Family pictures 2010

Spontaneous? Me? You know me too well...

We had an exciting weekend. Jolynn and I had been looking forward to visiting Amber and baby Kru for several weeks. Kiara and Amber B. were supposed to come but chickened out, which for a bit I thought maybe I should've done as well. Amber had a fun-filled weekend planned for us. We were going to fly from Taylor to Provo via "Hatch Air," which I was excited about. The flight would only last 2 1/2 hours each way, so even though we were only going to spend the weekend we would have plenty of time to play. I was a little worried about the small plane, but not concerned enough to deter me from a weekend of girl talk and 'child-less' shopping. Moroni drops me off at the airport where I met up with Jolynn. We were waiting for another passenger for quite some time and got to talking. We finally get in the air and the fun and gabbing begins.

I need this weekend for my sanity. My husband and children need this weekend for their sanity. I am almost giddy. We are packed into the 6 passenger plane with 6 adults and 2 children on laps. It was a beautiful and enjoyable ride until about 15 minutes before we arrived in Provo.

Jared's 2 kids, 3 and 1 years old, were surprisingly good on the plane. No crying, no screaming. I am thinking to myself, "Man, my kids would have been terrors in such a small area for this long." Just as I had that thought the 3 year old starts throwing up. Jolynn starts dry-heaving into her jacket.

Dang- we are so close. Really? Now? I have always had a hard time with motion sickness and I was doing so well. Then it starts to get rather bumpy. Snow, wind, rain and mountains made for a messy entrance into Provo. The smell gets overwhelming with everything else. I look around, what am I going to puke into? Nothing?! All I have is my purse! Oh no, kill me.

Luckily an open vent and some deep breathing helped me get to the airport without actually heaving. Ok, this might be an alright weekend after all. We arrive at the airport where Amber met us. She looked so great. Definitely not looking like she has a 1 month old baby. The excitement soon turns to stress when we learn that because of the weather we will not be able to fly home! What? We don't have a ride home? Wait,...? Amber you knew? WHAT the.... Why didn't you say?....
"Well I knew Sheridan wouldn't come...." Oh man. Gotta love that girl. We did have a fun fun weekend, only filled with stress when we started thinking about getting home! Amber, good old Amber, had started looking for a us a ride on facebook, which actually turned up several options, all of which didn't end up working out. We finally decided on renting a car and driving ourselves home. Late the evening before we were supposed to leave we ended up getting buddy passes from my cousin. Seriously a joyous occasion! There were a ton of seats for the afternoon flight and getting a seat should not be a problem. We arrive at the airport, so sad to leave but excited to get home. Well, with our luck and mostly bad luck, an earlier flight had been cancelled and there were not enough seats for us. We did get on the later flight but had to stay in the airport for several hours waiting. I got home after midnight and am completely exhausted from all the excitement! We had a crazy, spontaneous, weekend filled w

ith babies, girl talk, lauging, talking and shopping. It was awesome. I love my girls but was happy to come home to my family. I can't wait for our next trip!

Watch Party!

Have you seen the beaded watches that everyone is wearing? I am going to be having a watch party next Saturday, June 26th. There are tons and tons of faces and bands to choose from as well as other jewelry. I get so many compliments when I wear mine, you need one, I swear! It is going to be at Rikki's house in Shumway, come and go from 12 noon til 2. We will have some kind of food.... not sure what yet, but it will be good! Call or comment if you need directions. We will have our jeans there too for those of you who have been wanting to try some on.

And I know, this isn't a real post, and I haven't posted anything decent for months, but one of these days....

Snow Day!

My 2 sisters-in-law, in Heber, had been snowed into their driveway with about 2 feet of snow for the past two days when we decided to go shovel them out yesterday. Moroni didn't think it would take too long so we strapped a couple of tubes to the top of the tahoe and thought we might have some fun while we were at it. When we got there Moroni used the car like a snow plow and cleared it out enough to where they could at least get onto the road if needed. We all got bundled up and decided to go tubing. Someone said, "We should go to the church ranch, they have an awesome hill we used to go on." So we started the trek. The road wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it had obviously not been traveled since the snow hit. We got about 1/2 mile down the road when we could see that the road had been fenced off. We were having trouble turning around in the 3+ feet of snow, in a very small area to maneuver in, even with the 4-wheel drive. I thought it would be easier to just back up following our tracks in, so we tried. Not good, that is all I can say. We made it about 3/4 of the way before getting stuck. We probably could have pushed the car out, but my wonderful manly man insisted he could get us out using his mad 4-wheel driving skill. Well, not soon after we were sinking in some serious mud on the driver's side. Moroni couldn't get out the drivers door since the snow was at the level of our window so he slid out the window and started shoveling with his hands of course since he had opted out of bringing the shovel that was sitting by the door in Heber.
We ended up calling one of Moroni's old friends to come pull us out. We were delayed more than an hour, but found a fun place to go tubing anyway. More could have gone wrong besides getting stuck, Ezra being unable to pee out the window from inside the car because we couldn't open the doors, faulty snow boots/gloves/hats, snot frozen to 2 kids faces, constant rainish snow during the whole event, and a melted pair of snow pants after trying to warm them by the fireplace. We still had a blast, and the hot chocolate and Vao's famous homemade fried chicken made it all better!

Velma and Vao enjoying watching Moroni kick snow around outside and say cuss words under his breathe, and Ezra peeking from behind their seat.

The view from the driver's seat. (The snow is only inches from the top of the door!)

Ezra being his cheesy self

So happy to be out of the car

Moroni assisting Ez with his pants after his unsuccessful attempt to pee out the window

Chandler waiting patiently in the car for Dad to get us unstuck!

Finally outside!

My second turn with the terrible 2's

I seriously cannot believe Chandler is 2 years old. I feel like we have had her forever, but it seems like I was just barely pregnant with her at the same time. She is such a funny little girl. She has quite a personality. She is what I call "stuck up" a lot of the time. She is starting to warm up to some people, but only when she wants to. I am afraid the terrible 2's are going to be extra terrible this time around. With Ezra it was more like the terrible 3's, but it has already started with Miss Chan. Yesterday was day one, only 364 more to come. She can be so loving and cute, but she has such a stingy, naughty side too! We already knew this but it was confirmed at the birthday party. She got a playset for her "babies" that included a stroller, high chair, playpen, and some other stuff that she would not let any of the other kids play with. She didn't necessarily want to play with it, but she was not going to let anyone else either. She would have a baby in the stroller, then see Mylee or someone else playing with another baby and accessory, scream, run steal whatever she had, throw it, then go back to her baby and stroller. It was somewhat of a nightmare, having several, 1-2 year old girls fighting/pinching/biting/hairpulling over babies, strollers, and princess chairs. We did have a surprise guest, Santa! After the initial shock and 90% of the kids crying we took turns sitting on his lap. Mylee loved Santa, in fact, she would not get off his lap. She would just touch his beard, or rub his belly and repeat,"Sata" over and over. She is in most of the pictures with the other kids. Thanks Velma and Vee for grilling in the cold wind for your favorite neice's birthday party. It was "Delish" as Kiara would say.

Anyway, wish me luck everyone. I will need it for at least the next 364 days.
Pictures to come...

I am thankful...

I am thankful for the ridiculous amount of taxes that come from my paycheck because that means I have a job

I am thankful for my huge stack of laundry that needs put away and the dishes in my sink because that means my family is close by

I am thankful for my jeans that are a bit too tight because it means I have enough food on the table

I am thankful for my electric/gas bill because it means I am warm

I am thankful for my busy, sometimes hectic days because that means I am getting something accomplished

I am thankful for my sore feet because that means I am able to work

I am thankful for my extra clingy daughter because that means I am loved

I am thankful for my children's forever runny noses... approximately 50 cold viruses down/200 to go.

I am thankful for Ezra's smart alyk comments and 12 year old attitude because that means he is learning and growing {just not all good}

I am thankful I can't sleep and am awake with a headache at 5 AM because that means I can blog in peace and quiet.