts and a pair of seven jeans.

So, am I spoiled? Heck yes! I am one lucky girl to have such a sweet and loving husband!!!

Official Change

2011-02-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

So, change... um, yeah it starts on Monday.

Of course I had so many people email me after that previous post that you all probably know anyway. We waited to "officially" announce it until he passed his background and drug tests... because you all know what a wild, naughty boy Alex is! :o)

But, in case I missed anyone, Alex starts a new job on Monday. He will be in charge of all the sales reps in Salt Lake. It's a big change and a big opportunity for him. He is excited... WE are excited. However, it's back to high stress and long hours, so that is a little scary... and it's a little scary because what if he hates it???

So congrats Alex!!! It was an insanely competitive process, but he is the one that got it!!! I am married to one amazing man!!!

Borrowed Babies

2011-02-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

Today I watched my friend's two kids for 5 hours... which mean I had a 2 year old, a 1 year old and a 3 week old newborn. Crazy? Yeah, it sounds like it, but it was one of the easiest baby sitting jobs I have ever done. There was not a single cry or complaint the entire time from any of the 3 kids... and best of all, I got to snuggle this gorgeous little cutie...

It sure was fun to cuddle a newborn for a while!

Not a Fan

2011-02-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

of change, that is. But there's nothing I can do to stop it, and I really wouldn't want to anyway. It's just... scary.

So, stay tuned, something is very new (both exciting and scary) at the Jensen house...

Ally's Poem

2011-02-06T13:00:00.002-08:00

Yesterday was Ally's Acheivement Day Daddy Daughter Date. So they dressed up in there matching Spongebob jammies and went to a brunch. The girls were supposed to do something special for their dad, and Ally chose to write a poem.

Here is her poem:

My Daddy is sweet,
Even though he has stinky feet.
His eyes are green
And he is never mean.
He is really fun;
His skin is as bright as the sun.
I like it when we go on a hike.
My Daddy likes to ride his bike.
I like to watch him play the Wii,
And I know that he really loves me.
My Daddy is the very best,
A better Daddy then all the rest!

Running Wild!

2011-02-06T13:00:00.001-08:00

This past week I had the chance to go to the Dinosaur Museum in Lehi, and so I pulled Ally out of school an hour early and we went.

The kids had fun... I had fun too, but most of my visit consisted of chasing Devin. Here is a great example:

I had Devin stand nicely beside the dinosaurs to get a picture, step back a few steps and hold my camera up to take the picture and this is what I got:

He wanted to climb everything, run every where and was just so naughty! I often feel like a failure with him, because I just can't seem to keep him under control, no matter what I do!

But it was fun to be with friends, talk to them inbetween chasing Devin and get out and do something fun.

Aren't my kid's just adorable!?

2011-01-27T16:54:00.001-08:00

Ally has been into playing "mom" lately. You can see her baby boy she calls Xavier, in the picture. Apparently her and her husband are so poor that they have to use paper towels for diapers and only have $67 to last them for the rest of the month... I don't know where she gets it from!

Devin really likes to do what his sister does, so he had to have a baby too... Only he didn't want to have a doll, he wanted to have a stuffed animal. He is called Baby Jaguar (yes, he's a Dora and Diego fan).

And I just had to include this one because it is so sweet.... AND they will be embarassed by it when they are older.

Ally also had an invention fair in her classroom. It had to be an invention and include 2 simple machines only with materials around the house. This is SO not my thing. Ask me to do something creative, like an art project or write a story and I am so there, but this was NOT for me! After much deliberation, she decided to make a dog feeder. We used a paper towel tube to be an inclined plane that the dog food slides down into and drops in a cup. Then using a wheel and axle the dog food spins around and drops into the dog bowl. Luckily my dad did the wheel and axle part for me and then the rest was me trying to throw it all together. It took me forever to find the right way to line it all up so the dog food didn't end all over the floor. I didn't think it was very good, but hey at least it worked. (By the way, how is this homework for a child?)

So, the parents were invited to her classroom to watch the kids present at 2:30. I had to wake Devin up from his nap to go and he screamed the ENTIRE time we were in her classroom, sigh. Luckily her teacher let her go first so we could watch and then we left without seeing the rest. So as I took a bunch of pictures, I was holding a screaming, kicking two-year-old in one arm and my heavy camera in the other, and well, nothing turned out great.

And do you know WHAT!? Ninety percent of the kids made something out of legos that looked nothing like an invention... just simple machines. I stressed and we went to so much work for nothing?

Red, Yellow, Blue... Dump Truck, Back Hoe and Crane

2011-01-20T14:15:00.001-08:00

Devin doesn't "do" colors. I have done every lesson I can think of, read books, sorted objects but when it comes down to it, Devin could care less. He has NO desire to learn his colors.

At first I was worried... is he not smart enough? Ally knew all her colors, shapes, a bunch of letters... she was definitely over prepared for preschool. But one day as he we were driving past the never-ending construction and Devin was pointing out every construction vehicle and naming them I realized something... he IS smart, just not in the same way. Don't even try and try and tell him a front loader is a back hoe, because he will laugh at you. And he when he hands you an allen wrench, don't call it just a wrench. He also knows all of his tools by specific name. So, no more worrying, he is just going to learn what he wants, when he wants it.

He has definitely hit his "terrible two's" though, and where he used to be so mellow and easy going, he can now throw a massive temper tantrum.

He's also really good at getting in trouble.

And while I fall in to bed every night exhausted, I am in SO in love with him!

Someone to look up to

2011-01-08T20:50:00.001-08:00

I have some pretty amazing people in my life.... no, that doesn't even come close to describing it. I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many people that I love and love me unconditionally.

But there is just one person that I just need to write about... my sister, Wendy. She is such an amazing person. She is just one of those people that you can't help but love and want to be around all the time. She just radiates warmth and happiness, love and devotion...

I have to admit, as children (and especially teenagers) she drove me nuts. She was, and still is a perfectionist. I remember dreading morning when I would have to do her hair for her before school and I always new she was going to get mad because it wasn't perfect enough... and dang, was that girl BOY CRAZY! I know I saw it all through foggy adolescent eyes, and even though we were great friends, we were also pretty good enemies... it happens when you are 18 months apart.

But now, I have to say she is one of the most amazing people I have ever known. If there was ever a big sister to look up to, she is it. Maybe I see her through foggy, sisterly adoring eyes, but she seems pretty close to getting her perfection dreams. Thank you, Wendy, for being the kind of sister that every girl deserves, and only I am lucky enough to have.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-05T09:17:00.000-08:00

Like I said earlier, I have most definitely not been in a picture-taking mood and sadly that was the same for Christmas... I knew I would regret it later, but at the time is still wasn't enough motivation to pull my camera out of it's bag. I took a couple of pictures Christmas morning, but that's it.

And I was right, I really do regret it.

Anyway, we had a great Christmas break!

Ally's last day if school was on the 21st... unfortunately we got almost two feet of snow that day. We told her she could stay home, but of course she didn't want to.
Alex trying to dig us out.

The we went to her school to see her sing her Christmas song.

Then we came back and about an hour after that it was time for me to head back to her school, since I was in charge of her class Christmas party... but the roads were just too bad to drive on. Luckily we only live a couple of blocks from the school... but man did I get a workout! Remember it was almost 2 feet deep? So I had to trudge through it, carrying Devin because it was too deep for him to walk in, a backpack full of treats for Ally's class and a present for her teacher. I really wasn't sure I was going to make it!
Here is a picture of what my sister helped me make for presents. The small one is for Ally's teacher and the bigger one was for Alex's step-mom.

(My sister made one for Ally for her birthday as a scripture carrying case... now I just want to make me one!!!)

Alex's birthday was on the 22nd and he had it off work. (He actually had Dec. 22-27 off which was incredible!) But my parents came for dinner and watched the kids so we could go see TRON... Alex liked it, but I was SO bored and it felt like it would never end!

On Christmas Eve we do our usual extremely busy day. We woke up and Ally helped clean the entire house so she could open a couple of presents. He, he, he I love that tradition!
Devin had a fever for 2 days before (and was up all night which added to my exhaustion and no-desire to take pictures on Christmas Eve). He got an extension to his railroad set from Ally and while he loved it, he didn't feel well enough to do anything but this:

(See the blanket in the picture? He got it for Christmas Eve from us... it's his "dump truck blankie" and man I already hate that thing! He was never attached to a blanket before but he is obsesses with that thing now and won't go to sleep without it! Why did I ever get it for him!?)

By noon we were out the door and on our way to "Aunt" Kristie's house, to celebrate with Alex's side of the family. We had fabulous food there and it was fun to see everyone... but time was too short and we had to hurry and leave to go visit my side of the family. Again, the food was too yummy and we had a lot of fun, playing Bingo, opening presents, and drinking the traditional red and green Sprite. The grandkids all opened their matching pajamas too. The we left really late to head home to wait for Santa.

This is the first year that Ally knew there was no Santa bringing her presents... I wasn't prepared for the little sadness that accompanied her realization. She is just growing up too fast and I still want her to stay little.

Christmas morning my parents drove down to watch the kids open their presents. They were thoroughly spoiled, of course, and it was great. Ally wanted to rip through her presents and Devin took forever because he wanted every new thing opened and played with before he could move on. Ally's favorite was her new skateboard and scooter and I'm not sure what Devin's favorite toy from Santa was... maybe the package of M&M's... no, he loved it all and played with all of it. The we spent the rest of Christmas day relaxing at home and letting the kids play with their presents.

I end with the few pictures I took of Christmas morning, and while I do regret all the pictures I missed, I am still very thankful for the magic of Christmas that I can feel without an actual photograph to remember it.

Some Family Pictures

2011-01-02T19:58:00.001-08:00

I've been kind of in a picture taking rut, too busy, too tired and just not in the mood. But here are some family pictures:

All of My Parents Grandkids

2011-01-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

I couldn't post this earlier, because I gave my parents this picture as part of their Christmas present, but here is a picture I took of all 8 of my parent's grandchildren. Devin refused to cooperate and I had to crop him in from a different picture, Cameron put bunny ears on his sister Emily and I had to smooth them out, the background didn't reach far enough and I had to paste a new one in... so it is way too rough, but here it is anyway:

The Cute Jensen, Pickle and Peterson Kids!

2010-12-04T19:54:00.001-08:00

On Thanksgiving, I took pictures of all of my nieces and nephews (on my side) and my kids. Look how flippin' cute they all are!

Cameron (my sister's oldest... will be 17 in a few months) who is a master on the swim team!

Next come's Cody, who is 15 and on his high school basketball team (my brother's son):

Then my brother's second son, Neal, who just turned 14, and is one of the smartest kids I know:

Just 4 days after Neal was born, comes my sister's daughter Emily, who may be extremely beautiful and popular but is an absolute sweetie:

Then comes my sister's youngest, Nathan, who will be 12 in a few months. He is one of those kids that just radiates warmth and happiness!

Then comes my brother's youngest, Kaylee who will be 12 next summer. She loves to talk but more importantly knows how to really listen.

My kids bring up the end of the grandkids.

Ally, who just turned 9:

And, then comes Devin, who trails really far behind at 2:

And that makes up my adorable family of nieces, nephews and of course my own sweeties!

Thankful

2010-11-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

Last month was the month to be thankful. I hate how November is kind of a crazy jump from Halloween straight into Christmas. It's even crazy for us because we have immediate family members with Birthday's on the 11th, 13th, 15th, 19th, 21st, 25th and 29th... add all that up to a crazy month.

November was an ENTIRE month of pure sickness. You know it has been a bad month when you get a text from your mom every morning asking who is sick that day, and you can never answer "no one". I *think* we may have a pause in the sickness, but I can never be too sure.

So, I really wanted to find ways to celebrate this beautiful time of year and really remember what it is about... being thankful. I found an easy way to do this. I created a big poster and wrote "I AM THANKFUL FOR..." on it. At least every day we each try and write something on it. True, there is "nyquil" and "no one threw up today" on it, but those really have been things to be thankful for this month. It has been really great to see how everyone checks it out and loves to see what we write.

I took this picture mid month, so it got even fuller by the time the month was over.

I really am so very thankful for all the many blessings in my life!!!

Nine

2010-11-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Ally,

Today you turned nine years old... Nine years and nine whole months you have been in my life. What a blessing each precious second has been to me. We've spent a lot of time lately talking with you about the past, our past. From talking about your seizures as a baby, to the time you left Scooby in the Tucson airport and we finally came clean that it was in fact a new Scooby and the flight attendants hadn't really mailed him back to us.

I will never forget my first moments with you alone. Daddy was gone and even the nurses had disappeared. I remember stroking your soft, fuzzy, dark hair and looking at your big dark eyes. I remember feeling scared, not knowing what to do with something so tiny and so completely mine. But those few moments of fear quickly got lost in complete wonder at the tiny fingers curled around one of mine and the fact that you were mine... and then the wonder disappeared, and it was just you and me, and I finally knew what unconditional love meant.

You've always been mine. As a toddler you were forever attached to me and I wondered if I would ever get a moments peace from you... but those days are gone. You are still mine, but as you are constantly with friends, playing on your own, going to school so many hours a day, I sometimes wish you were the toddler that would scream if I was ever a few steps away. I never understood how hard it is to let someone grow up. Sometimes you probably wonder why I come into your room to listen to some music with you, even when you know I really can't stand The Jonas Brothers... it's simple. I'm still a little too attached, and even if I can't scream when you're too many steps away, I sneak in ways all I can to just be near you.

You are the most amazing nine-year-old I have ever met. Yes, you are beautiful and smart, but you are also the most caring, sweet and tender-hearted too! Your compassion and patience for your brother is amazing, and your hugs can make the whole world seem right again. You are honest, and amaze me how you always try to do what is right. I know you are only nine years old, but you are one of the few people I can really count on.

So, please be patient with this mom that still wants to hold your hand, and hug you when you leave for school every morning. I am not quite as ready as you are to let go, but I am trying. You have made me so proud of you and the beautiful young lady you are today.

So, Happy Birthday, my not-so, little one.

Love,
Mom

Another Weekend of Parties

2010-11-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

It was another busy, crazy, fun weekend for us. This time we were celebrating Ally's birthday. On Saturday, we had a few of Ally's closest friends come over for a party. She wanted to have a Halloween/Birthday party... interesting. Anyway, we invited everyone to wear their costumes.

The pictures are from a game of candy corn catch. The girls threw the candy corn and their partner had to catch it in the pumpkin. This was Devin's favorite game! He sat underneath them and tried to catch as much candy corn as possible that dropped and eat it.

We also did a mummy wrap with toilet paper.

We played some more games and then we fed the girls pizza.

Then it was time to open presents.

Then it was time for cupcakes and ice cream.

Ally had a lot of fun!!!

On Sunday morning around 4 am, Ally came into our room saying she didn't feel good... and then proceeded to throw up all over our carpeted floor... the last thing she had eaten was orange jello... just sayin'... So, we get her all settled with a bucket and scrub the floor and I am thinking I am going to call all of our family and cancel her party later... but she doesn't throw up again and feels fine. So we figure she just had too much sugar or something... the party is still on! (and I am extremely thankful because I had already made her huge cake and it takes me HOURS to do it!)
We gave her the option to open her presents from us Sunday morning or wait until her actual Birthday on the 11th... what do you think she picked? Of course she wanted to open them!

Here is Ally in the outfit and boots we got for her:

We didn't go to church... we weren't still sure at that point if she was actually sick or not, but then that evening our family came over and she opened even more presents!

Then time for more cake (made to Ally's specifications) and ice cream.

So, that was our fun weekend celebrating a beautiful young lady!!!

Halloween Festivities

2010-10-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it been a crazy several days of parties, and while I must say it has been fun, I must also say that I am SO glad it is over.

It all started with carving pumpkins. My parent's came to watch Ally's Primary Program (which I must say she did an amazing job) and we decided to carve pumpkins that day.

Ally doesn't really mind carving pumpkins.

But Devin was completely grossed out by the insides and would freak out if any of it touched him... we were all laughing at him, because it was pretty hilarious.

The result...

A few days later Alex got sick... he still is.
On Thursday, October 28th, I hosted Devin's play group Halloween party at our house.
I put on a luncheon and had the kids make spider cookies.

Once again we tried to get a picture of all the kids... and once again it didn't work out so well...

Did I mention that Ally woke up with a cold this morning?... yeah, she had to stay upstairs while we had the party downstairs.

On Friday, October 29th was Ally's Halloween activities at school. So we, got her all dressed up as a witch.

My parents came down to watch Ally's Halloween Parade at her school.

We waited for 45 minutes to see her walk by for less than a minute around the gym... but that's all part of it...

Then my parents watched Devin so I could go back to Ally's class Halloween Party... did I mention I was in charge of it? For my part I had the kids make spider cookies and pom pom spiders.

The it was time for actual Halloween... well, since Halloween was on a Sunday this year, all of the trick-or-treating was done on the 30th... and who woke up with a cold this day? Devin.

We went with some friends to the mall, where the kids got candy from the stores and played around. Then we went to Wingers after for some dinner all together.

Then we went trick-or-treating with those same friends and their kids that night. Devin didn't want anything to do with trick-or-treating, so after a few houses Alex took him back to our house to pass out candy. Ally, got lots of candy though.

Who do you think woke up sick today???? Miraculously, no one NEW was sick.
The actual Halloween day brought another party... only this time for only half of us. Devin and Alex were just too sick to join in this time. So, Ally and I drove up to Salt Lake to spend the evening with my family. Here are some of the pics from our evening:

My niece, Kaylee:

And my other niece, Emily:

And my favorite witch:

We also all got in on turtle races.

And who was the overall winner?

My mom!

So, that was our crazy week of parties and sickness... and should I mention who woke up sick on Monday morning?.... hmmmm, there was only one person left in our little family to get sick.... yep, that's me, lucky, sick me.

Random Moments

2010-10-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that I am very busy? Seriously, I think this is has been the busiest I have ever consistently been in my life!

Anyway, there is a bunch of us mom's in our neighborhood that get together on Thursday's and let the kids play while we talk... somehow I kind of got roped to be in charge of it.
On the 14th, we went to a pumpkin patch and corn maze place. Ally was out for Fall Break, so she got to come too. We tried to get a picture of the entire group... yeah, it didn't work so well:

Here are some more pics I took, even if I spent the entire time pretty much chasing Devin around...

Moving on, remember my stress over Ally's habitat a while ago... well, here is how it turned out:

And her beautiful paint job:

And here is her leopard that she made:

And the leopards I made her, after she feel apart saying her's wasn't good enough:

(luckily her cute paint job made up for my poor sculpturing).

Now today, Ally's school had a "Fun Run". The kids were supposed to get pledges to run around 2 laps. I am totally for donating to the school for something like this... now those stupid fundraisers where you have to buy something like chocolates or really expensive wrapping paper and the school get a tiny percentage... I HATE THOSE!!! Anyway, Devin and I went to cheer Ally on... I mean, I've got to get my gratification for my donation, right?

But man was I surprised, this girl can RUN!!!

She finished in the top five for her grade... the first girl! She finished in front of most of the 5th and 6th graders too. I'm thinking watch out track and field, here comes MY champion. (Yeah, I'm an overzealous present, but hey I'm pretty proud).

Here is Ally with her teacher, who I happen to ADORE!

Devin loved sitting in his stroller next to Nathaniel and giving his Cheerios to his buddy.

So, those are some random moments caught on film to catch up just a small portion of my life.

Finally!

2010-10-13T16:54:00.001-07:00

We meant to put sprinklers in this Spring, however life threw us a huge curveball and it was postponed. But luckily, we started this past weekend. We are halfway through due to 3 of the amazing men in my life: my father-in-law, my dad and my husband.

We started on Saturday... my dad and mom came and my father-in-law and my step-mother-in-law (is that really what I should call her?... I just call her "Lisa").

Here is the "before" picture... (the "after" picture won't be coming until next spring).

Alex and Sam spent a lot of time trying to figure it all out, they only messed up a few times.

Devin, of course had to be in the middle of everything.

And this is what he looked like the end of every day:

We spent another 6 hours (just Alex and I) finishing laying pipe in the front yard yesterday... now on to the back yard!!!

to be continued...

What did you do today?

2010-09-28T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is for my husband who ask asks me this question every single day without fail in a tone that says he believes I sat around and watched HGTV and painted my toe nails all day...

I got up at 7:30, reminded Ally to "please be quiet so you don't wake up your brother," at least 5 times and then plugged the curling iron in. While she gets dressed and brushed through her hair, I make the bed and throw all of Alex's dirty laundry in the laundry basket, because it never seems to make it there without my help. She is finally ready and I spend the next 5 minutes in a speed curling session, because she needs to leave in 10 minutes and needs another bowl of cereal because she is "starving!!!"
I remind her to "be quiet" one more time as she runs upstairs to put her socks and shoes on for school... but yet again, she shuts her door too loudly and I hear "Mommy!" through the monitor.
I give Ally and Alex a hug and a kiss and send them out the door.
Devin is only talking to himself, so I quickly throw on a pair of shorts and a shirt and wash my face... he starting to whine now, but I quickly brush my hair and get some mascara on before his whining is turning into a cry.
I pull a happy Devin out of bed, change his diaper, turn Disney channel on and give him a sippy full of milk. Then I make him some toast, put some yogurt in a bowl and put him in the high chair. I let him watch Handy Manny while eating so I can wash the pans from last night's dinner and pick up some more of my husband's and children's clothing from the family room.
Devin is finished, so I take him out and hope he will be enthralled by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that has just come on. I sneak upstairs to get 3 more packages ready to ship... no such luck, he starts crying for me and as much as I am tempted to ignore him, I tell him I am upstairs and he comes up and proceeds to pull all of the clothing I have organized in sizes to put away onto the floor and somehow finds a screwdriver that I have to pry it from him screaming and hitting.
What should have taken 15 minutes to do turns into almost an hour because of my "help".
I dress Devin... and realized afterwards that he has a messy diaper, so I undress him, change him and redress him.
I have 11 packages to take to the post office and throw them out into the car and go back for Devin. In those 30 seconds that it took me, he has taken off one of his shoes. So, I put it back on, grab my purse and we are almost out the door... when I notice Ally's lunch sitting on the kitchen island (yes, my kitchen is THAT messy that I didn't notice it before). So I grab the lunch as well.
We stop at the school and the office tells me to just take it back to her classroom. Did I mention her classroom is at the very back of the school? So I drag Devin past 4 drinking fountains... I know there are 4 because he has to get a drink at each one. I try to quietly give Ally her lunch, but Devin starts to cry for her... so much for not interupting the class. Devin gets a drink at each drinking fountain on the way back and we finally make it back to the car. He has to, of course, buckle his own seatbelt that takes an additional 5 minutes.
Lucky for me, the post office line is short and I don't have to wait long juggling 11 packages, my purse and keep Devin from pulling all the Hallmark cards out of the display.
On the drive home, Devin see's the park and starts asking... well whining, to go. "Sure, why not?" I think. I feel guilty for being so busy lately and not taking him. We spend an hour there and I have fun playing with him... but then it is time to leave and I have to drag him kicking and screaming away.
By now it is time for lunch, and since I skipped breakfast I am starving. First, I make a PB&J sandwich for Devin and give him a couple of carrot sticks. While I am making myself a sandwich Devin throws half of his sandwich on the floor for the dogs and proceeds to laugh when they attack it. I yell, "Devin, no!" but am too late and he gleefully drops the other half to watch them scramble for it. I put the dogs in their "closet," and give him my sandwich I was making for me. He asks for some milk and I give him some... which he decides is the only thing he wants to eat.
Meanwhile I get sidetracked with the carrot stick that rolled under the couch and forget about feeding myself. When I get down to look under the couch I see several objects under there. Embarassed of the mess, I move the huge sectional and clean and vaccumn underneath. Devin thinks the new arrangement is great and spreads all of his toys over the new arrangement of couches.... The I put all the furniture back, dust and vacumn. The family room is once again spotless.
Moving on, it is finally time for Devin to take a nap. I plan on getting the kitchen clean, the floors mopped and then work on the store. He falls asleep quickly, he must be tired from running up and down the slides.
I get the dishes in the dishwasher, fold a load of laundry and am getting ready for scrubbing the high chair down when the doorbell rings... which makes my dogs start barking... which makes Devin start crying... "NO! I DON'T WANT TO BUY YOUR SEAFOOD AND CHICKEN DELIVERY!!!"
So, after a 30 minute nap, and getting nothing accomplished, Devin is up again. I am a bad mommy and turn Disney channel on once again. He is too grumpy from a short nap and I end up having to sit and hold him while he watches Mickey Mouse. He finally gets up to dance to the "Hotdog Dance" and I sneak to finish cleaning the kitchen. He actually lets me.
Then Ally comes home, wanting to go to a friends house. I tell her she needs to finish her chores first and work on her animal habitat project that is due on Thursday.
Her project is on leopards... not tigers. I definitely have a toy tiger to use, but that can DEFINITELY not be substituted for a leopard, according to my leopard expert daughter. What to do? Then I come up with a brilliant plan. We make salt dough and I tell her to make a leopard. After much tears over her salt dough not looking like a leopard, I try and make it for her... not that I can make a leopard, but it satisfies her. Not such a brilliant plan.
I let Devin and Ally play with the leftover salt dough and start on dinner. As I am making dinner I have to throw out, "Don't put it in your mouth!" and "Don't feed it to the dogs!" and then clean up dog vomit when Zippers gets a huge chunk and it comes back up.
Devin is now very grumpy from no sleep and is not happy with the salt dough any more, so I hold him on my hip as I hop around the kitchen trying to get ready for Alex who should be home by 5:30. When it turn's 5:45 dinner is finally ready, but Alex isn't home. I set the kids down and let them start eating. I call Alex, no answer... 6:00 comes and I eat my cold and soggy dinner while holding Devin on my lap.
Alex gets home at 6:15, eats and we head to the Provo river to get some rocks and vegetation for Ally's project. I didn't realize it was dark enough for mosquitos so I get 9 mosquito bites... nobody else got any, just me.
We hurry home and start glueing everything into the shoe box. Devin is screaming and crying for me so Alex takes him up for a bath. We finish. The only thing left is to paint the salt dough leopards after they dry tomorrow. Then we work on times tables, spelling words and homework.
Devin is done bathing so I take hime up to brush his teeth, read stories and put him to bed. Poor little guy, he was a sleep within minutes.
Ally comes down and we read scriptures together and say a family prayer, then she is off to read and get ready for bed.
I pull out the computer and spend the next 2 hours listing things on ebay for our business. Finally finished at 10:30 I reclean the kitchen, pick up everyone's dirty laundry that is once again scattered in the family room and come upstairs. I needed a shower, I needed to get a couple things ready to ship, I needed to just go to bed, but I decided to "explain myself".
And that dear husband, is what I did ALL day, no toe nail painting, no television, not even lunch or relaxing...
I wonder how many other stay-at-home-mom's HATE that question as much as I do?

A Whole DECADE!

2010-09-19T18:55:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow will mark mine and Alex's 10th anniversary. So, in honor of this occasion here are just a few of our wedding pictures:

Who knew what an amazing journey we would end up on? I am still SO in love with him!!! Happy Anniversary Honey!

My Gorgeous Babies

2010-09-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

Learning to Say No

2010-09-13T18:49:00.001-07:00

No, not me... I apparently haven't figured it out. I'm a real sucker when someone says, "Can you...". Logically my mind is screaming, "NO! NO! NOOOOOO!!!" when instead what really comes out of my mouth is, "Okay, sure."
Let me show you a couple of examples.
My friend is the PTA President for Ally's school, she is good at it, and I totally said I would help out... because I really do want to help. Well, a month or so ago she asked me what I knew about Reflections. "Nothing... I only did it a couple of times when I was in elementary and my teacher made the whole class enter." She asked if I would mind helping. "Sure," I said, "I can help with some posters or something." She smiled and thanked me...
Well a few days later she said she had a big favor to ask me. I was thinking she wanted me to watch her kids or something... then she nails me with, "Could you possibly be in charge of Reflections? I can't find anyone to do it..." So, I am pasting a fake smile on my face and thinking, "NO FREAKING WAY! I know nothing about it, I have a hard time even volunteering in Ally's class, because of Devin... I just don't have the time, I don't have babysitters for the meetings..." So, what comes out of my mouth? "Um sure... I can try."
It can't be that tough, right? Seriously this is going to be so flippin' hard. I have a committee to please of 5 women, 2 assemblies to plan, judges to get, posters and fliers, color coding of age groups, a presentation to give to every classroom... treats for all the participants... etc., etc. Oh gosh, am I in WAY over my head on this one. I love to help out, but I am SO not into being in charge or heading something up.
So, here is my second example that happened today. I get a phone call, but since I don't recognize the number I ignore it. (Heads up if you ever call me from a number I don't recognize, I won't answer). I listen to the voicemail and it is from Ally's school. Apparently Ally's teacher doesn't have a room mother and they really, really need someone, and since I signed up to volunteer at all the parties would I mind terribly if I just take over the planning of all of them? So here is my thought process this time, "I can just ignore it, pretend I never got the message. I can still volunteer at all the parties and help out in the class room... I REALLY don't have time for this one when I am already in over my head with Reflections..." So what do I do? I call her back and say I'll do it.
So, here I am in charge of two huge things that I had no intention of doing. And why? Because I just can't tell someone "no" when they need help. Can I do it all plus weekly play group and library class for Devin, piles of homework with Ally, plus times table and cursive and Acheivement Days and Enrichment Committee and the treats I'm supposed to bake for Alex's work meeting tomorrow... running www.spartanonlineshopping.com... not to mention just all the "normal" housework and laundry and meals...
Please, for my sanity, don't volunteer me to head up any committee's... because I just don't know how to say no!

Labor Day Weekend Camping

2010-09-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

We decided to take the weekend and go camping with my parents in Granite Flats above Timpanogos. The weather was so beautiful and we had a great time... except for Devin deciding he didn't like sleeping and ending up sleeping with us at night... that was the only bad part.
We took some walks and did a little hiking.

Alex was trying to be Bear Grylls and "tried" to start a fire with sticks, Devin thought it was pretty cool and had to try it too.

He also made this to help start the fire... Ally thought it was better to practice her archery with.

We built campfires at night and of course had to have smores!

This picture makes me laugh... it really is marshmallow that is hanging down.

Devin wanted to turn his chocolate milk into hot chocolate...

Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa were there to stop him.

I am SO not ready for the cold weather to come and end all of the fun. I am also VERY greatful Alex isn't working retail any more and we get holiday weekends.

Fun and Friends at the Farm

2010-09-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday my friend called and asked if I wanted to go with her and Nathaniel to $2 Tuesday and the Thanksgiving Point Farm... we had a million things to do, but work can wait when there is fun to be had!
We decided to go to ride the horses first before it got too busy.

I love the look on his face here as he was able to pet the donkey.

Devin didn't want to sit still in this next picture... what fun is sitting on a FAKE cow when there are REAL cows near by?

Devin and Nathaniel loved playing in the fake dance hall.

It was well worth how far behind on cleaning and laundry I was to have fun with friends and my favorite litte man. Devin loved it and loved spending time with his buddy, Nathaniel.

Super Saturday and Not-As-Super Sunday

2010-08-30T07:14:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a really fun family day. We decided to take the kids up to the Capital in Salt Lake City and Memorial Grove that is right by it. It was quite a hike... not long, but steep!
See the capitol building in this picture? Between us and the capitol is a huge ravine, canyon, whatever you want to call it. The down was easy, it was the hike back up that was a little tough.

At the bottom of the canyon is Memorial Grove and this is where these pics were taken. We had a a lot fun talking to Ally about the different wars and the veterans. But by far the kids favorite part was watching some people throwing a ball into the pond for their dogs to chase.

The we hiked up the other side to the State Capitol Building, just because Ally wanted to. It was so much fun to talk to her about it and see what she has really learned in school. As in she knew that Utah was number 45 out of 50 states, could identify Pres. Lincoln in a statue, knew about the Senate but not the House of Representatives... We were able to teach her a bunch of stuff and it was fun.

(see Devin? he's on Alex's back)

After our excursion we went to my parent's house for the Annual Back to School Party. It was so much fun! Have you ever seen Minute to Win It? Well, I never had, but you have to do a bunch of crazy stuff to win. My mom made up a really fun game and had all of us doing crazy stuff. The kids thought it was the best thing ever!
This is Alex trying to blow off all the white ping pong balls but leave the three orange ones.

I wanted more pictures, but after that I could only chase Devin and try and keep him from being a big obstacle in all the games.

Sunday was not so fun... It's amazing that my family has not been sick the ENTIRE summer... but send Ally to school for 4 days and of course she gets a cold. I cringe thinking of the germs. Oy!!!

The First Day of Third Grade

2010-08-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of 3rd grade for Ally. She was a little nervous, but mostly excited. We met her teacher last night and she seemed very nice. I really hope they do a better job of challenging her this year.

Note the jeans in her pictures? Do you KNOW how long it took me to find an actual pair of skinny jeans for her??? She is blessed to be EXTREMELY tiny/skinny and all the skinny jeans we bought for her were not skinny enough. I finally found these at Old Navy... super skinny slims. They are hard to fit over her feet but they are actually "skinny" enough for her. Oy, to keep up with the trends!

I can't believe she is in third grade already! I swear it was just a few days ago Alex was holding me while I cried because I had to leave her at kindergarten. Luckily there was no tears this year... I could only feel pride in my sweet, beautiful little girl as she lined up and followed her class into the school... Just don't tell her I called her "little" she thinks she is a mini teenager.

And here are a few pic of Devin, because whenever I pull the camera out I hear "cheese" over and over again until I take his picture... see, I train them well!

Achievement Days

2010-08-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

I love the Achievement Day program. If you don't know what it is, it is a program for our church. All the girls between the ages of 8 and 12 meet twice a week at a leader's home. They learn different skills like cooking, babysitting, etc. and they learn scriptures and ideals and talk about important morals... and sometimes they just do something fun. Ally loves it and I love it as well.

This past weekend they had all the stake meet together and each group did a skit. (A ward is a congregation in a certain neighborhood and the stake includes all of the wards... in our case, 6 wards). They had the girls walk the red carpet and gave them a brunch to eat while the skits were performed.

Ally's group of girl's did a skit about a new girl that moved into the neighborhood and the courage it took for one girl to include that girl in her clique. (Each skit was supposed to have a moral to it). It was very cute and her leaders did a great job, complete with songs and everything.

Here are a few pic's... even if they aren't the best because of the lighting and angle.
This is all but a couple of the girls:

The skit:

I am SO thankful for her sweet leaders and the adorable girls in this program... it has been so much fun for Ally!

Devin Turns Two (well sort of)

2010-08-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Devin's official Birthday is not until tomorrow... but the day just didn't work out for us, so we celebrated on Sunday.
He woke up in the morning and opened presents from us.
Ally gave him a rocking type horse that we got from Ikea... I didn't any good pictures of him on it though, because he wouldn't stop rocking wildly and look at me.

He could hardly wait to rip the paper.

His first present was a pair of clothes... with an airplane because what two-year-old wants to open clothes?

He LOVES the show Wonder Pets so we got him a talking Ming Ming that skates in a cirlce, talks, sings... very annoying, but Devin loves it.

His final present was a Mickey Mouse tricycle... boy is this thing loud playing the music!

He had to carry Ming Ming around in the basket with him.

Later that night we had our family over and they brought him lots of presents... they sure know him, because he got 3 big trucks... and he loves all three of them. My favorite truck was from my brother because that one doesn't make any noise... sorry to his Grandparents who got him adorable ones, but drive me insane with all the loud noises... "Stop and go, stop and go..." ohhhh that song is stuck in my head!
He loved a pair of keys that his great-grandparents gave him... I just love the big smile on his face when he saw them!

Then it was time for cake and ice cream. Devin has 3 (and only 3) shows that he will watch: Wonder Pets, Mickey Mouse and Barney (oy, that purple dinosaur!). So I decided to make him a Mickey Mouse cake. Usually I buy a pan and follow that design but I decided to freelance it... it turned out pretty cute, I think.

Blowing out the candles had to be Devin's biggest highlight of the entire day!

We had practiced earlier and he was SO excited!

He was a little too short so Alex had to lift him up.

It took him several tries but he eventually got both candles blown out.

After he did it everyone clapped and cheered for him and he was in heaven! He started jumping up and down and cheering in delight... forget presents, he would have been happier having everyone cheer for him blowing out candles all day!
Of course, eating the cake and ice cream were pretty good too!

My favorite part of the day happened after everyone left. I brushed his teeth, read him a brand new story about frogs that my mom had given him as part of his present and then sang him the usual two songs... same routine we do every night. Then I give him a drink of water and tuck him in... only this night he was so tired he fell asleep in my arms as I sang him his two songs. It's been such a long time since that has happened. I just had to cuddle my sleeping boy a little longer! It was so beautiful to hold my little man, that is growing up way too fast, and remember that he is still my baby. Mine.

Thank you, Heavenly Father for this sweet little boy that can drive me crazy with his endless mischief... but who I wouldn't trade for the world.

Happy Birthday (tomorrow) to my precious, not-so-baby, Devin.

As the summer slips away

2010-08-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

and we're moving toward back to school and cooler weather, here is a little reflection of the past week for us.
First of all we went with my family to Willard Bay.

We also had a little time (since it was slightly cooler) to visit some parks.

We went up Provo Canyon, as well.

Alex has been digging trenches to get our sprinkling system put in and Devin has been loving being outside with him. This week we were all out there working in the yard when I heard Devin screaming. I looked over and a huge swarm of bees were flying around him. I dropped everything and ran to him, grabbed him and went flying into the house. He had received 6 bee stings... luckily he was not allergic. He's a brave little guy and after a few minutes he was fine... more fine than his terrified mom. I was so scared what I was going to find as I stripped him down in the kitchen, and I was worried about a reaction.

Alex also started working for US Bank as the branch manager.

Yep, just one big, happy family!

If only the lazy, fun-filled days of summer could last longer!

The Joy of Water

2010-07-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Alex had a short meeting in Salt Lake today, so we went with him and I took the kids to the fountain at The Gateway to play. Ally always hated it, until she was about 6 or so... Devin LOVED it. Here are just a few of the pictures of Devin loving the water.

Ally was being a drama queen and didn't really want her picture taken. (I listened the whole drive up about how much we love Devin more than her... oy!) But here are a few pics I snapped of her:

Then they changed and sat on the steps to have a snack while waiting for Alex to come pick us up.

Penguins and Pirahna's

2010-07-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

Our Aquarium yearly passes expire next week, so I decided to take the kids one more time while Alex was at work.

Devin loved the fish tank with "Nemo" and "Dori" in it... not because he has ever watched Finding Nemo, but because all the other kids were excited to see them. He kept calling out, "Nemo!" to every fish that swam by.

He was in awe.

The kids favorite part was touching the rays. I would have gotten some great pictures, but Devin wouldn't let me put him down to take any. He LOVED touching them! Every time one would come up for him to touch, he would touch it and laugh his head off hysterically... he was so funny that everyone else couldn't help but laugh at him. The kids got soaked, but they loved it.

Then we were off to see the Pirahna's...

And the turtles...

And finally, the penguins.

I had so much fun with my kids!!!

Toddlers and Tiaras

2010-07-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen that show on TLC? It's a reality show that shows what little girls go through to prepare and compete in pageants and the actual pageants. Ally and I like to watch it together.
Personally, I think pageants are retarded. I did the Homecoming Pageant Sophmore year and it was just too stupid, I vowed never again. Anyway, when I see these little girls I want to cry. How can fake hair, fake teeth, fake tans and massive amounts of make-up be beautiful? Especially for a child!!!
Anyway, no more soap box. Ally wanted to look "pageant ready". I remember what it was like to be a little girl and the mystery of make-up was still enchanting, so I agreed. I put just enough make-up on her so she felt done up. I even put some fake curly hair on top of her head... it stopped at that, though. There was no way she was going to go through the torture of letting me curl her actual hair. Then it was time for the photo shoot...

You know what is an absolute tragedy? That this gorgeous girl doesn't think she is beautiful.

If anyone has any great ideas to fix her self image, let me know! We always talk about how beautiful she is, but more importantly we talk about what "real" beauty is. She thinks she is too skinny and tall... I compared her body shape to Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus (both whome she thinks are beautiful) and that helped. I wish I had a miracle fix, but sadly, I remember what it was like to just not feel as beautiful as all the other girls in your class. How tragic... here I go off on another tangent.
Anyway, Devin wanted to dress up too and here are a couple of pics of him:

Playing with the New Camera

2010-07-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today, my new camera arrived in the mail. I got the Nikon D3000. So, it was immediately time to experiment.

(gotta love those eyes!!!)
Instead of just playing with it around the house we decided to head up to Bridal Veil Falls. I used a bunch of different setting and here are my photos:

So, that's it... out of the 50+ photos I took, that is what I have. This camera is going to take a lot of experimenting and playing... but since I LOVE to do it, it is a good thing... I may be begging my friends to let me take picture of there kids soon, because I think my kids are getting too sick of it.... hmmmm, maybe it it time for another play date.
Anyway, the kids had a blast in the FREEZING snow run-off and I had a blast taking pictures of them!

My kids got sick of being models so I turned my attention to Zippers... but he wasn't very happy to be disturbed from his nap...

Time for a funeral

2010-07-01T20:04:00.001-07:00

for my camera that is. It has decided to stop working on me, and I will miss it... I think it must have been taking it to the beach in California that killed it. So, now I will be getting a bigger, expensive camera... something I have been wanting for a while now. I just don't have it yet.

But, because of this, I really don't have pictures.

I guess it is just time for a little catch up. Alex will be starting a new job next week... not the job he really wants, but a temporary one until he finds the "right" one.

We also bought season passes to Seven Peaks Water Park and have spent a couple hours there everyday these past two weeks. The kids are LOVING it! I saw the sweetest thing there today. All four of us were in the wave pool, Alex and I were closely watching wild Devin from a few feet away... did I mention my almost-two-year-old is a pretty dang good swimmer? But he was determined to be with Ally during the waves... He would sit, facing her, between her legs and they would look at each other and laugh the entire time. It is sweet that Devin wants her so much... but it is SO sweet that she stays in the shallow end to play with her brother when she would much rather be in the deeper part. She makes me so proud of her!
Another sweet thing happened today, and it made me want to laugh and cry so much I have to share it. Ally went in to take a shower and I went to the door to hand her a towel when I heard her talking, this is what I heard:
"Dear Heavenly Father, (she then went on to thank Him for a bunch of things and then said) Please help me to find the remote. (the remote for our bedroom tv has been missing for a couple of days). It is little and it is black and we can't find it. I really, really want to watch Wizards of Waverly Place, so please, please, please help me find it. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
How sweet, how simple... and so much faith. I told Alex, and we had a good laugh at our sweet Mustard Seed... but he was so touched he had to go and find the remote for her... and he did, even though we had looked for a long time before, he found it.
So, there are a few brief highlights... hopefully soon I will be posting some new amazing pictures from a new camera. But for now, farewell my other camera... may you rest in peace.

An Escape From Reality - Disneyland

2010-06-14T21:58:00.001-07:00

We got free tickets to Disneyland for volunteering, so we spent a day there.

An Escape From Reality - The Ocean

2010-06-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

We decided to escape life for a short time and headed to California. We went with a large group, there was 25 of us all together.

We stayed at McGrath State Park for a week. Here are a bunch of pictures of us enjoying the sand and surf.

Journal

2010-05-28T15:45:00.001-07:00

Yes, I have tons of pictures to post, but this isn't going to be one of those posts. This is for the sole purpose of just because.

I have learned something VERY important... NEVER ask the question "Can things get any worse?" Because, you know what, things can pretty much ALWAYS get worse. I have also heard the saying over and over, "God will never give you more then you can handle." I guess that one has to be true, because you either die or handle it... so since I am not dead I must be handling it.

I have learned another lesson, one that I never wanted. Humility. I'm a proud person, always have been. I never ask for help, I would rather die struggling then ask someone to help me out. So this lesson is a rough one for me.

I hate to admit this, but I even have a hard time asking in prayer for my Heavenly Father to help me out. I know I'm supposed to... but I always feel that I should try and handle it on my own, and not "bother" Him with my needs. I guess He had enough of my pride and He decided to give me a lesson that I can't handle on my own... and I have tried, believe me I have, but this time I need help. I need Him to step in and be there with me. So, what happened when I begged for help? He didn't come in and "fix" it... things are still feeling a little hopeless right now. So does that mean He didn't answer me? Not even close.

It's like the story from the New Testament when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. He comes to the house of Mary and Martha and all the Jews that are weeping with them. Upon seeing them upset and sad that Lazarus is dead, comes the scripture, "Jesus wept". Why did He cry? He knew he would soon raise Lazarus from the dead and all of their pain would be replaced with pure and uncomparable joy. Why didn't He simply say that He would fix it and everything would be better? He didn't weep because He was hurting that Lazarus was dead, he was weeping because He felt their pain. He saw the bigger picture, yet He still mourned with them in their pain.

That's where we are at, mourning and sad because we are in the middle of this one journey. He can see the bigger picture, He knows what is in store for us yet in my need He weeps with me.

It doesn't make everything all better, but it reminds me that I am loved and cared for. That even though He can see what glory awaits me, he will still stay by my side, hold my hand, and weep with me. It's just too easy to forget how powerful His love really is, and I am ashamed I have taken it for granted.

Always Playing Catch Up...

2010-05-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

It's hard to keep up with anything at all right now. This is the only thing we seem to be doing right now:

www.spartanonlineshopping.com

Yep, Alex started his own internet store and then "conveniently" gave it to me to take care of. So, far so good...

So, this one post should be at least 3 or 4 posts, but it's going to get all lumped together, to make it quicker.

First, I went on another fieldtrip with Ally's class. This time we went to the Dinosaur Museum in Lehi.

These were my three kids to watch.

This is Ally's whole class with her teacher Mrs. Eldrege.

It was a lot of fun... and why did Ally have so much fun??? Because of course she was with Ashley.

(these two are in school all day together, then come home and play together until 6 o'clock... spend their weekends together... gotta love bff's!)

Here's Devin doing what he does best:

(getting into EVERYTHING!)

Ally' school had a carnival last weekend, so we went there.

Ally had fun doing everything, but Devin didn't like the "rides", but he did love playing on the playground.

Last Saturday we went to the school playground agian. Alex and Ally played soccer and Devin chased the ball until he got tired and played on the playground. We also went over to see the horses that border the school playground.

Ally was kicking a soccer ball in front of us on the sidewalk as we walked home from the school, when a couple of dogs came barking across the street and surrounded her. One was a pit bull and the other was a weiner dog. They were snarling and circling her. Alex ran up to her to stand them down, but not before she was bitten on the leg by the little one. The pit bull tried to bite her hand but luckily she moved too quickly. She ran back to me crying and luckily Alex intimidated them enough they ran away. Our neighbor called animal dispatch, so the police came and hauled the little dog off. The dogs belong to our neighbor's across the street and this is the 3rd instance where they have bitten someone. They have lost all animal priveleges for 10 years. The police took pictures of Ally's leg and we had to fill out a report. I wish I would have got a picture too, but she has a gigantic bruise on her leg. Poor girl!

Finally, the second graders put on a performance for the parents on May 18th. It was probably the best one I have ever been to. The kids knew the songs, and the actions, they had a slideshow with pictures from the last year and it was so adorable. I actually teared up a few times!

So, that should catch me up for a little while.

And to all of those that keep asking, we are still doing okay. Thanks for the love!

The Sun's Rays

2010-05-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

We picked up a Little Caesars Pizza and headed up Rock Canyon. We first ate our pizza... complete with Capri Sun's and after cleaning up we started hiking up the canyon. Devin was too busy picking up every rock and stick so Alex and Ally went ahead.

There was a couple of BYU students rock climbing and asked Ally if she wanted to try. She was so excited... the whole 4 or 5 feet she dared to climb. After that it was just "too scary" for her. What was funny is Devin started climbing up after her with no fear and we had to pull him down so he wouldn't go higher. My kids have such different personalities!

(see her new haircut?... she insisted, even though Alex and I really wanted it to stay long...)

Then the kids climbed around a little on there own.

Devin decided he liked jumping off about a 7 feet ledge into Alex's arms... oy, this kid is going to give me an ulcer. He did it at least a dozen times.

(see that ledge behind him the he jumped from? see the look of pure joy and trust on his face?)

Sadly, my camera battery died on the walk back down, but as I looked over my beautiful mountains and Utah Lake reflecting bright rays of warm sun, my heart started to warm too. What a beautiful reminder of the consistency of life.

The Bond

2010-05-06T08:56:00.001-07:00

My children share such an amazing bond.

A few days ago, Devin got hurt and I was hugging him, then all of the sudden he started needing "Gee Gee"... he has called Ally that since before he turned one and now he won't change.

So, my sweet, tender-hearted daughter held her baby brother through his tears.

Then he started to feel better.

And because of how much they love each other, the tears turned into smiles.

Then instead of returning to watch Wizards of Waverly Place, she played hide-and-seek with Devin.

And tickle games...

These are the most important moments of my life.

It's been a while

2010-04-27T11:43:00.001-07:00

and not without good cause. It has been an incredibly rough 3 weeks... rough enough that I'm not even going to go into it. I just want to tell my amazing family and friends how much I love you guys and am thankful for always being there for us.

Amid trying to pick up the pieces, here's a few things we have been doing.

The weather was warm for a brief time, and the kids loved playing in the sandbox.

(even Buttons was enjoying the sunshine, that we hardly ever see)

My parents watched Devin so I could go on a fieldtrip with Ally. We went to some Utah Conservation Garden thing. They had to find certain plants on a scavenger hunt. Then they went to a park after to eat and play.

(I was in charge of these three cute girls during the fieldtrip, the one in the middle is Ally's best friend, Ashley)

The kids are also on their second round of swimming lessons.

(Ally's favorite part of swimming is having Ashley in the class with her).

(Not a great picture, but if you saw Devin swim, you would understand... this kid does NOT hold still for a second!)
His favorite part is jumping off the wall. At this age Ally refused to put her face in the water, but Devin does it on his own. He is always sticking his face in the water to blow bubbles, and loves being dunked.

So, that is a quick catch up. To all the people that have been there for us this last little while, I can't explain how much we love you. I couldn't ask for more amazing people in my life.

And to those cliches... "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," and "When one door closes another one opens"... Well we are going to be one buff family bursting through that door soon.

Easter Sunday

2010-04-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

We woke up to several inches of snow... big sigh.

Easter was such a laid back kind of day this year. General Conference fell on Easter this year, which meant no getting dressed up for church... we stayed in our pajamas ALL day.

When the kids went downstairs where they had left there buckets for the Easter Bunny, there was only a note, which read:

I want to be a funny bunny this year,
But I brought you presents, don't shed a tear.
You'll just have to look and look
Beacause your next clue is by a vampire book.

Ally of course new it would be by the book Twilight... where she found a plastic easter egg stuffed with a clue. She loves this kind of thing. She raced around the house to find all the clues, until she finally found their easter baskets.

Devin didn't care at all about his basket... the first piece of candy was all he cared about.

Ally went upstairs to listen to her new Selena Gomez cd, and Alex hid the eggs. Then she came down to find them. Devin grabbed one, ate the candy out of it and called it good. He had then discovered a few of the toys in his basket and played with them for a long time, while Ally ran around finding plastic, candy-filled eggs.

(he loved the cheap wind-up animals so much I wish I would have filled his entire basket with them!)

The kids spent the rest of the day playing, and Devin was actually good enough that I got to watch most of General Conference. It still amazes me of the power of the Spirit the prophets radiate when they speak... how can anyone doubt they are God's chosen servants? I have always loved listending to President Monson speak, and again it was my favorite this time. He is definitely a spiritual giant!

Goblin Valley Pics

2010-04-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

Like I said before, I just didn't feel good enough to get very many pictures, but here are the few I did take.

Even though we didn't stay over on Easter this year, it just isn't Goblin Valley if you don't have an Easter egg hunt... only this year we were smarter. We lose several candy-filled eggs every year (this year we left 9 eggs among the rocks and lizards). Instead, we hid empty plastic eggs and put all of the treats in a big bag for each kid... no more scrambling to sort the candy evenly. It was perfect!

(Devin was more interested in putting his eggs in a bush then finding any more)

Ally colored easter eggs while Devin took a nap.

This is what Goblin Valley looks like... a child's paradise... (my husband is included in the word "child").

And here are my kids enjoying the goblins.

They each found a great place to rest.

"Vacation"

2010-03-31T15:13:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure if you can call it a vacation, when you have such a horrible time, but I guess we can call it a "getaway".

But before I can get to that I have to go back a few days. Unfortunately, I ended up getting sick 3 days before we were supposed to go. I ended up going to the doctor because my ear was throbbing... so yes, he gave me antibiotics for the ear infection and strep throat... There is a problem with this however. There are 5 families of antibiotics, and I am allergic to 4 of them. At least I can take one type, right? Well, it just so happens to be the most ineffective one. As I was leaving the doctor said, "I don't expect it to work, but good luck." Ummmm, yeah.

After a few days my throat was feeling better, and even though my ear was still killing me, I gave in to the pleas of my daughter and we left for Goblin Valley State Park. Everyone had a great time... except me. I was just to sick and in too much pain to have any fun. We were supposed to leave on Wednesday but I just couldn't take it any more and we left on Tuesday morning, leaving Ally with my parents and her cousins.

I was finally able to get more antibiotics today... sadly I am allergic to these ones. I have to take benedryl half an hour before every pill, and hopefully that will make the effects minimal... But if you see me and I am covered in nasty red hives, just take pity on me and don't laugh.

So, hopefully that will be the end of it.

I have no idea where Alex unloaded the camera to, and I don't even care to go looking for it... but the few pictures I felt good enough to take, will be posted soon.

Optimism

2010-03-22T20:11:00.001-07:00

Sadly, I was too optimistic on Devin's recovery. He never threw up again, but he spent the next several days with a high fever. He was so sick and refused to eat... listless, and it was so incredibly scary. All I could do was hold him and wait it out. I think today I can finally say he is on the mend. I weighed him today and he only weighed 19.5 lbs... wow, how does a 19 month old only weigh 19 pounds!??? Luckily he has been eating again today and ate TWO whole bowls of ice cream... that should add a little weight back on.

So, no pictures today... and I can't believe I am writing this, but I don't even know where my camera is at the moment!

Now I have 4 days to get ready for the vacation we leave for on Saturday... and I am so far behind in just normal housework and laundry, as all I have literally done is hold Devin for the entire weekend. Well, here's hoping that somehow I will get it all done... and get a few more pounds back on my baby...

The Lucky Day

2010-03-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

Who says that St. Patrick's Day is lucky?

First of all I locked my keys in the car when getting new books for Ally at the library... maybe not unlucky just stupidity! I haven't done that in over a decade! Rrrrrr!!!

Then the very worst part of the day happened at 11:59 pm... I kid you not. It just HAD to happen on St. patrick's Day to mock me. Devin threw up ALL over me... I may NEVER eat spaghetti again (as that is what we had for dinner). The poor little guy was sick all night with a horrible fever, that I couldn't get down... as he couldn't keep any medicine down. I only got a few hours of broken sleep. He has been napping for 2 hours now, and if I was smart, I would be too. But as I am not smart...

Anyway, so those were the low parts of our holiday. But I guess I feel lucky for a few diferent reasons. First of all for Randilyn, who rescued me with car keys... second, that Devin hasn't thrown up for 6 hours now and his fever has been gone for 4hours... and mostly because of this:

and this...

So, who says St. Patrick's Day is lucky? ME!!!!!

Pink is the new blue

2010-03-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

Devin is very rarely seen without his "pretty" these days... Alex may be horrified, however, I think pretty soon all the toddler boys are going to want one...

Spring, where art thou?

2010-03-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

This winter has been killing us... mostly because it is usually so beautiful this time in Arizona, and we are stuck in cold Utah. It has been the longest winter of my life!

Sunday was cold... however, I just couldn't take it any more and made my family pack on some coats to take a walk. We decided to take Ally to see the horses. She packed apples to feed them.

She also packed bread to feed the ducks.

Sadly, Devin was grumpy as he has his 4 canine teeth coming in all at the same time, so we only stayed for about 30 minutes.

(gotta love that wild hair!)

Today, was beautiful... well, beautiful for Utah, anyway. We spent our afternoon outside, working in our yard and the kids just got extremely dirty.

We live next to an empty lot that has a huge mound of dirt and this was their favorite part.

They got oh so dirty, but had oh so much fun!

I did too... even if my job was shoveling dog poop...

The way the world looks

2010-03-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

through the eyes of an 18 month old is nothing short of magic.

Everything he sees, makes his eyes light up.

On this occasion, it was the bright red and orange sky at sunset.

Chocolate ice cream is meant to be more than enjoyed, it is to be lived.

His dad becomes the hero when he can call the horses over to pet.

Petting the horses is not only "cool", but life altering.

And kissing their soft fuzzy nose is perfectly acceptable.

Where a piece of discarded trash is a treasure

and dancing in crunchy leaves is better than a polished floor in the most expansive ballroom.

I love looking at the world again through his eyes. It's beautiful to be reminded how magical our world and everything in it, really is.

The Story of Finn

2010-03-03T23:14:00.000-08:00

It's not a story I really want to share... or even think about for that matter, but it's one that I want to have. I don't want to forget... not that I even could, but it's one I want my children and grandchildren to know. So here is the story of Finn.

They called in September... they had a baby for us... a little boy, only 5 weeks old. My heart raced, my stomach flipped and I felt elated. The biological mother had named the baby, "Infinity" because apparently they liked the movie, "Toy Story". It sounded crazy to us and we decided we would call him "Finn" for short.

Alex was at work at the time I was supposed to pick him up, so I left Ally with my sister and headed to the Ronald McDonald house in Salt Lake City.

I always wondered how long it would take an adoptive mother to bond with their child... I know now, it is instant. The picture above was a few hours after I picked him up. The second they laid him in my arms, all snuggly in his blue and white striped jammies and he looked up at me with his chocolate brown eyes, it was over... I had fallen completely in love.

I sat in one of the rooms, in a wooden, squeaky rocking chair and fed him a bottle. I kissed his fuzzy dark head and whispered nonsense to him. I stroked his pink, dry, little fingers and traced the smooth fingernails. I watched him greedily suck down his entire bottle, and bonded immediately to him. Then, I rested him on my shoulder to burp him and he snuggled down into the crook of my neck and fell asleep.

I drove back to pick up Ally, full of emotion and wonder of the little angel that was now in my care. She was amazing when she saw him and she loved him instantly too. I can't believe a 3 year old could be so caring and accepting, but she was.

Alex was more reserved with him. I think he was afraid of losing him... it took only a couple of days for the wariness to disappear and for him to lose himself in the sweetness of baby powder and tiny toes.

He just fit in, he belonged... and in those precious days I couldn't imagine a life without him. I learned his needs, how to burp him exactly right so he wouldn't be so gassy, how he liked to be held and carried...

For six beautiful, magical days I fell deeper and deeper in love, I couldn't stop myself, he was so easy to love. Then the day came, that no matter how hard I try, I can't forget.

I had spent the morning shopping at Old Navy for little boy outfits for him. I put him down for a nap and left Alex with Ally and Finn to squeak in a little more baby shopping... and then my cell phone rang... it was our case worker, at the time I only heard those few words, he was going to be given to his grandma. The details would come later. The judge had ordered the state to give him to his grandma and he would be living with his grandpa, a man that had been convited of sexual abuse...

I only had two hours... how do you spend two hours saying goodbye? I had to wash all of his new clothes and blankets I had sewn for him, and pack it up in a big bag. I had to watch my little girl say "goodbye" to the little baby she had come to love. I kissed his little cheeks, I fed him a bottle one last time, snuggling him close and packed him safely in his carseat. Alex luckily was home and stayed with Ally, while I drove those long twenty minutes to give up what wasn't to be mine.

I was early, I sat on the couch in the social worker office. The social worker told me I could leave him with her and not have to hand him over directly to the grandmother, she said it would be easier... I tried, I really tried to hand him to her, but I couldn't... I had to hold him as long as I could. I had to promise him that I loved him, and I had to say goodbye. I had to memorize his bright eyes, and remember how he looked in his brand new overalls. I had to feel his soft, fuzzy hair tickle my cheek just a little longer.

But then his grandma came and I handed him over. I quickly slipped into the elevator and walked out the glass front doors. I unlocked our blazer and slipped the key into the ignition. Then I put my head on the steering wheel and sobbed until their was nothing left. It was over.

For a long time after I wondered, "why". How could this have happened? Why was he to be put in my life and ripped right back out again and handed to those people? The social worker quit over this case as well as the foster advocate... it was too much for them... and it left me without anyone to explain what had happened. But maybe that is better, there is no way to explain how they could have put such an innocent baby back into a dangerous environment.

Looking back I have a lot more insight then I did then. I still wonder what he is like, how he is doing, if he is safe and happy... He will be turning five this August. In my mind I still see him as a little boy in overalls with big dark eyes and fuzzy dark hair. I see him playing with trucks and digging in the dirt... I have to see him that way, for my sanity I can only see him as happy.

He had a huge impact on me, he changed my world in a way that never recovered. I still love him, he holds a piece of my heart that will always belong to him.

I can't say that I impacted his life. He was too young and too short of a time for him to ever remember. I guess that is what I have the hardest time thinking about, that someone I love so much, will probably never even know of my exsistence. But I am at peace with it now. Someday, when we meet in heaven I will get to give him a great big hug and he will know... someday.

A little fresh air

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

is always good for the soul.

Alex had the day off today so we headed to the walkway along the Provo River. There are so many parks, ponds, tunnels... the kids had a blast. And I got to do my favorite thing too, I brought along my camera and took a ton of pictures.

Today, I decided to experiment with the timer on my camera. I found the perfect spot... only my subjects refused to sit still that long, so I only got to take a few pictures.

I actually got one family picture... but only one.

The kids refused to sit still any longer and wanted to get to the playground again. So, Alex let me torture him with two pictures... but ONLY two.

(Dev walked into the picture... LOL! If I try to get him over there he screams, but if I don't want him there he comes right over).

So, that was all the timed "posing" I got... but here are the pics from the rest of our adventure.

I just love the contrast of my two kids... one with dark hair and eyes and the other with blond hair and light blue eyes

Dev fell and bumped his nose, that is why you can see the little streak of blood under his nose.

(It just wouldn't be an outing without some kind of blood or mishap with this kid).

Days Keep Passing By

2010-03-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

and I just can't keep track of all of them!

I've been so busy lately that I am having a hard time having a chance to blog about everything. So here are a few things that we have been doing.

Alex and Ally had a Daddy-Daughter date with the Acheivement Day girls. It was a Saturday morning brunch and they were told to wear pj's. So, of course they had to wear their matching Spongebob's.

They had brunch, played games and Ally got a heart shaped balloon. Devin and I stayed home and cleaned the house... well, I cleaned the house while Devin messed it back up again.

Another thing that has kept us busy, is all of the new (and a few old) friends we have made... it seems like someone is always over here and we are loving it.

This is Devin with his buddy Nathaniel.

Ally likes to play with his older sister, Elizabeth and they are together several times a week. Right now she is playing with her great friend, Ashley. They both live a few houses away from us. I am so happy that she has made so many friends here!

We also start swimming lessons tonight at the Provo Rec Center. Ally is taking a class and Devin and I are taking a mom-and-tot class at the same time. They are both going to love it! I am really hoping it will tire them out enough tonight that there will be no complaints at bed time.

Well, I am off to make dinner for a friend that just had a baby and then maybe I will grab Devin and the girls and head to the park... if they can leave the Barbies alone...

Devin at 18 Months

2010-02-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

Have I ever mentioned what a handful this kid is?

Yesterday ended with another call to Poison Control. He decided to play with a bottle of acrylic nail glue... I'm still not sure how he got it... He was trying to twist the lid off with his mouth (I assume) and ended up with a mouthful he spat out. I freaked out, washed his face and called poison control. They told me to give him a couple of ounces of water to drink, watch him and they would call back in an hour. I gave him water, a bath, and tried to brush his teeth. He is a kid that LOVES to brush his teeth and begs to do it several times a day... and has temper tantrums when we make him stop. He refused to brush his teeth last night, but that was the only thing that was different. They said it could have irritated his gums... but luckily, that was it and he is still my crazy Devin.

Today marked another milestone. He went to nursery at church for the first time alone... well, sort of. We took him in and he was so happy and having fun that we left him. He was happy for maybe 5 minutes and then started screaming for me. I sat at the door, almost crying myself, with Alex holding me back from running right back in. I only lasted about 5 minutes of him crying for me before I went back in. He refused to let me out of touch for the rest of the time. Then they started playing with toys, he was doing so good for about 10 minutes and I decided to try again. This time he lasted about 15 minutes of being happy until he realized I was gone. During this time I watched him through the small windows in the doors. He kept climbing on the tables and somehow ended up on a windowsill... they may need a nursery leader especially assigned to him. He cried for about 10 minutes before it was time to go home and I picked him up.

We took him to the doctor's on the 5th of this month for a check up. He weighs 22 lbs and is 32 1/2 inches long. He got a couple of shots too. :o(

So, as you can probably tell there is never a dull moment with this kid around. He is exhausting, a trouble maker, a climber, a pain... and the sweetest, funniest little boy in the world! How is it possible to be so madly in love with someone that is going to give me a heart attack before my next birthday?

Valentines Preparation

2010-02-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

When I was eight years old, I depised Valentines Day for all the extra work it caused... as in writing all of my classmates names on their cards and signing it. However, the opposite was true for Ally. She carefully picked out Wizards of Waverly Valentines, stacked them into different piles and sat down to carefully write out their names. She picked matching ones for her two best friends... matching ones for groups of friends... certain ones for the 2 boys she thinks are cute in her class... are you seeing how much thought is put into this?

Devin was very content to sit and eat his mini M&M's, and could care less who got what.

She was so methodical about which M&M packet color I stapled to the Valentines as well, and it almost drove me crazy... however, her sensitivity is one of the things I love about her!

More pictures of Ally's Baptism

2010-02-08T16:20:00.001-08:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Baptism Day Photos

2010-02-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

Here are the pics of my beautiful angel.

This is the incredibly gorgeous dress my mom made for her.

Here she is at the church in her baptism clothes... can you just see the fear in her face?

Here she is with her amazing Daddy (she looks less afraid with him by her side):

My gorgeous family afterwards:

The Newest Member of Our Church

2010-02-06T12:55:00.000-08:00

Today was Ally's baptism... wow, I can't believe that she is old enough to be baptized. I have tons of pictures, but I am just too exhausted to get them on here right now. But I do want to write down the beautiful memories of the day, so i won't forget them.

It has been a really stressful week. I have worried about the food for the open house, cleaning, who would take care of Devin... and I drove myself crazy with the details. Only, I was so wrong.

The baptism was not about the food, the open house, a clean house, babysitters or any other physical thing. It was about Ally and her choice, and I was given a very real reminder of that as soon as we got into the church.

I helped her dress into a baptismal, pure white dress. She was so nervous, she was shaking. I talked to her about what would happen, and then she placed her cold hand in mine and we walked into the room together. She was scared and quiet and leaned against Alex and I for support. The program started, and as soon as my sister said the beautiful opening prayer, everything changed. I could feel Ally relax and the fear seemed to leave. My mom gave the talk on baptism and had Ally laugh with her stories, and then it was suddenly time. Once again I took her small hand in mine and we walked back to the font. Then my amazing, wonderful husband baptized her into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I met her back in the dressing room, and there was not a trace of fear left in her... she was glowing, beautiful, pure... I have seen many baptism's before but I have never gotten to see the child right after. I helped her dress back into the beautiful dress my mom had made for her, I used the blow dryer to warm her frozen hair and lightly brushed the snarls out. I helped her put on her lacey white socks and her shiny, black shoes. It was so different from helping her dress before. The best word to describe it was "beautiful".

We then went into a different room for the confirmation. Her Grandma Hanson gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. How thankful I am for the spiritual giants in her life, the ones that show her what really matters. Then she sat down in a circle and most of the important men in her life laid their hands on her head and gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost. Alex said a beautiful prayer that was directed from Heavenly Father. I felt the Spirit so strongly. Afterwards our amazing Bishop Sanford said a few words, and then we sang "When I am Baptized." I couldn't sing, as I was too choked up. The words are:

I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain.
And ponder on the beauty of the earth made clean again.

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.
I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away,
And I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.
I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

Then my brother gave an amazing, spiritual closing prayer. It was an amazing feeling to be the mother and experience the joy and power my daughter received today. I was wrong to worry or stress, because that hour was perfect, and no fancy food, sparkling house or perfectly pressed clothes could have topped it.