Launey and Kaydee Ivers

Fall Fun

2011-11-20T21:24:00.003-07:00

We LOVE fall at our house, so every year we try to do a few fun things to take full advantage of the season. We spent an afternoon this year (October 2010) at HeeHaws. The kids had a blast, and it was a lot of fun for Launey and me to see them enjoy themselves so much.I had to post a picture of Red Bear, that little guy didn't leave Tanner's side for a good three months! I think Red Bear really enjoyed the slide :)

Ellie's favorite thing was the petting zoo. She wanted to keep each and every animal there. The first picture is of her trying to take the larger than life bunny home. The second picture is of her hugging her favorite goat. She hugged that poor animal for ten minutes straight!

Summer Summary Part 2. . .

2011-11-20T21:01:00.006-07:00

We ended the summer on a high note in beautiful Cache Valley. Each year Kylee, Conner, and Nixon are kind enough to host us for a few days, and they always keep us entertained. We enjoyed some time at the Logan pool then headed up for a day at Bear Lake.

I love the beach there because there are shallow sand bars which make it an awesome place for the kids to play. We always have a great time and we look forward to it each year.

Summer Summary. . . Part 1

2010-08-24T09:35:00.009-06:00

After months of having to listen to complaints from my favorite biological sister, I guess it's about time I update my long neglected blog.

Here's the thing, SO many things have happened since I last posted that I get incredibly overwhelmed, and I just don't know where to begin. Even after typing that very sentence, I looked at all of the pictures I took this summer and darn near closed this tab without ever finishing the post. BUT, I guess if I don't start somewhere, I'll never get anywhere, and the truth is, I REALLY despise that first picture of me and the snake that I last posted. I'm getting sick of looking at it, so this just has to be done.

I am going to give you fair warning, this is going to be picture/information overload, but I am forbidding you to complain, because beggars can't be choosers, and this is just the way a post four months in the making has to be. I decided to break it up into two parts, because, well, I've got a lot of crap to post:).

Ute Stampede:

Our family has had the same Ute Stampede routine since I can remember. We always go to the rodeo on Thursday, and the the carnie on Friday. I'm excited I've been able to carry on that same tradition with my own kids. I have high hopes that someday they will be carnie employees and give us discounts so that we can ride the ring of fire all night with out paying a million dollars.

The rodeo is always intense, but somehow Tanner must have been getting a little bored because apparently he is trying to stimulate his brain through his nose :0).

This is Ellie's latest smile. You'll notice she continues to pull this lovely "princess smile" in nearly every picture I take of her. What a doll!

We wrapped up the Ute Stampede festivities with a little fun runnin'. Luke and Tanner ran in the kids' race, they both did a great job and have since gotten out of bed too darn early for my liking to train for next year.

Bampa's Farm:

Those of you who know my dad may be surprised to know that he has a farm. Well, ok, it's not really his farm, but the kids sure think it is. He works security at Young Living Farms in Mona which means that there are a few special occasions that we get a backstage V.I.P. pass to all the action.

At the farm there is a little western town that is the perfect setting for the imagination of two little "cowboys" to run wild! They got all suited up in their cowboy gear, which included a dinner napkin scarf for Luke, and a sideways pirate hat for Tanner. I always knew I'd raise me up some real cowboys!

Here the boys are busy being "The Law" and keeping their town in order.

Apparently order comes in the form of making their little sister keep the town clean.

After a hard days' work, they always make time to stop at the local pub for some good ole' fashioned saspirilla.

Here is my sweet little girl's lovely princess smile once again!

PS- I would like you to take a second look at the Ute Stampede photos. My boys were begging to wear these lovely cowboy outfits to the rodeo, and I was begging my mom for suggestions on how to get around it. Luckily she came through with some NEW cowboy clothes so the pirate hat and dinner napkin could have a little break. Thank goodness for grandparents!!

Since this little outing, I have had to convince Tanner multiple times that cowboys wear cool clothes too.

Yes, these outlaws even have their very own mother and father

Swimming:

We live only a few minutes from a nice little desert oasis, the Payson Pool. Just incase you weren't aware, I am one of the most paranoid mothers on the planet, so when I heard that my favorite Juab High School Alumnists were taking their kids to the pool, I nearly had a heart attack. My first thought was "NO WAY!" Then I began thinking of Meagan and Alisha who are also Matriarchs of their own three children, and I told myself, "if they can do it, I might as well attempt to do it too." I set a few ground rules for the kids, strapped a life-jacket on Tanner, and away we went. I am so glad I did because anytime I get together with these girls, it's always a good experience. I even made it home with all three of my children above water.

The pool check was made a little sweeter with slushies and pink cookies...Oh, and this is Ellie in her favorite pink robe which she lovingly refers to as her "butt"

July 4th.

On July 4, 2003, this handsome little devil made me a mother and stole my heart. I can't believe seven years has gone by since then. How blessed I am to have such a wonderful son. He has already taught me more about ambition, compaiton, and patience than I can express. I am so proud of him, and I feel it an honor to be called his mom.

Nephi's 3rd of July Celebration:

We certainly lucked out this year with the 4th being on a Sunday. We got to go to Nephi on the 3rd, celebrate Luke's birthday on the 4th, and head up to Provo on the 5th. We usually try to cram all three celebrations into one day, which makes for a crazy, utterly exhausting adventure, it's always worth it, but I kinda wish the 4th was on Sunday every year.

Luke got his face painted like Spiderman. Can you see the resemblance? I'm not going to lie, it took me a few minutes to guess what character he was meant to be.

My parents spent two hours working as the train operators. That meant two hours of free rides and entertained children for me. It was pure bliss!

Tanner was dying all day to try his hand, and feet, at rock climbing. I tried to convince him it was a waste of tickets, but needless to say, he used six of his tickets which is equivelant to two bucks to make it three feet up the wall then have a level 5 meltdown because he couldn't reach the top. After dragging my kicking and screaming 4-year-old away from the crowd, a kind doctor, who happened to be by the rock climbing wall at the time, tracked me down to see if he was seriously injured. I reassured him that only his pride as assulted but other than that, he was just fine. Best two bucks we've ever spent.

I am pretty confident that at this point, you are as tired of reading this as I am of writing it, so I will put the 2nd half on hold and simply say,

to be continued. . .

Lessons Learned from Pooh

2010-04-22T20:52:00.006-06:00

So, most of you know that I tend to be a tad bit on the paranoid side (notice the look of sheer terror on my face).

When confronted with a situation or a proposition, such as, "Mom, can I go outside and play?" I think to myself, passively at first, “oh, what’s the worst that could happen?”

At that point, my thoughts inevitably lead from a simple afternoon outside in the backyard, to one of my children being kidnapped and then who-knows-what else while I spend the rest of my life in an agonizing search for the baby I lost when I let him step out that back door. So, the passive question, ”what’s the worst that could happen?” turns into a small anxiety attack, when chances are, that whole mother’s worst nightmare scenario really isn’t going to happen. And yes, I actually do let my kids play outside:).

And here's where my dilema comes in, have you ever heard of a helicopter mommy? I don’t want to be a helicopter mommy. I'm sure you know them, the moms that hover over their children at the playground, and when playing with other kids, never letting them experience so much as a scrape or skirmish. I really try hard not to be that, but, I have this innate urge to protect my offspring.

Last week my kids were watching Winnie the Pooh, and I a major epiphany courtesy of that silly old bear. In that particular episode, Rabbit had grown the perfect pumpkin. The pumpkin was so perfect that he just HAD to protect it. The super sleuths started building a variety of contraptions to protect the pumpkin from all the ills of the world, but with each completed contraption another weak spot was revealed. For instance, they built a fence all the way around the pumpkin, but it was left vulnerable on top. Their efforts eventually led them to building a completely enclosed structure around and on top of the pumpkin. Nothing could get in. Nothing could hurt it. I’m sure you can see where this is going, but I’ll finish the story anyway:). Rabbit quickly realized that his pumpkin was getting weak, the lack of sun, water, and fresh air made it frail and start to wither. It turned out that smothering the pumpkin was actually killing it, not helping it. And so it goes.

If my kids are never able to spread their wings, take a risk, and be exposed to life, they will never be able to learn. They won't know how to pick themselves up when they fall. If I never allow them to feel defeated, how will they know the joy of success? I could do my best to never let them scrape a knee, or stub a toe, but at what cost? What journeys will they be missing out on, and will they really be growing?

(I LOVE where I live)

Now, don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that there are times that I will need to walk along side my kids, I will arm them with the protection they need to fight their battles, (such as an unstrapped backwards helmet. . .see below)but eventually, I’ll have to do it. I’ll have to let go. And I know if when I do, I will be better for it, and they will be too.

So until that day comes. The day that I’ll have to let go, I’m going to do everything I can to put all of my crazies aside, and watch my perfect pumpkins grow.

Side Note: Most of these pictures were taken at baby animal days in Logan, thanks little sis for inviting us! We had a great time:).

April Fools!!!!

2010-04-01T20:48:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I crack myself up:)

A BIG (but smaller than a breadbox) Announcement!!!

2010-04-01T14:26:00.001-06:00

Need I say more?

Motherhood

2010-03-19T15:46:00.002-06:00

Today Ellie pooped,

On my bedroom floor.

With Luke's toothbrush as a tool, she dug through her poop and smashed it into my carpet,

And onto her hand.

It stunk.

I gagged.

I didn't take a picture. . .

Your Welcome.

Normal

2010-03-03T15:41:00.005-07:00

I have recently returned from a fantastically fabulous trip to San Francisco. I loved nearly every minute of it (all except the part that I nearly suffered a severe panic attack due to a bit of turbulence followed by a ride on the subway. . .I'm SO sheltered!).
I fully intend to post a highly entertaining post giving San Fran all of the love and attention it deserves. . .but not today.
When I think about my trip it will always provoke feelings of excitement and enjoyment.
It will be easy to write about the great times we had even if I write about it a week from now, but today is different. Today was a normal day. A normal day that for some reason I am feeling a bit of fondness towards. If I put this post off for a week or so, I am absolutely certain my feelings won't be replicated.
So, Mom, Linzy, Kylee, and Grandmas, our trip will be featured, don't you worry your pretty heads, but until then. . . here's to normal!

One of my life-long besties and old roommate, Lynsey, posted a link to this blog. I am smitten. It was there that I read this overwhelming appropriate quote:

“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day, I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.”

I. love. it.

Today, this blissfully “normal” day, Tanner rushed into the kitchen and with a sense of urgency declared, “I’m going to be doing something that’s going to keep me VERY busy!”

“What might that be?” I asked

“Science.” He responded boldly and confidently

I quickly shot back, “Wow, what kind of science?”

“The kind that has never been done before.”

Umm Ok.

With that, Luke decisively declared his desire to join in, then the fun began.

They quickly got to work gathering their supplies which included:

Various Parts of a Breast Pump,
Several Halloween Cups,
Bottle Nipples
Medicine Droppers
Measuring Cups
Soap
Water

What more could aspiring scientists ask for?

As for Ellie. . .She couldn't have been happier, reading (ok, looking) without interruption. . .

and playing with her best friend, Cow. Yes that’s right, her best friend happens to be a giraffe. A giraffe who seems to have no problem being named “Cow.”

Thank you normal day.
I hope to cherish you always.

Doctor's Appointment

2010-01-30T14:16:00.004-07:00

This past week I took Brielle down to Nephi to see the family doctor. I took her in for her well child check. For some silly reason, I am always a little excited about these appointments. Dr. Oveson has been my doctor for nearly as long as I can remember. He saw me when I was young, he’s been my doctor through my pregnancies and the births of my children (except Tanner, we lived in Logan). He is now their doctor as well. When I take my kids to see him for their well child checks, it’s almost like show and tell. I get to show him how much the kids have grown up, what they have learned, and how darn adorable they are.
He always sings their praises, acts impressed and amazed at their accomplishments, and asks me sincerely how I’m doing.
That’s why I was excited.
I couldn’t wait to show him how my adorable baby girl has turned into a spunky little toddler. Pooper volunteered to babysit my two boys so it was just me and the little princess. She was perfectly charming and very well behaved while we waited in the lobby. Then when the nurse weighed and measured her she didn’t put up a fight at all.
I was thrilled.
Then Dr. O. walked in. He was excited to see her and immediately commented on how big she had gotten. Then he playfully got down to business. “Hey cutie, can you show me where your eyes are?” I was grinning on the inside because she has known the answer to this basic question since she was a year old.
She immediately pointed directly to the ceiling in response.
The ceiling?
I quickly piped in saying, “you know this, where are your eyes?” Another enthusiastic point to the ceiling.
He moved on.
Where is your tummy? She had shown him that trick the previous year when I took her in for her 1-year check-up. This time she didn’t point to the ceiling, instead she triumphantly slapped her knees. She had a big grin on her face as I urged her to try again and show Dr. O. where her belly was. Another slap on the knees.
I couldn’t believe it.
Finally he asked her where her ears were to which she responded by pinching her cheeks. I didn’t bother trying to help. She didn’t say a word the entire time, and spent most of the visit sitting on the exam table with her tongue sticking out.
She was crazy.
By the end of the visit, Dr. O. was explaining what the signs of autism were and what I should be watching out for.
He told me that she should be able to say simple words like cat, and dog among other things. I tried to assure him that she did, but when I asked her to repeat it she made some unintelligible sound then stuck her tongue back out.
Soon the visit was over and Dr. O. left the room. Immediately my little princess picked up a magazine, proudly pointed at a picture of a dog and exclaimed “puppy right there! woof woof!”
Oh well, I guess there’s always next year.

Probation

2010-01-26T09:50:00.004-07:00

I’m on probation.
During a typical hectic Tuesday morning, I was battling to get both of my boys ready for school. I went into my bathroom to get Tanner out of the shower, and once I turned the water off, I sprayed shower cleaner on the glass surround. He had Apparently had his heart set on using the squeegee to clear away the excess water which apparently he could'nt do once the cleanser was sprayed on the glass.
He had a royal meltdown.
After several minutes of him crying hysterically and me trying to console him, he announced that he wanted to find a new family to live with.
I was heartbroken.
He assured me that he would come back and visit because he would miss "Wuke" and his toy castle.
I begged and pleaded to make him want to stay, I even promised him that I would let him squeegee the shower whenever he wanted. I kept trying to think back to any episode I may have seen of Little Bill for ideas on how to deal with the situation.
Nothing.
I now remember one episode where Little Bill wanted to run away, so the family decided to run away with him. Where was that when I needed it?
The more I tried to convince him that he was my little boy and that I could never let another mommy take him, he was insistent that a new family was indeed what he wanted.
In the back of my mind I really wanted to drop him off with another mommy that would make him eat brussel sprouts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and put him on toilet scrubbing duty only after he had finished mopping all the floors and cleaning out the pig pen.
That would show him.
He would come running home with arms wide open proclaiming that his REAL mother was the greatest in the whole world.
Unfortunately I couldn’t think of one person that would be that cruel.
Each time I asked him why he wanted to leave, he responded between sobs by saying “I don’t want to leave, but you’re just SO mean to me.”
I started thinking about my interactions with this middle child of mine. Truth be told, he gets “in trouble” a lot. I love him more than life itself, but he happens to be a little pill. I am still looking for ways to control his meltdowns, encourage him to be responsible, and keep him from tormenting his little sister. I feel so defeated when I admit that after 4 years I still haven’t found out just how to handle my middle child. My heart sank as I realized that he probably really felt like another mommy would be much nicer to him and that time-out would be far less common in a different household.
None of the blame is his, it’s all mine.
After explaining to him that if he left our family that would mean that he would never be able to see his grandparents again either since they too are part of our family, he was devastated by the very thought so he agreed to give me a trial run.
Probation.
I swore up and down that I would shower him with love and attention. I would use nothing but positive reinforcement for jobs well done and make this house a happy place.
It worked.
He loves me again.
But I do have to say, by the end of the day, even at 4-years-old, he realized that he was running the show. He missed his nap (which he NEVER does), he was hyper beyond measure, and he tormented his sister all the more. Needless to say, while I made it past probation, I shamefully admit, I’m still clueless when it comes to parenting.
Any suggestions?

Mayhem, Musing, and Martians

2010-01-01T08:42:00.003-07:00

Mayhem

Some of you may know that I work from home. Part of my job includes writing for 25 blogs. 25blogs! So, I am here to confess that my family blog has been a little neglected. You see, after spending 4-6 hours a day writing for blogs, the last thing I want to do is sit at my office (the desk in my kitchen) after hours and do essentially the same thing I've been doing all day, but this time without getting paid. So, I've decided a good alternative would be to take portions of posts I write for other blogs and paste them over here, and while they may not be as unique and personal as they could be, they are posts none-the-less. So here they are for your holiday enjoyment!

Musings

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was great. The day was somewhat relaxed, and the kids were spoiled rotten. I really do love Christmas. However, I also despise the aftermath.
You see, I work from home, on the computer for up to 6 hours a day. While I am working, my kids enjoy playing with each other, and the harder they play, the messier the house gets. That’s typical, Christmas or no Christmas, but the joy of Christmas seems to have left a large amount of extra clutter in my life.
Our 12ft Christmas tree is making me claustrophobic. The once beautiful and majestic symbol of life everlasting is now a giant dust and clutter collector.
The toys the kids were so excited to open on Christmas morning have now been poked, prodded, and abused leaving some of them broken or neglected after only a short stay at our home. My boys got two giant boxes of legos. I love the concept of legos. I love that they require critical thinking, imagination, and fine motor skills, but I loathe the little pieces that end up all over the house only to be stepped upon by an unsuspecting barefoot.
The packages once wrapped in fancy paper with lovely bows, adding to the festive decor of our home are now piled up sky high in the corner of my kitchen. Just sitting there. Waiting for my wonderful husband to take the time to send them to their resting place-far away from my kitchen.
The delicious handmade treats that my friends and neighbors so graciously brought to our home as a symbol of love are now crumbs on my kitchen floor.
And finally, all of the lovely Christmas decor I have been working so hard to collect throughout my adult life just adds to my list of things I have to dust.
I think I’m going crazy!
I really make an effort to have the Christmas Spirit. There are so many wonderful things that accompany this time of year, but now, I want my house back.
Today my mom is making the 20 minute drive up to my house to help me package all of my Christmas decor in their boxes where they’ll be stored and eagerly awaiting their appearance in 2010. When that time comes, I will be so happy to see them that I will giggle with joy. But now, be gone with you! All of you!

Side note: My wonderful mother did in fact help dig me out of my Christmas disaster area! Thanks Mom:).

This post is from my blog, Musings of Modern Mamas

Martians

I can’t believe 2009 is over! This year has been one I won’t soon forget for reasons both good and bad. Above all, I am thankful that after the end of another year my family is healthy, happy, and safe.
Everything else is just extra.
I have LOVED having the kids home during their Christmas break. We have been completely lazy and loved every minute of it. Last night we spent several hours creating martians. When they unwrapped the Martian Making Kit at my parents’ house on Christmas I silently cringed. I figured a gift that would produce such a mess would surely have to come from the grandparents, but after much begging, I finally gave in to their pleas and opened the kit.
I had a ball.
I never thought it would be so much fun making martians. The atmosphere was so relaxed. We had no need to hurry, the kids could be late for bed, and the mess could wait. We were able to sit, create, and chat. It was perfect.
On a side note, my littlest princess has been enjoying her big brothers’ legos. She enjoyed them so much that she just had to stick this

right up her nose. Luckily, we also got the game Operation for Christmas, so I have been brushing up on my tweezing skills. I was able to successfully remove the gear shifter without a hitch.

-This post is from my blog, Making the Most of Family Time

If you would like to be featured, or contribute to any of my blogs, I would love it! Heaven knows I have several for you to choose from:).

Family Pictures

2009-12-15T09:34:00.008-07:00

We just got our family pictures back. Our friend, Michelle Tandy, took them for us, and I am really happy with how they turned out. Here are just a few for your viewing pleasure:). To see how I added the vintage looking frame, click here!

Giving Thanks

2009-11-23T14:15:00.002-07:00

I have a beautiful baby girl. After two energetic boys, that I LOVE with my heart and soul, I found myself longing for a little girl. One that I could dress in pretty clothes and do her hair with pretty bows.
When my husband and I talked about getting pregnant for the third time, I knew it was time, and I knew in my heart that I was going to get that baby girl.
Needless to say, I was right (I love it when that happens). I do dress her in pretty clothes, and I do put her hair in pretty bows, and most of the time, she despises them both! Her brothers adore her, and she returns the feelings wholeheartedly. She loves them so completely and unconditionally, and she wants to be just like them. Her first words were "cool car" and "touchdown!" I love it! I love them all.
I love them so deeply and completely that I just can not imagine my life without them in it. The thought scares me.
I came across this blog the other day. The blog is written by a courageous mother and father who have a baby boy and an angel daughter. Their daughter Lucy returned Home when she was nearly two years old. . . .The same age as my beautiful girl. Lucy had bouncy curls and a life full of personality. . . just like my beautiful girl. Lucy choked on an apple the size of a pea. I know. . . unbelievable. Her mother and father did everything they could and more, and ultimately had to watch their princess die. You can read the whole story here. They are courageous. They are survivors.
Sometimes I complain. When my princess spilled an entire box of cereal on the floor, I moaned and groaned, and I complained. When my princess wants me to hold her all day so that I can get NOTHING done, sometimes I complain. But now I think about them. I think about Lucy. I KNOW they wouldn't complain if their princess wanted them to hold her all day. I have that opportunity. They don't. And I complain.
I love all three of my children entirely, I love them all equally. Lucy reminds me of my princess. That is why my mind wandered to the what-ifs. What if that was our story. What if . It broke my heart.
Today, I am giving thanks. Thanks for a loving God who has afforded me the opportunity to be a mother to three wonderful children. Thanks for every breathe they breath and every beat their hearts beat. I'm thankful that I can hold them all day. . .and get nothing done. With all my heart, I'm thankful.

New Project!

2009-11-17T12:26:00.004-07:00

Howdy Folks! I know it's been a while, but I wanted to let you know about my new project. I am starting a new blog called "The Quest to Become a Well Rounded Woman." I am hoping that I can get contributors to post tutorials about different subjects and areas. That way, we can get a little taste of a lot of things in one place. I think that I will be able to get more contributors once my readers/followers increase, so if you are interested, please check out the blog, maybe even become a follower. You could even go above and beyond the call of duty and post a little blurb about it on your own blogs. I am also always looking for contributors, so if you have a special interest in anything from scrapbooking to cooking, to home improvement, you name it, please let me know and I would love to feature a post from you.

Thanks so much for your support!!!

These are a few of my favorite things. . . .

2009-10-01T18:29:00.009-06:00

Somehow I skipped blogging the entire month of September. Needless to say, this post could go on and on, but I decided to post a few pictures of some of my favorite things. For starters, I LOVE fall! I love the weather, the feeling of change, and the sense of anticipation that comes with the preamble to the holiday season, I just LOVE it all. My family has done a few things to welcome this fine fall season.

There are few things in life more enjoyable than our monthly dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Ivers house. This year they planted a big garden out back. No garden would be complete if it didn't have "The Great Pumpkin!"

While the boys tend to spend their time making their own corn mazes in the garden and admiring this year's patch of pumpkins, our little Ellie chooses to spend her time on other endeavors. . . dirt diving.

I just love this picture, sweet little Dylann is posing and smiling so cute, she has been around the same amount of dirt for the same amount of time as my little princess, but she looks squeaky clean while my child can't even stop dumping dirt on herself long enough for a quick picture.

Yes, I may be a little warped, but I LOVE this picture with her filthy face and nice muddy snot lines! Seeing my kids get down and dirty, and just be kids is certainly one of my favorite things!

Last Saturday we spent the day at Cornbelly's. We had to take advantage of the $3.93 tickets!

Maybe it is the leaves, or even perhaps it's the weather, but there is definitely a feeling of change in the air. My living room has been in desperate need of some style lately. Luckily this was a money MAKING makeover. We sold our sectional on KSL of $800 bucks, paid $100 for the sofa/love seat set, and I spent $50 bucks on my accessories.

I refinished our old coffee table, I really kinda like how it turned out.

This is just a little sneak peak of what we've been up to lately, more to come shortly. . . .

Extreme Brilliance!!

2009-08-17T09:12:00.007-06:00

In my last post, I mentioned my desire to post something brilliant, well. . .here it is! My friend Morgan has introducted me to a whole new world. A world where people pay you to buy food, and full prices are simply not an option. It is the wonderful world of coupon shopping. I have only gone twice, and with Morgan's expert guidance and direction (I owe her my fourth born child), I have already saved over $200. I am super excited about the trip we took to Albertson's this morning. I rolled out of bed at 4:45 this morning and we were the first ones to the store at 5:30. Little did we know, we were the first ones there because the store didn't actuall open until 6. Lucky for us, we got a good jump on all the other couponers.

Now on to my list, I bought:

2- CPK frozen pizzas

8- Boxes of Cereal (2 Honey Bunches of Oats, 2 Grape Nuts, 2 Kix, and 2 Cocoa Puffs)

15- 32 oz Powerades

2-16 oz Chocolate Milks

2-Gallons of Milk

4-Easy Mac Cups

3-Boxes of Mac and Cheese

4-Boxes of Ronzoni Healthy Pasta

2-Boxes of Capri Suns

6-Haagen Das Ice Cream Cups

8-Dannon Light and Fit Yogurts

2-10 oz Bottles of A1 BBQ Sauce

2-Boxes of Jello Pudding

For all that I spent $33.58, Plus I got a $20.00 Mail In Rebate to make the entire purchase a whopping $13.58! I saved a total of $127! I know, BRILLIANT!!

Spectacularly Un-Brilliant!

2009-08-14T14:46:00.005-06:00

So, I don't know why, but I have been waiting and waiting for something brilliant to blog about. I really wanted to write some type of literary masterpiece available for the world exclusively here at IversPartyof 5.

I have been waiting. . . and waiting. . . and waiting.

Finally I have decided that brilliant pieces of literature come to the minds of the brilliant. So, here is my mediocre post about some of our above average adventures which all took place nearly a month ago! (I have been waiting a LONG time for inspiration)

For starters, here are a few snapshots of our extraordinary pioneer day (I think it was the 24th). We were lucky enough to spend the day at Deer Creek Reservoir with the Ivers side of the family. The kids LOVED the boat, and Brielle seemed to be completely enamored with her giant blue twinkie suit.

We are so lucky that the kids have so many cousins close to their age on the Ivers side of the family, they do happen to be all girls (except baby Kyle) but none of them seem to mind their gender differences. Here they are playing on the "beach."

For some reason the boys were totally uncooperative when it came to photo-shoots. These were the best shots I got of them the whole day.

Brielle even got to be captain for a few minutes, she is crazy about 1st mate Grandpa Ivers!

This is Launey riding the wakes on the tube thingy. This picture was taken as his mother was yelling to him from the shore, "take your white shirt off, you'll ruin it!" Later he informed her that the white shirt happened to be his pasty white skin.

Here is a small glimpse of one of the many reasons that I love that man, regardless of his white shirt-like tan.

(after further review of this picture, I am undecided of whether or not the purpose of this photo is clear, just to clarify, he is preparing to change our baby girl's diaper full of toxic waste.)

Later that month my parents were kind enough to sponsor a weekend getaway to Park City. We stayed in a beautiful condo and had a blast riding the alpine slide, coaster, and zip-line. Unfortunately, I must have been so caught up in the fun and excitement that I only managed to get a couple pictures.

Luckily they are high quality pictures featuring the famous, Launey leaning on the stair rail with the "I am so excited that I can hardly contain my emotions" look on his face, Followed by the ever-so-popular Brielle throwing a fit that she wasn't hooked up to the giant human slingshot photo, and finally The Boys with their fresh morning faces and stylish bed heads over two bowls of cereal shot. I am just so happy that these pictures accurately portrayed all of the fun and excitement we enjoyed over the weekend.

So until next time. . .ciao!

Say CHEESE, (or at least cheesy)

2009-07-20T15:58:00.007-06:00

I have already blogged about our trip to Logan and Bear Lake. I think I've even mentioned a thing or two about the Ute Stampede, so here is the week in review picture style!

Why wouldn't my baby girl wear motocross pajamas?

I Love That Man!

I kind of like him too :).

No explanation necessary

This little guy is the king of meltdowns. Lucky for him, he also has a melt-your-heart smile and a few adorable speech impediments. The combination of the two seem to allow him to get away with A LOT more than he should!

Grandpa Ivers would be SO proud!

I am surprised that these two actually stopped long enough for a picture, they were going strong all night long!

This sweet little zoo holds a soft spot in my heart. When we lived in Logan, we went there so often Luke thought it was his own personal zoo!

One HOT Granny and two adorable babies!

This is the only picture we were able to get of Luke, he could have lived there if he had the choice.

Lessons From the Unlearned

2009-07-18T11:14:00.004-06:00

(Baby Nixon)

I recently loaded up my three terrific tots and headed northward to the land that I love, Logan, Utah. My sister and her husband have been attending my Alma-mater, USU, so they have intermittently taken up residence there. In order to make some extra cash to stuff in their student-sized bank accounts, they spent a few days delivering phonebooks to the fine citizens of Cache Valley.

My sweet mother had been recruited to help with little Nixon, and we were kindly invited to be a part of the hullabaloo.

(I know, this seems like it is going nowhere fast, but buckle your seat belts, here comes the point)

As soon as I exited Sardine Canyon and made the downward decent to my former home, I was immediately taken back to simpler times. When Launey and I lived there, we were both going to school, and Luke was just a knee-height-to-a-mite.

Now my little sis is in a very similar situation with a family of her own. They always say hindsight is 20/20, I wouldn't go that far, but I wanted to share with Kylee a few lessons of motherhood I have learned along the way.

When it comes to raising kids, always have a plan and a few backup plans. Try your best to execute the plan closely as possible, however, the key is realizing that life's most precious moments are often the unplanned ones.

Love the simple things. There is nothing better, in my opinion, than the dimples in a baby's tiny hands. Before you know it, you will look at those baby hands holding a crayon and realize that the dimples are gone. I am always amazed at how fast they disappear and how they could have left without me even realizing it.

Try not to stress. (I know, like I have any say in this matter). It is amazing how life seems to work itself out. I think back to life with one baby, why on earth was I always so stressed? Those times , the simple ones, when your family is just starting out and that one baby is your whole world, those times will be gone before you know it.

Don't forget, as much as you love your little guy, it is so comforting to know that somebody else loves him too. So much that He was willing to suffer for his sins. Someone who was willing to feel all of the sorrows and pains that your children will feel, so that they will never have to walk alone. And somebody else, our loving Heavenly Father, who was willing to sacrifice His own son to save our souls, because He loves us all too. Isn't it great that if you do happen to get stressed, or concerned about your family that you can pray to somebody who cares just as much about them as you do.

Enjoy the journey. I know it's cliche, but it is critical. That's all there is. Every step of life is a journey. If we spend so much time waiting for the next step, the enjoyment may never come.

Take comfort in the fact that it takes kids a few years to realize that you don't know everything. I fear the day that my kids realize that I have NO idea what I am doing and that I have spent their entire lives pretending that I do.

Lastly, take this for what it's worth, or don't take it at all. Everybody's journey is their own, filled with their own lessons, theories, and memories! Good luck, I know you'll do great.

Sometimes She Tells Me I'm Hot

2009-07-14T16:05:00.004-06:00

Sometimes my sweet sister-in-law Linzy tells me I'm Hot.

Sometimes I believe her. Well, sort of.

But it seems on those special occasions, the ones that I spend some extra time doing my hair, applying my make-up, and picking out just the right outfit, the same occasions that she sometimes tells me I'm hot, somebody snaps a picture.

Like this one. . .

and I am hit with reality like a ton of bricks! The reality that I am now stuck in a rut of a different color. It is a terrible place that I didn't even know I was residing in . . . it is a fashion disaster rut.

I began to get the hint when I saw an advertisement for the bump and thought to myself, "that looks cute." Yes, I know, a red flag.

I think that I have been in this particular rut since, oh, about 1985 or so. So I am pleading, SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP! Every time I look in the mirror, or see a picture, like the one posted above, this is how I feel. . .

Yes, gaggy.

So please, search your hearts. Think back to a moment, any moment, even if it was a brief shining moment, that you may have thought, "she looks cute," or something of the like. At that moment, what was it that I had going for me? The hair, the make-up, the clothing, the socks, anything.

(Me having an Epiphany)

But then again, that may be precisely my problem. Maybe I am in this rut because I hold on to those shining moments, the cute ones, and try to recreate them, regardless of the time period they first occurred in. Just because my volcano clip and neon spandex shorts were totally awesome in 1986, it doesn't mean I should slip into the same groove tomorrow for a day out on the town.

So, I guess what I am looking for is suggestions for recreating myself. New hair, new make-up, a new style.

I am asking for LOTS of comments.

Lots of suggestions.

I don't want to hear, "oh you are totally cute the way you are." That is precisely what got me here in the first place.

Please real suggestions. Especially about the hair WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

I am leaving it up to you, help me get out of here.

Help me get out of this phase. . .

Yes GAGGY!

FaceWhat?

2009-07-13T15:41:00.004-06:00

It's official. I am a member of Facebook.

Apparently I had created a profile some time ago without fully realizing what it was I was doing, and since then, messages requesting my friendship have been popping up in my inbox.

For a while I blew the messages off, never deleting them, just not knowing what to do with them. Then one day, I decided I would dive in.

I realized that I had created a profile a while back which sat there blank, not a single picture or description graced my pages, there was no face to go with the name, but still people wanted to be my friend.

It was perplexing.

I got to work uploading pictures and describing a few highlights of my life, then I began to browse. I searched through the profiles of my friends and began to notice how many friends they had. Soon my measly collection of 15 friends seemed to be an instant signal that I was in the "loser" bracket on the sliding scale of popularity. I became a little panicked.

Suddenly I was transported back to some other time, some other state of mind, way before kids, husbands, mortgages, and maturity, and I felt determined to add as many friends to my collection as possible.

I browsed rapidly through everybody else's support systems, took the suggestions provided by the facebook team (who know me so well), and even did some organic searches just trying to increase that ever-so-desirable popularity. I couldn't send out the requests fast enough, it didn't matter who the potential friend was. I even request friendship from a man who coached football with my husband. I'm pretty sure we met once. I'm pretty sure that's grounds for friendship.

And then I waited . . . a friendship request sent to my own brother still hasn't been approved. I feel like the last kid picked for a game of dodge ball. Earlier today I checked my friend list. . . 43 . . .pathetic.

Then, I glanced out the window at my two little guys playing together, and saw my sweetly insane baby girl holding out her sippy cup saying "moke," over and over, then suddenly I was plummeted back into reality.
THANK GOODNESS.
How had I let that drive for "popularity" overcome me like I was a 12 year old school girl proud as punch of her new training bra? To my three little kids, and my 1 loving husband, I am pretty darn cool, at least most of the time. As long as I win their popularity contest, that's good enough for me!

Let Freedom Ring, Let the Birthday Boy Sing!

2009-07-08T14:29:00.005-06:00

Please forgive me for the ridiculously lame title. I couldn't think of anything the slightest bit creative.

Many of you already know that the 4th of July is an extra special holiday for my little family. The reason is that my first born made his grand entrance into the world on the 4th of July at 4:40 pm 6 years ago. Wow, I can't believe it has actually been SIX years!

This son of mine has grown accustomed to the longest most extravagant birthday celebration in the world. We have stopped doing his party on the 4th because there is already so much going on, so he had a family party on the 5th, then on the 6th he had a friend party. That was a first for us! Needless to say, I am glad the extended celebration is over, I am completely exhausted! :)

We started off the morning of the 4th in Nephi. I just love the 4th of July Nephi style. The kids had a blast, and this year Launey got to get in on the fun himself. He played in a b-ball tournament with Karson, Conner, and Rex. I will not disclose their record but we'll just say that they had a lot of FUN!

During Launey's last game I let Bampa herd the boys around the park. Perhaps you can imagine my surprise when I saw my two boys come walking around the corner looking like an American flag pooped on their heads. Apparently they have already learned the secret of life, "if you want something, just ask Bampa" he seems to be the only sucker that can't say no! They had a great time, and they looked VERY patriotic, so that's all that mattered.

They had a blast playing on the "jumpy things" and climbing the rock wall.

Brielle spent a good portion of the morning absolutely content in her infamous red stroller.

Well, as long as she had some kind of sugar to keep her occupied she was happy.

After the Nephi celebration, we headed north to have lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Ivers' house. The kids love playing and swimming with their cousins. Here they are working on their summer tans.

On Sunday we had the family over for cake and ice cream. I love making fun cakes for my kids on their birthdays. I always picture them so much cuter than they turn out, but I think the kids enjoy them regardless. Luke wanted me to write "Luke Heavy Hitter" on his cake because that is what his coach called him this year.

Needless to say, he got absolutely spoiled, and he loved every minute of it!

FINALLY, on Monday we hosted our first ever friend party. The kids were great and I feel really blessed to live in an area with such great families who raise such great kids. I look forward to seeing the friendships my children will develop as they grow.

Tanner even got to get in on the action!

Here is Luke and his buddy Brock.

And finally, Ellie Bean, enjoying some birthday cupcakes.

I am glad to say that we all survived the craziness, and I would do it all over again for my special little boy.

Luke has been such a joy to raise. He is so smart and his faith amazes me on a daily basis. Just today Launey caught him in the front yard praying that the balloon he had just let go would land safely. He didn't know Launey was watching, it was just a tender moment between Luke and his Heavenly Father. He is a great big brother. It's so much fun to watch him and Tanner play together. They both claim the other as their best friend, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Luke is also my deep thinker. He can never just take something for face value, he always has to analyze it until it makes sense in his mind, then he can accept it. He teaches me SO much, I hope that because of him I can be a better me. I love you big boy! Happy Birthday!

Spots!

2009-06-29T15:41:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago I wrote this post. Those were the days to remember sigh.

Then a few days ago, I filled my washing machine with a plethora of my favorite laundry category, the BRIGHTS.

I don't know what it is, but I just love seeing all of my family's bright and happy clothes in one spot. Perhaps the colors represent a combination of cheerfulness and energy bundled into one that makes my heart flutter. I am also fond of the fact that I wash these particular items in cold water. It seems crisp and refreshing.

On this particular day, I was on the verge of another love fest with my laundry duties. While the bright pile was a bit foul smelling, the colors were still beautiful. I dunked them into their cold soapy bath and bid them farewell for 14-16 minutes. Once the sound of the wish washing was silented, I transferred the now wet pile of loveliness into the dryer. I knew that in no time they would come out smelling fresh and feeling warm.

Then, the buzzer sounded. I quickly pounced over to the dryer to remove my batch of brightness, but alas, there was something askew. My beautiful brights were tarnished with dull grey spots! Nearly every bright item my family owned was covered in grey SPOTS! I searched the dryer for the culprit, but to my dismay, I found no obvious suspect for the demise of my sunshiny shirts. Nearly every shirt my sweet little Brielle owns is in fact a bright one, which meant her wardrobe was quickly demoted from small to altogether sparse.

I have sprayed, soaked, washed, and re-washed my brights but the offending grey spots remain.

I couldn't help but relate this to life. Sometimes life is like a bright white sweet smelling sheet, and other times, there are spots on your brights.

If perhaps this particular day is one filled with spots, please let me lighten it with this little nugget. . . .

I have always had a place in my heart for the man with the big black ears, but I had no idea that he had such mad moves! My feelings of fondness for my dear Mickey have sky-rocketed. In the words of the great choreographer Lil' C, that was BUCK!

Let's Hear it For the Boy. . .

2009-06-22T11:11:00.002-06:00

CAUTION: EXTREMELY LONG POST WHICH MAY BE INTERESTING TO MY POSTERITY BUT PROBABLY NOT TO ANYONE ELSE! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

This weekend has certainly been an eventful one! Launey and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on Saturday, and of course, Father's Day was Sunday.

All of the celebrating has really made me reflect on how blessed I am to have such a wonderful man!

I couldn't help but reminisce about days gone bye and think about how Launey and I got here. I am sure that most of you know the story of our past, but I though it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane anyway.

Launey and I met at Snow College about 8 1/2 years ago. My roommate Lynsey told me that she had met some guys at the mail room on campus, where she worked, and she had a date with"the short one." Little did I know that the short one would be my future eternal companion!

I distinctly remember the first time I met Launey. After his date with Lynsey they came back to our apartment. It is sad to say, but it was totally obvious that he was straight of his mission. He had a bright blue Adidas shirt tucked in tight to his peg-legged pants which were clinging to his waste with an extremely shiny black belt that matched his extremely shiny black shoes perfectly. I am pretty sure that I even caught a glimpse of a side-part in his then full head of hair. Needless to say, I don't think it was exactly love at first site for either of us.

My roommates and I got to know Launey and his roommates pretty well. We all hung out a few times and I even went on a couple dates with his friend and roommate Josh. Eventually the semester was over and we all parted ways for the summer with little thought of each other. However when fall semester started up again Launey came cruising back into my life in true character. I remember walking back to my apartment after a class one day and suddenly a red hot 1989 camaro complete with a duct taped steering wheel came pulling up to my side. Inside was none other than Launey himself. He kindly offered me a ride which I gladly accepted. When I climbed in the car I remember saying sarcastically, "Nice car" to which he replied genuinely, "thanks, I just bought it this summer!" I could tell instantly that he was deeply in love with his red-neckmobile which again reinforced to my immature mind, "he is so not my type!"

(yes, this is his BEST picture!)

Well to make a LONG story short, eventually Launey and I became great friends. I would go on a date and when I got home I would head straight to his house to tell him about it, and he came to me often seeking dating advice. The crowd we hung out with were always going on dates. Most of the guys took out a variety of girls, always trying to find their soul mates, and Launey usually asked me to go as his "go-to-girl." We knew that we would have fun together and there was no pressure on either of our parts. I told him that I would continue to go out with him as long as he obliged to a few simple rules. He had to open my door (which he would have done anyway)and he ALWAYS had to refer to me as "Princess." Once while we were eating at Chili's, he asked me, "What would you like Princess?" to which our waitress responded, "I have a goat named Princess!" From that point on my charming pet named turned to "Princess Goat," and was often even shortened to simply "Goat." That was so not what I had in mind!

Eventually Launey decided that he wanted more than just a friendship. Once again, so not what I had in mind, but we gave it a go a few times, and I will be the first to admit, I was MEAN! I think that I was attempting to single handedly destroy our friendship. Over Christmas break his friend Jason called me and asked, "so what's up with you and Launey?" To which I so kindly responded with something like "Oh my goodness why won't he get the hint? I am so not into him!" Apparently they had set me up and Launey was listening to the whole thing. I was convinced that I didn't care.

I later found out that he had decided to transfer to Eastern Arizona, a Junior College, to play football. Once again, I convinced myself that I didn't care.

Then the strangest thing happened. I was driving around Provo with my mom and sister and made some random comment about Launey. Suddenly I was overcome with the feeling, which is the same feeling I am feeling as I am typing this very sentence, that HE was the man that I should be spending eternity with. I tried to shrug it off, but I just couldn't. I eventually took to my journal where I had chronicled all of the guys I had dated before and things that I liked about them and things that I didn't. From those evaluations I was able to come up with a list of qualities I was looking for in a future husband. I read over "the list" and realized that the pain-in-the-rear best friend of mine had every quality I was looking for in a husband, and I was about to let him go.

Luckily he asked me to go out with him to dinner for his dad's birthday on the 27th of December, then we went to a movie. That was the first time that my feelings were confirmed, and that night I told him that I was falling in love with him. A day later I can vividly remember talking about when we were going to get married which made me pause for a moment and ask, "does this mean we are dating?"

I can't even imagine how surprised our friends must have been when we left for Christmas break hardly talking and came back planning our marriage.

Even after our engagement I was constantly testing Launey's patience. I don't know if it was just my complete immaturity, or if it was my way of making him prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was going to be there for me and love me no matter what. Luckily, my man has never been one to back away from a challenge! For that I have been eternally blessed.

So, seven years ago, on a hot June day, my BEST FRIEND and man of the dreams I didn't even know I had, took me to the Manti Temple where we were joined together for ETERNITY. I knew I loved him then, but I had no idea how much I would love him now. He is still my best friend, there is honestly nobody on this earth that I would rather be with than him, he is the father of our 3 beautiful children, he is the patriarch of our family, he provides for me, not only physically but emotionally too, and on top of that, I am WILDLY attracted to him. He is so everything that I had ever hoped for . . . and more!

So my darling, thanks for the wonderful 7 years! Cheers to them, and here's to an eternity of love, and laughter yet to come. I love you!

Let the Games Begin!!

2009-06-05T15:57:00.007-06:00

Any of you who have spent any amount of time with my children know that they have an abundance of energy. That fact can make life interesting, and a little bit chaotic, but I don't necessarily consider their energy level a bad thing. My big quest in life is to figure out some positive avenues for them to channel their energy, well the channeling has begun!

Tanner's energy is being released through good ole' fashioned KICKBALL, or as he lovingly calls it, "kickety-kick-ball."

Apparently, at first Just Tanner was unaware that there was more to kickety-kick-ball than just kicking. He must have assumed that he was standing in the outfield to act as a bug detective for the city landscaping committee.

However, when it was his turn to kick, his offensive skills were shining like the sun!

Once he nearly kicked the ball out of the park, he made it to 1st base where his mentor and 1st base coach was there waiting. After some helpful hints ("when he kicks the ball, you run over there to 2nd base!"), Just Tanner was ready to round the bases and put a point on the board for his team, or at least he would have if they kept track of points.

**Side note**-I am seeking advice from a seasoned mother, any seasoned mother. I feel like I have a fair amount of knowledge regarding the basics of the almighty kickball game. Being the wonderful mother that I am, I tried to share that knowledge with my second born, Just Tanner. He quickly turned to me and said, very sternly I might add, "Mom, I am pwaying (not a typo, l's are still a mountain he is trying to climb) kickety-kick- baww. Don't talk to me because I am twying to conthentrate!" However when Coach Luke steps in, Just Tanner is all ears. Now, when did I become an annoyance, and how long will this last?

Eventually even his defence improved, that makes me happy:), unfortunately I can't say the same happiness is shared by the landscaping crew. Sorry.

After the game, I got lucky and Just Tanner was willing to acknowledge me for a brief shining moment so I could snap his picture with his new friend and teammate. It is going to be a great summer!

Some of you may have noticed that Luke has many roles. On any given day he goes from Pirate Luke, to Indiana Luke, around the bend to Sheriff Luke, and back to the Mad Scientist. Well for this month, every Tuesday and Thursday at the same hour, I can be sure of the role he will be playing, "Very Awesome T-Ball Player Luke." I think that is one of my best.

Third base can be tough for some, but he frequently let me know that he was hangin-in-there with a trusty thumbs up.

His first game was quite exciting on the offensive end. He managed to hit one little guy square in the nose with a hard hit down the first base line, then his second hit smacked another little dude right in the neck. T-Ball Luke was mortified, but in the depths of my soul, there was a little part, evil as it may be, that thought it was awesome! Not that the other kids got hurt, that was not awesome, but they were really great hits. I know I know, I need to do some serious soul searching!

By the last inning the coach moved him to short. He liked that position much better because he got to wrestle with his teammates for the ball a lot more, come to think of it, I'm not sure that we ever clearly explained that t-ball is a non-contact sport. I am putting that on my to do list right now.

As for Brielle's energy expendeture, she has found a new sport which luckily she finds quite entertaining. Have you ever heard of rock climbing? Well this is somewhat like it, without the rocks, or the required skill level. She has created the art of stroller climbing. I am always wishing that I could read her mind, but in this instance I am almost positive that her thoughts went something like this, "up. . . .down. . . .up. . . .down . . . .up. . . .down" and so on and so forth.

Ahh, a GREAT SUMMER indeed!

I Heart Cupcakes, Kids, and Cousins

2009-05-30T13:41:00.007-06:00

This is just a snapshot of yesterday's project. I have made these adorable cupcake pops a few times now, and I still think they are adorable. They are super easy, just go here for the details and more stinkin' cute ideas.

Speaking of stinkin' cute, isn't she growing up?!

I just want to eat her up!

Now on to these two.

Boy oh boy, life is always an adventure with them around! Last week I decided to take them on a little journey to the reservoir next to our house. (Shhh . . . don't tell them it's not the ocean).
Of course Luke had to dress the part. Notice his Sheriff's badge proudly displayed on his chest informing passer byes that he IS the law. And why wouldn't he carry around his backpack stuffed with a sleeping bag? You never know if a camp-out will be necessary. A lot can happen in a half mile.

Luke's constant companion and assistant in whatever mischief they can find, "Just Tanner" is always along for the ride. Typically he is a little less enthusiastic and certainly always less decked out.

The terrain was treacherous, luckily Sheriff Luke brought along his trusty plastic sword, just in case.

After making it through the concrete jungle, we made it to the Santaquin Ocean. The water apparently felt great, but it smelled a little too fishy for my liking, so I was designated as the picture taker.

We plan on making another expedition to the ocean real soon. Next time I think I will take my raft and glass of lemonade.

With all of the excitement and adventures happening in our little family, one can only expect to be overjoyed and a little overwhelmed to be sent to earth and end up right smack dab in the middle of it.

This is my cute little nephew Nixon. He is the newest addition to our family and we are all so glad he is here. Brielle is going to need a sidekick someday and since Just Tanner is already spoken for, Nixon is the perfect alternate.

Just to make sure that he would one day be her partner in crime, she sealed it with a kiss. . .

and a snuggle.

Then Just Tanner tried to EAT him. . . I don't know what possessed him to try to eat his new cousin, but what I find really alarming is that it didn't even strike me as odd.

I love Nixon's terrified face in this picture!

Welcome to the jungle little buddy!

UPDATE

2009-05-27T20:57:00.002-06:00

My incredibly young and fit mother had a pacemaker placed in her chest today (weird I know). What an adventure! This is how the story goes. . . .
She had been dealing with the pains and annoyances of a sinus infection for nearly a month. Eventually she had "had enough" of that pesky sinus infection and went to see good ole Dr. B. After hearing her astonishingly low hear rate, the nurse was a bit concerned. She mentioned it to Dr. B who immediately lost interest in the pesky sinus infection and sent my young and fit mother to get an E.K.G.
Apparently he didn't like what he saw because he ended up consulting with a cardiologist who insisted that she be fit into the urgent slot. She ended up seeing Dr. Wong yesterday. After another E.K.G., he decided that she needed a pacemaker a.s.a.p.
I guess what has been happening is that the top two chambers of her heart weren't communicating with the bottom two chambers. So when the top was telling the bottom to pump blood, the bottom was being a "cold-hearted snake" (hee hee) and ignored the demands completely. Because there was no communication at all she was at a level 3, or complete block, the most serious available version.
Today however, she is a new woman who is able to function at a faster "pace" than ever! Her surgery went well, and her heart rate was already up to the seventies this morning, a sharp contrast from the thirty range it had been residing in. She is also feeling like quite the spring chicken considering that she is stationed in the geriatrics ward.
In conclusion, I am SO thankful for your thoughts and prayers. It is nice to know that we have so many people out there willing to support us through our trials and life's little ups and downs. I am also so thankful that she was blessed with that pesky sinus infection. We truly believe that her sinus infection was the Lord's way of getting her in to see the Doc. Otherwise, she may have never known she had such a serious problem until it was too late. Wow, what a miracle. . . what a blessing! Needless to say, the sinus infection is clearing up remarkably well.

We Need Your Prayers!

2009-05-20T18:11:00.002-06:00

Many of you know that I am especially privileged because I officially have the best mom in the world. I am sorry to all of you whose mothers may be close seconds or thirds, but what can I say, I am blessed.

Well, this mom of mine, you know the world's best, has informed me that her heart is having some issues. It must be getting tired from her overwhelming responsibility of being, you know, the best.

Her heart rate is only in the thirties which has got a few doctors concerned. The Cardiologist scheduled her an appointment in the "urgent" slot which is on Tuesday.

So, I am asking, no, I am begging, that you spare a few moments in your nightly, daily, or just any timely prayers for my mom.

She is such a special person, it would mean so much to me if you could help.

Thanks.

Somebody Stop Me!!!

2009-05-18T13:36:00.002-06:00

Okay, okay, I don't know what has gotten into me. First off, I usually go months at a time between posts, and today, this is my THIRD. You read right, my third post all in the same day. Perhaps that is because today things are going so well. Knock on wood, (I really literally just knocked on my kitchen table). I just couldn't resist posting about this one small miracle that occurred.

Last night our good friends, Morgan and Kyle had us over for a good ol' fashioned cook out. They had dug a fire pit which we used to cook our tinfoil dinners. Following the dinner, we roasted Marshmallows and made Kyle's Delicious Creation, "the marshmallow cookie sandwich." That's right, it was delicious. So what is the miracle you ask?

I am getting to it.

At our little dinner party, Morgan graciously made us Kool-Aid. If you haven't had Kool-Aid for a while, I strongly suggest that you make some today. It was to die for. Well, my boys were of course wearing their church clothes because my loving husband insisted that we didn't have time to make them change and we could just insist that they stay clean. Yeah Right! Well, I just rolled with it. As you can imagine, when you take two energetic little boys and combine them with cherry red Kool-Aid and a camp fire, you can only imagine the condition their church clothes came home in. It was all fun and games, so I wasn't upset.

Now on to the miracle.

Today I started to sort laundry. My new job. I took their badly battered clothes and sprayed them with my bottle of oxyclean. Tanner's pants looked more pink than tan and Luke had so much charcoal on his that it looked like he had fallen into the pit. I shook my head and in the back of my mind I chalked the clothes up to a loss. However about 30 minutes later, I pulled them out of the washing machine, and to my surprise, every little spot and splatter was GONE! I was so excited! You may be thinking that the spot free clothes constitutes the miracle, but the miracle happened after that. There was a moment when I loaded my white sheets into the washing machine, and pulled the warm, clean, smell good clothes out of the dryer that the thought actually crossed my mind, "I am really enjoying this." There it was, that was the miracle. I am enjoying laundry. I am sure that this is a temporary state of mind that will last but a small moment. But I thought it was momentous enough to write about it, just in case the thought is fleeting. So to all you housewives out there, I have rejoined the club, and now to you I say, clean on mommies, clean on!

Now, please continue on to my previous two posts of the day, they are much more informational and far more entertaining!

p.s.-that picture is not my rear end, nor is it my laundry room, a girl can only wish.

Oh the Places He'll Go!

2009-05-18T10:55:00.006-06:00

Saturday was quite a big day for my first born. He is an official preschool graduate. Yes, this may seem like de-ja-vu considering the fact that he graduated from preschool last year too, but this time it is for real! His birthday is in July so we decided to hold him back so that he wouldn't be one of the youngest kids in his class, which means, bonus, two years of graduations! This year he got to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. He had been excited about that for weeks. The night before his graduation he was supposed to be in bed asleep when he came out to the living room in a near panic and said, "Mom, I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you this, we CANNOT be late! Just think of it, I would have to walk up to the stage in front of all those people! We just can't be late." Well, at that point he had me convinced so we made it on time.

We are so lucky to have such a supportive family. I think Luke had 15 people there to support him. Here he is with Grandma Connie and Bampa.

Here he is with his cute little Grandma Ivers

Here is our happy family!

Luke and his teacher, Mrs. Jenni. Not only is she adorable, she is a phenomenal teacher. I would highly recommend her to anybody!

It's sad to say, but even though preschool graduation was only two days ago, he has already moved on to bigger and better things. Today he woke up and decided his fate, he has assigned himself the title "The Mad Scientist." He has even already recruited an assistant, the assistant is insistent upon receiving no title, he is "Just Tanner." I would like you to take not of the pile of weeds on the table. They have been "harvesting corn" from the field next door for the past few days. I had no idea the intent was to use the "corn" in their top secret experiments.

What good is a mad scientist without his trusty safety goggles?

Unfortunately his assistant, "Just Tanner" was only allowed safety glasses.

Here are our two newest family members. C.K. and Piggero. Luke's kitty is C.K. which stands for Cute Killer. We are hoping that the kitties will turn into mouse killing machines, but they were way to cute to be thought of as strictly killers, so he decide to soften the harsh name by throwing "cute" in front of it. Tanner's kitty started out as "Bobby." She kept that name for about a week until Tanner watched Pinocchio and decided that Piggero was much better.

Now, as far as my rut situation goes, I have been unrutted. Launey opened his pizza place up again, which has oddly helped my situation. He is so good at picking up the pieces that I drop that I think I allowed myself to become a little complacent with life. Now that he is busy working there, I have been forced to climb out of the rut and get my act together. He isn't there to pick up my slack, so I know that I need to do it. I do miss him not being around as much, I mean I really miss him, but in a way it has been good for both of us.

The other thing that has been so helpful is obviously the Savior, my loving Heavenly Father, and the words of our great leaders in this month's Ensign. I am sure you know it is the conference issue and it is amazing how re-reading the talks has helped me. Every talk I read has something that I specifically need to hear. Anyway, I really do feel so blessed.

Besides how could I have not gotten out of it with cuties like this running around!

What a little Diva!!

When Did That Bunny Hop Down the Bunny Trail?

2009-05-18T10:23:00.003-06:00

Yes, I know I am a slacker, but instead of slacking completely, I am positng a few pictures of some of our Easter excursions. I know it was over a month ago, but you know how the saying goes, better late than never!

Here is sweet little Brielle, she actually stood still for two seconds so I could take a picture of her in her Easter Gown.

The day before Easter we went to my mom and dad's house to color some eggs. This event demonstrated perfectly the contrast between my two boys. I love them each for their own unique personalities!

Notice how concentrated Luke seems to be, he is the serious one who over-thinks things and takes his time getting things done just the way he wants it. He is a very smart little guy.

Here is one of his finished eggs.

Then there's Tanner. He is a little fireball! This kid is built of sheer emotion. He goes more for the quantity over quality approach. He keeps us on our toes, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't have a good laugh thanks to him.

Here is his finsihed project. Notice the creativity and attention to detail! Each egg has it's own unique attributes! (incase it is hard to detect, try to sense my sarcasim).

This is the end result. Notice the seemingly dominating blue eggs.

Here a few bonus pictures that I haven't posted. There is just something about a happy baby and white sheets!

Tanner had a little meeting with the sidewalk in the middle of an intense race with his big brother. I thought he ended up with a pretty awesome trophy, some killer road rash that is sure to make all the ladies think he is one tough son of a gun. (wait a minute, am I calling myself a gun, and is that a good thing or a bad thing?)

Help. . .I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!

2009-05-08T14:37:00.002-06:00

I am in a huge ginormo RUT! I don't know if you have ever been here before. This place where motivation to do laundry, eat healthy, and conduct myself in a cheerful manner is hard to come by. The place where being grumpy is the norm without a real reason for being grumpy. That is where I am, I feel it, my kids feel it, and I am sure my poor husband feels it too.
I know I have a lot to be thankful for, I really do. When I think about it logically, there is no reason I shouldn't be bouncing with every step I take from pure joy and rejoicing for the blessings I have. I am just stuck in this rut. It is an uncomfortable place that I would like to get out of soon. If anybody has suggestions on how to do that, I am open.
Once I do climb out of this place I have fallen into, I will take pictures of how adorable my children are with our two new kitties, cute killer (ck), and bobby. Yes the kids picked out the names. And once I have taken the adorable pictures, I will post them. While I am posting those pictures, I may even post previous pictures that I never got around to posting. Some include our trip to the dino museum with Pooper, our first trip to Disneyland with just our family (it was a great surprise for the kids which we pulled off with miraculous success), I may even post about Easter. That is once I climb out of this place!
Here is just a side note, I am not clinically depressed, I don't need any form of medication, I just need a little fire under my booty. I will get there. . . hopefully sooner than later.

The Need to Create

2009-04-06T14:18:00.006-06:00

My cute mom posted this video on her blog, which you can view here, and I loved it. I decided to share it with those of you who haven't seen it yet. I totally agree with President Uchtdorf. I love creating things, whether it is a nice steaming pot of macaroni and cheese for my family, or a quilted table topper for my home. There is something special about creating something that wasn't there before. I have to say my best creations are these. . .

But I also love to do a bit of graphic designing. So, I have started ANOTHER blog to keep all of my projects on it. They take up way too much space on my computer but I hate just trashing them. If you want to check it out, feel free, just click this.

Now go on, create something new, perhaps one of these

Or even a little of this would be just fine too!

Thank You!

2009-03-23T15:53:00.004-06:00

I am so thankful for my beautiful healthy family! I have been reading this. . . ugh. I just want to thank Heavenly Father again, because I can't do it enough, for every breath that they breathe, and every beat their hearts beat. Thank You.

TagGeD

2009-02-16T12:38:00.002-07:00

I was TaGGeD by Misty!
1. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
2. Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog.
3. List 10 honest things about yourself.

1. I am so NOT a clean freak! I bothers me when my house is messy and it is usually always tidy, but when it comes to the stuff like baseboard cleaning and behind the computer dusting I have to make myself set a day aside to get it done.

2. I am ultra paranoid! When things are going really well in my life I have a hard time enjoying it because I am just so sure that there is going to be a major trial around the bend. I hate feeling that way, and I am constantly praying that I can enjoy the good times instead of going nuts thinking that things are too good. I almost do better in the midst of small trials because when I facing them I think, "this is ok, I can get through this and learn from it." I think I am completely nuts!

3. I LOVE having my husband work from home. Launey and I are BEST friends and there is nobody else in the world I would rather spend time with. Most women cringe at the thought of their husbands being home with them but I really do love everything about it. He is really good at letting me do my thing, and he helps with the kids and the housework. I think sometimes it drives him nuts being home so often, but as for me, I wouldn't have it any other way.

4. Speaking of my husband helping me around the house. . . I have basically retired from laundry duties and he has taken them over. See what I mean about things being too good!

5. I yell at my kids. Not all the time but I have been known to loose my cool every-once-in-a-while and yell at them to stop beating each other up or jumping on the couch. I am SO not perfect and hopefully someday I can be one of those constantly soft-spoken tender hearted mothers that everybody dreams of.

6. I love my calling. I am the 2nd counselor in the YW Presidency and I LOVE it. It is so fun getting to know the girls and being involved in a small part of their lives. I feel totally in my element when I at at Young Women's. Maybe that is a bad sign. . .

7. I try to exercise 6 times a week and I HATE running! I have been doing weights three times a week and cardio the other three. To keep myself motivated I decided that I would start training for a half marathon, but I HATE RUNNING! I dread my cardio days and I am so tempted to stop my "training" and switch up the cardio routine. In fact, I am posting this right now because I am stalling on my daily run.

8. I think my kids are about the cutest things I have ever seen. I know that every mother feels the same way about their own kids, but sometimes I do just look at them and think, "how in the world did I get so lucky." I guess the better term would be blessed.

9. I am loosing a little blogging steam. I still love reading blogs but I am terrible at commenting on them. I think I go through phases.

10. I have been trying to think of seven people to tag this entire time and now the time has come to an end, I am still not sure who it's going to be!

Okay, I will shoot from the hip, I tag. . . . Alisha N., Lynsey, Linzy, Morgan, Tara, Jennifer, and Natasha. You lucky girls!!

The Happiest (and wettest) Place on Earth. . .Revisited!

2009-02-11T16:44:00.007-07:00

I may have mentioned it before, but Launey and I are Disneyland annual passport holders. We love the place! So, in order to get the most out of our annual pass purchase, we loaded up the family and took yet another trip to the most magical place on earth. This time we were accompanied by a whole bunch of my great family members. My parents, Karson, Linzy, Kylee, Conner, Pooper, Papa, Grandma Red, my Uncle Mike and his family, Uncle David, and my Aunt RaNae and her family all came along.

Aren't my men INCREDIBLE!!

It was nearly the perfect scenario, less expensive hotels, and escape from our cold Utah winter, less crowded, and tons of family, but there was only one thing, it rained the ENTIRE time! We actually saw it coming, (well kind of) before we left because everyday up until our trip was sunny and hot, and everyday after our trip the same hot weather returned, but on the only three days we were to be there, the little forecast showed dark clouds, thunderbolts, and several raindrops.

I think his little face just says it all!

I was a bit worried about the weather before we left so I convinced my husband to go a day early so we could soak up a little bit of sun. Luckily my sister and Grandma Red agreed to come along so they could help with the kids. The day we got there, a day before the rest of the crew, was glorious. It was eighty degrees and the crowds were few. I just wish the weather would have continued a little longer.

This Disney princess was quite the trooper!

But in all honesty, it was a great trip. The kids were such troopers and they didn't seem to mind having to wear ponchos and wet shoes. They just loved being there. Tanner could ride the "big rides" and he loved them all except the Tower of Terror. We managed to talk him into riding it twice but after the second go-round he would have nothing to do with it. Luke even got to go on the big roller coaster, "California Screamin," in California Adventure Park. He loved it but he only got the go ahead twice out of the five times we attempted the ride. His height was right on the border and apparently some workers were just more lenient than others.

Splash Mountain broke down so we had to walk out, I am willing to bet not many people have a picture like this!

Brielle loved the rides she could ride and she got to spend a lot of quality one-on-one time with some of the characters. They took refuge from the rain in the same building that we did while we were waiting for the rest of the clan to ride the Tower of Terror, and there were no lines to visit with them, so they played with Brielle. It was really cute. She was a bit hesitant but she did manage to give a few kisses on their big shiny noses.

I wish this picture was brighter but I still think it's priceless

The boys didn't let a little rain stand in the way of having a great time

Man, just writing about it makes me yearn to go back. Maybe I will hop on Trip Advisor and start planning our next visit!

We were just pumping ourselves up for the big plunge

I Truly am Amazed

2009-01-26T08:59:00.006-07:00

So my dad went to a Jazz game the other night and as he was leaning over the ledge to look at the people below he heard a familiar voice say, "Don't lean over too far, you might fall" when he turned around he saw President Monson standing there. My dad said that he was immediately overwhelmed so much that he could barely shake our Prophet's hand. I asked my dad if he could feel the Spirit when he saw him standing there, like at conference when the Prophet walks into the room, he brings such a strong Spirit with him. My dad said that he definitely felt the Spirit so strong it brought him to tears. How neat!
That made me think of how it might be when we get to meet the Savior again. I have heard that many people won't even recognize that it is Him when He does come again. I don't know if His face will be familiar, I hope it will be, but if nothing else, I am sure that if we are spiritually prepared, the feeling will be familiar. If there was somebody who had no idea who President Monson was and was not spiritually prepared to recognize him as a Prophet of God, the same conversation he had with my dad would have probably had no impact at all. But to many of us, when we see, or if we are lucky enough to meet a Prophet of God, the Spirit is so overwhelming, to me it almost feels like I have a personal relationship with him. That is how I think it may be when I get to meet my Savior. I pray that I am spiritually prepared enough to feel like I have known him all along.

In church a couple of weeks ago, it seemed like the theme of the day was the Atonement. What a great and little understood thing that is. A woman spoke in sacrament who has had many trials in her life including a son who died 48 hours before he was to leave on his mission and a husband who passed away suddenly from no known cause. Wow! She talked extensively on what role the Savior has played in her life. That because He suffered for us, not just for our sins, but for our trials and tribulations, she was able to lean on Him. He was the only one who truly knew exactly how she felt. Isn't that amazing.
That day in Young Women's Jamie asked if we felt like we had a better relationship with Christ or Heavenly Father. Most people felt like they had a better relationship whith Christ. That got me thinking. I pray to Heavenly Father, and I feel like I can somewhat relate to Him. Not that I am AT ALL comparing myself to Him, but he is my Father in Heaven, and because I have kids that I would go to the ends of the Earth for, I think that it kind of helps me have a small grasp on how He may feel for us. I am sure that I have no idea the extent of His love for us, but I do have the love of a mother, and as far as this mortal state goes, that is a pretty incredible thing. Anyway, I have really wanted to form a stronger relationship between myself and the Savior. Since then, I have really been thinking about the talk in sacrament that I mentioned, and how amazing it is that He knows exactly how we feel. That He can help me get through the trials I may have to face, He will help me overcome my own weaknesses, and He suffered for me because He loves me. Not only that, He did it for my kids too. My kids are still young, and I am sure there is a lot more of this to come, but there have already been times that my kids have been hurting and there was nothing that I wanted to do more than to take away their pain. I usually can't do that, but HE CAN. I am so thankful that He can do that for me, but I think even a little bit more, I am thankful that He can bare the burdens my children may have to bare. I truly do "Stand All Amazed." I feel so blessed. I know that He lives, I know that He knows all of us, probably better than we know ourselves. I know that He can make our burdens light and that it is never never never too late to reach for Him because He is always reaching out for us. I love Him!
I say these things in His name, Amen.

You've Had a Birthday Part 2 (And Very Overdue!)

2009-01-20T11:40:00.005-07:00

I finally loaded the pictures from my camera to my computer and I wanted to post a couple more pictures from our family birthdays and Christmas.

Brielle's Birthday Cake

Brielle and the Grandma Greats!

Brielle and Bampa on Christmas Eve at Grandma Red's house

Luke, Tanner, and Brielle in their new Christmas Jammies from G-ma Red

Luke and Tanner (If only they were really as sweet as they look!)

Tanner with his Tractor Cake

Luke at the Kay Family Party

Tanner at the Kay Family Party

One Year Older and Wiser Too!

2009-01-05T13:28:00.005-07:00

So this is certainly the season for celebration around the world, and it may be even more so, just a little bit, in my family. The reason being, Tanner and Brielle both celebrate birthdays within a week of Christmas.

I guess I will start off with the must-writes, Christmas was wonderful. We all had a great time and the kids must have been very well behaved because Santa managed to find them. I didn't take many pictures because I was too caught up in video taping and enjoying myself. I am having major regrets now.

(Don't be offended if you didn't get a Christmas card, I never actually printed them!)

Tanner's birthday was before Christmas and he had a great little party. I made him the tractor cake he had been dreaming of and he got more toys than he know what to do with. I still can't believe he is three. He is such a fun little guy and he is just as melt-your-heart sweet as he is pull-out-your-hair wild. He constantly has us laughing our heads off. We are very proud of him and I can't wait to see what fun and surprises this year brings.

Brielle's birthday is after Christmas and I can not believe that my sweet little baby is one! She fell asleep in my arms this morning and I just couldn't get over how much she has grown. I thought of holding her a year ago as she slept in my arms. She was a tiny little princess with a head full of sporadic black hair and the softest skin in the world. Now she is still a little princess only quite a bit bigger than before, she has too little pig tails and can walk on her own two feet. She brings so much joy to our family and I am so excited for many more wonderful years to come.

It kind of feels weird not to mention Luke even though his birthday is nowhere in sight. He is such a good big brother and I can tell he truly loves his brother and sister. As I am typing this I can hear Luke saying to Tanner in the other room, "fine, I'm not playing with you unless you do what I say! Now, make a funny face!" I don't know about you, but I can definitely see the love in that statement. But in all honesty he is a great kid and a wonderful helper. I love them all more than I can say.

I haven't downloaded my pictures to the computer for a LONG time now so I will have to get on that and post some when I get them.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2008-12-12T15:25:00.005-07:00

So I guess my sweet little home town has started a grand (yes I do mean grand, not brand) new tradition, one which we were fortunate enough to witness. They are beginning an annual light parade and lighting ceremony which sends the entire town ablaze with tiny twinkling lights in a variety of hues. It was stupendous. This fine ritual actually took place the Saturday after Thanksgiving, however I am just now getting around to posting about it.
The little ones thought that they were just about as close to the North Pole as they could get in the middle of the mid west, and they were tickled pink. Well actually they were a little closer to blueish-purple, but they were tickled none-the-less.
I myself enjoyed the festivities quite a bit and I can't wait to continue the tradition for years to come. Maybe next year I will kick the guy in the big red suit off the fire engine so that I can have a place there waving to the little children in grand holiday merriment! We'll see.

This is our humble abode with our brand new Christmas Tree! This year is the first year that we have had a tree that actually stands taller than me without being on milk crates! Hooray for Sam's Club.

I just can't believe it!

2008-12-05T08:09:00.006-07:00

I woke up this morning with a little knot in my stomach. My baby is ELEVEN months old today! Do you know what that means? In a short month she will be a YEAR old. I am not ready for her to be a year old. I am not ready for her to be eleven months old! It's bad enough that she has been walking for a little over a month now, but on top of that she is actually getting older too. I just can't take it. I am excited to see the little person she is becoming and all of her little personality traits she is developing, but does it have to go by so fast?

She climbed in the shower with the boys while she was still dressed

Needless to say, I love everything about her. I love how she wrinkles her nose when she smiles and how she walks down the hall "fake burping" because it makes us laugh (yes I know she should be a little princess, but it is really quite comical). I love to see her strutting her stuff and looking like she feels so cool when she follows her older brothers around. I may have said this before, but she really does make life a little softer around the edges, and if it continues to be so much fun watching her grow. . . grow on baby, grow on!

This is our sweet baby the day we brought her home from the hospital.

Here she is at one month

2 months in her blessing dress

3 months

4 months in Primm Nevada on the way to her first Disneyland trip!

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months (first pony-tail)

9 months

10 months. I know this picture isn't the best and her hat doesn't match her clothes, but I just love her concerned look and her cutest little dimple.

I kinda really dislike this!

2008-11-25T16:58:00.004-07:00

First off, thanks for all of your input on the privacy issue. I have decided today that for now I will stay public and just kind of be smart about the info I post and go with my gut feelings. If you haven't weighed in and would like to about the privacy issue, please feel free to post your opinion.

Now, let me explain the title of this post. I really enjoy playing with my photoshop and last year I was a little obsessed with making Christmas cards. I made some for a few of you, and a couple people have asked me if I was going to do it again. Okay, on to the title of the post. . . I don't really dislike making the Christmas cards, I actually like it, but I really dislike coming across as somebody that is trying to sale something to my friends. So, I am only posting this because a few people have asked about it, not because I am trying to get any body's "business." I really don't consider myself "good" at this, and I am by no means a professional. So please forgive this post and if you feel the need, continue to browse through my more thought provoking and informational entries. I don't know if this made a bit of sense to a soul out there!

Last years designs can still be seen at

http://kaydeem.tripod.com/christmas_cards

Here are a couple I have designed this year

Playing it safe, or living in fear???

2008-11-24T15:01:00.007-07:00

Okay, so my mom has been going on and on about all of these horror stories about blogs and psycho creeps that use the blogs for evil. Since then I have been having an inner-self battle about whether or not to go private. Here is how my battle plays out.

Pros:

It is private therefore I have control over who is learning many details about my children and their day-to-day activities.

I don't have to worry about all of those psycho creeps out there who spend their lives fighting for the wrong team (the adversary's team) and may do something to wrong my innocent children.

Cons:

I really don't want to live my life in fear.

I don't mind people, even if I don't know them, reading about our day-to-day activities, (as long as they are not the aforementioned psycho creeps).

I want to continue to believe that the world is more good than evil.

Conclusion:

I really don't ever want to do anything that puts my children's lives or well being in danger, especially if doing so can be avoided. But for some strange reason I am still torn. Please, leave your input!!!

PS Any of you who are going private or have already done so, I would love to be added, my email address is kaydeem@yahoo.com

Here are some cute pictures of my kiddos. They have nothing with this post, but they are quite pleasant none-the-less :).

Tanner and his Luke-Made Pirate outfit, apparently Mommy's Headband + Super Tanner Cape= Pretty Awesome Pirate

Luke's Pirate costume always consists of his favorite red hat and dracula cape!

I love Her!

Cutest little fan at the Juab Football Game!

McCain and Obama

This was Halloween . . . and various other activities

2008-11-05T14:06:00.006-07:00

Okay, so most of you know that we are total Disneyland fanatics, but we usually say that we go so often because the kids love it so much. Well that's not the case this time. Launey and I went to a timeshare presentation in Midway a few months ago and scored two free plane tickets to LA and a free hotel room for two nights in Anaheim. So, we packed up our things, dropped the kids off at their grandparents' house and flew to sunny California. And yes, it was sunny. In fact one day it was 98 degrees, at the end of October! We had a great time and we really appreciated our parents for watching our adorable kids while we took some time to reconnect. . . . with mickey of course!

Launey loving the Disney Sweets!

The two of us on the infamous Splash Mountain

I found a load of treasure!

Launey got locked up for it :(

I am not sure where this picture is but it is somewhere in the happiest place on earth.

We scored some free mickey ears, yes I know we look like geeks.

Launey apparently very frightened as we waited in line for Indiana Jones

How cute is this Jack-o-Lantern!

Okay, on to the children. These pictures are actually from our annual Ivers Family Halloween Bash which took place about a week or so before Halloween. I have actual Halloween pictures but the are on my memory card, in my camera, in the car. So, these will have to due.

Brielle was the cutest little ballerina ever!

Tanner was SUPER TANNER. He didn't want to be anything for Halloween except "just Tanner" but we got him to amp it up a little bit.

Luke was totally in his element dressed as a zombie, check out the zombie pose!

One more picture of my tiny dancer. Please ignore the messy shirt, it got that way from a variety of Halloween activities.

Yee Haw, we went to Hee Haws!

2008-10-17T15:10:00.007-06:00

Okay, so every year since Luke was a baby, Halloween time has marked a few special occasions, one being our family outing to Hee Haws. We absolutely Love Love Love Halloween and everything that accompanies it. We try to budget a little extra money every fall so that we can take advantage of all of the wonderful Halloween activities life has to offer. This year we got to go with my cute brother and his adorable wife, Karson and Linzy. We did the corn maze, poked the giant pig, shot cobs of corn out of air guns, jumped on hay, and slid down many exciting slides. We had a great time and I highly reccomend the outing to everybody.

FOOD FABULOUS FOOD (storage)

2008-10-03T14:02:00.002-06:00

Hi all! Ok, we hear over and over that we need to get our year supply of food storage right? Well, I know that it is important and I completely agree with the necessity of it, but in the past I think I have done it all wrong. For example, just recently I ran out of flour on a nice Sunday afternoon. I then remembered that I had a #10 can full of flour that I had canned when I lived in Logan oh about three plus years ago (it was with you Paula and Emily D.). So I went downstairs to retrieve my stored food and to my dismay nearly every single item I canned that day had expired. Now luckily I have come to find out that if it doesn't taste, smell, or look bad it is still okay to eat, so I have been using the flour anyway. Well, that little experience got me thinking of how easy it is just to waste money on food storage. So I decided that I wanted to learn how to put it to use. In my experience, if I use my food storage supply to actualy cook with, then replace the item I use with a new can, it helps me rotate my food storage, and gives me a better idea of what items my family actually use.
To make a long and painful introduction short, I have been blogging about food storage recipes, and I would love for you guys to link to my site, if it's not too much to ask. You see, I am not a master chef in any sense of the word so I would love to get ideas and input from all of you. So if you would like to link to it the address is http://cookmyfoodstorage.blogspot.com. I would love to get your tips and pointers about anything to do with food storage and I will publish them on my site. For instance, Lynsey I just read your post about the frozen corn and strawberry jam so if you would like to give instructions on the process along with some of your cute pictures, email me and I will put it up.
Thank you soo much for your help and support! Happy Blogging!

Life Is Precious

2008-09-24T15:55:00.004-06:00

I have been reading a blog called the Nie Nie Dialogues. I am sure that many of you have heard of this blog and may know what I am referring to, but if you don't, I strongly encourage you to check it out. I am not even going to try to paraphrase because I am sure that I would do the whole thing a severe injustice. However, I do want to share this. . . . life is precious. I know that I don't say it, show it, or realize it enough. I truly am so thankful for every moment that I get to spend with my wild and crazy children and my knight in shining armor.
I love Luke's obsession with coloring and drawing. I love how he uses big words even when he doesn't know what they mean. I love that he comes up to me often with a big hug and an "I love you mom" (He really does that!). I love how "devastated" he seems when he reports to me that he was "a little wild" in preschool. I love his big brown eyes and his eyelashes that go on for days. I love that he knows that when he is scared or when he has lost something, he can turn to his Heavenly Father in prayer and his problem will be solved. I love his faith and his knowledge. I love how much he loves cars and his desire to know every little thing about every little aspect of them. I love that he worships his daddy. He is a good boy and I am so thankful for everyday that I get to have the opportunity to be his mother. I love you big guy!
I love Tanner's cute little chipmunk voice and his lisp that accompanies it. I love that he calls Launey "Da" because he is too lazy to say dad. I love that when we try to teach him how to pedal on his bike he is far to content simply ringing the bell to even give pedalling a go. I love his adorable smile. He truly has the sweetest smile in the world! I love his intensity (some people would call it his temper, but I think intensity describes it better). I love his towers made from soup cans. I love that he is constantly telling us that Wow Wow Wubbzy is his favorite. I love that he feels that it is necessary to remind us multiple times throughout the day that "I Tanner, I 2 and a half!" I love his wild hair and that he has to jump or run everywhere he goes. I love that he wants to be just like his big brother, and I love his big bear hugs. I love you little guy!
I love Brielle's wrinkled nose. She makes the funniest faces! I love that she laughs out loud when I smile at her. I love how she is so content to entertain herself with a flip flop and a little car. I love how it feels to hold her. I love love love rocking her to sleep when she wakes up at night (even though I really don't like getting out of bed to do it). I love it when she snuggles. I love to see how happy she is when she gets in the "tubbies." I love all of the pink and the flowers and the absolute sweetness that seems to surround her. I love how she waves. I love how her smile melts Launey's heart. I love her slobbery kisses. I love you my tiniest princess.
I love my husband! He is my prince. He is my sanity and my rock. He is my source of optimism. He is the father of my children. He keeps my life exciting. He is my eternal companion. I love how he respects me. I love that he treats me like his princess. I am not complete without him. I love you Mr. Ivers!
I am so thankful for Stephanie, and her sister Courntey's blogs. Because of them when Tanner refused to take his nap today, I hugged him and I held him. I didn't scold him and scare him into bed by threatening to take away his little blankie if he didn't sleep. I just loved him. It is also because of their blogs that I realized at about 10 o'clock last night that I hadn't given Luke a real true "you are so loved" type of hug all day. I had given him a quick kiss when I sent him off to preschool, but I am pretty sure that is all. So, because their blogs really got me thinking about what was important in life, at 10 o'clock at night, long after my kids had been tucked in tight, I hugged him tight, and I told him how much I adored and loved him. Life is precious. I am thankful for everyday I have to live it!

Happy Fall!

2008-09-22T12:41:00.006-06:00

I am going to have to admit that I have been suffering from a severe case of blog burnout. I don't know why but I would think about posting on a daily basis, but I could just never bring myself to do it. I think the problem may be that I can never seem to simply post a message, I always feel like I have to change the background, design a header, change the font color, then post on Luke's Colorful World. My computer is painfully slow, so the whole process tends to take the entire morning. Finally today, Brielle decided to take an unprecedented morning nap and the boys have been drawing for hours, so I am finally doing it, I am POSTING!

We took the kids to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving point a while ago, so some of the pictures will be from that exciting adventure. That day marked a major milestone in little Ellie's life, she had her first pony tail! Not the tail of an actual pony found at the petting zoo, rather I gathered every tiny little whispy baby hair I could find on top of her little head and stuck an elastic around it. So, while you are gazing upon the lovely photos of our petting zoo adventure, take time to notice the cutest, and tiniest, pony tail in the world.

The kids loved the petting zoo. They could have stayed there for hours! It was a fun little outing and it was quite inexpensive too. That is always a plus! Tanner said the his pony's name was, Tanner Horse. What a coincidence that Tanner boy just happened to ride on Tanner Horse. And yes, I did let Luke wear the dreaded red cowboy hat! It had been tucked away under his bed for a couple of months, but "luckily" he found it and he hasn't taken it off since. I resigned to the fact that I need to choose my battles, so the red hat is a permanent fixture in our lives! At the end of the adventure Tanner grabbed my hand and said "it's a good day mom," and it was.

The aftermath of the ponytail

The Great Outdoors!

2008-08-21T14:37:00.005-06:00

We have been trying to enjoy every last ounce of summer that we can before it disappears before our eyes. So, we took the kids up to Bridal Veil Falls and let them play in the water for a while. They all loved it. Even Brielle loved to stick her tiny toes in the water. I was shocked she liked it so much because the water was freezing! Luke and Tanner had a great time, but of course they wanted to be a bit too adventurous for my taste from time to time. They would have hiked all the way to the top of the falls if it wasn't for their paranoid mother.
They have also been running through the sprinklers on a near daily basis. They absolutely love it! I figure it is a great way to run off some of their energy, and it waters the grass, so how could I complain. Launey and I have decided that to them, it really doesn't matter whether we spend money on a trip to Disneyland, or Lagoon, or if they are playing in our own backyard for free. They seem to have just as much fun splashing in the water at home as they do on vacation, (I on the other hand am a different story ;). I kind of miss that about my own childhood, it is so easy for kids to find such pleasure in simple things.
It kind of reminds me of Elder Ballard's talk in this past conference where he encourages us young mothers to find joy in the moments. Every time I really try to concentrate on that I find little moments of joy everywhere. They are certainly fleeting, but they are there.
A few weeks ago, Launey took Luke to get a "quick haircut" which he paid 14 BUCKS for, and it was terrible!! That alone put me in an incredibly foul mood which I was not about to get over. Then, I was sitting outside listening to my boys play. They were throwing rocks from our yard into the field behind our house and Tanner would say, "Good frow Wook," then Luke would respond with, "Thanks buddy, your throwing really far too." Their little words of praise to each other was enough to get me out of my melodramatic bad mood. It really was a simple little moment that brought me great joy.
Sorry for the tangent, I had no intention of making this such a long post, but when things come to my foggy brain, I better write them down because it doesn't take long before I forget them. Anyway I will quickly wrap this long obnoxiously boring post up with a few recent pictures.
These are of Brielle and Me. I took the picture of Brielle on our front yard because of the funny face she was making from touching the grass. Then I remembered the picture of myself as a baby making a similar face. I just thought it was fun to compare the two. The rest of the pictures are from Bridal Veil Falls.

What a Whirlwind!

2008-08-11T14:08:00.003-06:00

Wow, I have always known that summer is busy, but it seems that it has been a little extra busy this year. On Thursday, my favorite brother, Karson, married the cutest girl in the world, Linzy. So we were happily involved in a lot of the wedding festivities. Unfortunately I don't have the pictures yet, but trust me, the bride and groom were adorable.

We have also been to the zoo, partied at Mona days, I was out of touch with reality for a couple of days while I read Breaking Dawn (LOVED IT) and we went to the demolition derby since my last post. Luke looks forward to the derby all year round. He is totally in his element there! Tanner has always liked it too, but he lacks some of the ferver that Luke seems to have. Ellie even seemed to really enjoy it. People around us were surprised that the loud noise didn't bother her at all, but I assured them that with brothers like hers, the noise was nothing new.

Ellie recently turned 7 months! I can't believe she is that old! She now has two tiny bottom teeth, and is starting to get on her hands and knees to crawl. She has been doing the army crawl for a couple of months so she gets to where she wants to go just fine, but I am sure that her new mode of transportation (actual crawling) will be happening right around the corner.

Tanner, what can I say about Tanner? Last week he proudly announced that he didn't hit or push in nursery because he bit Sammy's fingers instead. Yesterday the boys went to church in my parents' ward and I swear when Launey, Ellie, and I sat down in Sacrament without them, there was a twinkle in his nursery teacher's eye. He is going "pee pee" in the potty really well, unfortunately we are having more of a struggle with the dreaded number 2, but I guess we will just keep pushing along, no pun intended.

Luke has been loving his new bike riding abilities and practices them often. He is still just as content as ever to play with his cars for hours. He gave a talk in primary last week on baptism and did a marvelous job. Two days ago our fire alarm went off for no aparent reason. Luke has an intense fear of fire, so he had a terrible time trying to get to sleep because he was so scared that there was going to be a real fire in the house. He probably got out of bed ten times after we intitially tucked him in. A few minutes after his last venture out of bed, we heard him talking out loud as he was lying there, but neith Launey or I could make out what he was saying. He was asleep shortly after that, so it wasn't until morning that he told us who he was talking to. He said that he was so scared that there was going to be a fire that he said a prayer and said, "Heavenly Father, is there going to be a fire in my house tonight?" Then he said that Heavenly Father whispered in his brain the word "No" so he calmly fell asleep. Don't you just love the faith of a child! I have no doubt that his little sincere prayer really was answered.

Anyway, sorry for the long post I guess I had a lot to catch up. I will post a few of the many pictures from the past few weeks :).

Ellie and me on her first zoo train ride, doesn't she look excited!

Launey and the kids, for some reason the appear to be a little less excited

Luke and Tanner are up there on the fire engine. The got to ride on it in the good old Mona Days parade!

I love this precious picture. They wanted to go ride the inflatable slides in the Mona park so I told they to stay together. They held hands even without me telling them to do so. Isn't this just priceless!!

Introducing . . . Luke's Colorful World

2008-07-25T14:02:00.003-06:00

There are a lot of things that Luke can do to entertain himself and occupy his time, but one of my favorite things that he does is draw. I love it for a number of reasons, it is quiet, not messy, he feels a great sense of accomplishment, and I get to sneek a peak into his 5-year-old mind. From time-to-time he goes on drawing sprees and my fridge doors are quickly plastered with artwork. I love to display his drawings because I know how much work he puts into them, but there is only so much space on the fridge. So, I have started a blog for him so that I can scan the pictures and post them on the blog. I figure it will be a great way to display and even store some of his artwork. Hopefully it will be something neat that he can reflect on as he grows up. Feel free to check it out :)

http://lukescreations.blogspot.com

Oh so very . . . Cherry Hill!

2008-07-22T14:55:00.003-06:00

Last week was our every-other-year family trip to Cherry Hill. Unfortunately Launey's grandfather passed away at the age of 89 early on the morning of the 14th. My mom took our boys up without us so that we could spend some time with Launey's family on the night of the 13th before Grandpa Horsley died. We eventually did go up and enjoy some fun activities with our kids and other family members and we had a great time while doing so.

Luke has been saying for nearly six months now that when he was five he would learn how to ride his bike without training wheels. Well, the mental aspect of it had been getting the better of him so he had been refusing to try. While he was at Cherry Hill, my Aunt RaNae asked him if he needed help getting started on his bike (which had no training wheels). She didn't know that he didn't know how to ride, and he was to shy to tell her, so she just got him started and off he went! It was the best way for it to happen. Whenever Launey and I tried to practice with him, he broke down in tears and said he couldn't do it. Luckily with her, he just didn't dare make a stink. Now he is a bike riding animal! He told me the other day, "Mom, I love riding my bike, I just love going fast and feeling the wind in may face." What a big boy he is!

I have just posted a few pictures of our Cherry Hill outing as well as a cute one on Brielle and Madix, Mckel Stowell's baby at the good old Ute Stampede Horse Parade.

Ellie, my 3rd cousin Kayci, and my Aunt Melinda

Tanner with his lovely magnetic creation

Linzy and I as the coolest pirate girls in the world, Linzy has a much better pirate face than I do

I may have a bad pirate face, but that doesn't even compare to Launey's fake having fun face!

My favorite brother Karson, and my ever so cute future sister-in-law Linzy

Brielle and Madix

The rest of the pics

2008-07-15T09:05:00.007-06:00

I know that this may be picture overload, but I got the rest of the pictures from Michelle, so I just had to post some more. Let me know which of them you like :). Some of you have asked me for her information, her blog address is http://michelletandyphotography.blogspot.com/. I will put a link to it under my friends list.

Strike a Pose

2008-07-13T13:41:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we had the wonderful opportunity to have our pictures taken by a very talented and sweet friend of ours. Michell Tandy took them for us, she is married to one of Launey's long-time friends, Josh. She is very talented and was super great to work with. I appreciate how patient she was with our kids, (that alone takes skill), and her fresh new approach to family pictures. Here are a few that she posted on her blog. I haven't seen all of them yet, but I guess you can consider this a sneek peak. Michelle, if you read this, thanks again!! You are awesome!

Celebrate good times, Come On!

2008-07-07T13:03:00.003-06:00

This fourth of July was another success. Many of you may know that Luke's birthday is on the fourth of July which always makes this time of year a little extra crazy. We usually try to have a party for him on the fourth, but this year we decided to spread it out to cut down on the chaos. Launey and I took him out for his birthday on the 1st while my mom and Kylee watched the two little kids. We went to The Pizza Factory (his choice) and to Trafalga where we played mini golf, rode go-carts, and played a few arcade games. We had a great time and hopefully we created some good memories for Luke. He also got to go out with my parents on the third for dinner and a movie. Then, we celebrated all day long on the fourth by going to the parade in Provo, lunch at great-grandpa Horsely's house, rides at the Nephi park, and finally fireworks. He still thinks that we are to coolest parents in the world because we seem to pull off the biggest birthday bash anybody has ever seen. Finally on the fifth we had family members over for cake and ice cream. As you can see, it has been a busy week.
Tanner had a few meltdowns throughout the birthday week. I think it is just hard for a two and a half year old to understand why their sibling is getting so much attention, and not to mention presents, when thing are usually a bit more evenly divided. Eventually he got used to it and the meltdowns were less often. Luke has also been pretty good at sharing his new toys.
Ellie seemed to love her first fourth of July celebration. She was entertained most of the day and was really good for the most part.
I am realizing that this could quite possibly be the most boring blog entry in the history of blogs, but I guess I can chalk it up to more of a journaling experience for my own records. You can just enjoy the pictures and look past all of the rambling :)

Brielle, highly amused the parade

Tanner and his squirt gun, he almost looks innocent!

Sweet Brielle, giving Grandpa Ivers kisses, and just being cute

Luke and my mom ready for the rock wall, and Luke in the famous old jail-house 4-wheeler ride at the Nephi park.

We're Baaaack!

2008-07-02T15:17:00.003-06:00

Well two months and about six thousand emails later, we finally have the Internet!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. So much has happened since my Disneyland post. I am just going to have to do a quick summary or this could be the longest post in blog history.

To start off, we have moved twice, first into the rental home we owned, but just until we closed on this house, then into our current home which is brand new and located in the Summit Ridge Development in Santaquin. I love our home and I am so excited to live in a house that was built in this century.

Luke finished t-ball and graduated from preschool. His birthday is coming up on Friday and he is incredibly excited about that.

Tanner has begun a little stint with biting. He bites Luke on a daily basis. I hate it and if anybody has suggestions on how to get him to stop I would love to hear them. And yes, I have bit him back.

Ellie turned five months, nearly a month ago and is only a few days away from being one-half! I can't believe she is that old. Time truly does fly.

I am just going to post some pictures I have taken in the last two months and start fresh. I am so happy to be back, unfortunately my laundry probably liked it much better when I didn't have blogging to take up some of my free-time :).

Brielle on her 5 month birthday.

Brielle during her first go at a real swing, as you can see, she LOVED it!

Tanner . . . . Just being Tanner :)

Luke's last T-Ball game, Preschool graduation, and fathers' day baseball.

Luke and Tanner on a ride with Papa. He used to let us do the same thing when we were kids, it was a lot of fun to see my kids playing with my grandpa like I did.

Out of Commission

2008-06-21T19:42:00.002-06:00

Some of you may know that we moved into a new house in Santaquin a few weeks ago. Well, it is in a brand new section of a new development which means that there is still no phone or internet service. Needless to say I have been going through blog withdrawls. I am at my grandparents' house right now and I had to sneek away to see if anybody has commented. I am so excited to have so many new comments from so many old friends! I called Qwest and hopefully we will be up and running in a matter of a week or two. At that point, I will be so excited to post comments on all of your blogs, and update this sorry old post. Don't give up on me, I am not lost in cyber-space, just stuck in the 19th century:). See you all soon!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

2008-05-10T13:14:00.003-06:00

We just got back from a week of fun and excitement at the Happiest Place on Earth. We went with Launey's brother, sister-in-law, their kids, his parents, and my sister Kylee. We all had a great time, and I know that it's pathetic, but I miss it already. I was worried about Brielle being a pain in the rear, but she was a dream baby. She slept most of the ride there and back, and she was great at Disneyland as well. Luke loved all the rides, especially Pirates of the Caribbean. Tanner had a great time too and it was so cute to watch him hold his little arms up high on the Matterhorn and the Toon Town Roller Coaster. All-in-all it was a very
successful trip!

Christmas in April!

2008-04-30T15:41:00.003-06:00

I just have to say one thing, well several things but all with one point, Hooray for Hand-Me-Downs. I was up late one night thinking about the fact that warmer weather was upon us and that my boys will soon be getting too warm in their long sleeves and denim jeans . I was experiencing a little anxiety because I am fully aware that I am married to one of the greatest, and cheapest, men in America and that buying a new summer wardrobe for both children would take some convincing. Then it dawned on me, Tanner could be the recipient of Luke's old summer clothes which are still in great condition and are not too far out of style. I rushed to the storage room, ripped open the container marked, "Kids' Clothes," and began pulling out one warm weather outfit after another. It was like Christmas all over again, only this time much cheaper. I was thrilled! So much so that I even decided to compose this very entry to post on my blog about this very matter. Perhaps it is the fact that I am the oldest child and was rarely a recipient of the dreaded hand-me-down (other than the occasional unit from Misty and Amy Hoaldridge), that allows me to feel this intense love for used clothing, or maybe it is because I am the mother of two shirt staining, pant tearing, fast growing boys. Whatever it is, may I echo myself once again in saying, HOORAY FOR HAND-ME-DOWNS!

Precious Moments

2008-04-26T19:30:00.004-06:00

I carried my camera around today in an attempt to get a few pictures of Brielle smiling and I got a few cute ones. I know that it might be lame to take pictures of myself with my kids, but I have very few so I thought that a few would be okay.
I just love this cheesy grin!
Tanner thought it was funny to continuously scratch Luke on the arm, so after several attempts to make him stop, we actually had to pull over and give him a good little lecture. He was so sad that Luke took his hand and comforted him. Eventually Luke fell asleep, but I thought this moment was priceless.

Going, Going, Gone!

2008-04-26T18:44:00.002-06:00

I finally decided that my long shabby hair and I needed to part ways. I got up the courage to chop it all off, and I have no regrets. My new short hair will take a little getting used to, but at least now I don't have the good old pony tail to fall back on when I don't feel like doing my hair.

It was a way great play date!

2008-04-24T16:15:00.005-06:00

Well, my dear friend Lynsey had a great idea to get together today for a little lunch and a lot of fun. The kids had a great time, well all of them except for my two boys who had to leave the party early because of their aggressive behavior. The big girls also had a lot of fun playing together. I am so lucky to have such great friends! Here are some of the pictures from our joyous day.
Brielle and Brecken
Alisha and Kids
Annie, Marci, and KidsMeagan and KidsLynsey and Kid
Leslee and Kid
Kaydee and Kid
Annie and Kid

Date Night

2008-04-23T15:25:00.003-06:00

Last month Launey and I decided that it is important that each of our kids get some quality one-on-one time with us, and it has been hard to provide that time unless we actually plan it. So, we decided that a good way to do that was to have date nights. Each month each kid gets to go on a "date" with a parent. Last month Luke and I went to Color Me Mine, where he painted a beautiful red dog, and Launey and Tanner went to Jumpin' Jacks. This month Tanner and I went to the Dinosaur Museum (he absolutely loved it) and Luke and Launey are going to a Blaze game or a Jazz game. It has been a lot of fun for all of us and hopefully it will set a good foundation for open relationships between us and our kids. Brielle will be thrown into the mix someday, but for now, I am not sure how much she would enjoy, and frankly I don't think that she has caught on that she is getting left out. Someday I will be pumped to be able to take her to do "girly" things, do they have princess parties anywhere nearby?

T-Ball is Terrific!

2008-04-19T18:33:00.003-06:00

When I was pregnant with Luke and I found out that I was having a boy, one of the first things I thought was, "I can't wait to see him play t-ball!" That is a true story. For some reason I have always had a thing for those tiny kids playing ball, I just think it is so darn cute. Luke had his first game ever on Thursday. He loved it, and I was gushing with pride the whole time. I can't believe I have a boy old enough to play! Time sure flies. Here are some pictures of the little cutie at his first game. In case you were wondering, they tied, go figure.

Playing Catch-Up

2008-04-19T18:20:00.003-06:00

For some reason I haven't been able to post as often as I would like to lately. So, while I have a few moments of blissful quiet I decided that I would do some catching up. Brielle turned three months on the fifth of April so I am posting a picture of her on that day, I will also post a couple pictures of the boys. The one of Tanner is of him in our tiny sandbox completely content even though Luke had been dumping sand right on his head for about ten minutes. The picture of Luke is of him in his beloved (by him only) cowboy hat. I can never get him to take the darn thing off! Finally I am posting a picture of Launey and the boys with Launey's favorite project, his '67 Camaro.

Geneology

2008-04-10T19:20:00.002-06:00

Launey and I went to the temple last week and did sealings. I felt the Spirit really strongly while I was there and I felt so honored to be a part of sealing those families together. However, I got thinking of all of my own family members who are waiting for their work to be done and it sparked some interest in me to look into my geneology. I can see how it can become addicting. I now have three names ready to take to the temple, and I have 7 others that I could take if I get permission from their direct decendants because they are my great-great-aunts, uncles, cousins etc. It has been a lot of fun, hopefully I can keep up on it. I also looked up my ancestoral file on my grandpa's side and found out that several kings of England, France, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, and Scottland were my great great . . . . grandparents. Kind of cool! And yes, I know that I sound like an old lady.

Tag

2008-04-02T19:17:00.002-06:00

TAG! Here we go . . . . . . .
A--Attached or Single? Attached to my best friend Launey for almost six years now.
B--Best friend? Well I guess I already answered that, Launey is for sure my best friend, but my kids will always be my best buddies.
C--Cake or Pie? Cake - for sure! I am not a huge pie fan, but my favorite is cheesecake which is kind of a pie with a cake name hmm figure that one out.
D--Day of Choice? I like Saturday because it is what it is, but once a month I love Wednesday (Buncos)
E--Essential Item? Naps! Are naps considered items? Well whether they are or not, they are essential, not for me but for my kids. I couldn't survive without them.
F--Favorite Color? That depends, I love brown when paired with pink, blue, or green, I love black clothes, and I think that blue is oddly cheery.
G--Gummy bears or worms? Worms
H--Hometown? Nephi
I--Indulgence(s)? Blogging and Ice Cream
J--January or July? July for sure I really dislike January, it is still cold but the excitement of Christmas is over, it is kind of a bummer month for me.
K--Kids? Yes, two wild and wonderful boys, Luke and Tanner, and one little princess, Brielle.
L--Life is incomplete without? My Family
M--Marriage date? June 20, 2002
N--Number of siblings? 1 sister, 1 brother
O--Oranges or apples? I have been on an orange kick lately.
P--Phobias or fears? I would have to echo Lynsey in the fear that something would happen to my family. Other than that I am completely afraid of mice and bees.
Q--Quotes? Somestimes the best things in life aren't things.
R--Reasons to Smile? My family!
S--Season? I love fall!
T--Tag 5 people? I am really a failure in this area because every blogger I know has been tagged. Oh, maybe Natalie Park, one is better than none.
U--Unknown Fact? Launey quite possibly does more laundry than I do.
V--Very Favorite Store? I love The Children's Place Outlet. They always have such good deals!
W--Worst Habit? Slacking on laundry.
X--X-ray or ultrasound? ultrasound for sure. I love seeing my tiny little babies when I am pregnant.
Y--Your favorite food? Chinese and ice cream
Z--Zodiac? Libra? I have no idea!

Color Me Mine!

2008-03-24T15:05:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Launey and I went on a group date with Kylee, Conner, Karson, and Linzey. We went to a place in Provo called Color Me Mine where you get to pick a ceramic item and paint it. After it is painted, they fire it and in the end you have a beautiful piece of pottery. I painted an ice cream bowl, Launey opted for a butter dish (I don't know why either), and everybody else painted mugs. It was a great time and although it may not sound like the most masculine thing in the world, all of the guys ended up having a great time even though there was originally a lot of protesting. I am really glad that both of my siblings have good taste in their significant others we really had a great time together.

Easter Weekend

2008-03-24T14:30:00.000-06:00

This weekend was quite eventful as I am sure it was for most people. Saturday we had a great time with my family at the Salem Park. We packed a picnic, fed the ducks, and colored Easter eggs. We then went to Horton Hears a Who, and finished the night off with an Easter egg hunt at my parents' house, a little Rock Band and fondue. On Easter the boys got new bikes and Brielle got an Easter dress. We went to Grandma Red's for another egg hunt, then up to Launey's parents' house for dinner. It was a good weekend. Now the only problem is I am stuck with a bag of mini eggs and an intense craving for chocolate!

Family Escape

2008-03-20T10:51:00.005-06:00

Well, as you can probably tell from my previous post, I have been a little stir crazy. Launey and I had a gift certificate for a free night at a place called Zermatt in Midway. On a whim we decided that we would take the kids and go spend the night for a little change of pace. We ate at one of our favorite places in Park City called Bandits Bar and Grill. It used to be Texas Reds. Luke really got into the cowboy theme. Then we just went to the hotel and the boys played with their Lightning McQueen race track and we went swimming. It was Brielle's first time swimming and she actually loved it! She looked so cute in her tiny little swimming suit. It was a great time and a nice change of pace. However, I could still use a small break without my little darlings, so if anybody has any great getaways planned, let me know I'm so there!

Looks Like We Made It!

2008-03-16T09:18:00.010-06:00

This weekend Launey, my parents, my grandparents, and my aunt and uncle all went to Vegas/Mesquite for the MWC basketball tournament, and yes only my kids and myself were left at home. It is sad to say, but I haven't spent a night at home on my own in a number of years and I was quite nervous about it. I had also never been left alone with all three kids for that long. I usually at least have my parents or grandparents to help me entertain them for a moment, but this time I have been completely on my own. I am posting a few pictures of the things we did to entertain ourselves.

Day One, early morning. Things went on as usual, Ellie was fussing, Tanner was eating, and Luke was drawing.
Day One, early afternoon. We started one of our two big weekend projects, we decorated an Easter Ginger Bread House.

Day One, late afternoon. We started our second big weekend project. We made homemade oreos. Luke and Tanner had more fun eating them than making them, and poor Ellie just had to sit in her bouncer and watch, but it was a good time.

Perhaps by now you have noticed a problem, by late afternoon on day one we had finished both of our only big projects for the weekend. Needless to say, Day two was much more boring, and we really had to reach for fun activities. Poor Tanner got the brunt of it.

Day Two, early afternoon. This is Tanner in Ellie's baby bath. The washcloth is for privacy purposes.

Day Two, early evening. This is Tanner with a charming new look.

All-in-all I think we survived it pretty well. Launey is on his way home, hopefully, and by this afternoon I should be resting peacefully while Launey makes up for lost time with his children. As long as I survive church being out-numbered 3 to 1!

Strike a Pose

2008-03-11T08:38:00.005-06:00

I took Brielle to JC Penny to get her pictures taken in her blessing dress on the 4th of March. Like most picture taking excursions usually are, it was STRESSFUL! She was crying and upset the entire time. A few of them turned out pretty good, but we didn't get a single one with her cute smile. That was disappointing. I guess in the back of my mind I knew that would be the case, that is why we went to JC Penny and spent only 3.99 a sheet. When she gets a little older and I shed a bit more of this baby weight I think we will have Ami Steele take some pictures for us.

The boys have been enjoying this warmer weather. We have been going for walks everyday since it has heated up. They love the walks, but they are most excited about being able to drive their power wheels outside. They got them for Christmas and they have been waiting since then to be able to drive them outside. Tanner doesn't quite get the steering aspect yet. He just pushes the pedal and sits back without laying a finger on the wheel. It is a hoot to watch.

She's on a "Roll"

2008-03-06T09:46:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was Ellie's two month birthday, and she surprised everybody with a new trick. She can now roll from her belly to her back. If you scroll down towards the bottom of the page, I have a video clip of her rolling. I just can't believe how fast time flies. It seems like I was just pregnant with her and now she is rolling over!

Luke and Tanner are still up to their usual car racing and penguin hunting activities. I am posting a picture of them in their cowboy clothes getting ready to go on a penguin hunt. I love Tanner's hat, he looks really intimidating. I am also posting a picture of Tanner patiently waiting for the garbage truck to come and dump our garbage. I guess things just aren't very eventful for him when Luke is in preschool.

Yesterday Launey got to do something kind of fun, a trainer at Gold's Gym asked Launey to be in a workout video. I guess that is what you can expect when you have bulging muscles and boyish good looks! That's my man!

Brielle's Special Day

2008-03-03T09:52:00.005-07:00

Yesterday we had the opportunity to have Brielle blessed, Launey gave her a beautiful blessing and a name. My entire family was there and many of Launey's family members were there also. We also got to hear the testimonies of many of our family members. It was really a special day. It was so awesome to see how much support and love we have and that little Ellie already has as well. She looked absolutely beautiful in her long white dress. She didn't stay in it for long because I didn't want any disasters to occur in it, but I will be taking more pictures of her in her blessing dress so check back for those.

After the blessing, Launey's brother let us use his pizza place to host a dinner. We had soups, salads, Grandma Red's famous rolls, and a great deal of deliciously fattening desserts. I hope everybody knows how thankful I am to them for bringing food and helping me out with the occasion.

It was a great day and I truly do feel blessed to have had the opportunity to bless our sweet baby girl. I also feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful and supportive friends and family.

Our Family At A Glance

2008-02-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Rachel told me about "blogging" and it seemed like a great way to keep people posted on what is going on in our crazy lives. I figured I would give it a try. I am sure most of you are up to speed on where we are and what is going on, but for those of you who may not be I will give a quick run-down.
Launey and I (Kaydee) have been married for almost six years now. We have three beautiful children. Luke will be 5 on the 4th of July, Tanner just turned 2 on the 21st of December, and we just welcomed a new addition, our beautiful baby girl Brielle on the 5th of January.
Luke is now in preschool and he loves every minute of it. He will also be starting t-ball this summer. I don't know who is more excited about that, me or him. Tanner is certainly living up to the phrase "terrible twos." He is into everything and has been on a little hitting and pushing tangent lately. However, his beautiful curly hair and his hillarious personality make it easy to forgive him. He is certainly the joker of the family. Recently he has began going "pee pee in the potty" which provides some major excitement at our house. Brielle has just began smiling and being a little more interactive. She is getting blessed this Sunday and I am so excited to see her in her pretty little white dress. Her brothers absolutely adore her and she seems to make our world a little softer around the edges.
Launey and I are doing well too. Launey recently sold his pizza store to his brother and is currently working on other investments and business ventures. I am still playing house as a stay at home mom and loving every minute of it. Okay, well not every minute of it, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
That's about it for now, I will try to keep this current with updates and such, I would love to hear from any of you!
Love, Kaydee