Keepin' it Lo-Key

I need to clean my house

2009-10-07T09:59:00.001-07:00

I need to clean my house.

not quite the way I planned it...but, okay

2009-08-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

So lately it seems that none of my plans are turning out the way they are supposed to. I guess life is just forcing me to become more flexible. Now, granted, they're not major life changes, but they're irritating none the less.

Scenario One: No Pirate Island
We planned a fun family adventure last friday night to go to the exciting new theme restaurant in Orem called Pirate Island. We have been waiting for this restaurant to open for months! So we loaded up the fam in the van and made the drive only to get there and find out there is a 2 hour wait. It's 8:00. Bedtime. We're not waiting 2 hours. BUT MOM! I wanna eat here! We can wait! Sorry dude, we'll come back in a year when all the hype has died off. In the end, we ate at Iggys instead and had a fun family night of corndog nuggets and baseball on the big screen.

Scenario Two: No Hike, No Smores
Summer is coming to an end. :( So we thought we'd get up Saturday morning and take the kids on one last hike up to Cecret Lake. Well, Saturday morning rolls around and Dave's parents call and invite us to go up Big Cottonwood Canyon later that day to have a cookout with them. Sounds great! We don't really want to make the drive up the canyon twice in one day so we'll just skip the hike and go with you guys. Well, 5:00 rolls around and we make the drive up the canyon only to find every single picnic and camping site taken. Every single one. Yep. But did that bring our spirits down??? yeah, a little. But only for about 5 minutes until we came across an awesome park and had our cookout there. :)

Scenario Three: What? No Church???
Did I mention I don't watch local news? And apparently I don't pay that much attention in sacrament meeting. Church doesn't start until 2:30. We can't really do anything. Let's go ahead and get our church clothes on and play mario kart. Oh my gosh everybody get in the van it's 2:20 we're gonna be late we're not gonna get a seat!!! Empty parking lot. hmmmmmmmmmm....maybe we need to start paying more attention.

Scenario Four: No Swimming. No Swimming. No Swimming.
As mentioned before, summer is officially coming to an end. So we (as in we, I mean me, Tiff, Melissa, Jamie, and my mom) thought we'd treat the kids to some end of the summer swimming today. We were going to go to the awesomely awesome Lindon pool (which is outdoors) but of course it was rainy this morning so we had to change routes and go to the Lehi pool which is indoors. I honestly don't know what made me think the Lehi pool would possibly be open, the luck I've been having lately, but it was of course, CLOSED! Dangit! Ok, fine! We'll go to the Dimple Dell pool. It's awesome and indoors. closed until 3. Kids need naps at 2. Dangit! Fine. Murray has an indoor pool, right? LETS GO THERE!!! I wish I could say it was open. But that wouldn't make much sense now, would it? Murray Park does have an awesome playground. And we caught some of the Little League World Series at their ball park. That was kind of cool:)

It seems like I've been saying Oh, Well a lot lately. Oh, well. It's not for a lack of effort, right? (sigh)

First comes love...

2009-06-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

On May 27th, Dave and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. 10 YEARS!!! And lo and behold, we're still in love. (I don't know how to do a little heart, but if I did, I would enter it right here.) Dave is my hero, my knight in shining armor, my best friend, my everything. I love you, honey. Happy anniversary. (heart, heart, heart, and a couple of kisses!)

On May 12th, my baby turned 1!!! It's amazing how fast time flies the more kids you have. I swear Ethan was just born! I can't even tell you how much I love this baby. He is so stinkin' cute! We were in Hawaii during his birthday so he got to celebrate it islander-style. :) As usual, I'm gonna let the pictures do the talking...

CHEESE!

2009-04-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

Everytime I point the camera at Ethan lately, he gives me the cutest smile. I don't even say anything to him. He is just a ham...I love it!

eggs

2009-04-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...another slide show. Sorry. I just love the slide shows--it's the quickest and easiest way to upload a ton of pictures. And my writing doesn't do justice to the massive amount of fun we had this Easter. So get ready to see some more pictures! :)

And below the slide show is a video the "Easter Bunny" made for the kids using their easter eggs. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Will!

2009-04-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

The little munchkin is now 3. I'm actually a few days late--his birthday was on Sunday. But he's the middle child, so it's lucky he gets a blog at all. No, I love my sweet little Will! He is so full of life and spunk and sheer joy. Here are a few pictures of my little munchkin.

Happy Birthday Willie!!!!! I love you.

Haircuts

2009-03-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

I did it. I cut Will's beautiful golden locks off. I think he looks cute. And now he's all ready for summer!

Oh! and his chin is healing up marvelously! Yay!
No bubble scar. :)

He's got such a pretty face!

2009-03-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

I'm such a slacker when it comes to blogging lately! I keep thinking about things I should blog about, but when I actually have time on my hands, I'm just not feelin' it. And tonight Dave's playing his video game so I have time. I don't really feel like blogging, but I'm going to anyway. Wow, this is boring. OK, so here's what's been happening around here lately...

Will split his chin open. Benj & Jen & their kids were at our house Saturday night and Will was riding his trike in the basement and fell off, landing on the corner of a wooden toy. Blood everywhere. I grew up in a house full of girls so I'm not used to seeing that much blood. Anyway, Dave & Jennie to the rescue--they butterfly badaged him up good. It still looks gross but it seems to be healing pretty well. (ha ha ha, Dave's trying to play his video game right now & the kids won't go to sleep. They keep interrupting him. I'm just sitting here giggling to myself.) Anyway, back to the split chin. I hope he doesn't have a bubble scar. We went to my parents house Sunday for dinner & they were telling me he could develop a "bubble scar" if we didn't bandage him properly. I called the doctor in a frantic that night but they said it was too late for stitches, so I guess we'll just cross our fingers! That, or we'll research children's plastic surgeons. Pictures...

Last week we went to the Draper Open House. We took our kids & they were great! It was such an awesome experience to walk through the temple with all our kids. Of course, their favorite part was the bus ride--Tanner thought it was so cool that there was a bathroom on the bus. But I just loved this temple. It was so beautiful. I can't wait to visit it again.

Here are some new pictures of our boys. I'm such an awesome photographer. Or is it just that I've got some pretty cute kids? You be the judge.

summer music

2009-02-17T21:48:00.001-08:00

I don't know about you but I am so ready for summer. I'm loving that we haven't had as much snow this year...yet...but I am just so ready for some warm, scratch that, HOT weather. So I decided to make a summertime playlist to get me pumped. :) Jurassic Park - Universal Studios on vacation; Let's Get Loud - making up silly dances with my sister at my parents pool; Crush - my all time 4th of july song; Tipsy - don't listen to the words, just DANCE!; Eric Hutchinson - summertime concert with Monika; Madonna - played a lot during a California trip I took with my mom when I was little; Jack Johnson - let's face it, Jack Johnson IS summer!; And the rest of the songs should speak for themselves. Anyways, these are a few songs that remind me of summer. So just lay back, close your eyes, and listen. Let the sweet sounds of summer take you somewhere warm and tropical. It's alright, you can say it.........aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh...:)

I'm a big kid now!

2009-01-30T13:40:00.000-08:00

Ethan is now crawling. He just started yesterday. He's growing up so fast! (sniff sniff). And he got his first tooth this week. Big week for the tiny one. :o)

wow that went fast

2009-01-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas has yet again come and gone. Pause for a moment of silence.......

So I pretty much took the last 3 weeks off from my computer. No facebook. No myspace. No blog. Nothin. My friends probably all think I hate them. I don't, I promise! :) I honestly don't know where December went! It went by so fast. Zooooom. Here's a little overview of what went on in the Lokey household these past few weeks...

Well, leading up until Christmas, I did nothing but sit at my sewing machine to try to finish the rag quilts for my kids. I did it. I finished them on time. Whewf! Thank you Dave for being my faithful cutter and square-putter-together-er.

The finished product...da da da dum...

About a week before Christmas we finally made it over to the mall to visit Santa (or "ho ho" as Will calls him). This was a historic moment seeing as Will actually sat with Santa without screaming. Hallelujah! Ethan didn't cry either although he kept yankin' on Santa's beard. Tanner and Will asked Santa for their presents (which we had no idea they even wanted these until that night-has anyone ever even heard of a Marvel Super Hero Transformer??? Luckily Santa did some research and found out they do actually exist and got one for Tanner). And Willie asked for WallE. So fitting.

Then on Christmas Eve Dave's family came to our house. Benj & Jennie and their family came down from Idaho. (We miss you guys!) And also Dave's step sister and her family came and Dave's parents. We had so much fun just eating and chatting. The kids exchanged white elephant gifts. And then the adults did a white elephant exchange as well (there was an actual stuffed white elephant involved!) I didn't get any pictures. I know. What kind of photographer am I?! Christmas day was a lot of fun. The kids woke up at about 8 in the morning and were so excited. Will kept tearing into any gift he could find (even if it wasn't his). I did get a couple pics of our Christmas morning.
Tanner's playing Super Mario Sunshine. Best game ever. I'm totally addicted.

Ethan playing with his new toy in the big box that held my present. (see below)

It sounds unbelievable. And it holds my ipod. yay:)

And of course, the beloved Marvel Super Hero Transformer.

So after all the excitement at home, we made the rounds. First we went to my mom's house and ate and exchanged gifts. Then we went to my grandma's house and ate and exchanged gifts (another exciting game of yankee swap). Will was bouncing off the walls from all the sugar. At least he kept everyone entertained.

Then the day after Christmas we went to my parents' house to eat and do gifts. It was lots of fun. We got a Wii!!! Eeeee! Needless to say we've hardly gotten anything done since Christmas due to this vile machine. Aah, but it sure is fun. Also, I forgot to mention our other big surprise that santa brought us...ready?...a trampoline! I can hardly, I mean, the kids can hardly wait for Spring to set it up! Again, no pictures. (what is the matter with me?) I'll post some when we have it all set up.

New Years Eve was tons of fun. We just stayed home and let the kids stay up late with us. We ate lots of junk food and played lots of Mario Kart and at midnight we banged pots and pans. It was a blast.

We celebrated New Years day the same way I've been celebrating New Years Day since as long as I can remember...bowling and eating pizza with my family.

So anyways, we had so much fun this holiday season and I hope all of you had a fun one as well. Here's to a great new year and hopefully an end to the snow. Although, Dave did build a sweet snow cave in our front yard with the help of our next door neighbor.

Happy Birthday Dave!!!

2008-12-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

Today my sweetheart turned 30. So I just wanted to write a quick little blog to tell him how much he means to me. He is the best husband a woman could ask for. I am so lucky to have him. He does the sweetest things for me just because he loves me. Here is a top ten list of things I love about my Dave:

10. I love how he puts more chocolate syrup than ice cream in his bowl.
9. I love that he sings when he's happy.
8. I love that he can quote a movie perfectly after watching it only once.
7. I love his laugh.
6. I love watching silly movies with him, like "Roll Bounce" or "Jingle all the Way"
5. I love how he takes care of me. (he plucks my eyebrows and paints my toenails)
4. I love how he orders his cheeseburger with sauce & cheese only (no veggies!)
3. I love making up dance routines in the car with him.
2. I love how much he loves Christmas.
1. I love how big his heart is. He is so caring of everyone.

ok, number 1 was a little boring, but important nonetheless. So I'm gonna add one more. We'll call it a bonus.

I love that I can say any quote from "Friends" at any time and he'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

I Love you Dave!

Happy Birthday.

Temple Lights

2008-12-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

Every year we go downtown to see the lights at Temple Square on the day after Thanksgiving. We've been doing this fun tradition for 10 years now. The first year we started was the day Dave proposed to me. (enter chimes and haze for a flashback sequence)...We went to watch the lights turn on. I remember it was freezing that night and I didn't bring any gloves so I kept trying to put my hands in Dave's coat pockets but he wouldn't let me because he had the ring in there. So after the lights came on, we took a walk back toward the fountain by the church office building and way back in the corner is where he popped the question. It was one of the most exciting and happy and memorable moments of my life.

This year was so much fun. We got the boys all bundled up and went and ate dinner at the Olive Garden and then walked over to the temple. They loved it. Then we took a walk back to our special corner that started this family tradition 10 years ago and told the boys the story of our engagement.

I suddenly have 6 hands

2008-11-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

Ya know when you have kids and you feel the need to become "Super Mom"? There's always so much to do - laundry, feed the kids, vacuuming, dishes, making beds, laundry, cleaning windows, teaching preschool, laundry (did I mention that one?). Anyway, the list goes on. And you feel you NEVER get a break? Well, I've just realized that I have help. And their names are Tanner and Will. They actually like to help me do things! I remember when I was young, I HATED to help out around the house. Why am I so lucky to have kids that like to be helpful? Tanner loves to do the dusting--He likes to use the spray. Both kids love to help out with the laundry--they think it's fun to throw all the dirty laundry down the stairs so they can jump into the big pile of clothes. This morning I was on the computer (which is in the laundry room) and Will comes up behind me and starts putting clothes in the dryer. Imagine my excitement. And Tanner loves to feed Ethan baby food which I take full advantage of when I need to get other stuff done around the house. It's awesome. So I still consider myself "Supermom" but now with two sidekicks--Captain Tanner and The Incredible Will.

Moment of truth

2008-11-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

Well, my mom went to see the doctor & it was pretty good news. (I think). They found a couple of lumps that looked like cysts which would be the cause of her pain. They will let her know for sure next week what it is but they didn't seem too alarmed. Thank goodness. So as of now, I think it's good news. Yay!

Thanks everyone for putting up with me and my outpour of emotion. It was actually very theraputic for me to just get it all out. Love you guys!!!

The longest week ever

2008-11-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those nights where you have a really hard time falling asleep because you have a million things on your mind? But then once you do finally fall asleep, you're out cold because you're so exhausted from all the stuff that's been on your mind? Well, it's been one of those weeks. All week. I'll start with something happy...

1. Obama Wins!
On Tuesday, as you all know, history was made. I cannot begin to express my thankfulness that this man is going to be our new president. He is so inspiring. The change our country is in desparate need of is finally going to happen. I have faith that he will turn our economy around, keep us safe, keep us healthy, and most importantly, reunite our country as it has been increasingly divided over the past few years.
On election night, we had a "blue" party for a few of us blue's. (There aren't that many of us in Utah).

Yeah, it was an awesome night. So I might as well stick with the politics thing for #2.

2. Proposition 8
Yes, Prop. 8 passed. First of all, let me say that I believe marriage should be between one man and one woman. That being said, I do feel really uncomfortable forcing others to believe the same way I do. I believe in free agency. The time will come when we are all judged for the decisions we make on earth. It has been heartbreaking to watch protesters march around our temples because they feel that we have oppressed them. Such a strange turn of events. Today in relief society, we talked about Joseph Smith and how much people hated him because of the way he lived. He was tarred and featherd and murdered because of his beliefs. We were the ones being oppressed back then. I'm not saying that gay people were sent to us from God, so to speak, but I just don't see how it's our right to judge them and decide for them how they should live their lives. Am I going to burn in hell for saying these things? I sure hope not. Anyhoo, on to the next culprit of my sleep deprivation...my kids.

3. The Diaper Rash From Hell
I don't have a picture of it, but trust me, it's bad. For the past week Ethan has been extra fussy. He's had diarrhea which has resulted in the worst diaper rash that any of my kids have ever had. At first, I thought he was sick. But two weeks and 65 stinky runny diapers later, we figured it was the oatmeal. He graduated from rice cereal to oatmeal a little while ago and I finally made the connection that he's probably allergic. So yesterday, we didn't feed him any oatmeal and today his little tushie is looking a lot better. Thank goodness.

4. My sweet, wonderful son, Tanner
As most of you know, Dave has Tourette Syndrome. He started showing signs of it when he was 8 years old. They haven't been able to prove it's genetic, but we figure it is because Dave's dad and his two brothers also have it. We pretty much knew it was only a matter of time before Tanner started showing signs of TS. So anyway, it might just be a kid being a kid, but over the past week, Tanner has been sniffing an awful lot. I'm pretty sure he's not sick. Watching him, it definitely seems like a tick. I'm not sad about it. I know he will grow up to be as well rounded and happy as his daddy. I guess I am just not looking forward to watching my sweet little boy struggle with something he can't control. No parent wants to watch their kids struggle, right? Anyway, I guess this will just be his "something". Everybody has "something". And his "something" will be something that he can learn from and grow from and be strengthened from.

Just one more thing on my list of distress. Bear with me.

5.My mom

Last Saturday, my mom (Pam) told me that her right breast has been really hurting. We looked it up and found that it is probably just perimenopause, not cancer. And my mom looked up breast cancer and found out that pain is usually not a sign of cancer. But then Monday morning my mom called the doctor to explain what was happening and they told her they needed to see her as soon as possible for a diagnostic mammagram. Then they started patronizing her and saying "don't worry, whatever it is, we'll take care of you." So anyway, their machines weren't free until this Monday (tomorrow), hence me (and my mom) not being able to sleep for a whole week. I am so scared for the results of the test. I love my mom so much. Over the past 5 years we have grown so close. She is my best friend. I can talk to her about anything. She is always there when I need her. I have so much fun going shopping with her, going to the park with her, quoting movies with her, cooking with her. She is so much fun and so giving and caring. She loves her grandkids so much and they love her too. I'm sorry to just ramble but this is actually helping me to get all this out. It's been a really hard week imagining my life without her. I think I'll be better tomorrow after the test. Whether it's good or bad news, at least we'll know.

So, I hoped I've reached my goal of depressing everybody today. No, I think I just wanted to write this blog to get a bunch of stuff off my chest. (no pun intended). Hopefully tomorrow will go smoothly and will be the start of a whole new week.

Taggalicious 8 things taggarooney

2008-11-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's another tag game. Thank you Jamie! I like the tag games because I get to learn lots of fun little quirks about my friends that I probably wouldn't find out otherwise.

8 Shows I love to Watch

1. Friends
2. The Office
3. So You Think You Can Dance
4. Heroes
5. Desparate Housewives
6. Lost
7. 24
8. Survivor

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Chef's Table (once every other year cuz it's a little pricey)
2. Chuck A Rama...What? It's good.
3. Olive Garden (who's 8 favorite restaurants doesn't include Olive Garden?)
4. Betos (best bean & cheese burrito on the planet)
5. Iggy's
6. Chef Tom's
7. The Mayan...strictly for the atmosphere...NOT the food
8. Cafe Rio

8 Things that happened yesterday

1. I babysat Kalli's boys
2. Edited some pictures
3. Did some laundry
4. Ate some nachos
5. Looked on facebook
6. Cleaned my kitchen
7. Went swimming with my family at the Legacy Center
8. Watched antother key player get voted off Survivor

8 Things I'm looking forward to

1. I'm with Jamie...Christmas!
2. Our family to come visit on Thanksgiving
3. Summer
4. Disneyland next fall
5. A change in our economy
6. Tuesday...because then Monday will be over
7. The beaming faces of my 3 boys Christmas morning
8. March 21st...first day of spring!

8 Things I love about fall

1. Of course the beautiful trees
2. Wearing sweaters
3. Not too hot, not too cold
4. Time change (an extra hour of sleep, heck yeah!)
5. Halloween
6. my birthday!
7. You've Got Mail (I always have a craving to watch this movie during fall time)
8. Thanksgiving

8 Things on my wish list

1. size 6 jeans. Not just to have them but to be able to fit into them.
2. to go on vacation
3. that my kids will grow up happy
4. a bigger house with a pool (or at least a yard big enough for a pool)
5. A new stereo for my van
6. A laptop (is Dave reading this?)
7. That I will outlive my children
8. That our economy will soon get back on track

Now I tag anyone who is reading this that hasn't done this tag yet.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun halloween this year. Each year is more fun than the last. I just love carving pumpkins, going to halloween parties, and taking the boys trick or treating. As usual, I took way too many pictures. (is there such a thing?) Here they are...

Here is a video of Tanner and Will Trick or Treating.

H.O.P.E.

2008-10-22T21:48:00.000-07:00

Yes. I hope. I hope many things. I hope that I will one day be caught up on my housework. I hope that my kids won't break any more bones this month. I hope my car won't break down on the freeway. I hope the Jazz will go all the way. I hope that I will outlive my children. I hope my boys will always be best friends. I hope that when I am old, I will look back and have no regrets on how I spent my time. I hope that my kids will grow up to be happy, well-rounded individuals. I hope that someday our country will be united once again. I hope that someday RACE will not be an issue. I do hope for change...change for the better. I hope that one day I will be able to afford gas, groceries, and health insurance all at the same time. I hope that people will still like me despite my hopefulness.

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible." -Christopher Reeve

"Most of the most important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." -Dale Carnegie

"Sanity may be madness but the maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be." -Don Quixote

"Hope is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn." -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Fear grows in darkness; if you think there's a bogeyman around, turn on the light." -Dorothy Thompson

"All the great spiritual leaders in history were people of hope. Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Mary, Jesus, Rumi, Gandhi, and Dorothy Day all lived with a promise in their hearts that guided them toward the future without the need to know exactly what it would look like. Let's live with hope." -Henry J.M. Nouwen

"A sobering thought: what if, at this very moment, I am living up to my full potential?" -Jane Wagner

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty." -Winston Churchill

"We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we have been told that we're not ready or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people...yes we can." -Barack Obama

Yes we can. If something's not broke, don't fix it. Our country is broken. In every sense of the word. We need to fix it. We need change.

7 Random Facts (tag!)

2008-10-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

So this is the first game of blog-tag I've been involved in. (Thanks Jennie!) Here are some random facts about me:

1. I have painted my kitchen 6 times. It's addicting...I can't help it!
2. I love to excercise but I hate to diet. Bring on the cheetos and twix!
3. I love to watch disney channel shows & movies. My favorite time is October because every night they play a different halloween movie. And I can handle watching them because they're not too scary!
4. I hate grape-flavored candy. Any grape-flavored candy...yuck.
5. I love sugar cereals. Especially cinnamon toast crunch. (grown up cereals taste like cardboard)
6. My middle toe is longer than my big toe. (yeah, I'm one of those)
7. I can spot a spider from 20 feet away. It's not that I have really good eyesight, I'm just that terrified of the little things.

Whew, I'm glad I got all that off my chest. Now it's your turn. I tag...Andrea, Brooke, Calestie, Corie, Jessica, Emily, Erin, Holly, Jamie, Jen, Jenny, Kelly, Megan, Monika, Nicole, Petra, Shelbi, Steph, Amy, Karen, Tiffany, and Andrea. (Everybody on my friends list) :) Do it. You'll feel better about yourself.

10, well, 30 things...

2008-10-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

I decided that last blog was a little harsh and I owe it to my kids to list the things I love about them the most.

Tanner...
10. He's brilliant. Seriously. He's the smartest kid I know. (he gets it from me)
9. He has such a big heart.
8. He loves me bigger than the whole whole whole whole whole universe. (I know this because he tells me so every night as I tuck him in)
7. He is so patient with his little brothers.
6. He is inquisitive.
5. He loves to be helpful. (He never complains when I ask him to do something for me)
4. He is everything BOY.
3. He loves to pick wild flowers and give them to me.
2. He builds things out of legos (he's very talented at this, by the way), and says, "look what I made for you"
1. He is my buddy. I love hanging out with him watching movies, riding bikes, or just talking politics (really). He's my Tanner. My pride and joy.

Will
10. He is full of life. Even when he's sick, he's at full speed from the time he wakes up in the morning until he goes to bed at night.
9. He talks so cute. I love his little language. Sometimes I don't want him to learn the real words.
8. He is loud. Some people wouldn't think loudness is endearing, but with Will, it is. (Unless it's right by Ethan's door while he's napping)
7. He lowers his voice when he talks to sound more manly.
6. He likes to wear my high heels and walk around.
5. He loves to jump off the diving board.
4. He has the fastest little legs when he is on his trike
3. He loves E.T. He watches it practically every day.
2. He loves his brothers. He cried when Tanner left for preschool without him.
1. He makes me laugh. I can never stay mad at him for that long because he has this charm about him that makes me forget why he's in trouble. He's so dang cute.

Ethan
10. He is so squishable. I love his chub.
9. He is soooooooooo smiley! All the time.
8. He hardly ever cries.
7. He loves rice cereal. He gets so excited every time I make it for him.
6. He is so good at rolling over.
5. He is mellow. He is content just laying on the floor watching his brothers play.
4. He loves to yell and squeal. Will's got some competition.
3. He loves to be naked.
2. Every time I pick him up from his nap, he grabs my hair and pulls me in and sucks on my hair and his thumb.
1. He loves his family. He is constantly smiling and cooing at his brothers. He gets so happy when daddy gets home--and he gets mad when daddy puts him down. He loves to just watch me--watch me eat, watch me talk, etc. He is so cute I can't stand it.

Yeah, I love my kids. I wouldn't give them up for anything. True, some days are harder than others, but one day I'll look back and miss even those tough days. My family is my life and my happiness. I am so thankful to be a wife and a mom.

Why did I have 3 boys?

2008-10-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

Now, it's not really a "Why, God, Why" question, but rather a "tell my why again I thought it would be fun to have 3 boys" question. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my boys. I'm just now understanding why everytime I tell someone I have 3 boys, they give me a look of pity.

First, there's the constant jumping. Jumping off the coffee table. Jumping off the couch. Jumping off the coffee table onto the couch. Jumping on the bed and then off of the bed. You get the picture. Then there's the running and yelling and screaming. If you feel like your life has been a little too quiet and serene lately, just come to my house for an hour and my boys will jump start you back into high gear. I made the mistake the other day of letting them dress up in super hero costumes because they were bored. Yeah, big mistake. I thought the running and screaming was bad before but add the costumes and it's all magnified plus now there's punching and crying.

Then there's video games. I like video games myself but a normal amount. Tanner is obsessed with video games. They're all he talks about pretty much. We had to put a time limit on the gaming because it was getting out of control! I have to admit, though, he is really good at getting off when I tell him time's up. I can't wait until Will and Ethan are old enough to be addicted to video games! Fun stuff. I think that's the thing, though. When Will was a baby and even a toddler, I basically had just one boy boy. I could handle that. But now that Will is an official "kid", the testosterone has doubled.

I'm trying to hold on to Ethan as long as I can. I honestly don't know what I'll do when he is big and can play with his brothers. You'll probably find me roaming the streets with a shower cap on and slippers asking what time it is.

Water! Water! Water!

2008-09-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wish I was a fish because I love the water so much. It's just so refreshing and so much fun! We had a lot of fun in the water this summer and I took so many pictures that I thought I'd make a little slideshow.

Baby Books

2008-09-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

The other day I was busy cleaning and the kids wanted me to read them some of their books. Ethan was in his room on the floor and so I told Tanner & Will I couldn't read with them right now but that they should go read to Ethan because he was lonely. Ten minutes later I went to check in on them and found Ethan buried under a bunch of baby books with Tanner & Will at his side busy stacking as many books as they could on him. I just had to laugh. Ethan was happy as ever-I assume he was just glad to be a part of his brothers' game.

My baby is 5!!!

2008-09-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

So today is September 11th which is sadly a day of mourning for Americans but it also happens to be my first born's birthday! Yes, Tanner turned 5 today. I can't believe it's already been that long! He is so grown up. I know every mother says this, but it really does seem like he was just born yesterday. My little 8 lb. 11 oz. baby. I am so proud of my Tanner. He is such a wonderful son and I am so grateful to have him. Here are some of my favorite pictures of him over the past 5 years.

Thanksgiving Point

2008-09-10T22:55:00.002-07:00

So this summer we spent a LOT of days at Thanksgiving Point. Mostly at the gardens. Once at the dinosaur museum...so awesome! So here's a little slide show of our Thanksgiving Point adventures.

Ode to a Summer

2008-09-10T22:55:00.001-07:00

Summer is fun,
Summer is hot,
Summer is exciting,
BORING it is not.

Summer is splashing,
Summer is play,
Summer is outside
EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Summer is happy,
Summer is not sad,
Summer is laughter
Summer is glad.

Summer is suntans,
Summer is bleached hair,
Summer is riding bikes,
And not giving a care.

Summer is SPONGEBOB,
Summer is beach,
Summer is eating fruit,
Like watermelon or a peach.

Summer is slip n slide,
Summer is walking to the park,
Summer is picnics,
It is bright--not dark.

But now summer is over,
Fall has begun,
The weather is brisk,
The fun is all done.

I miss Spongebob!

2008-09-10T22:54:00.001-07:00

Ok, so, as many of you know, I am a BIG summer person. I love love love the summer and everything that goes along with it. (Well, except maybe the wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, whatever you want to call them). And I am not so fond of the winter--ok, I hate it. And all summer long on nickelodeon they played spongebob marathons everyday from like 8 in the morning until like 1 in the afternoon. It got a little monotonous and I started to memorize the episodes because my kids insisted on watching the show EVERY day. But then labor day hit. And the executives over at nick decided that school was back in session and the kids needed some education. So now instead of chillin at the beach eating crabby patties and chasing jellyfish, I'm stuck learning spanish from Dora and chinese from Kailan. I guess I should be a good mom and welcome the wonderful learning experiences my kids are getting from watching tv, but I miss Spongebob!

My new blog

2008-09-10T22:50:00.000-07:00

So I already had a blog but I messed it up somehow and now I can't make a cute layout or add music or add links or anything. I don't know what I did to screw it up but after about 2 hours of trying to fix it, I gave up. I'm just going to start a new blog. This will be bigger and better and hopefully I won't mess this one up too!