Christmas Eve PJ's!!

Christmas Eve was a blast, as usual. We had our traditional Italian sandwich dinner, grilled by the ever-amazing Grumpy! They were delicious. Aunt Tawna brought a boat load of craft stuff for the kids to do. And they loved it. They all made stockings with their names on them, colored pictures, added glitter, and all sorts of great emelishments!! What a thinker she is...it kept them all entertained the entire time!!! Thanks Tawna.

After dinner and all the other festivities, we gave our kids their Christmas Eve gift. This was a tradition that our parents did with us and it was one of my favorites, so this year we decided to start it for our own family. We let the kiddos open one gift each. This year they opened their new cozy jammies. They loved them and climbed right in them. They are such wonderful kiddos. I am truly blessed to be the mother of these three amazing boys. I don't know that I deserve them, in fact, most of the time I am sure that I don't. But, nonetheless, Heavenly Father sent them to me and I loose site of that sometimes. I am truly grateful for them and love them so very much. I pray that we can raise them well and teach them all that we are supposed to. They definitely deserve the best!! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!! I know we did. I shall post later with all the Christmas day pics as soon as I can figure out how to get them off of our new camera.

It's fun to get to know you...

This was kinda fun. I stole it off of Tawna's blog. It doesn't take that long and it is fun to see how everyone answers. Just copy and post under your edit Html on your post and change the answers to your own. Good luck and have fun!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both
2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial
3. When do you put your tree up? As soon as I can get to it after Thanksgiving.
4. When do you take the tree down? Not until at least New year's! That sucker is a lot of work
5. Do you like eggnog? Absolutely.....NOT!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I truly don't remember anything I got
7. Hardest person to buy for? Jeff, he hates getting presents
8. Easiest person to buy for? Dad, orange anything and your good
9.Do you have a nativity scene? in a box somewhere
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? text??
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? II can't say, maybe it was from someone reading this...hahaha! I love all gifts
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Grinch! ( the one with Jim Carey)
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually in the last 2 weeks before, If I get a head start!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? nope
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Italian Sandwhiches on Christmas Eve (yeah for Dad!) and Almond Roca
16. Lights on the tree? Always, lights, beautiful wide ribbon and lots of shatterproof balls
17. Favorite Christmas song? Breath of Heaven, Manheim Steamroller (what can I say, I was raised by my mother) and O'Holy Night by Martina McBride!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Prefer to stay home, but we have travelled many a Christmas
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? can't everyone??? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen, Rudolph!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? 2 huge snowflakes
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Now that my kids are older we are continuing our childhood tradition of one present being opened on Christmas Eve (comfy jammies) and the rest on Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? All the crazy hurried people busy buying a bunch of stuff. Because at the time of year people should be the most Christ-like and caring they are usually worse because they are in a hurry and everywhere you go, it's soooo crowded.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? all of them
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We decided we are all sick of the same-ol turkey dinner (especially since we just had Thanksgiving) So, we are gonna try potluck style this year. It should be fun. I am making Christmas pasta! Does anyone know what that is??
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? My car cleaned/detailed
26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Who has time the week before Christmas??

Happy Birthday Jaxon!!

Happy Birthday to my firstborn son!!  Jaxon you are truly amazing!!! 

Here is just a short list of why I love your guts so much:

1.  You are such a sweetheart!

2.  You let me hug and kiss you whenever I want (eventhough it is usually WAY too often)

3.  You are a great big brother

4.  You have such a kind heart!

5.  You are always willing to help

6.  You are soooo grown up

7.  You EAT!!! I love that you will eat whatever I give you

8.  You are very handsome

9.  Your love for American Idol!

10.  That no matter how big you get you will always be my little man!!

LOVE you!!!! , Mom

A little late...

So, I know that my Christmas background has been up for over a week now, but, I just noticed that I never posted a thank you.  So, 

Thank you mom!!!  

My mom designs beautiful backgrounds and I love them.   Thanks again.

Yeah!!! Jeff got an elk.  This is not a picture of his elk, I am pretty sure his is bigger.  I am so happy that he got one and that he can finally come home now.  Jaxon called me to tell me that he helped to clean it all up and out.  He said that it was bloody, but he washed his hands!  Gross.  But, I am glad that they had a good time together.

Other funny things from this trip...

Jaxon called me one day and told me: "We went hiking today mom, in the snow.  And I fell on my butt 12 times!  Daddy only fell once."

The next day he call and left me a message:  "Hi mom, it's me, Jaxon.  I walked 5 miles today.  Well, goodnight!"

Summer & Jamie's Wedding Pics...

I was playing in Photoshop, trying to remember how to make tile pics and so, here is one of Summer and Jamie's wedding!  I have no camera still, so this is what Granny got!  I am trying to learn some very basic photoshop stuff.  lol!!    Their wedding was very nice and we are so glad that they are all married off and happy!  Congratulations guys!!

Sad Aden!!

This is what happens when Daddy leaves to go hunting, without taking Aden!!  (Really, it happens whenever Daddy leaves, though not quite to this extent.)  Keep in mind, this was just the beginning.  It turned into a full scale breakdown!  Tears, yelling, screaming, shaking, near hyperventalation, etc.  He said things like, "Fine then, I QUIT!" and "I am not his best friend" and many other funny things.  

Aren't kids so fun???

If you look closely you can see the anger brewing between those brows!

Happy Thanksgiving

These are a few of the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving Season:

( in no particular order)

My wonderful (most of the time) husband!!!

3 Great Kiddos

A supportive, loving family

The Gospel

The fact that we have a roof over our heads

and food on the table

The health of loved ones

Employment

Friends

Laughter

Love

Knowledge

Health

The Faith I have

The Freedom we enjoy daily (and take for granted most days!)

Good Books

An amazing companion to walk through this life with.

And just about a million other things, great and small,

I am so very Thankful for them all!

It's your Birthday, shout Hooray!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANNY!!!!! 

To my mother, who is amazingly witty, happy, fun, outgoing, outrageous, patient, loving, kind and laid back!  She is one seriously phenominal (sp??) woman!! She has taught me pretty much everything I know and continues to teach me, everyday!! 

Here is just a short list of the reasons I love her:

1.  Her ability to turn any variety of ingredients into a meal, and it is always absolutely delicious 

2.  Her crazy hair, she is willing to do anything

3.  Her outgoing personality, she can have a conversation with ANYONE!!!

4.  Her love/paitence for my crazy kiddos, especially Aden!

5.  Her talent for throwing wonderful parties

6.  Her patience with Dad

7.  Her spunky outfits

8.  The fact that she learned how to ride a quad about 4 years ago, and has been an avid "duner" ever since

9.  Her generous gifts/help that she lends to all of our families.  I know that we have all benefitted from a few hundred meals, help with groceries, babysitting (rarely, but it's happened:),  paint supplies, paint labor, help with canning (learning and the cost), etc, etc.  I could go on forever!!

10.  The fact that she is such a strong matriarch for our family.  She makes sure that we get together, get along and love to be with eachother!!!

You are a marvelous mother, a wonderful wife, a dedicated daughter, a sweet sister, a great granny and a FANTASTIC friend!!!!

Hope you had a Beautiful Birthday!!

We love you!!

p.s. Thanks for the picture Taya!!! :)

My Twilight Experience....

So, my original plan was to go see Twilight Friday morning, when everyone should be at school/work.  But, we (Tawna, Taya, and I) decided for some crazy reason to go to the midnight showing!! We are nuts!!!!  The experience was awful, with all the crappy teenagers and tweenagers!!!  We ended up in the theater with all the crazies too.  Tawna was pretty sure that there were a few actual vampires there.  Once she mentioned that, all I could think about was that half way through the movie someone was gonna bite me.   AHHHHH!! Nonetheless, the movie was AWESOME!!! Even with the crazy, freaky, vampire teenagers!   

So, here is my critique, if anyone cares to know...

Carlisle was way too young and had way too much makeup on!  Rosalie, while a beautiful girl, was not quite the goddess she was depicted as, though she didn't disappoint on the witchiness!!! Jasper looked/acted like a weird, robotic freak!  This is the guy who is supposed to be influencing moods????  huh?  Other than that, I thought the cast was pretty good.  I was so happy that the movie stayed true to the book.  Minus a few details.   Though I do realize that if they detailed the movie that much, it would've been way too long!  So glad I got to see it!   I sure could have done with out all the psycho fanatics though!

 I can't wait to make Jeff take me again this next week! hahahaha!

The Queen of tar-TAR!!

I love my sister, Tawna, so very much and for a lot of reasons.  But, probably one of the best reasons is her uncanny ability to make me laugh!!  A couple of weeks ago, during our canning fiasco, she was looking in the spice cupboard for cloves (to make the syrup for the pie apples).  The spice cupboard is in the "mud room" (the room between the garage and the rest of the house, where one takes their shoes off before entering into the main house).  So she is in the mud room looking for cloves and I hear her say this...  (you have to imagine tar  TAR being said like 2 words)

"Oh, you have tar-TAR!!  (at this point I start laughing uncontrollably) I should borrow this tar-TAR from you  so I can make snickerdoodles! (as my laughter becomes even more uncontrollable, she continues) ...Nathan loves snickerdoodles, they are his favorite cookies and about twice a year I think, 'Oh I should be a nice wife and make Nathan some snickerdoodles', (at this point my laughter is becoming controllable)... she continues... so I open up my cook book and realize that I never make them because I have no cream of tar-TAR. (hearing it again, makes my somewhat controllable laughter, turn again into uncontrollable laughter)... she continues... Blasted cream of tar-TAR!!   (now, I am absolutely in pain from laughing so hard) ... Who has cream of tar-TAR in their cupboard???"  

She could hear me laughing (I am pretty sure she thought that I was having a mental break down from all of the canning and the late hour).  But when she rounded the corner, tar-TAR in hand, I told her that from then on I would be calling her the "Queen of tar-TAR"!!!!  I then told her it was cream of tartar, you know like tartar sauce.  She started laughing and we laughed off and on about it for the rest of the night!!!  It was a great time and I love that I have at least one thing I can tease my amazing sister about.  She is such a dang superwoman, a lot of times I just think there's no way I could hold a candle to her.  But at least I know it's called cream of TARTAR!!!! lol!!!

Last weekend we went to Gecko Grill with Jamie, Summer, Mom and our kiddos.  Aden found these glasses in the Tahoe and was so very excited.  He was sure that they were there just for him.  He wouldn't take them off the entire time we were there.  Jamie took these pictures of Aden and emailed them to me.  They truly capture this little freaks crazy/spaztic personality!! Thanks Jamie for the pictures.  

Later that night we went to Quantum of Solace with Tawna & Nate, Mom & Dad & Summer & Jamie.  RB & Stacie had other plans already as did Taya & Kevin.  They were all missed!  We will have to catch you guys next time.  

Canning Craziness!!

Here are finally some pictures of our canning frenzy!   Thanks to Mom and Tawna staying up until the wee hours of morning, we ended up with 55 jars of pie apples!!  We had already finished 34 jars of applesause.  Both are delicious!!!  I am loving learning how to can food.  I know that it will be of great value to my family.    Plus, the time I get to spend with my mom and sisters is priceless.

Family Fun Night!!!

Family Fun Night!!! Monday night, we took the kids out for Family night.  We went and saw Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa and then went to Chick-fil-A for dinner!! Our kids absolutely love movies.  They are convinced that they are made just for them.  And Chick-fil-A is Heaven on Earth as far as they are concerned.  All in all the evening was a success.  They laughed a lot at the movie and truly seemed to enjoy each other and us!! We had a great time.  I love that we enjoy spending time together as a familiy!!

Famiy night out....at Chili's!!

Jaxon is such an awesome kiddo!! He is an amazing brother!

Aden is pretty much always happy/super cheesy!!

Ryker loves, loves, loves "white noodles and white sauce" (aka - alfredo)!!!

If you ask him where he wants to eat, or even mention that we're thinking about going out to eat, he will yell, " I WANT CHILI'S "!!!!

4th file, 4th photo!

So, Taya and Tawna both tagged me with this last week.  I wasn't gonna do it because, I have all of about maybe 20 pics on this computer.  But, I thought I would pull them up and see what that 4th file, 4th photo would be.  I only have 1 file, so I just took the 4th picture out of that file.  I love this picture.  I made mom pull it off of her blog and put it in my folder because I planned on using it one day on my blog.  I haven't gotten around to using it yet.  But, this little tag made it happen today.  I tag Kasey, Jamie, Marlo, Rushelle and Sarah.  Since all of my family members have been tagged, I will not re-tag you!

An Amendment...

I must amend my last post about the dunes.  I said that no one was injured when in fact there was one that someone brought to my attention.  My brother-in-law, Nathan, has forgotten how to keep his rear end on the seat of his quad and/or dirt bike.  Therefore, on one of the "boy rides", he somehow managed to slip off or something and ended up leg wrestling with the tire while the thing was running.  He says that "the ligament that is supposed to be up at his knee is hanging out around his ankle" (or something like that).  If you know Nate, you could picture him saying this and you would laugh as hysterically as I did.  He really was hurt though, his knee is still in a lot of pain.  I hope he is feeling better very soon especially since they are returning to the dunes very soon.  Good Luck Nate!!  

Randomness!!

So, last weekend we went to the Imperial Sand Dunes with most of the family. Granny, Grumpy, Tawna, Nathan, and their kiddos, Richard, Stacie, and their kiddos, and Jeff and I with our kiddos. Richard and Stacie were so very kind as to let us bunk with them in their toy hauler. It was such a great time. My camera broke, so I have no pics but check out my mom's blog, she got great pictures (she is "granny and grumpy's grand central" on my side bar). We had a blast. I love the family trips to the dunes. It is a TON of work and all for the adults, but I can only imagine what wonderful memories it is making for our kids. Totally worth it. Points of note for this trip...

1. We need to take more goodies next trip

2. You are never to old to learn a new trick. (I know this because my dad learned to ride a dirt bike! That was a frightening sight, but I am so happy for him.)

3. Learning new tricks, makes you feel young again. Dad was on cloud 9 the whole trip. :)

4. Cousins are the best friends.

5. Kid quads that they have to shift, sit out the whole trip. They all want the "hop on and push the gas to go" kind.

6. No matter how many times dad gets the truck stuck, someone is willing to help dig it out. (I hope Richard, Jeff, Nate and Dad all get enough rest to fix their backs after all that digging out.)

7. Megan is a great leader/babysitter.

8. Kids who have great parents are just the slightest bit spoiled!

9. I love my entire family.

10. I have the best family in the world.

So, no major injuries. No trips to the hospital. Just one trip to DQ and 4 times of digging the truck out of the sand. A few little boy collisions into the trailers, into eachother, etc. And a whole heap-o-fun!! The only improvements would be:

1. Taya and Kevin and the kiddos being able to come

2. Summer and Jamie and kiddos being able to come

3. More time

4. My own quad

5. a little cooler weather

Other than that, we have been making applesauce, canning applesauce, making pie apples and canning pie apples ALL week. We are crazy. I finally went to bed at 2:45 this morning. Tawna didn't even leave to go home 'till almost 5 this morning. And Bob said that Mom was still up at 7 am. We just couldn't stand to see any apples/money go to waste. Thanks Mom and Tawna for finishing up. Next time we plan an all nighter, I will make sure to be in bed before 1 am the 2 or 3 days prior to it!!

Yesterday, I learned to make bread. And if I do say so myself, my first loaves of bread were beautiful and delicious. We'll see how I do when Mom isn't holding my hand through the whole thing. I also made a batch of cookies with Aden. We made chocolate chip and heath pieces. They were delicious. Other items on the agenda for now:

Cleaning/organizing Mom's pantry/kitchen; catching up on the laundry I have neglected ALL week; cooking a wonderful meal or two; painting the bathroom; clean house; schedule a day to hang out with old friends; plan a date for this weekend; and other randomness that is my life.

That's about all. I will try to buy a camera soon. Until then, I will hi-jack some pics off of my mom's camera.

Funny story & Mushy thankfulness!!

So, yesterday my kids walk in from school and announce that they voted for the president at their school. I asked them each who they voted for. Jaxon said, "McCain", and Ryker said, "Obama". (Urgh.....he is the most contrary, antagonist child ever.) So, as I try to keep myself from being angered with my 5 year old, who understands absolutely none of this, I ask him why he voted for Obama. This is what he says...

"Because I like his brown skin. And he is very handsome. I like his suit. And he has the same shape head as me!"

At this point I am rolling on the floor laughing, Tawna got a pretty big kick out of it also. He didn't think much of the fact that we were laughing at him so he walked out to ride his scooter. Then, Jaxon asked, "Do you want to know why I voted for McCain?" I said, "Sure." And he says...

"Because I want a little president, I think that would be cool."

Skip ahead to this morning. I asked them on the way to school if they wanted to know who won the election. Of course they said yes. So, I said, "Obama." Jaxon freaks out at this point and says "WHAT??!! How?" I told him that more people voted for Obama than McCain. He responds by saying (or should I say shouting), "But, how could he win, Mom? He is not a good man. He kills babies! How can he be president if he is not a good man?" I was immediately shocked by the whole, 'he kills babies' remark, as I do not get into that much detail with my explanations to the kids about who I was voting for, and why, etc. So, I ask him, "where did you hear that?" He said, "Rylee told me last night! She just found out yesterday!" Ryker chimed in at this point and said, "I dont' want to vote for Obama anymore!" I can't help but wonder how many people who voted for this man will feel the same 2 months/2 years down the road. hmmmm?

It was amazing to me how completely outraged he was at the fact that a man, who kills babies, is voted to be president. And that he understood, that these things should bother him. Children are sooooo very impressive. Everyday they do or say something that totally blows you out of the water. They are absolutely amazing and I feel so very blessed to have three of Heavenly Father's sweetest spirits in my home! I just hope that I can be the mother/nurturer they need. I have many good role models to look to as I have also been blessed to have amazing sisters, mother, grandmas, aunts, etc. These are some glimpses at the inspirations in my life...

Nana - always teaching us how to do something, cooking, baking, anything we wanted to learn
Gramma - always taught us manners and how to behave
Mom - taught me almost everything else I know from painting to decorating to how to throw a party and cook for 200 people
Tawna - she does more in 2 hours than I can in a whole day, she is superwoman
Taya - manages 5 children and balances her entire house hold, amazing, she too is superwoman
Summer - is very gifted/talented, I love to hear her play the piano, she has many, many wonderful talents
Stacie - is steadfast, not only in the church, but life in general. She never wavers and she is very kind.
Tracy - is a great friend to my mom. They've always been close as sisters and have inspired my sisters and I to be close and enjoy each other. 

And all of my wonderful friends!  Marlo, Steph, Kanani, Shila, Shanna, Kasey, Jamie, Stacey, Tara, and many more of you!  I can't even begin to list your wonderful qualities.  You all inspire me and make me want to be a better person, wife, mother, teacher, etc.  I love you !

Again, these are just glimpses.  All of these women have many more admirable qualities.  I am so glad that I get to have them in my life.

Halloween, and yes I realize it is the 3rd of November!

We had such a fun night on Halloween. Richard and Stacie brought all their yahoos over and we went trick-or-treating together. The kids had a blast! Rylan was the first one to every door and Aden and Carson brought up the rear. Jaxon, Ryker, Megan and Austin all hung out in the middle. They seemed to have such a good time. It brought back wonderful memories of eating spaghetti and then rushing to do hair and make up to be ready for trick or treating with the cousins. Fun times. It was so nice to see them enjoy hanging with their cousins. Growing up that way, I always wanted the same for my children. A close friendship with their cousins. That makes one more of my life long dreams that I can see be realized!! I love it!

Thanks, Mom!!

I would like to send a big Thank you to my ever-so-talented mother. My blog background is beautiful. As do all the family's backgrounds. I am truly grateful for the hours upon hours you spend glued to your computer so that your family can have "cute " blog backgrounds. I absolutely love the one-of-a-kind thing!!! You are the best!

Annual Halloween party!

So Papa's neighborhood had their annual Halloween party last night. It was really fun. The Mower's and the Goodwin's joined us and Granny and Grumpy for the festivities. The kids ate pizza, nachos, corndogs and sodas. Then rode the train, went down the big bouncy slide, bounced in the bouncer and ate cotton candy. They had such a great time! They love their cousins and were so happy to get to go to the party with them. Kudos to Jeff, my amazing husband, for following the kids around and helping them with their tickets so that they could have such a great evening! You are amazing babe! Also, a big thanks to Granny for getting tickets for all of the grandkids. Your the best!!

Jeff is Emmett!? What do you think?

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Jeff, my loving husband, was so kind as to take this quiz for me.  I am obviously obsessed with all things Twilight, and he was willing enough to feed my obsession.  He is Emmett!! hahaha! what a couple, Esme and Emmett.  :)  I actually took the quiz again the other day and came out as Bella.  Then, my mother and sister took it for me and I came out Alice.  I have a few theories about why this is.  The first theory is that it truly depends on what mood you are in when you answer the questions.  The second is that other people see you differently than you see yourself.  Not that these types of things truly define your personality or anything, but it is entertaining.  Thanks for entertaining me babe, I appreciate it!! 

When I take the quiz for Jeff, my result is different. Go figure, huh? I think that these are a crack up!!


Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Going Great....

I know, I know, I am still reeling from the decision myself. But, it was what was best for our family. Thank you all for your kind comments and offers of help should we need anything! You all rock! I got the kids all registered at their new school and they seemed to be happy for their new adventure. They are so stinkin' cute!! We are pretty much moved in and things are going great. We have some things to get moved around and done still, but we will get to it. Jaxon got his cast off and all is well with his perfectly healed wrist. He is such a happy boy to be free of it. Ryker loves living here and loves the basement. Everytime we head home, he reminds me that it is Papa's house. He also made a point to remind me that it is Nana's house too. Then, he had to pat my hand and say, "I miss her too M-o-m-m-y " (he spells mommy now). Too cute. Love that kiddo! Aden isn't in a preschool yet, but my goal this week is to find him one. That's all the hallaballu for now.

That was fast...

So, Jeff and I decided this week that we would be moving closer to my family. We left on Friday. I know, that was fast, right? Well, we decided that it was the perfect time to start a new adventure for our family. And it was, everything fell right into place. We are soooo grateful to all of our family and friends who are awesome enough to support us and help us along the way. You are all amazing! Thanks!

Peaches, Tomatoes and Salsa, OH MY!

We did it. Jade is now an official member of the crazy canning queens club. With Tawna's help this weekend, we canned 66 quarts of beautiful peaches, 17 pints of salsa (we ate 2 pints before we were done) 22 quarts and 4 -1/2 gallons of tomatoes. I am posting these pics for Jade. We had fun, solved all the world's problems, and even got a little sleep after all was said and done. She did a great job making the salsa, Nana's recipe of course, and will be posting that on the Cooks in Nana's Nook blogsite soon. Lovin' those jars on the shelf. Nothing better than that.

Sentimental Sunday...

So, my mom created a thing called "sentimental Sunday".  You are supposed to post some memory from whenever.  I have never done this, because I have no computer at home, and that is where I am on Sundays.  But...today, I am in the city for the weekend.  So, I am finally posting something for sentimental Sunday.  Tonight, we had a family BBQ @ Richard and Stacie's.  It reminded me of our years old tradition of Saturday night BBQ's.  They were the highight of the week.  It was usually bring-your-own-meat and Nana always made the best sides.  Pasta salad, dessert of any and every kind, etc.  Cousins were always a plenty and even the neighbors let us use their basketball court to play.  It was sooooo very much fun.  Tonight reminded me a lot of those old BBQ's.  And not just because Tawna and I jumped on the trampoline doing tricks and havind "bum" wars.  It was just fun.  Uncle Kevin played baseball with the kids.  Aden, Chance and Carson took turns driving the kiddy rhino around.  And everyone else laughed as they watched al the craziness going on.  Almost everyone was able to attend.  Jeff, Jaxon and Ryker are all in Pima and Bob was not feeling well.  Good food, good jokes, all in all, it was a success.  Thanks so much to Stacie and Richard for having us all over to trash your house.  It was awesome.  

I must say, I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family.  Jeff and the boys bring me such great joy.  I don't know where I would be without my phenominal hubby.  He truly makes the world spin 'round.  My kids are so adorable and sweet.  They say and do the funniest things, I love it.  My parents are always there for us no matter what and I love them dearly.  I have amazing brothers and sisters,  Tawna, Taya, Summer, Richard and Robert.  They are the coolest.  They are all so patient and loving, kind and caring.  And they all married (or will soon be marrying) awesome people.  I love my in laws.  Nathan, Kevin, Stacie, and soon Jamie, you guys rock.  All of the weird personalities and crazy OCD's mesh well in the slightly Psycho family of mine. I love it.  I couldn't have hand picked a more fun group. 

broken bones and quacamole!

So, I don't have tooo terribly much to say. But, I have been trying so hard to post at least once a week. Jaxon's soccer season began last Saturday and ended last Sunday, when he broke his arm! Now, you might be curious as to how this sweet little child managed to "blunt fracture" his radius and carpus (dr. talk). Well, he was pouting that I wouldn't let him go to the neighbors to play (it being Sunday and all). So, he decided to climb a tree. Which he did successfully. He got up the tree and sat on a branch. That's where he made the wrong choice. See, Jaxon weighs a lot and the branch just didn't have enough strength to hold his "thick" body up. So, it snapped. And he fell. 8 feet to the ground. But, he was smart enough to catch himself, which saved his face and head from being broken. But, at the sacrifice of his arm/wrist. He told me after...
"Mom, I just don't know what I was thinkin"!!!
To which I responded...
"Neither do I brother"!
He gets his hard cast on tomorrow, he says he wants black, but everyone who asks tries to talk him into pink!! So, I guess we'll see.

But, Needless to say, Soccer season is not going to happen this year! woo-whoo!! I am free at last!! haha!

I have to give a shout out to my friend, Marlo. I made her recipe for quacomole last weekend and have eaten it everyday since. It is so absolutely amazing. Thanks again Marlo. I will post the recipe on "The cooks in Nana's nook" later this week if anyone wants it!!

So it begins.....

Soccer. Kids sports in general. The bain of my existence!!! Ok, it's not really that bad. But, it is not really fun. I am truly grateful that I had parents willing to commit every Saturday to games and every Tues and Thurs to practice. I have found a new respect for them in that. Because I hate it. I don't want to let them play. What can I say.....I am not a fan. But, at least this year they all want to play. Last year we spent the whole hour of the games fighting with them to get back out on the field. Maybe, just maybe this year will be better. I can always hope, right??

Other than that, not much is going on. Jaxon has finally decided to be a good boy at school and is no longer coming home with red slips everyday. He has stayed on green (this includes a green dot on his hand, and most recently on his forehead) for 3 solid weeks. Good job! I am so proud. Ryker is loving kindergarten and tells everyone how much he loves that I pack him chips for lunch everyday. Let me asure you, I do pack actual food also. Aden cries hysterically everytime we drop the boys off, because there is nothing he wants more than to go to the big school with brothers. It gets worse everyday. I have had to bribe him with light savers, trucks and gum. If it continues, he may end up with a new quad. haha! It is a dang good thing he is so freaking adorable.

Today...

Today I attended a funeral. A family that we are close to (not because we do everything together or anything, we just truly enjoy being with them and they are just wonderful, amazing people) had their 6 month old boy pass away Monday morning. I went to the viewing last night. Although I thought all day to try to find an excuse not to go, but I knew that would be unbelievably selfish, I needed to go, for them. I was sooooo glad that I went. It was a very neat experience. The mother, truly an inspiration. She was telling stories and smiling and very at peace. The father was the same. I was blown away by their strength and their testimonies. The dad spent time this week making the casket and it was absolutely beautiful. And the baby looked so very angelic. He looked so peaceful. Their girls were happy and thoughtful, telling me about their gaurdian angel. What an amazing family. Then, today Jeff and I went to the funeral services. Their was such an amazing spirit throughout the entire service. The feeling of peace and acceptance in their speaking was quite impressive. I just keep thinking how grateful I am to have the gospel in my life. To know that there is a life after this mortal world and that our families can be eternal families. That knowledge is such a comfort to me. I am truly blessed just to know this family and lucky enough to have them be part of my families life. I hope they remain strong and faithful and pray for them daily. I know that I definately take my own children for granted at times and am working daily at taking time to stop and smell the roses, who the heck cares if the dishes are done???

Fun in the sun...

So, we were lucky enough to get to go to San Diego with Tawna and Nathan over the Labor day weekend! It was AWESOME!!!! We had a great time. I will have to post pictures later, because I forgot my camera! But we hung out at the beach and applied the sunscreen so often that there was no sunburns!! A miracle, I know! We stayed at a hotel, ate good food and slept! Thanks so much to Tawna and Nathan for all their planning. And thanks to Nate's parents for letting us crash at their house the last night! Though the kids didn't come with us, they had a great time too. Gramma and Aunt Christy took them and their cousins to a resort! They had sooooo much fun. Jaxon says that next summer he's gonna take us there (after we take him to the beach)!! I can't wait! It will be so fun. I will post pictures later, but I wanted to update before any more voodoo dolls came out! haha! :)

Hangin' with the Fam…

We Mesan's went to spend some time with our Piman relatives in the beautiful Gila Valley. Nothing tribal about us. The cotton is growing, the hay has been cut and it is a pleasure to go take in the countryside and enjoy looking at the crops all neat in their rows. Farmland has a beauty all its own. Robert, Grumpy and I had lots of fun driving around the countryside, eating here and there, playing with the kids at the park in Thatcher and so on. Well, the kids played while we watched. Jade, Jeff and Robert went to see Tropic Thunder and said it was a bust. I don't think they even want to buy the DVD for their collections. We ate at Tony's Kitchen for lunch on Saturday and I of course had to get my favorite there, Grecko Fettucini. It is really good. Basically, fettucini with green chiles and mushrooms added. Yum. We went to dinner at Golden Corral with Heber and Kay, Jeff, Jade and the boys. We sat down before we went through the line there too! We are just rebels I guess. (check out my blog for the birthday bash story.) We went back there for breakfast the next day and had a really good time. The boys love to eat there because they can serve themselves exactly what they want. We ended up at the Thatcher play park again after breakfast and I'm kicking myself that I didn't get my camera out. That was the best. The boys played on the equipment and ended up racing each other to the water fountains and back. I guess the water fountains weren't working so they got pretty thirsty. One time Jeff got them all started racing for the building and after they were halfway across the field, he took off running after them. It was so fun to watch them all running, laughing and no one really winning. He kept grabbing them and putting them on the ground on the way back so he could win. We got cleaned up and went to church with them later on. It was a nice sacrament meeting and I love to visit with other ward members. Nice people are everywhere. Good weekend times. Thanks to Heber and Kay for spending their Saturday night with us and to Heber for dinner. Thanks to Susan and Don for letting us crash at their house overnight. Thanks to Robert for coming with us and making our weekend even more fun. Thanks to Jeff for letting us steal Jade and Aden away Sunday so we could get some things done here. A huge thanks to Jade for doing my hair while she was here. She and I went shopping for beauty stuff and I look much better now. She is so good to keep us all looking our best. Quite the rainstorm on the way home from taking Jade and Aden to meet Jeff in Miami to give them back. I was pretty white-knuckled for a while in those very wet, stormy mountain passes. Glad for the rain though. Rain is good. Great time guys. Love you all.

Life's pretty boring...

No Dark arts!!!!!!! I do believe that is against our religion! hahahahaha!!! Though I am sure you have voodoo d0lls of me and many others, I am grateful you do not use them, too often.
Not much to report. Life is pretty boring! How sad. The boys are all doing well in school. They love their teachers and friends! I think Ryker's favorite part is going to the cafeteria in the morning and eating cereal! (Heaven forbid he had to get up early enough for breakfast at home...that kid loves to sleep!) Jaxon is not thrilled about homework this year! But, he is slowly getting used to it. Aden loves to be at school. His teachers are impressed at the amount of time he can spead doing to same thing. He will sit and cut paper for an hour or more....or put stickers on a paper forever. He finds an activity and sticks to it. Which apparently is abnormal for a 4 year old. But, what would he be if not abnormal?? They are getting so big so fast and I am truly enjoying them. They bring such great joy to my life. I love them! Not to say they don't have their fair share of moments, but they are truly GOOD kids!! Life is good....'till next time!

Bringin‘ out the big guns…

Hi Jade and Jeff. Yep, getting out the wooden dolls to convert to voodoo dolls. Mother hens tend to be a little crazy when they can't talk to their chicks. I know cell phones are evil and you are still waiting to get the computer you want, so please know I am kidding about really doing any voodoo. Maybe. I just miss hearing about you and the boys. We all know I'm mentally unstable, so just try to remember to call every couple of days! I hear there are some great books in the library on the dark arts. I may have to get a new library card!

Stay Alert - I love you all.

So, I know it's been a while...

but, I have a really good reason (that's the nice way of saying excuse)!!! I was reading! I picked up my copy of breaking dawn on Friday night @ midnight!!! I know, I know, I am a huge geek!! But, Kanani went with me, so I didn't feel like suck a huge dork! I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning reading. When I was finally tooo tired to make out the letters that were supposed to make up the words, I grudgingly put it down to get some much needed rest!! So, after practicing some major self control and spending the day with Jeff and the kids, I finished it Saturday night ( again, in the wee hours of morning)! And I have to say, if you haven't finished it - Don't read the rest of this paragraph!!! I am a fan! I loved that it had a happy ending with all questions answered and all story lines tied up in a nice little bow! Everyone got their own happy ending. And that's why I read/watch movies. Real world life is depressing and sad enough with no control over the outcome. I think books and movies should have good / happy endings. But, that's just me.

Anyway!!! Life is just moving right along! I am back at work and all of our students have started! We have a really fun group this year and I am very excited!!

Jaxon and Ryker started school yesterday! I asked Ryker (a.k.a. the antagonist) if he had a good day....he quickly wiped the smile off of his face and said ....NO! he is so contrary!! Normally he does this just to bug me, but aparently there was a little boy that "kept bugging " him. I guess he will have to learn that some people are just annoying!! hahaha!!
Aden has cried hysterically both mornings that he can't go to school with the other two boys! Poor little one. But, next year!!!! yeah!!

My sister, Taya, had her baby this week. Emersyn Rae. Cute, huh? From what I hear all is well! I am so excited to have a new niece. Hopefully, I will see her this weekend!

Well, that's about it hope all is well with all of you. Thank you for all of the Birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday to Jade!

Your birthday shout out is on our blog so I won't duplicate that here. I so wish I had a scanner so I could put something really embarrassing here - little kid pictures are always embarrassing.  I don't really know why, us moms think they are the best. I had this picture from after the Feb. Dune trip, and love that we had all had so much fun.  It was taken outside of Chili's (where else?) on your way home and I love that you all look so happy. I hope you have a great day, hope the boys and Jeff give you big kisses and make your birthday fun. Love you all.

Granny and Grumpy

It's over....

So, my summer break is coming to it's end!! I go back to work on the 24th!! I guess all good things must come to an end! Oh well....it's okay.

Since I know all of you are wondering about all the happenings in our life, let me tell ya...

We closed on our house and moved out, Thanks to all the help from our amazing friends & family! We are now living with Jeff's parents!! :) yes, this outta be good! haha! Not because we don't absolutely love his parents, but living with anyone is hard, add three kiddos and wait for the fun! (Anyone who has ever moved in with family knows exactly what I mean!) We are, however, definately excited about some key points:
1. No house payment!! :):)
2. Built in babysitter! :):)

Other than that, life is kinda boring. I go back to work next week, the kids start school in 2 weeks, and...oh yeah....we have to find somewhere to live! But, we are all healthy and relatively happy, so, I can't complain. Hope all is well with all of you.

My sweet middle child!

About 2 months ago, right around the 1 year anniversary of my Nana's passing, something occured to me...I was still in the grieving process, but hadn't made it past the "denial" stage. Not really anyway. It occured to me that I tried my hardest not to talk about her, not to go to her house, etc. Not that I came to this realization on my own. I got there with the help of my 5 year old. One day we're just sitting there, when out of the blue Ryker turns to me and asks,
"Mom, is your gramma Nana?"
I said "yes."
He said, "She died, huh?"
I replied, "yes."
He takes my hand with his little hand and said, "do you miss her?"
I said, "yes."
He said, "does it make you sad?"
I said "yes."
He said, "oh!"

Since this conversation, about every 3 or 4 days he will, out of the blue, turn to me and say, "Mom, do you miss your Nana?" To which I simply reply "yes." And that is the whole conversation. I guess he just has to check every few days, to be sure! Sweet little Ryker!

So, I have forced myself past the denial and am in a reflective place these days. There is soooo very much I miss about her. I think about her often and am in constant amazement at what a legacy she left behind.

Some things that she left with me...

her love for all holidays (any excuse to have a party)
her love of cooking & baking
her love for her family
her laugh
her smile
her constant planning (she always had some scheme going on)
her endless files of recipes
her patience for teaching us all to make cookies and cakes
her beauty, inside and out!


Thanks Nan! I love you!

So, I am obsessed with finger waving!! My boss grew up during this era, so every once in a while, I convince her to style my hair like this. I have no idea what is wrong with me....just a little freak! But, I have never done it on blonde hair, so here it is.

Happy Birthday To Aden...

Aden had a birthday ( over a month ago :) I am a rotten mother....hey, at least I took pictures! These are actually from the day of, I just haven't posted them yet! He was sooooo happy when we were all singing happy birthday! We had to sing to him no less than 500 times! He loves to be the center of attention. I wonder where he gets that from????

Cowboy Jax!!

Jaxon had way too much fun riding with Justin!
He was convinced that we should get a horse at
our house! haha! Yeah, I'll get right on that!

My Little boy, lost both front teeth!! How did he get sooooo big?? I swear he just got those teeth a while back. Well, I guess time flies!

Toothless Jaxon....boy did it bleed, a lot!! He was soo happy to have it out. Later that night, he talked Grampa into pulling out the other front tooth!!

Tough man , Ryker!! He knocked Jaxon's (already extremely loose) front tooth out with one punch!

Still the best of buds!!! Jaxon actually told Ryker "thank you so much, brother"!!