Johnnie "B" Good

Remington is Two Months!!! (And his Birth Pictures)

2011-09-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here in shock because I took Remington to his 2-month appt. today! My tiny, precious newborn is two months old!!!! He's as healthy as a horse and gaining a lot of weight (12 lbs. 6 oz). I'm grateful for a healthy baby who is so so so easy going and good. That makes life much easier. He loves to be held and wants to be around people (especially me)! I'm in love!

We will be blessing Remington in our church in Sunday. I'm excited to see him in his dapper white tuxedo. I'll have to post some pictures next week!

I realize that I never have posted his adorable infant pictures. My friend, Tina, of Pristine Photo took them! I think they turned out great!

This is my favorite picture. Cooper, my three year old, loves tractors and trucks. I grabbed this Tonka on the way out the door as we were going to the photo shoot. I was hoping he would fit in the back! He DID! Barely!!!

Tina bought this 100 year old baby buggy a few days before the photo shoot! It is a great prop! We got so many cute ones of Remington in the buggy. Most of them are up closer, but I just had to have one of the entire buggy!

I learned quite a few photography tricks while Tina shot the photos. I love head shots of babies resting on their hands! What a handsome boy!

My kids' favorite photo was when Remington decided to pee right after this shot. Let's just say he sprung a major leak up in the air and Tina caught it on camera! So funny!

I got 30 awesome pictures of Baby Remington! You can see a few more HERE. I'm grateful for the 2 hours that Pristine Photo took capturing the perfect poses of my precious 8-day-old baby! With my first two kids, I just got the 30-minute session at JC Penney. While I liked the pictures, I really wish I would have gotten some amazing pictures like these! I love Pristine Photo and highly recommend Tina for any and all your photography needs!

Here is Cooper and Remington and Cadence now! At two months, Remington is alert, interacting, starting to smile and coo, and the center of our universe! We love having a baby at our house.

He is such a sweet little monkey! We love you, Remington!

See Me Give Birth!!!!

2011-07-21T04:01:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned that I am very blessed?

Well, to make a long story short, I was in the right place at the right time and was offered something I couldn't refuse. A very kind stranger photographed Remington being born so I could have pictures of this amazing experience forever. These are just a few of the 400 photos she took. More touching than the photos is the slide show she put together to the perfect song. I've watched it at least 50 times and I still cry tears!

Please experience the joy and happiness our family has felt for the past 3 weeks by watching Remington's birth story. Don't worry, it is classy and doesn't show anything that would embarrass me.

Go to Jada Love Photography. Go HERE and type in "remington." (Under client login.) Grab a tissue and watch.

Then to show my appreciation and your appreciation for this beautiful gift, go to Ashley's blog HERE and leave a comment letting her know how this touched you or whatever you want to say.

I will forever be grateful for Ashley's gift of her time and talents. I highly recommend Ashley's talents of capturing precious moments. If you need a photographer for any ocassion, consider her. I don't know how long she will leave the slide show up so view it as many times as you want as soon as possible.

Thanks!

Our New Creation!

2011-07-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

We are proud to show our newest creation.

Introducing:

Remington Cache!

8 lbs. 12 oz.

20 1/2" long

Born Monday, June 27 at 5pm.

Sweetest little bundle of joy!

We are home from the hospital and happy to be a family of 5!!!!

Cadence, the almost 5-yr-old will not put the baby down! She is loving being a big sister to a tiny baby!!!

In just two days, Remington is much less puffy, opening his eyes, sucking on a binkie, nursing well, pooping like crazy and being spoiled! We love our new creation!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say Happy Easter to all of you! We had a great Sunday.

Our family spoke in church! Cooper, 2 1/2 yr old, got a little nervous and wouldn't talk. Dad told the congregation what Cooper had planned to say. Cooper held a picture of a sun he drew and Dad said, "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam to shine for him each day. Jesus is a rockstar!" That is my son's testimony!

Cadence, 4 1/2 yr old, read most of her talk about saving worms that were crawling into the road and drowning in the gutter due to the rain last week. She likened that to be like how Jesus saves us from death because of the resurrection. She drew three pictures for the congregation to see!

Chris and I spoke about Christ overcoming death and atoning for our sins. I shared a few stories (the empty egg and a mission story about a Jewish lady realizing that Jesus was the Christ) and a personal experience how I know I will see my deceased father again. Death is NOT the end! I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It brings me much joy and peace!

Here are the kiddos on the way to church. Cooper insists on wearing his pinewood derby medal for the coolest looking vehicle. (His was a semi truck!)

After church, the Easter bunny came and brought some new spring clothes, books and other little gadgets. Many eggs were hidden and found! The kids loved it, but they know the real reason we celebrate Easter is to celebrate Christ's resurrection.

I hope you had an enjoyable Easter!

Hula Hooping Cadence In The News!

2011-03-14T22:53:00.000-07:00

Cadence was invited by our good friend (and my former student), Jen, to participate in the Special Needs talent show. Jen was going to hula hoop and wanted others to join her. Cadence was up for the fun. We found a hula hoop at DI a few days before the big event for a $1. Coincidence? I think not:)!!!!

Cadence really enjoyed participating and did a great job along with Jen and the rest of the crew. I got it on video and she had to watch it a few times before she went to bed!

The hula hoop act made the front page of one of the sections on the local newspaper, The Herald Journal. Here is the link!

2011-02-28T09:43:00.001-08:00

2011-02-28T09:42:00.000-08:00

2011-02-28T09:38:00.000-08:00

How often do you go to the pet store? What kind of animals do you see?

My New Year Plan!!!

2011-01-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

So this coming year, I have a few big goals!

1. Stay sane!

2. Gain less than 50 pounds!

3. Learn how to manage THREE kids, a job, a blog and a life!

Yes, my big announcement is that I am pregnant. I made one of those cool skeleton shirts with a fetus skeleton to tell some of my family and friends. It tooks some (my mom) two days of me wearing this shirt before she asked if I was pregnant. Others it took one or two minutes. It was fun to wear around even if it wasn't Halloween. I used the heat transfer material from Silhouette to make the shirt. I recommend the product!!! It worked great!

I am due June 30, but will probably get induced a few days prior to this. (Our insurance starts over on July 1 and we have already met our large deductible this year due to my knee surgery. I don't want to pay the deductible again!) We will find out the gender in February!

I have been great friends with the toilet for the past 2 1/2 months. I'm hoping that friendship will end soon or I am going to lose my mind. It is so hard not being able to open the fridge or cook for my family without puking!

Here is a close up of the shirt. I took it as I was wearing it so I realize the picture isn't that great. I should have taken it off!!!

Wish me luck in obtaining my goals!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-08T16:28:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween, I suggested to the kids that they be Mickey and Minnie with the clothes I made for our Disneyland vacation. They thought that was a good idea......for a while. That saved me having to make or find new ones!!!

We were invited to a Halloween party at Groll's house and I went to D.I. to find a robe to finish off Chris' wizard costume. I found a graduation gown for $2. Good enough! I also looked at a lot of the kids costumes too. They were cheap ($2-$4) so I bought some for dress-up. Cooper LOVED the Spiderman costume and Cadence loved the skeleton. Her friends, Jack and Piper, were skeletons this year and I think that she wanted to be like them. They switched their costumes to skeleton and Spiderman. I ran out to the barn and grabbed some of my mom's clothes from the 70's. I should have put on Cadence's Minnine ears because then I could have been a Minnie from the 70's instead of "being my mom 30 years ago".

It rained on Halloween. We went to the church for dinner and Trunk-or-treating and then knocked on about 15 doors. I think trick-or-treating is the best thing about Halloween. I love snitching a few candy bars from the kids:) Here the kids are posing in front the big wooden bear Justin and Ruth (our former neighbors) left for us. The kids put spiderwebs all over it.

Carving pumpkins was a huge hit. The kids painted some at Montessori and carved one at home. They loved the candles inside!

Since Halloween was on a Sunday (and we participated in most Halloween celebrations on Saturday) I decided to make Dinner in a Pumpkin for Sunday. I was a little nervous, but it turned out great. Basically, I made this casserole type mixture and then baked it inside a pumpkin for 2 hours. The pumpkin bakes down. When you scrap out the mixture, you also scrap out the pumpkin and eat it. It tasted good. Pumpkin tastes a lot like squash! HERE is the recipe I used. I think I will make Dinner In A Pumpkin a yearly tradition.

Other Going Ons!

2010-08-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

We go up the canyon to Second Dam for BBQ's a lot. Sometimes we invite people we visit teach/home teach, neighbors, friends or people we haven't seen in a while.

The kids love to roast marshmallows, play near the water and walk on the pathway around the lake. Second Dam is my favorite place to BBQ in the canyon! It's so beautiful and accommodating!

The kids love to play with fire! We get to keep a close eye on them all the time!!!

The kids attended the Nibley Days parade. They were right at the beginning and got SO MUCH Candy! I love parades (especially after I eat the cinnamon salt water taffy!)

Summerfest

2010-08-27T23:55:00.000-07:00

When Summerfest rolls into town, we take a night to head over to look at the arts and crafts, eat some food and listen to the music. When we first got married, Chris would never come dance or be crazy with me. But now that we have kids, he will relax and have some fun! It was a salsa band and the music was awesome for dancing!

Cadence didn't love the loud music in the beginning, but she warmed up to dancing and had a TON of fun moving on Dad's shoulders. Cooper didn't love the loud music and stayed in the back. Chris and I took turns dancing in the front and the back!

At first, we were some of the only adults up dancing, but I saw some lovely ladies from my ward and pulled them up to dance! They had a ton of fun! I don't get why people are so afraid to get up in front of a crowd and be crazy! It is fun! You gotta love Teri and Estella!

You go to love Summerfest!

The Kids' Gigantic Carnival Birthday Party

2010-08-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Both of the kids birthdates are around the 4th of July. We celebrated with family, but I didn't have a party for their friends due to many reasons. (I had surgery, Chris was out of town, we had a vacant apartment we had to clean, fix and rent, and vacation.) I decided a few weeks ago that with school starting soon, I couldn't delay any longer. I threw together this party in less than a week.

Because the kids have a lot of friends and are very social and we love to be inclusive, we had over 45 kids at the party. The ages of the friends ranged from 15 months to 14 yrs. Most kids were between 2 and 6 yrs. I divided the older kids (7 or older) and the younger kids into "helpers" and "participants." When I made the invitations, I taped on a little piece of paper saying I needed lots of helpers for this party and invited the older kids in the families to be my assistants. I got a great response from everyone. The older kids definitely wanted to be involved. Some even came over to my house throughout the week to ask what they were going to be able to help with. Some gave requests to be in charge of certain games.

Before the kids showed up, I set up nine stations, divided the younger kids into nine groups (based on age and friendship), decided where each helper would be stationed and wrote each participants name on a lunch sack. When the kids came, I had the participants play "Duck, duck, goose," while I explained to the helpers their duties and places. I had one helper assigned to each station and one helper assigned to each of the nine groups (they would rotate with the groups and keep the small groups together.) The groups had only 3-4 kids in them. That way there were 2 helpers at each station.

Instead of doing tickets that the kids would redeem for a prize at the end, I just gave each group leader a treat or prize to put in the lunch bag right before the groups rotated. There were a few kinds on candies, a balloon that could be blown up at home, a band aid, stickers and some little cheap trinkets I bought at the dollar store. After I had explained to the helpers how the party was going to work, we divided the participants into their small groups with their leader. (Luckily some moms stuck around. It is a little difficult for 7 year-old to keep a group of 2-yr -together and moving to each station.

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I had each station placed strategically throughout our yard so we just had to rotate counter-clockwise when I blew my whistle. The first couple of rotation were a little rough, but after the helpers became a little more familiar with how it worked, things went much more smoothly.

At most of the stations, I had two activities. If one was inappropriate for the age group, they could do the other OR if they finished one activity, they could do the other. Back-up plans are a great thing.

These are the stations.

1. Knock-down-the-cans/Sandbox

I saved the food cans we emptied for a couple weeks, washed out the insides, took the labels off,
and had a birthday game. We put two piece of OSB on the dirt in shade - one to stop the balls the kids threw and the other for the kids to step on!

The helper set up the cans, gathered the balls and cheered the kids on!

If they got tired of the can game, they had the option of playing in the sandbox. The kids LOVED the sandbox!

2. Ring Toss

I checked this ring toss out from a resource center where my kids go to storytime. It was free and easy! I love that!

The helper gave the rings to the kids and told them where to stand! The kids loved this station!

3. Face Painting

This was the station my kids (and every other kid - even the helpers) were thrilled about it! Face painting!!!! I asked a couple of moms to do some simple faces. I used Halloween make-up I bought on clearance last November.

The birthday boy loved being a cat!

Mustaches, beards and eyebrows were the most popular requests for the boys. Butterflies around the eyes where what the majority of the girls wanted!

4. Bowling

I set the bowling (which I also checked out from the family resource center) on our front porch. It is enclosed so the ball and pins would stay in a contained area. Sorry! This is a great picture.

I had to two helpers here to set the pins up, and direct the activity!

5. Tin Can Stilts/Sidewalk Chalk

My husband was asked to make peach cobbler for a funeral a few days before the party. I saved all the bigger tin case he used for stilts. I'mnot sure what else to call them. This was on a sidewalk so they had an even place to step. The older kids liked walking around on them.

The younger kids just did sidewalk chalk. I didn't want anyone getting hurt!

6. Bubbles

I had a bunch of bubbles! One of the oldest helpers blew bubbles for the kids to pop and chase. The kids could also blow bubbles too.

7. Dress-up

I set up a tarp with a whole bunch of dress-ups on them. The kids could dress up how they wanted and get a picture which I need to get developed and take to them with a "thanks for coming" paper.

I had a floor length mirror outside so the kids could see what they looked like! I checked out a lot of the crazy hats from the resource centered and borrowed a few more dress-up from a friend in addition to what we had. There were plenty of dress-ups to try on!

8. Ball Toss/Balance Beam

I think this was the favorite of the activities. I jsut cut shapes in a piece of OSB and got some small balls the kids could throw through the holes.

The helpers decided to make it interesting by kneeling behind holes and trying to get the participants to hit them. Who doesn't want to throw balls at silly people?

My husband also made a balance beam. He took a 4x4 and nailed two 2x4 on each end to keep it from turning over while the kids walked on it. I forgot to take a picture!

9.Tape The Nose on the Clown/ Hit-The-Ball

I drew a clown without a nose on a posterboard. I cut out some round circles for the nose. We taped the clown onto a fridge that just died and hadn't been taken to the fridge graveyard yet. It worked great!

The kids wore a blindfold and taped the nose on. The older kids got turned around a few times before they got to tape the nose on the clown.

When they were done with that, they could hit the wiffle ball with the plastic bat. My husband tied a rope between two trees. From that rope, he tied the wiffle ball hanging from a string to the middle of the rope. Every kid who comes to our house wants to hit the ball. This is perfect so we don't have to sit and throw a ball constantly. Plus, the kids can swing until the hit it!

After we rotated all the groups through all the stations (about 5 minutes each), I brought out popsicles for everyone to eat. I had some water and lemonade out the entire party that people could drink from if they got thirsty! The cupcakes were just normal cupcakes. I had to make 5 dozen and didn't have the time or money to make them fancy.

On the invitation, I wrote that presents were NOT expected. My kids have a ton of little toys and really don't need more. But most people still on insist on bringing toys so I wrote not to spend more than a $1 or $2. After the cupcakes, the kids opened presents. Because of the number of kids, I didn't ask them to sit and watch. The helpers could go play the games they helped with and the younger kids could do whatever they wanted to!

For party favors, I had a big box of books. Kids could take one or two. I'm a teacher and books are so much better than candy or toys (in my opinion). The books were used and I got them free from this book company in my town. I love using my resources!!! This was in addition to the little goodies they got at each station.

The helpers got a book and a Lik-A -Stix. They thought that was the bomb. Here is the only picture I got of me!

Here are the birthday boy and girl with their painted faces!!!! They are just so cute!!!!

Cadence and her very best friend. They are inseparable. She lives next-door to us!

Here is the picture of most of the people at the party! A few had already left and some chose not to be in the picture! This was a big, fun party and I am glad that we could include so many people! I'll have to come up with something like this for next year. Once my daughter gets in Kindergarten, she probably won't want to share a party!

I only spent about $40 on this party! I didn't have fancy decorations or extravagant favors, but the kids loved it. I also think that if I would have put parents in charge of the groups or stations, it may have gone a little more smoothly, but the kids would have missed out on a great opportunity. I was exhausted after it was over, but it was well worth it!

Happy birthday kids! I love you!

Snowbird Part One

2010-06-27T23:15:00.000-07:00

We went on our yearly vacation to Snowbird in June! I'm so grateful that Mom has timeshares that are close because these are our vacations and most of the cousins can meet us there!

Of course, we went swimming at least once a day! I'm glad Chris stay with us for a couple days.
Cooper is not afraid of the water. And he loves to "cheese" every picture!

Unfortunately, Cadence is a little more cautious in the water. Though she put her face in the water, she doesn't like splashing or getting her face wet often. All the progress she made in swimming lessons was lost:( She wouldn't attempt to float on her back or stomach!
But she did like to lay on the tile and model. Isn't she a cutie? Maybe too cute!

They loved Dad playing in the pool with them!

I love this picture! My three loves!

Cooper loved the balls, noodles, and his floatie. He didn't want me to touch him. When he would lose his footing and go underwater, we had to teach him to put his feet down and stand up. I had to pull him out of the water quite a few times. I can see how a little kid could drowned in shallow water very easily without supervision:(

He had no problem with splashing! He liked it quite a bit!
Riding the big horse!

There was lots of fun with the cousins! My kids LOVE their cousins!

We went exploring. The kids liked the Cliff Lodge and all the fancy things there!

On vacations, there are always a lot of snacks. Cooper had fun eating spaghetti!

All the kids enjoyed making flowers, and designs out of play dough. It doesn't matter how old they get, play dough is always fun!!!

Because there was still snow on the trail, only some of us walked over to the look out point.

Breelle hadn't been to Snowbird in years and thought it was so beautiful!

Cadence loves to take pictures! She had to take 20 of me being goofy!
My girl! I love this princess!

Has This Ever Happened To You?

2010-06-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, after driving back from Sandy, I turned around to see Cadence asleep like this!!! She had fallen asleep with a balloon hanging out of the mouth! Even after Chris opened the door, the balloon was still there and her book was open!

Oh what a silly girl! You gotta love the silly things kids do!

Art On The Lawn

2010-06-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we were invited to Art on the Lawn in North Logan by Tyler and Schleen, Chris' friends from the 26th Ward (his former beloved singles ward.) There is an art show/sale on the front lawn of the former mayor's house! (Obviously, it is a huge front lawn.)

The kids had a lot of fun participating in art activities for kids. They got to make something out of a lump of clay!

Cooper was proud of his snake! Yes, that is a snake in his hands!!! (Notice the paint all over his arms.)

Cadence was smitten with her bird nest! She thought it was the coolest bird nest ever made!

They also LOVED painting on a canvas! The aprons were a bit large, but mostly did the job of keeping the paint of their clothes, (but not their arms)!

Cadence took the painting very seriously. She changed techniques and colors a few different times!

Incredible abstract artwork!!!!
Cooper just loved painting the canvas and then leaning on it with his arms!!! You gotta love his classic smile. Eyes shut! Cheesy grin!
Hopefully, we will make this a yearly tradition! (I didn't get one picture with Tyler's and Schleen's kids! Whoops!) Thanks for inviting us!

The Fathers in My Life!

2010-06-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

I am really lucky to have great Fathers in my life!

I am very blessed to have an amazing dad who loved my mom, my siblings and me with all that he had! From almost every sporting events to award ceremonies, my dad was there. He loved me not only when life seemed perfect, but also when my world was falling apart and I was down in the dumps. There are so many things I learned from him. Cancer took him from this earthly life over 8 years ago. I miss him, but I believe in eternal families and therefore, I know I will see him again! He never got to meet my husband or kids:( Oh, how I wish my kids would have got to have him for a grandpa here on earth!!! Luckily, I still feel his presence and know he is watching over us!

I am very blessed to be married to a man who is an amazing father! I am so impressed with the dad he is.

Chris lets the kids assist him in almost every task - including mowing the lawn.

He's the kind of dad that when the sewer gets clogged, instead of calling a plumber he rents a roto-router machine and lets the kids watch him while he has A LOT of fun using it! The kids (in the backgound) loved it!

Chris signed the kids up for swimming lessons and him and I had to take turns in the "mommy-and-me" classes!

Knowing we have lots of projects around this old house, he bought the kids safety googles and adapts tools so they can participate and be protected.

He loves to take the kids on tractors, lawnmowers and even lets them drive (our car! Don't tell the police!)

Chris teaches the kids so many fun things like flying kites and making drums from cow hides. Cadence has so much fun on daddy-daughter dates that Cooper insists on having daddy-daughter dates instead of father-son moments!!!!

He gets off work to attend Cadence's pre-school graduation!

He the kind of dad that will take the kids and dance in front of a large audience. He used to think I was crazy when I did this kind of thing, but now he joins in and loves it!

He lets the kids work on the house with us! We would definitely get done more quickly without them "helping," but he realizes that these are quality moments and great learning experiences for them. Chris goes a long with crazy ideas for church talent shows and other activities! Seriously, how many dads will do a synchronized swimming skit (which we did this year)?

HERE was our talent show dance we performed last year. What a great dad!!!

My husband is also a man of God. He found the church when he was 22-yrs-old. He was a missionary from age 24 to 26. Today, he was called to be on the High Council. He sets a great example for the kids and everyone else around him. You can find him doing service a couple of times a week!

And because of him, I know the greatest joy that comes from being a mom and having these two angelic kids!!!
Like I said, I'm a very blessed lady! I'm thrilled that I belong with these three for eternity!!! Thanks for being such a wonderful father, husband and person, Chris!!!

And last, but not least, I am blessed to know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me very much too! God is definitely good to me. I feel enormous peace and happiness that comes because of my knowledge of him.

I wish you all a Happy Father's Day as you celebrate the Fathers in your life. And if by some chance, you do not have an amazing relationship with your dad or husband, I know there is a God who loves you! He cares about you!

Link To Our Family Pictures

2010-05-30T03:36:00.000-07:00

We got our family pictures taken a few months ago. They gave us Smile By Wire because we had to wait 20 minutes. I am just posting them now. They expire in a few days so go view them if you wish!

Click HERE to view our family pictures.

Here is the name and code!
Customer Name: MICHELLE JOHNNIE
Access Code: LTPP0139116708JCP

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T00:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there!

I hope it is a good day for you (no matter your situation.) Cadence made me this flower holder at the Lowe's workshop for kids yesterday. (If you aren't aware of these workshops held at Lowe's and Home Depot on some Saturdays, you should definitely check them out HERE. They are free and a great way to introduce kids to creating, building, and crafting. The kids love going.)

Being a mother is the one of the greatest blessings in my life. I just adore my cute little cheesy kids. I had to include a picture of them eating their messy bedtime snack! Why do they request, "butter with bread and jam" after taking a bath? I LOVE THESE TWO!!! Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

St. Patty's Rainbow of Fruit Treat

2010-03-14T23:11:00.000-07:00

If you know our family, you know that we enjoy getting together with other people and families to socialize and share some love! Monday evenings are one night that our family sometimes joins with other families to unite in faith and friendship. I set the "evening" up (at someone else's house. How's that for hosting!) My friend, Katie, agreed to do the lesson and I would make the treat. She is in the process of losing weight so I was excited to prepare a fruit rainbow for a healthy dessert. With it being St. Patrick's Day soon, this was the perfect idea!

Following the ROYGBIV mnemonic device, I planned out what fruit I would purchase for each color. There actually were quite a few choices for a few color. I used the first fruit in each list because it was in season and that's what I wanted.

Red - Strawberries, apples, cherries, watermelon

Orange - Mandarin oranges, navel oranges, canteloupe

Yellow - Pineapple, banana, apples, pears, lemons

Green - Apples, pears, grapes, limes

Blue - Blueberries

Violet (Purple) - Plums, grapes, pears

Mini-marshmallows were used for the clouds on one side of the rainbow and bananas for the pot of gold. If you don't know this tip yet, it will change your life with fruit. I cut the apples and bananas over two hours before I served it and they weren't brown. How? Using a basting brush, spread lemon juice over the cut sides. EASY!!!

I also made an AMAZING FRUIT DIP to accompany the fruit dish. It could eat it in spoonfuls (without the fruit). That's a problem!!!

Here is the recipe:

8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened works best)

8 oz. Sour Cream

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 oz. package of instant vanilla pudding

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix it all together. Chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve. And DEVOUR!!!

See, the kids were excited to inhale this healthy yumminess. Whenever I say smile to Cooper, he does the biggest cheesy, full mouth smile. He is so silly! It's hard to get a normal picture of him!!!

Even the adults were thrilled with wholesome goodness. It was so good my friend said she was saving 5 points of her weight watchers diet for this dessert!!!!! That says it all!
You will be making this in the this week, won't you? Let me know how it goes. It would be a fun side dish for St. Patty's Day Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner.

I would like to take credit for creating this idea, but I saw it two weeks ago in Family Fun Magazine. I couldn't find their little picture on-line:( My take is a little different with the fruits I use. One of these fruit rainbows was also linked up to the ST. PATRICK'S CATEGORICALLY CRAFTING SHOW. Go see Coley's Corner's version HERE.

Oh, and while I have you salivating over food, you should drool over this minty heaven. My tastebuds are jealous. See this HERE at Created By Diane.

I posted this at my craft blog, Somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

Park City Thanksgiving

2010-02-10T15:42:00.001-08:00

For Thanksgiving, we spent a couple of days in Park City at the Canyons Resort. It was my mom's timeshare. the cousins were up a few nights which Cadence and Cooper loved!!! We spent a lot of time in water, visited Park City and played around the condo. I am just posting the pictures now and will come back and arrange them later. (I'm on Chris' computer and it doesn't work the way mine does.)

Princess Party and Impactful Dancing

2010-02-01T00:06:00.000-08:00

Cadence got invited to her first "Princess Birthday Party" in November. It was for Bridget and it was a surprise party. We borrowed a Tinkerbell dress-up from a friend. Cadence was excited!!!

They decorated foam crowns, and strung beads for a necklace. Cadence had a lot of fun.

Don't the princesses looks so beautiful? Thanks, Bridget and Tina for the fun party!

We left the party a few minutes early to head down to the Impact center for Cadence's dance practice. She had been rehearsing for the Impact program that was supposed to be held the beginning of January.

She loved dancing with a group and she actually learned the dance easily and quite well. She was one of the youngest, but knew what to do. I know she would love to take dance lessons.

Unfortunately, the program was cancelled/postponed and hasn't danced it on a stage. Still, she LOVED the experience! I let her wear the Tinkerbell costume at her practice because it was magical and she is only a kid once.

On the way down the center, Cooper demonstrated on his talents! Do you know what it is? Smiling and....
Sucking on his toes! What a funny kid! I can't help, but adore these two cuties!!!

Cadence, The Photographer

2010-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Cadence is always grabbing the camera to take pictures! These are three that she snapped at dinner one night! They are hiliarious! Why will Cooper look at a camera for her, but not for me?

What a funny girl! What a funny family!

The First Snow

2010-01-31T23:56:00.000-08:00

The first snowfall that was large enough to walk around in boots was in November. The kids were excited to walk in it! Especially Cooper. Last year, he was still a baby in my arms.

They made tracks all around the yard. In the front, on the side, in the back. They would look behind them as they walked to see the tracks they were making.
Cooper learned about pockets that day! He was proud!!!!

Cousins Forever

2010-01-31T17:37:00.000-08:00

In the beginning of November, we drove to Grammy's house for the weekend. Cadence and Cooper are ALWAYS excited to go there. They love Grammy and they love when the cousins are there. This trip was no exception. Some of the cousins showed up for a day of fun! First, we raked A LOT of leaves in the backyard and played in them.
The pile was over my head!!! We could have played hide-n-go-seek in the pile of leaves!!!

Next, the kids built a "marble machine" out of tinker toys. With Grammy's large bucket of marbles, the kids would put them in on one end and watch them come out the other. Hours of fun!!!

In the evening, we played at the park. Cooper was enthralled by the big drainage system grate.

The other kids joined him in looking down it for a while.
Besides playing on the playground, Rolling down the hills and getting dizzy was also a blast. They thought is was so fun to stand up and walk crazy!
Lastly, climbing in the trees was a first, but definitely not a last for Cadence. Cole and Syd climbed higher than Cadence and Cooper, but they loved it! Many modeling poses were taken of the gang!

Even Grammy got in on a few! Such cute kids!
Cousins will forever be loved by Cadence and Cooper!

I had to include this picture of Chris and Cadence taking a nap together! SO cute!

Babysitting FUN

2010-01-28T22:43:00.000-08:00

I started "babysitting" Zander and Parx back in October so their mom could go to school. It was 2 hrs every morning. Now I am watching them 3 hrs, 3 times a week and 2 hrs the other 2 days.

They eat breakfast at our house. I make german pancakes on Friday which the kids all love. The other days it is usually either cold cereal or pancakes. All four kids get along really well. They play together nicely and have so much fun. Hide-n-seek is probably their favorite game. We attempt to work on letters and sounds of the alphabet to help all the kids learn. Sometimes, they would rather play games.

Cooper really likes the boys. He calls them by name, gives them hugs, and returns the toys/blankets they bring to our house before they walk out the door. Being able to watch them is a huge blessing. I get to earn a little money while I play with my kids. What a relief! I actually wish I watched them 4 hours a day!!!

We have lots of fun together. I'm grateful for this opportunity. Cadence loves having them come over every morning. Somedays, she doesn't want to go to pre-school because she wants to play with them!

Carving Pumpkins

2010-01-10T18:34:00.000-08:00

This is the first year we have carved pumpkins. Before this year, paint was our friend. Here are two pumpkins the kids pumpkins at the Bergjso's party. The rain had smeared the paint on part of the pumpkins and we decided to carve these.

Cooper was becoming one with his pumpkin! What a sweet face!!!Cadence loved her pumpkin!!!
With the child-safe knives I bought from the dollar store, we went to work carving the pumpkins. Both Cooper and Cadence liked the ooey, gooey insides!!!
Cadence HAD to cut, cut, cut the pumpkin pieces!!! Look at that concentration - Her tongue is sticking out!
"This hole is really cool. I like to lift the lid on and off."
By far the most awesome part of the night was when we put a candle in the pumpkins and they became "jack-o-laterns." The kids eyes lit up with excitement. They loved shining the flashlight down the pumpkins and watching the face lite up. This continued for many nights!!!

The finished product! We will definitely be carving pumpkins every Halloween now!

Halloween

2010-01-03T19:51:00.001-08:00

When I asked Cadence what she wanted to be for Halloween, she said a spider. I think she said this because I found a spider costume at a garage sale for $1 and we play "Little Miss Muffet" and other spider games in it. I gave her some other ideas of things she could be, but she insisted on being a spider. Easy!!! Cooper had been given a gorilla costume with some hand-me-downs when he was born and he was the cutest little gorilla ever. ( He keeps wanting to wear the coat and pants outside and I let him. Nothing wrong with having fun in life.)
Chris grew an afro and then had me cut it into a mohawk. He was... Mr. T!!!

"Don't mess with the fool!"
Our ward party was Halloween night and I hadn't bothered to find a costume this year. Cadence said I had to be something so I grabbed the same chicken head as last year and was the crazy chicken. Cadence wanted her face painted to have 8 eyes and be red like her costume. This is our family picture.

The kids enjoyed painting, fishing, playing games, eating junk and eating the chili and cornbread for dinner.This is a cute picture of Chris and Cadence.
After the party, we headed out trick-or-tricking. It was relatively warm. Cadence was exhausted after about 30 minutes. She rode in the stroller and almost fell asleep. Cooper was downing the candy as fast as he could. What a fun holiday!!!

It's Raining Leaves

2010-01-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

After stake conference, we walked through the nature park that is just down the street from the stake center. This bridge crosses the Logan River and there were a ton of leaves on it. We gathered them in our arms. Threw them up in the air!!!!And it rained leaves. (Ok! So you notice I'm not in the picture below, but am in the top two pictures. My mom was with us and took the first two pictures. She didn't capture the leaves in the air, so Chris and the kids did it and I got a picture!)

The kids enjoys putting leaves in Chris' afro! He kind of looked like a horned devil.

They also loved pushing the leaves off the bridge into the river below and watching them float away.
Chris made it rain for leaves! They thought it was hilarious!

Have I mentioned how much fun the leaves are during fall?

Modeling With Hair Not Combed!

2010-01-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

Some morning, Cadence still doesn't like to get her hair combed. I try to get it out of her face and we still play! This is a day like that, but we were having so much fun exploring (in the neighbor's yard) that we took pictures. Cadence was doing her modeling poses.

I actually got Cooper to look at the camera a few times!!!
These two have so much fun together - Now that Cooper is older and more able to be silly!!!

Of course, Cadence had to take some pictures!
She got this cute one of Cooper. Look at those big, dreamy eyes!Big sticks are one of the favorite toys of these two. They can play with sticks/swords for hours!
They also like jumping on the tramp with leaves!

I like this one of the three of us!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T21:44:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from my family to yours! I didn't do Christmas cards (or much of anything) this year! Hope you had a great Christmas!

Laughing In Leaves

2009-12-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

I just going to post some of the pictures of us playing in the leaves!!! I'm so far behind!!! The kids and I had lots of fun playing in the leaves multiple times. They helped me rake a big pile.

Cooper didn't love the leaves. He hated them on his head or face.

He would not lay down in them!

Cadence loved to throw the leaves on Cooper. Sometimes, that didn't go over too well with Mr. Cooper.

One day while I was passing out fliers for elections, we walked to a park to break up the monotomy. Cooper wanted to wear his gorilla coat and pants! The area by the river was so beautiful!

Cadence has natural talent for strinking a pose and smiling (when she wants too!)
Cooper, on the other hand, won't look at the camera! That's why there are fewer pictures of him!
This one of them kissing is precious!!!

You gotta love the falling leaves in fall!

Advertising Pumpkin Walk

2009-12-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

We went to the pumpkin walk with Cadence's pre-school class. Dad wasn't able to make it. The theme this year was advertisements. This definitely wasn't my favorite year. There seemed to be quite a few scenes less normal. However, here are some of my favorites scenes.

M&M's. There was a hidden M&M pumpkin in every scene. It was fun to find it!!! Star Wars! Love these sheep. The heads were pumpkins. The bodies were tumbleweeds.

Michael Jackson and Co. dancing in a Pepsi commercial.
Where the Wild Things Are.

Isn't Max (Cadence) so scary?

This veggie garden was adorable. The peas, corn, cabbage, radishes! I loved them all! I dressed Cooper in his gorilla outfit to keep him warm! Such a cute gorilla!

Cadence was snacking on cheese from a local cheese plant and gingerbread cookie from the Pepperidge Farm plant while getting their picture with the witch who felt like she was Santa. Yummy!

At the end of the walk, there are a whole bunch of these "put your head in these peoples/characters face" things. Anybody know what you call them? Cooper as a runny-nosed Yoda!

Cadence is a princess. She looked beautiful as Cinderella!

A very smart looking Harry Potter.We will be back next year. I hope they have a better theme!

Gardner's Village Witch Festival

2009-12-06T22:15:00.001-08:00

On our way to Grammy's house, we had a little it of time to blow. I remember reading blogs about Gardner Village at Halloween. We decided to stop. There definitely was something going on. I think it was called the Witch Festival. We all had fun spoting the witches throughout the village.
Can you believe a witch tried to kiss me?

Of course, there were a TON of cute photo opportunities.

The biggest thrill was Cadence getting her face painted. She looked so cute and became such an amazing tiger. Here she is getting it painted.

When she say herself in the mirror, she broke out in a huge smile and then a growl. She growled at people we passed and even made a little boy cry. She loved being a tiger!!!
On the way home, we passed the Jordan River Temple and got a picture of the tiger in front of it!

Washing her face, Cadence looked... interesting!
Of maybe she looked like a thug!
We had a lot of fun with all the women at Gardner Village. Chris was definitely in the minority!

Goats and The Horse

2009-12-02T01:30:00.000-08:00

In the pasture behind our neighbors' house were put goats and a horse a couple of months ago. Cooper wants to see them almost every day. If we are outside and he hears the goats make their sound, he turns to where they are and says, "goos."

During the fall, we fed them the plums and apples that had fallen on the neighbors' laws. The kids love doing this (although Cadence is scared they will bit her hand.) The goats' names are Jack and Jill. We took our downstairs friends over to see the goats. Andrew is such a cute boy. We love it when he plays with us.Unfortunately, the miniature horse is behind the goats pen and so we only look at him from afar. I throw her apples and she appreciates it. Visiting the goats will become a weekly thing when the snow falls! Justin, our neighbor, carves bears out of tree stumps/logs using a chain saw. Cooper loves the two little bears in the backyard right now. He gives them hugs and kisses when we walk pass.

I just wanted to include this picture of the kids with Jack and Piper in their favorite place in the kitchen. Taking the big bins out was a good idea!!! Too bad the garbage cans can't go there anymore!!!

Harvesting (Potatoes)

2009-11-30T23:41:00.001-08:00

This year, I decided to plant red tomatoes in the garden. I love red potatoes. They grew well and the kids had fun digging them up and playing with them.
This is my favorite red potato recipe (from memory. Hopefully, I am remembering it correctly.) It is so yummy!!! You HAVE to try it!!!

A bunch of red potatoes (maybe 2 lbs?)
1/2 stick of melted butter
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 package of dry onion soup mix
1 t. marjoram
1 t. thyme leaves
1/4 t. black pepper

Combine first six ingredients. After cutting the potatoes into fourths or smaller, coat the pieces in the mixture. The potatoes should be at least two layers high in the dish. Place in a cake pan size dish, pouring the excess mixture over the top. Bake covered at 450 for 50-55 minutes (until potatoes are finished.) You may want to take them out once and stir/mix the potatoes up once while cooking to recoat them. ENJOY!!!!

Painting the Outside of the House

2009-11-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

***We have A LOT of firewood! If you are interested in buying some, Chris is charging $100 for a truckload. Contact one of us, if you are interested.***

The beginning of Sept., we started painting the outside of the house. It has been a long time coming. I guy who lived here a long time ago would buy some random paint and paint PART of the house. When we bought it, the people who owned it before us tried to give it a decent looking paint job. Their problem was they only painted as high as they could reach on a short ladder. When we bought it there were 7 different colors on the outside of the house (dark blue, light brown, white, pink, mint green, purple orange). We are trying to only make it the first three.

Our neighbors had a tall ladder and Chris borrowed it to reach the highest points! I'm so nice to let him do the high parts!!! While he painted, the kids sat on the roof of the car or in the trunk.

Cooper loves to put keys/pencils/tools in holes/keyholes/outlets to pretend like he fixing or unlocking things.
Cadence liked helping to paint on the little ladder. She is getting to be such a big girl!!!

Here are the before and after pictures.
The East side of the house!

The West side of the house.

The Back of the house.

We did our best to match the paint, but you can see where the new paint is. Oh Well! Painting brick and that cottage cheese texture stinks. Next year we will work on painting the trim white! It will take us a long time to scrap it down and re-paint it, but at least it looks a better for now!

Big Boy Bed

2009-11-12T01:58:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, we took down Cooper's crib because he hated it. I think he feels like he is in....PRISON!!! Behind bars! Locked Away! Since he was a horrible sleeper his first year (waking up 4, 5, 6 times a night!!!), he didn't sleep in it much anyway. He kept trying to climb out and I just knew it wouldn't be good to keep him in there. He is a climber.

Instead of putting up the toddler bed, we went straight t0 a bunkbed some neighbors down the street gave us last year. Cooper won't stay in bed if one of us doesn't lay next to him until he falls asleep. Of course, the bunk beds are officially cool and have become a source of play. Many adventures will be had on that top bunk!!! The kids love to bonk their heads on the ceiling since we put it where the ceiling slants in Cooper's room. He almost sleeps through the night now. It is so nice for me!!!! Now, I just wish he was lay in his bed and fall asleep by himself:)

Homecoming Parade

2009-11-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to the USU Homecoming parade at the beginning of October. The weather was awesome. Notice the kids are in shorts and short-sleeve shirts. Cooper really loved the parade. There was so much candy thrown and the kids cleaned up. The nearly filled the Cadence's backpack. I thought we should save the candy to give away at Halloween, but we ate it all (minus the candy we gave away to other kids)! When there was music, the kids would dance, dance, dance. Everyone loved watching them bounce to the music!!!

They waved at all the floats especially if there were animals on it!
Parades are so fun. I would take the kids to one every month if I could find one. They love them!!!
Unfortunately, this is the only Homecoming activity we participated in. There were many fewer activities this year for the kids when compared to last year.

Voting Totally Stinks!!!

2009-11-03T23:17:00.000-08:00

Today was election day and I am totally bummed! All three of my guys lost. I knew they were underdogs, but I really wanted an upset. If you don't want to hear me rant, don't read below the picture. I am tired of wealthy people who don't relate to the majority of citizens winning and ruling our city and country. I am tired of wealthy people enforcing their standards and ways of living on us when we can't afford it. I tired of the rich neighborhoods deciding what happens to poorer neighborhoods. I am tired of the apathy of middle and lower class citizens who don't vote and therefore, allow the wealthy people to keep making decisions for them. Just vote, people!!! I really don't like making elections out to be a money issues, but it just keeps coming back to that. The rich people (who have the highest % of voters) in the rich areas vote for the rich candidates.

I am nervous about what the next four years (and thereafter) hold in store for us. Landlord licensing will happen. Perhaps a new expensive library will be built. More invasion and a bigger city government will be a reality. The government will be coming into our home and apartments looking for things that are wrong. I'm sure they will find many things because they don't want renters in homes. Watch out renters. Logan City will now be a roommate of yours (if you live in a home.) It is frustrating trying to get ahead in life only to find our lovely government a roadblock. I am discouraged that my dream will never be a reality. I'm going to bed!!!

Letter-to-the-Editor and Letter to Neighbors

2009-11-02T03:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Neighbors,
As Election Day approaches, our stomachs are in knots with worry and anxiety. We realize that these elections will impact us so much more than what we originally thought. Having listened to the debates and read more about what the candidates’ platforms are, we are scared and intimidated by Mayor Watts’ positions and the support that Holly Daines and Dean Quayle give to his ideas. I’m not joking when I say that Mayor Watts wants to financially destroy people like us.

When we were getting married, we thought ahead to when we would have children. Due to Chris’ modest salary, we knew if Michelle wanted the chance to be a stay-at-home mother, we needed a home with a LEGAL basement apartment to help us pay our mortgage. We found our fixer-upper on 200 N. and bought it with this idea in mind. We gutted the basement and rebuilt a very nice apartment (with a city permit) and have spent much more on the basement than we have on the upstairs (where we live). Now we find that Mayor Watts wants to FORCE us to turn our home “back into single-family housing.” On the record many times, he has said one of the goals of landlord licensing will be to “find homes that have basement apartments (whether legal or illegal) and turn them back into single-family housing.” One of his targets is “older homes,” “with apartments,” “in neighborhoods.” Well, that is us! The government already gave approval of our basement apartment long before we bought it. Why should our “trusted” leaders try to take that away?

If Mayor Watts follows through on this promise, our home will be devalued $25,000-$35,000 and we will lose a monthly income between $300-$400 a month for 30 years. That is a $150,000 loss to our financial future (and I’m not exaggerating). If this happens, Michelle will have to get a job and put the kids in daycare. This will also set back our retirement a few more years. We simply cannot afford for Mayor Watts, Holly Daines and Dean Quayle to win. (This would also affect other members of our neighborhood who also have LEGAL basement apts. and count on that income for survival.)

There are many other issues in this election which you may have read about in Michelle’s letter-to-the-editor. Mayor Watts wants to spend more money on fancy buildings (raising taxes). He wants the city to have more control over citizens and private property rights. MAYOR WATTS NEEDS TO BE STOPPED!!! At first, we started by telling our friends how awesome Mike Morrill, Tony Wegener and Steven Stokes would be for elected office. Since we have become more educated on the issues, we have actively encouraged people to vote against Mayor Watts. A vote for Morrill is a vote for common sense. Please vote for Mike Morrill, Tony Wegener and Steven Stokes on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Remember to take your ID. We would also appreciate if you would encourage your friends to do likewise through facebook, your blog, phone calls and word of mouth. Our future depends on it!
Thanks.
Michelle and Chris Johnnie

It’s Not About Fancy Buildings (LETTER TO THE EDITOR)
Published: Saturday, October 31, 2009 2:36 AM CDT

I’ve been reading letters to the editor about the candidates for mayor and City Council. Most of them focus on the candidates’ outstanding characters, honorable families, love of Logan, or how long candidates have lived in Logan. These are important in voting for candidates. However, ALL six candidates have outstanding characters, love Logan, have lived here the majority of their lives and come from great families. As citizens, we should vote on the issues facing us and how the candidates address those issues. The following are a FEW issues.

In the past year, Mayor Watts built a new building to house the police department. City Hall was moved into the former police building. In all, the cost of this was approximately $8.5 million — paid for in cash by taxpayers’ money. At the same time, city employees were not given raises and were forced to pay more for health insurance. If times are so hard, why was this building built? Now that the north side of the library building is empty, Mayor Watts wants to tear that building down and build a new library for approximately $26 million, which will probably be paid for by taxpayers. Mike Morrill would like to see that building remodeled for approximately $5.5 million. In a time of recession, unemployment and tighter finances, which candidate represents which is best for you?

Morrill has been endorsed by two different groups (to which neither I belong). One reason that Morrill was endorsed by them is because he took the time to listen and respond to them. The other candidate did not. Why? I want a mayor who is willing to listen and respond to citizens even if he disagrees with them. Isn’t that one of the major duties of a mayor?

Will landlord licensing solve the problem of lousy landlords? Characters and attitudes are hard to legislate. A lousy landlord will still be a lousy landlord, but with a higher price. There are already ordinances in place and they aren’t being enforced. Renters should have rights and inspection of their “homes” by the government at anytime is intrusive. Morrill believes that citizens are competent enough to make decisions for themselves regarding their living conditions. Do we need government to have “their foot in the door” in our homes?

Based on the issues, I am voting for Morrill, Tony Wegener and Steven Stokes. Their goals include providing essential services, being citizen-friendly, attracting more jobs to Logan and allowing citizens to control their own lives, property and checkbooks (taxes). Morrill, Wegener and Stokes’ priorities include focusing on the essentials that government should provide (sidewalks, curb and gutter, replacing aging infrastructure, improving roads, etc.), not fancy buildings and greater control over citizens.
Michelle Johnnie
Logan

Happy Halloween From My Family To Yours

2009-10-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

Since today is Halloween, I wanted to leave you with a Happy Halloween Haunting from my family to yours. Here are a few of the "Halloweeny" activities from the month of October. Have a spooky day with your family!!!

Cadence got her face painted like a tiger at Gardner Village. Here she is in action trying to scare me!!! I was amazed at the tiger persona she took on the whole day. She growled at strangers as she passed them. I loved it (and so did they)!!!!

The tiger decided to smile for a cute picture (but only for a few seconds.)

If you are interested in hiring a great face painter for a birthday party, corporate or social event, reunion or fundraiser and are in Salt Lake or Davis counties (or sounding areas) in Utah, check My Kids' Entertainment out. Amazing face painting and glitter tatoos. Reasonable prices. Go HERE to see more.

Washing the face paint off was also a fun experiment. My daughter loved smearing the paint with water!

Cooper running around in his gorilla costume at the park!
I found this spider costume at a garage sale for $1. Cadence loves to play "Little Miss Muffet" in it. When I asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween, she replied instantly, "A spider!!!"This is the first year we have carved pumpkins. Before now, we just painted them. The kids loved using tools and were in awe when we put a candle inside of them.
Happy Halloween from our family to yours!

Cadence, The Photographer

2009-10-29T21:34:00.001-07:00

Cadence loves the camera. Everytime I get it out, she wants to take pictures. I let her if she puts the strap around her wrist. She does it now without being reminded. She is quite the photographer and takes many abstract pictures of feet, corners, ceilings, half-faces, junk, etc. The following are a few of the better pictures she has taken recently!

A new problem is starting to develop! Cooper wants to take photos too!!! Wish the camera luck!

Little Updates

2009-10-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

I have been so bad about updating our family blog lately. I am kicking myself for not writing more. A few days ago, I looked at pictures from last Halloween. The kids were so little. I will do better at keeping up with recording the growth of the kids and the going-ons of our family. Here are a few things that happened last month or even before that.

This summer we made a few home improvements. We got a ceiling fan for our living room. It looks and feels so nice. After five years of marriage, we got a dishwasher. And we got a new window in the kitchen. We can actually see out of it clearly and the wind doesn't come it!!!! Even though it has been months since Chris installed the dishwasher, the box is still in the house. It has been a great toy and place for the kids to hide. At least once a day, Cadence climbs in the box and yells for me to come find her. Cooper loves to point out where Cadence is. This box will stay around for many more months (if not years)!!!

There was a small windstorm and it blew down one of the big junk trees. Luckily, it was just a few feet too short to hit our neighbor's garage. One year ago, there were 3 of these trees. Now only one is left and it is weak. It broke a huge branch about 5 years ago. The kids were actually really great help cleaning it up and hauling it away. They stacked the cut up branches in the wagon to haul over to the firewood pile.

My friend, Karah, from Impact, brought her two daughters up for dinner and fun. We took the kids to the zoo. Cooper loves the monkeys and signs 'monkey' so well and hilariously.

Looking at the birds and swinging on the swings made for a very enjoyable night!!!

Last Call for Meet-The-Candidates

2009-10-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that Tuesday, Oct 27 between 7-8:30pm Mike Morrill, Tony Wegener and Steven Stokes will be at our house to answer your questions abou the upcoming election. Stop by if you can. If you can't, remember to vote for them on Nov. 3 for limited govt, personal property rights, no more fancy buildings, and for representing ALL people, not just the upperclass!

Toys Down the Stairs

2009-10-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

I love having the toy rooms (all 3 or 4 of them) at our house upstairs. When kids come over, I send them upstairs. All too often a few toys, stuffed animals or balls find their way down the stairs. Unfortunately, Cooper has decided that one of his new favorite games to play is throw EVERYTHING down the stairs. This is one day of playing that game.

What kind of mom am I to let my kids do this? I know that I will be the one bringing up the majority of the items, but they find such joy in watching the animals do cartwheels and the babies bouncing head over heels that I just can't find it in myself to stop them:) They are only kids for a little while!!!
Actually, I do tell them that only things that are soft can bounce down the stairs, and gratefully, they follow my direction. I don't think our downstairs tennants or the stairs would enjoy a few of the hard, plastic, metal, extra large items that Cooper has attempted to drag out into the hall for launch!

Not sure why this picture is upside down, but the kids are so happy! When you come over and see toys scattered through our house, you will have a better understanding why this is so!!!

Visiting Utah's Ocean

2009-10-18T22:33:00.001-07:00

Back on Labor Day weekend, my sister, Natalie came down from Boise. Most of the cousins got together for a day of fun. We decided to visit Utah's ocean - AKA, The Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island. When we got there, we saw one buffalo and ooohed and aaaahed. Then we drove around the hill and saw a ton of them. There were many up closer than this, but I like these pictures. I think Cooper thought they were horses and cows!
We headed out to the ranch. I forget the name of it because it was a month and a half ago!!! There were many activities for the kids to do and lots of places to take pictures. Here Cadence is roping a...bull?

Cadence loves it when cousins are around. Here they are riding...a horse barrel?
Cooper enjoyed getting into everything and riding on this saddle! Notice he is wearing sandals. After wearing the high tops for a few days, I think he liked not stepping on rocks and pricklies. Now, he will wear shoes without a fuss!!!
We had to get a family picture of this log. So cute!

Cooper loved spending time with the horses and chickens.
I wanted to take lots of pictures of Cadence on all the antiques. She is just such a cute little girl! I would take more pictures of Cooper too except he doesn't like to look at the camera so I get lots of the side of his head:)

One of the crafts the kids participated in was making/dipping candles. Both kids thought it was so fun!!!!

After the ranch, we headed to the beach. Since we didn't know Antelope Island was the plan, we didn't bring swimsuits. That was ok. Cadence got to wear a beautiful leotard of Maddie's that she loves (and wears often now) and Cooper wore his diaper.
I must say that I was very impressed with the beach (except for the brine flies.) The sand was soft and heavenly. The water was warm and shallow for hundreds of feet. We could have ran and played in it all day.

The sand was so awesome to play in. Cooper had a blast getting dirty. So did all the cousins!

I've heard the Great Salt Lake is so salty that you can float, but because it was so shallow for so far, none of us really got to test that idea! It was great for the kids because I wasn't worried about them going in over their heads. They could lay down and still be safe from water going in their faces.
Since Chris and I didn't have our swimsuits, it was perfect for wading. See the cousins and my sisters in the background. They were still wading all the way out there!!!

After a while, Cooper had a saggy diaper:) I was tempted to just let him run around naked, but decided against it since he was the only boy and there were a few other families around us.

We told everyone to wash the sand off their bodies before we headed back to car. Cooper did just the opposite. He washed the sand on to his body. What a kid!!!

When we were done playing, the walk back to the cars was a ways. Instead of carrying Cooper with a gallon of salt water in his diaper, Chris just took it off. Isn't this a cute picture of his bum? Babies rock!!!Up by the cars were outdoor showers where we rinsed the salt and sand off our feet and bodies. That was a very welcomed treat! We really enjoyed this visit to the ocean of Utah. The beach rocked and the accommodations were very nice. I hope to come here at least once a year!!!

Elections are Coming!

2009-10-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! City elections are coming up in a couple weeks and I'm pretty passionate about this election. There are many issues which I feel strongly about which is why I am actually blogging about it. There are three candidates who I want to win and am encouraging anyone in Logan to come to a COTTAGE MEETING/MEET THE CANDIDATE NIGHTS at my home on Tuesday, October 27 from 7-8:30pm. My address is 715 E. 200 N. Anyone is invited. Come meet Mike Morrill, Tony Wegener, and Steven Stokes and make sure you vote for them in November.

We're Dating!

2009-10-01T00:27:00.000-07:00

Since I never "dated" before I/we got married, I know the title of this post is shocking. "Dating" is such a serious word. I much preferred just to "hang out." Chris and I have started dating. He has been the instigator of this. At first, I was a little intimidated to accept his invitation, but now I am opening up to "dating." It is good for us to be away from the kids every once in a while.

We've only been on a few dates, but they have all been interesting and surprising. He won't tell me before what we are doing. Once he took me to the golfing range to hit some golf balls. I totally rock...at missing the ball. I will never be a professional golfer. It is fun, but golfing is not my best sport. Look at that form! I would cheer every time I actually hit it into the air!
Chris is pretty good at hitting the ball. He is able to hit it far and high. I wanted him to hit the little golf cart guy, but he didn't. What a man!

Recently, he took me on another memorable date. We drove to our duplex. I saw ducks in the backyard and commented about them. He said, "There's going to be a killing tonight." What!!!! Yes, for our date, Chris slaughtered two domesticated ducks.
He hit them over the head with rebar, smashing their brains. Their bodies were twitching for minutes afterwards. Then he wrung their necks, plucked their breast feathers and cut out the breast! Seriously romantic. I watched with shock! Although looking at the insides and identifying the organs were interesting, I would have preferred to feeding ducks at a pond or something.
The worst part about dating is finding someone to watch the kids on a Friday night. Paying someone costs a lot of money and I feel bad asking people to do it for free. If anyone wants to be in a date/babysit co-op, we are looking for people who will watch kids one friday night a month and get 3 Friday nights free for dating. I'm looking forward to some more fun dates!!!

The Recent Going Ons

2009-09-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

I'm so behind on our life. The kids are growing and changing so much so quickly and I haven't posted it. I'm a slacker and feel discouraged because of my ineffectiveness and inefficientness. I just don't get anything done!

The following are some of the pictures I have taken in the past month that are especially noteworthy. Some things I want to remember. Here we go!I have started taking Cadence and Cooper to the FIRC for storytime again. We go with Cadence's best friend ever - Jack! When Cadence was a baby, Jack's mom, Heidi, was her babysitter for the 2 hours I worked at Wilson. When Piper was born, I started taking her to Camille's. Now Jack and her are the BEST of friends. She is seriously depressed if Jack doesn't make it to storytime or if she doesn't get to play with Jack at least once a week. Of all the friends that Cadence has ever had, she gets along the best with Jack! They are so silly together. Heidi is one of the sweetest, most kind people I have ever met. I am SO GRATEFUL for her friendship! Picture taken by Cadence!
Chris was assisting in painting a lady in our ward's house. Cadence begged to come along. She really enjoyed her first "painting service project." She is a good little helper!
Cadence enjoys playing dress up and singing made up songs. Here cousins dressed her up in this gypsy looking outfit. I think she looks adorable. Unfortunately, we don't have a ton of dress up clothes, but we use what we have!
Cooper is growing and changing so quickly. He is such a cute boy and I can't stop kissing him! I found this cute little onesie outfit at the thrift store for a quarter. I love it on him. He is full of curiousity and keeps me busy and on my toes! I love this stage of life (but still wish I could get stuff done.)
Some friends gave us this put-under-your-washer-thing, but it doesn't fit. It is outback. Cooper enjoys crawling around it in and Cadence likes to climb on top of it. I just think it is a cute picture!

Chris changed the brake pads (or something like that) on the truck. Cooper and Cadence had to be right there assisting him. Cooper would pick up the wrench and bang on the wheels and hubcaps. He catches on quickly!!! Like father, like son.
Because the weather is getting cooler and the days shorter, we emptied the pool. The kids had an absolutely blast laying on the side of the pool while the water flowed out! I think they had more fun doing this than actually swimming in it:)
Cadence picked out a bike helmet with flames. Although she is still intimidated by her bike (due to the slopping sidewalks that cause her to tip), she loves to ride it around. For a couple of nights, we rode bikes (mom or dad on a bike with Cooper in the burley) and the other walking/running next to Cadence so she felt secure. We rode around the block, in ever circle, etc. When Dad got home, it was time to ride bikes. I wish we had better, safer sidewalks:)

A silly thing that Cooper loves to do for many meals is wipe his dinner all over his face AND hair!!! He is such an insane eater. Unfortunately, he will NOT wear a bib. He rips them off or moves them to the side so he can get his clothes dirty! Silly rascal!!! He laughs when I tell him not to!

Cadence's First Day of Real Pre-school

2009-09-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

We decided to enroll Cadence in pre-school this year. I know she is only three, but she is so smart and keeps asking when she can go to school. I put her on the list for Riverside. It is the pre-school for kids with disabilities (mostly speech delays, some severe) for Logan City School District. She is one of the "model" peers. It is important to me that the kids learn to love people with disabilities and not be afraid of or make fun of them. She goes 2 days a week for 2.5 hours a day. Cadence was so excited to start school. She woke up at 6:30am because she was so excited. Even though I have been taking her and Cooper to the FIRC for storytime, she really wants to go to school by herself. The told me, "You can leave now, Mom. I want to go by myself." Chris and I drove her over and these are the pictures we took of our big girl!!! Cooper is growing so big too.

Cadence's teacher is Miss Joy (Coombs). When I was in the SPED program at USU, she was my practicum partner at Logan High. Funny how she is Cadence's teacher now!!!

Cadence LOVED her first day. She came running out smiling and happy. She got a treat, stamps on her hand, painted, sang "The Wheels on the Bus," traced her name, played in the sand and more. Since I know the bus drivers, they let Cadence and Cooper sit on the bus while they were loading the kids in wheelchairs. Both thought the bus was SO COOL!!!

Cadence wanted to play in the sand more. (It is becoming standard that after pre-school, we walk to the playground and play in the sand for 30 minutes or longer.) She told me all about school and how much she likes it. I'm so happy!!! We walked home in the stroller because it is only about 1/2 mile from our house. By the time we got home, Cadence and Cooper were both asleep. A very big day indeed!!!
For the most part, she has really enjoyed pre-school. She can spell her name verbally now. She traces her name too. She hasn't loved writing letters yet. Some of the things she has said are, "one, two, three sides. One, two, three angles." I guess she learned about triangles that day. She sings these cute little songs for cleaning up and about getting a friend. Cooper and I go to aerobics at the church and do some errands while she is at school. We usually ride the bike with the burley connected to pick her up. This works out well in our schedule. I'm glad that Cadence is liking school!!!

Bringing Grammy Home

2009-09-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago, my mom was able to leave my sister's house, where she's stayed for the last month, and go home. Her broken ribs and pelvis are healing and she's feeling much better. She walks without a walker!!! I picked her up and drove her to her doctor's appt in Sandy. After that, we stayed at her house for 5 days assisting her in getting used to home and being on her own again. I stocked her fridge, made meals, did laundry, cleaned, ran errands, and entertained the kids. (I should say, I attempted to stop Cooper from destroying Grammy's house.) While we were there, the kids and I (and Grammy) had a lot of fun.

We ate at McDonald's, played at Chuck E. Cheese, drove on Charles' tractor, feed the sheep apples,

swung in Grammy's huge tire swing,

ate lots and lots of grapes off the vines,

ate and played at Burger King,

discovered the inside of the dryer, (Cooper first, then Cadence)

and drove on a Sunday evening temple trip.

How cool is it that Grammy lives within 15 miles from 4 different temples? First, we visited the Draper Temple. SO beautiful up on the bench (surrounded by ENORMOUS houses)!!! Cooper fell asleep in the car.

Cadence practiced her modeling skills while wearing her princess shoes. She cracks me up!!!
Then, we drove to the Oquirrh Hills Temple. Cooper woke up! Walking around the temples was quite enjoyable!!!

I wish we could have gone through this temple during the open house. Poor planning on my part. On our way home, we stopped in front of the Jordan River Temple for the kids to see.

Gorgeous places!!!

Grammy is now back to work and doing well. Gratefully, she only broke her pelvis, not her hip. She has many people at home who care about and are watching over her. Let's hope this is the last big accident she has for 20 years!!!!

Harvest Time

2009-09-11T22:34:00.001-07:00

I love it when our garden starts producing food we can eat. The corn has come and gone too quickly. Between being in Boise and going to my mom's a couple of weekends, we didn't get to enjoy it much. It got "old" too quickly. We have been enjoying BLTs, zuchinni casserole, grilled zuchinni, shish-ka-bobs,delish cherry tomatoes, corn-on-the-cob, cucumber sandwiches, salads, etc. If only the veggies were ready to eat in July and were good until the end of Oct.!!! We still need to eat the eggplant and potatoes! Love fresh veggies right from the garden.
Unfortunately, I was hoping to be able to share more, but there is something wrong with the soil or something else. Our zuchinnis don't produce much and the leaves turn a misty white color. A couple different plants grow big and green and even blossom, but don't produce many veggies. Frustrating. We have a lot of tomatoes though. So if you live in Cache Valley and want some tomatoes, please come over and get them!!!

Blistering Hot Boise

2009-08-27T02:59:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we drove to Boise to visit my sister, Natalie, and her husband, Richard, and daughter, Breelle. We've been trying to get up there all summer and knew this was the last weekend we could go before Breelle started school. It only took us 4 hrs. and 15 minutes to get there:) Sweet! It went by quickly. The kids slept half the way. I read to Chris articles from the Ensign. When the kids woke up, I crawled in the back and we sang song, read books and were silly.

The first day we were there, we attended the Idaho State Fair. Breelle and Natalie enter photos and crafts and sometimes flowers or grown things in the fair. It was HOT, almost 100 degrees, but we still had fun! Cadence actually PET and FED the animals. Miracle!!!

Cooper pet the animals too! He's never been afraid of them. He even let some of them lick his face. Look how cute he looks in SHOES!!!

There was a large variety of animals that the kids were in awe over! Aren't these cute?

There were lots of activities we participated in at the fair. The girls painted ceramics. Cadence's was a kitty that turned out VERY COLORFUL!!! Blue, purple, green. So creative!!!

Cadence and Cooper LOVED the alligator show. Three weeks later, Cadence is still talking about the alligator and the guy that wrestled with it and put his hand in their mouth! She was amazed.

We watched a guy paint pictures with spray paint. It was so unique and cool. He created a picture of the Salt Lake Temple in the clouds while we watched...with spray paint!!! The kids also met a clown. She gave them stickers. Cadence doesn't like sticker on her skin because she says they hurt.
We watched Splash Dogs, dogs that jump horizontally upto 20 feet. We were dying of the heat!!!

Breelle won a special prize for a cross stitch she did. She won several other first, second and third place prizes for her work. Natalie got third place for a photo she took in Alaska. We really enjoyed the fair, except for the blistering heat!!!! The kids drank a lot of water! Cooper was a wild man. If we didn't keep him in the stroller, he was everywhere attempting to touch everything!!! I love this crazy kid!!!
Back at the house, we goofed off and played dress up. Breelle is a great cousin for Cadence. She plays well with her and shares all her treasures!

We played at multiple parks around their house. Cadence is loving playing "Little Girl." I am the little girl and she is my mommy and Cooper is her husband. We played this and pirates and magic show at the parks. We also made washer necklaces that you can find at my other blog.
The Hannah Montana Girl Talk game we gave Breelle for her birthday was a hit!

Chris went fishing with Richard and caught a dozen or so croppy. We ate them for dinner!
Cooper enjoyed playing with Jack. Cadence didn't. She still is disliking dogs!
After church, Natalie had some friends from work over for a potluck salmon dinner which they caught while in Alaska. So tasty! We left for home. It only took us 4 hrs. 23 min. Yahoo!!!

Thanks for letting us come visit! We will be back next year!

Finger Painting

2009-08-27T02:49:00.000-07:00

As I've written before, Cadence and now Cooper love to paint. It usually starts with them painting on the paper and then the creativity spreads to their bodies. I just decided to get that "spreading" stuff over with and gave them fingerpaints! Best time ever!!! I put on the aprons I bought at the dollar store, but that still didn't keep Cooper paint-free. He wanted to stick his whole hand in the paints and was so upset when I tried "helping" him.Cadence loves to paint almost everything abstract monochromatic (one color). I encourage her to use more than one color, but she doesn't heed my counsel often. Am I impeding her creativity by attempting to get her to use lots of color and actually making her paintings look like something?
Cooper really doesn't want to paint on paper. He just wants to get paint everwhere and does NOT want to be told her shouldn't or can't. He is definitely developing a mind of his own with his stubbornness!!!

Gotta love finger paint!

The Joys of Lagoon!!!

2009-08-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago (I'm always behind these days), we took the kids to Lagoon. Cadence was so excited after riding the ride at the county fair. Every time we would pass Lagoon going to Grammy's house, we would tell her about it. We finally went the last week it was open. Luckily, it was 2 for 1 day so the price was somewhat reasonable. As we were waiting in line for tickets, Cadence and Cooper watched the white roller coaster and bounced in their stroller seats with excitement and awe. Cooper kept waving and yelling his "hello" to the people.
We hit the kiddie rides first and both kids loved them. Heaven!!! Cadence loved the swings. Cooper thought anything with a steering wheel was super cool. He loved driving the cars with Cadence and by himself.
I couldn't believe how much the kids LOVED the boats. The bell was the thrill of the ride. Cadence started ringing it before the ride started and didn't stop until it was over.
They went on every flying ride there was multiple times. I thought Lagoon might be really crowded because it was the last week and it was 2 for 1, but the kids got on rides within one ride of standing it line. It was awesome. VERY LITTLE WAITING!!!
Cadence was very brave. She went on just about every ride that she was allowed on for her height, even the Tidal Wave. She thought it was funny when her tummy was tickled!!! She even got mad when she wasn't allowed some of the rides (that went upside down) because she was too short. She will tell you that when she turns 5, she should be big enough to ride them! Cooper went on almost every ride he was allowed on also. We were a little nervous at first because he doesn't hold still, loves to climb and wiggles himself loose from seatbelts, but he stayed put and didn't fall or crawl off any moving rides:) He came out alive!!! I don't think Cooper liked the little dragon kid roller coaster, but he didn't cry. His face was just funny to look at because of his expression. Neither kid cried on any ride:)
I should mention that miracles never cease. We haven't been able to find any shoes that Cooper will keep on. The day before Lagoon, we went on a hunt for shoes for Cooper that he couldn't pull off and found some at Payless. They are high-tops that lace up the front and zip up the side!!! Yes, he wore shoes to Lagoon. They look so handsome on him!!! At first, I don't think he liked them, but he got use to them.
After lunch, we decided to cool off at Lagoon-A-Beach. The lazy river was my favorite part. The kids had fun splashing and running aroung in the water. Cadence even was getting her face wet. Once again, NO Tears!!! The tubes were a big hit. They couldn't get enough of playing on them. Chris went on one big slide. I didn't go on any. Life at amusement parks and water parks is much different when you have two little kids. It was still so fun. Cooper was so exhausted by the end of this (3pm) that he fell asleep on the lazy river:) Not even the cold water from a sprayer woke him up!!! (The computer turned this upside down and I don't know how to turn it right side up.)After the water park, we rode many of the "big people" rides. Cadence loved the dinosaur drop. Dad didn't!!!!The "big" rides were a little more crowded, but it was worth waiting in some lines for the kids to experience the fun. We rode the ferris wheel and loved the view!

They both liked the sky ride.
After we hit the big rides, we took the kids back to the little kid rides to ride again. No lines on those. We arrived at 11am and left at 10pm. It was a day packed with fun!!! Cadence keeps talking about when she is 5..... Even though Chris nor I were able to ride on the super cool rides we hear about (samurai, wicked, etc.), Lagoon was a blast! Little kids make most things so much more exciting! We will definitely be back next year!!!

Random Sibling Friendship Pictures

2009-08-20T07:59:00.001-07:00

I take so many photos of the kids. They are just too cute. I have to "capture" everything they do!!! I wish I could capture everything they say. These are a few photos I've taken of them together recently. The bigger and more able Cooper becomes, the better friends they become. He is turning into a great playmate for Cadence!!!

Some mornings they wake up in the same bed together!!! So cute!
Cooper is starting to love to ride Cadence's bikes. He climbs on them and all around them. Lately, he has started using his feet to push himself down the sidewalk!!!

I was trying to get "model" pictures of them at this fun, old building at a park. Neither of them wanted to be models. They just wanted to slide, swing and play. Go figure!!! Cooper usually wakes up before Cadence. He likes to go in a wake her up by climbing on the bed and hugging/kissing/putting his face on her. She usually will give him a hug! So sweet!!!

It is great having kids who are friends and can play together. I hope that as they grow older, their love and friendship will continue to grow too! I would love for them to be better friends with each other than I was with my siblings!!!

Rainy Morning Ward Campout

2009-08-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

Our ward had a campout last weekend and Cadence has been begging to go to camping so we went for it. It was up Logan Canyon, by Bear Lake and the sinks (Swan Flats). After cooking tin foil dinners, we roasted marshmallows. I love smores!!! Apparently, so does the infamous Katie Gardner!

Cadence likes to eat marshmallows - not roasted. It was fun to talk with our fellow ward family.

Cadence's and Cooper's favorite thing was driving the truck on a bumpy dirt road. Dad let them steer and Cadence was in heaven!!! She was also thrilled because we let her sit up front in the truck and NOT WEAR A SEATBELT (on the dirt road)!!! Oh, the delight!!!

Cooper and Cadence also thought playing and sleeping in a tent was the bomb. Diving and jumping into the sleeping bags, pillows and blankets could have occupied them for hours!

In the morning, we woke up to rain! Lots of it! Cadence didn't want to get wet...so we wrapped her up very well:) She decided she could get a little wet and put on her jacket.

Despite the rain, the Elder's Quorum Presidency made a yummy dutch oven breakfast (potatoes, eggs, bacon mush). After driving on the bumpy road again, we headed home! We got to set the tent up again to let it dry out and clean it! Camping was FUN!!!

Fun At the County Fair

2009-08-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

When the county fair is on, we take the kids the see the animals and have a lot of fun. Cadence is nervous of the bigger animals (cows, pigs, goats, sheep, etc.), but she like the little animals and birds (chickens, pigeons, rabbits). Cooper seems to have little fear of anything!!! When we arrived at the fair, Cooper had fallen asleep in the car. This is how the kids viewed the animals for the first part. Cadence awake and very nervous. Cooper asleep.
Cadence was even a little apprehensive of this cow - until I put her on it!!! Then she was SASSY!
When Cooper woke up, I took him back briefly to see some of the larger animals he missed. I try to teach him the signs for the animals in context. Perfect opportunity - better than a book. He signed cow, pig, horse, chicken/bird.
Cadence didn't want to get to close to anything big! Even the cute little pygmy goats made Cadence nervous!!! After we looked at the farm animals, we walked over to the rodeo and watched the horses riding around the arena. They were still warming up. Cadence got so excited everytime a rodeo princess or cowboy would wave at her. Of course, we had to drive quite a few tractors. Cadence steered. Cooper climbed all over!!!

We walked around the little tents for a few minutes and ate a funnel cake/elephant ear. Chris' former mission companion's family runs the funnel cake tent. YUMMY!!!
Lastly, but definitely not leastly, Cadence rode on a mini-coaster. I told her she could ride on one ride tonight to get her prepared for Lagoon. She was SO excited!!! This was her choice. Someone kept telling some other kids to put their hands up, so she did. She took them down when the ride started. At first, she seemed a little unsure, but by the end of the ride, she was smiling:)I need to figure out how to let Cadence and Cooper enter artwork or handicraft in the fair for next year. My niece does it in Idaho and is so proud of her ribbons. This year we didn't walk through the vegetable and crafts exhibits. I would have liked to, but it just didn't happen because Cadence was too excited to ride a ride!!!! See you next year fair! We love you!

5-yr Anniversary, 26th Ward Friends and Bow Fishing

2009-08-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

Chris attended the infamous (or so the former members of it think) Logan 26th ward for a couple of years before we met. They had a lot of parties, many laughs and a good ol' time all the time. It wasn't like a ward I ever attended. They still have parties and reunions even though it has been well over 6 years since this ward was full of party animals. I was told by a former bishop that Chris was the "epicenter of parties." We attended a reunion for this ward last week held at Megan and Wayland(?) house. Very nice, fun house on 12 acres. The food was fantastic. I love potlucks!!! Forget about the meat and let me eat all the sides and dessert! After dinner, there was so many fun things for the kids and adults to do. Chatting, Trampoline, sand box, swing set, slide, shooting 22's, clay pigeons, etc. I shot my first .22 and didn't really love it. I really like the people from this ward. I can tell why they had so much fun together as young crazy people.
A couple days later was our 5 year anniversary. Can you believe I liked someone for over 5 years? I can't. Chris is very patient to be with me this long. We didn't do much to celebrate as I don't like to make a big deal out of anniversaries. We took the kids to Sizzler because we had a coupon for 2 steak dinners for $11. The kids ate free. Since we don't eat out much, Cadence talked a lot about eating at "the restaurant."
For our anniversary, Chris had planned to take me bow fishing (he got this crazy idea when we were at Megan's), but it didn't work out that night. So a week later, we went back to the ranch for pizza and fun. They have so many fun toys with which we played. Cadence and Riley rode the 4-wheeler. Even though she was apprehensive, Cadence rode around the house a couple of times holding on for dear life.
Cooper drove the Razor (or some cool contraption) with the other kids including Weyland. He's naked again because he had an huge blowout caused by an apricot binging session! We drove down to the river in a different neat toy. I don't know what these are all called, but they would be so fun to have.For our date, Chris took his bow and I took a fishing pole and we waded up the mossy river shooting at fish. (I hope this is not illegal. If it is, please don't turn us in!!!) He has gotten too many ideas from those hunting movies or redneck shows. He didn't hit any fish, but was close. It was very enjoyable to have an hour without the kids being young and adventurous again.
Thanks Megan and Weyland for letting us play!

24TH OF July

2009-08-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

The 24th of July was diverse this year. First, we started out by attending the huge parade in downtown...Logan. It is actually the perfect size. We don't have to camp out. They throw candy. It lasts about 30 minutes. We can park a block away. The kids get to see some fancy floats with princesses (beauty queens) and there are lots of advertisements.

Cadence had so much fun with Sadie. The rednecks neighbors sat next to us. Even though it wasn't the 4th of July, I dress Cadence up in a flag bandana dress and I gave one to Sadie to wear. They LOOKED ADORABLE! And everyone sitting on the streets said so:) (I sell these dress/shirts for $10 if you are interested. They start as a dress at 12mo and turn into a shirt as the child grows older - until about 8yrs.)

They enjoyed gathering candy, waving to the people on floats, jumping up and down and just being stinkin' cute!
At the end of the parade, Cadence said, "That was so fun. Can we do it again?" Next year!!!!! Cooper had a lot of fun too! He liked the few horses, dogs and the little bits of candy I let him taste!
We headed down to Liberty Park in Salt Lake to meet some of Chris' former roommates for fireworks. This was definitely a different atmosphere than what we would have found in Logan. Talk about REDNECKS!!! Half the men weren't wearing shirts. Half the women had cleavage hanging out and were without bras. Chris kept asking me if I wanted boobs that big? Tatoos everywhere. Mullets. Missing teeth. Smoking abundant. Drinking. Same gender couples cuddling near us. A very diverse crowd - not my favorite idea for a family outing. Our "favorite" people were the snake people who set up shop a few blankets over from us. Hords of people came to pet and hold these long snakes all night. Our blankets were walked over many times.There's nothing more settling than having 5 ft long pythons and constrictors a few feet away from someone (like me) that doesn't like snakes.

Despite the varied company around us, we still had fun. Todd and Lily and Chris' other former roommate and family (I forgot their names already:() met us there.

The other family had the cutest little boy with Down Syndrome! Oh, how I love people with Downs!!!!

We blew bubbles - lots of them. Enjoyed the glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets.
Cadence's favorite part was rolling down the big hill and playing with a sparkler. She was super brave!!!The fireworks were great, but unfortunately overshadow by the bizarre night of cigarette smoke, and shading the kids eyes from the crowd. I don't think we will be going back to Liberty Park for fireworks again.

"I'm A Farmer"

2009-08-12T03:30:00.000-07:00

Cadence has been saying some of the funniest things lately. I put this outfit on her the other day and she said "Mom, I am a farmer now. When I wear these (overalls), I look like a farmer." So all day, she told me about being a farmer. She really liked her farm hat. She is also wanting to pull funny faces for the camera these days too. I couldn't resist getting pictures of her and Cooper in their "farmer" outfits in the corn.

I love these kids!!!!

Other funny things Cadence has been saying lately include:

"This smells/taste like cabbage." to nearly everything. We had friends over for corn beef and cabbage a couple weeks ago and somehow started saying that.

"Mom, you burned my feelings and when you burn my feelings, I can't play with my friends." Later, she changed it to "hurt my feelings." She said that when I asked her to ride a little more quickly on her tricycle to the park.

Taking Care Of Mom

2009-08-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

Friday, the kids and I went to take care of my mom who is staying at my sister's house because she BROKE HER PELVIS AND RIBS!!!! She lost her footing while weeding, slid down a hill and went over a small wall. The fall broke her up pretty badly. I am always telling her "DO NOT FALL. DO NOT BREAK YOUR HIP." Luckily, she didn't break her hip, just her pelvis.

McKinley was having a birthday party up at their mountain property. They were going camping so we came to keep mom company and take care of anything she needed. Luckily, she can walk with the aid of a walker, but she is slow and it is painful. I didn't do much except make her food and run to the store to get some medicine. Unfortunately, the camping party got moved back to the house because it was supposed to rain. Cadence got to participate in a few of the activities with the older girls. She thought tie dye-ing socks was the coolest thing ever. She told everyone about them.Cadence also got to turn the homemade ice cream (which unfortunately didn't turn out). She loved spending all the time with her cousins. SHE LOVES HER COUSINS!!!!HOpefully, my mom's pelvis will heal quickly and she will be back to normal soon. It's been about two weeks and she says she is still in a lot of pain so only time will tell.

Doctor's Appointment Shots

2009-08-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 3, the kids had their well-child check-ups. Cooper's was in for his 12month appt and Cadence was in for her 3 -yr-old appt. Oh, how they are growing so quickly!!! They were great for Dr. McKenna and the nurses. Cadence kept noticing all the things they were doing so she could do them at home with her doctor kit. She labeled the stethascope. Cooper was walking, walking, walking. Back and forth, back and forth. He loves to walk now. I attempted to download a video the other day, but the computer kept rejecting it:(

All of us did "Snap That Dinosaur Out of the Tree" with an alligator and dinosaur they had in the toy drawer. Cooper LOVED it and kept signing alligator and snaping. Chris gave him his first sucker. He is a natural at eating it!!! He just shoves it in his mouth any way he can.

At the end of the appt., the nurses gave the kids their shots. Cadence got one. Cooper got 4! They were brave, but still cried a little. This is one of my new favorite pictures! How priceless are those faces!!!

My baby is a big boy. They said he weighs 24 lbs. 15 oz. 77%, and is 31 inches tall, 85%. I think the weight is off a little because he only gained 1 1/2 lbs in the last 3 1/2 months and dropped from 95% to 77%.

Cadence weighed 33 lbs 4 oz. and is 76% and her height is 37 3/4 inches, 75%.

The Joys of Painting

2009-08-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

Cadence LOVES to watch TV and movies. I am not so much a fan of this activity. She wants to watch all the time. I think "only in moderation." Last week, when she kept begging to watch a movie, I got out the waterpaints. Oh, did she have fun!!!

I try to get her to paint on paper, but usually she just wants to paint her body - especially her fingers. Sometimes I indulge and allow her to do so. Sometimes, she just sneaks it in! Silly girl!

This time, she started painting Cooper. He's big enough to want to paint. He grabbed brushes, put them in his mouth, bent them, etc. Cadence assisted in making him look like a crazy man!
Cadence painted her whole look. She wouldn't allow me to touch her masterpiece. I painted eyebrows on Cooper to make him look even sillier. I think they work!

Cooper loved the water/paint going over his face. Big smiles!!! We washed most of Cadence's paint off, but left Cooper's on for the evening. I happened to be teaching a baby sign language class for enrichment and he came. A couple people asked what I did to my child. My response, "Teaching him to have fun."

What a cute painted pair!!!!

Cabinet Door Makeover

2009-08-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

So I've figured out that we are going to be living in this house 'til we die with how slow things are going on remodeling. (It's NOT going - that is the problem.) I've decided to actually do something about our current kitchen to make it look a little better. And I mean just a little. This is what the old (1917) kitchen cabinets look like.

The cabinet glass doors have been broken. The potato and flour bins (I think that is what they were) have been removed because Cooper kept pulling them out and they were big and heavy and scary). Some wood pieces are missing. I am NOT one of those glass door/let everyone see in my perfect cabinet type people. Our dishes don't match and everything is shoved in everywhere.

My friend, Katie, has an older kitchen and she added some fabric over her cabinets to add some beauty. I thought I would do the same. I went to my remnant fabric stash and found the closest blue fabric to match the kitchen paint. Luckily, there was one that was almost a yard. It is bland and doesn't add much color or design, but it does the job. I pinned it in place on the back of the cabinet door. (Some day, maybe I will find a cute fabric with more color and staple it in place:)

Now you can't see in my messy cabinets. (But I actually have to open the doors to get stuff out. I use to just reach through the non-existent glass.) Pretty good for $2.98!

I've linked to DIY Day at ASPTL and Creative Cats on Poppies at Play.

Sunday Best

2009-08-02T21:27:00.001-07:00

I love the kids in their church clothes. I am one proud mommy when they get "dolled" up and are clean for at least a few minutes. They definitely are more beautiful than Chris and I put together. Maybe they are the mailman's kids. Oh wait, not our mailman!!! I should go back through my files and put all the pictures of them in their Sunday clothes on one post so when they are filthy and looking like orphans, I can look in one place to see them looking so cute! Look hair combed, clothes clean, no dirt smudges. Gotta love these kids!!!
Red, White and Blue for July!!!

Catfish Dinner

2009-08-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

The day after the redneck bbq, Chris invited the Hadfields and Bergsjos over for blackened catfish. I was exhausted by the end of this week. Cadence's b-day party on Monday, funeral dinner for the landslide victims family on Tuesday, redneck bbq Wednesday, Catfish dinner on Thursday. The day after was the 24th of July! I think I was a little out of it!!! Anyway, it was still fun. The kids jumped on the tramp and played in the pool! Everyone, except Cadence, loved going underwater.
Cooper continues to be a very busy one-yr-old. He climbs everywhere, is always dirty and keeps me on my toes. He is so curious and loves to explore and learn.
I wouldn't have it any other way!!! I love this boy!

Some days I like catfish and other times I don't. I think it depends on how fresh it is. The fish this day was mediocre, in my opinion. don't tell Chris because it will hurt his feelings (I don't think he reads this blog so he won't know.) The company was good. I like having friends.

Rob made amazing homemade OREO ice cream. Bergsjos are incredible cooks! I could have eaten the whole container (I almost did!)

Cadence's First Friend Birthday Party

2009-07-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

On Monday, July 20, Cadence had her first birthday party. It was going to be a week earlier, but due to my Aunt Delpha's funeral and the flood, I had to delay it one week. This was Cadence's first "friend" birthday party. Like usual, I had an internal debate if I should do one at all, who should I invite, should I keep it small or make it big, am I going to offend and make kids sad by not inviting them, how over the top or just normal should I do it...etc. This is what I decided (and please do not be offended if you child was not invited). Cadence and I chose the friends she plays with most often throughout the whole year who were between the ages of 2 1/2 and 4. There were 8 kids that fit into that criteria and it was still a few more than I hoped or planned. Cadence has SO MANY friends!!!! I wanted to keep it small, but it turned out perfect. These are 6 of the kids that came. Bridget, Parx, Zander, Cooper, Cadence, Jack, Piper and Ryan. Charles and Sadie joined us a little later!

Aren't they a cute bunch? Jack is so funny in pictures. As you can tell, it was a water party and they were in their swimsuits. I think this is cute enough to make the cover of the swimsuit edition of a magazine.We started off playing some games. The first game was Duck, Duck, Goose. The kids knew they were the goose when water was dumped on their back. I thought this would be so fun. When I was teaching SPED, we would play this with popping a water balloon over the head and it was the most loved game every. At this party, some of the kids didn't love this game:(
The next game was London Bridges Falling Down. The kids were supposed to run through the little pool and under the squirting hose. This was NOT a success either. A few of the kids participated and others didn't. I found if the kids were afraid of water or didn't like getting their face wet, they didn't want to play this game.

All the kids liked getting a few water balloons to play with and be mommies and daddies to. The favorite part was just throwing the balloons down and watching them pop!!!
After those games, the kids could either jump on the tramp with a sprinkle tied to one of the post

or get in the bigger pool we just set up in the backyard (this was generously given to us by Chris' brother in Texas). The kids loved both of these water activities!!!While they played, Chris cooked lunch. I chose a very extensive, expensive, healthy menu:) Hot dogs, cheesy curls, and pop! What a party planner!
Following the consumption of food, we opened presents. I wrote on the invitations to please bring INEXPENSIVE presents because, like most kids, Cadence plays with many toys a few times and then either forgets about them or is bored with them. Her favorite thing to play with is people!!! Cadence received amazing presents!!! Art supplies, books, a doctor kit, a 4ft princess statue to color, princess jewelry and hair supplies and others! What great friends!!!
After the presents, came the cupcakes. I was going to make a layered rainbow cake, but based on the ages of the kids and the time involved, I just made cupcakes which I think turned out much better. No spoons, plates, etc. Cadence was so excited to blow out the #3 candle!!!

The last activity the kids participated in was where Cadence gave them all a gift for coming to her party. I can't decide if it was a flop or if it was fun. I think it went a little long. I had 8 little presents that were wrapped from 2 to 7 times. We played musical presents. One present at a time was passed around. When the music stop, the kid holding it unwrapped one layer. When the last layer was unwrapped, the child got to keep that present.
All the kids got party blowers, stickers, their little present and hopefully had fun! I have a lot to learn about throwing kids' parties. Thanks for coming y'all. Cadence loved her party!

Cooper's First Birthday

2009-07-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

July 8th was Cooper's first birthday. What a big birthday boy!!! The day was just a normal day with some dollar store presents to open and a cake. Some days I feel like a pathetic mom because most things are just plain and simple. No big party for this cute little guy. After I finished painting Cadence's closet (notice paint on my face and clothes), I wrapped Cooper's presents. He unwrapped them in a most unusual way - with his teeth, biting them. Yes, everything is still going in his mouth!!!!
Cadence wanted to assist in unwrapping presents too! He was nice to share that opportunity! He also thought all of us should enjoy putting wrapping paper in our mouths. Silly guy!
He got a beach ball, cars, a floatie in which to sit, and a mylar balloon with a dog on it. He kept giving it kisses!!!! Next came the adventure of the cake. We decided to get a big cake and let him have a piece instead of the whole thing. We shared the cake with the whole family and Tangi and her family (they happened to stop by during presents.) Cooper was excited to dig in. Dad assisted him in blowing the candle out. He just wanted to grab it!
I cut a piece of cake. Put it in front of him! He looked at it! Dipped one finger in and tasted! YUMMY!!!!
Liking it, Cooper went for a big handful. Even tastier!!!
Next bite, he attempted to shove half of the cake in his mouth!!! "Oh, I just love getting frosting EVERYWHERE!!! I think it looks especially nice as a beard."
"I've also heard it is good for the hair. I'll smear it in there just for fun!"

"Now it is your turn! May I give you a beard and some frosting conditioner for your hair?"Happy Birthday Cooper! I've loved having you in my life for the past year. We hope you have many more amazing learning years with us!!!! We love you!

Cadence's 3rd Birthday

2009-07-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

Cadence's 3rd birthday was spent at East Canyon with Grammy, Cole, Syd, Jeff, Tammie and us. She was so excited her cousins could be there. She LOVES them!!! In the morning, we attended the Fourth of July breakfast put on by the restaurant at East Canyon. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, potatoes, and OJ! yum!!!! Afterwards, we went back to the condo to let the birthday princess open presents. Cadence received a coloring book, bubbles, float toys for the pool, ABC stacking blocks, a felt learning book and other dollar store gifts. She had fun stacking the blocks and Cooper enjoyed trying to knock them over - much to Cadence's dismay! Because we were on vacation, we bought just one piece of cake that was destroyed by the time it came to blowing out the candles. Gratefully, Cadence still enjoyed blowing out all three candles and eating part of it. Activities for the day included a small hike, swimming, playing with presents, attempting to go fishing only to be attacked by mosquitoes, playing on bunk beds, and playing at the playground.
In the evening, we drove to Henefer to watch fireworks. Because Cadence was three, she wasn't afraid. (When we watched fireworks two days earlier in Hyrum, she screamed and cried.) She said three made her brave.
As we were going to bed, Cadence told us she had such a fun day and asked if she could turn three again!!!! It was so cute!!!

When we got home a couple days later, we surprised her with a big gift - a new bike (kindly given to us by some friends after their daughter grew too big for it.) Cadence obviously loved it!!!The bike has gone up and down the sidewalk many times since she laid eyes on it! She wrecked on it the first night she got it, but after a few minutes got back on and rode some more. It's because she is brave she says.
What a grand birthday this was! Cadence is one sweet little three-year-old!!!

Redneck BBQ

2009-07-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

My next few posts are all out of order chronologically. Bare with me as I attempt to just get all our important activites down even if they aren't in order!!!

Yesterday, we had our REDNECK BBQ. During the event, I decided to make it an annual event! After passing out fliers to our neighbors, friends and some people from our ward, we had about 70 people show up from ages 12 months to 84-yrs-old!!!They were told to BYOM (meat to BBQ), a side to share, and something on which to sit! We supplied the utensils, paper products, condiments, water and yard full of mowed weeds! There were two large BBQ full of meat, 3 card tables full of food and various items in which to sit - camp chairs, buckets, blankets, tarps, couches with mismatched cushions, garage sale chairs that need to be refinished, etc. The drinks were poured from a gaslike container! Truly chaotic and redneck!

A few dressed as rednecks. Our next-door-neighbors, the Sanfords, were amazing and stole the show! I think they should be rednecks all the time. Cameron w/ his bubba teeth looking at me with cross-eyes!

Sweet Sadie with her sweet smile!

Angie and Josh are romantic rednecks! What a... stunning couple! Angie is holding the sign she won from me that says, "If your smokin' in here, you better be on fire!"

And, a partial family picture with Tristan in it! The background is our redneck porch! What a backdrop for these pictures! Oh, the joy!!!!

As is often the case, I forgot to get a picture of the 4 of us together. Luckily, Tangi grabbed the camera while I was holding Cooper and Cadence. I wore my plus size tattered paint shorts (held up by a belt) a paint t-shirt, greasy hair and blacked out a tooth using....a Reese's PB cup wrapper. Cadence had crazy hair and a blacked out tooth and Cooper just ran around in his diaper! Chris wore a do-rag and blacked out a tooth! I need to make better outfits for next year.

Katie and Crystal got their redneck on! Love the mullet!!!!

I gave away prizes for those who dressed up - sunflower seeds, roach spray, signs with redneck sayings ("hot and beer on tap here, "my other car is a piece of junk," etc.), bubba teeth, toothbrushes, mouthwash, deodorant, fried pork rinds, and a dog statue. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Cadence and Cooper since this was their neighborhood party and I make 2 dozen cupcakes to eat. Next year, I want to have people tell redneck jokes and "You know you're a redneck if..." statements. As I was preparing for the evening, I kept making up "You know your a redneck statements that applied to our family. Here are some of them: You know you're a redneck if...

-your house has 6 different colors of paint on it.

-your TV costs more than your car.

-you hang your clothes to dry on a clothes line in your laundry room.

-your driveway is gravel and woodchips

-you have lived in a barn (for two years!!!)

-you live in a basement apartment while you rent out the top.

-you still wear the clothes you wore in high school 15 years later

-your lawn is just mowed weeds

-your TV is larger than your dining room table

The list could go on and on. We truly are rednecks!!!

The only thing missing was not being able to put food on the tailgate of Chris' truck. It was in the shop:( The trampoline was a main attraction. The 20+ kids in attendance went crazy in there!!!! Luckily, no one got hurt! After everyone left and we got cleaned up, Chris jumped in the Big Little pool with the kids! Cooper went skinny dipping!!! Naked is what rednecks do! Totally appropriate. They loved laying back with their life jackets on!
I can't wait to make next year's BBQ bigger and better!!!

The End Result

2009-07-21T07:14:00.001-07:00

The end result of the mudslide/canal break was this: 3 people lives lost, one house completely destroyed, three other houses damaged (and full of mud and rocks), an irrigation system that keeps filling up with silt and mud, and more awareness of the dangers that exist on that hill and the canal systems in Utah.
No one is claiming responsibility and many people want to blame someone or something other than "an act of nature" or "an act of God." Did God cause this? I can't really answer that for sure, but I think He allows natural consequences to happen. In this case, it sounds like there were many contributing factors to this tragedy. Our church building no longer has the victims' families living in it, or is the camp out for the media. It is a place of worship and today I get the blessing of organizing the compassionate service lunch for the victims' families after their funeral (even though they are Catholic). Religion doesn't matter because we are all God's children. We wanted them to feel more love and know that many of us care about them and their situation.
The landslide! There used to be a house there. There used to be a cement canal, a walking/jogging trail and a steep incline. Now there is just a reminder to this incident and a canal that no longer delivers water to farmers.
The house to the right of landslide. It is full of mud and rocks as high as two or three feet. ARS says it will cost $30,000 to $40,000 to repair it. The city hasn't determined if it was structurally damaged or if it is safe for it to be lived in again.

The duplex to the left of the landslide. Chris was called in to remove mud and dirt from the basement apartment. He said it was about 9"-12" deep. The basement has been gutted and has not been determined if it is inhabitable again.

Let this be a reminder of the need to have an emergency 72 hour kit. When they uncovered the victims' car, it was full of clothes and different personal items. It was believed that after the landlord told them to leave, they kept going in the home to recover their stuff. They were obviously in it when the fast mudslide/canal broke. They had no chance to get out! No chance to live!

Rest In peace.

Tragedy Makes Way For Service

2009-07-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

After a meeting our church leaders had on Saturday night, Chris and all the "Presidents" of the organizations called the ward members and told them that all three wards would meet at 9:30am for a one hour sacrament meeting. The church was packed - with even a few members who don't come very often. The stake president and area authority seventy (Chris' former bishop, Bishop Cherrington) spoke about service. They basically said "go home and get your work clothes on." After the meeting, we divided into wards and were told what service was needed.
Upon going home, one of the young women, Millie, agreed to watch Cadence and Cooper so I could participate. We took the kids there and then started at Eris' house. I dug out a recently planted flower bed, and replanted the bulbs and perenials that were in it.

Our ward group moved from house to house doing whatever we could to the outside and inside (if they had something for us). These are some of the projects we did. Scraping the mud off the sidewalks, parking strip and street and into piles for the street cleaner or dump truck. Notice all the volunteers.
Pressure washing driveways.
Digging out the irrigation ditch. There was so much mud in it. After it was "dug out," it filled back up with mud quickly and had to be redug again. Notice the pile of mud on the side. When I was digging, I almost got my feet permanently stuck in it. Luckily, I came out the ditch with both shoes!!!Our ward was assigned a time to assist at the worst yard (the one on the corner of Crockett and Canyon). Here we are receiving instruction from the CERT team.
After we got our instructions, we got a hard hat and orange vest! Totally hot (and sweaty from the prior group!) My neighbor Angie and her mom, Lisa, are so fun!Some people gave service by making cookies and treats for the volunteers. Others manned the 'fill-up and stay dehydrated station.' I volunteered to eat quite a few cookies and popsicles!!!This is the yard that was hardest hit. They will have to replant grass because there is no way to get all the mud out of there. It was 3-6" thick through most of it and did not come out easily.

This is just some of the mud that was shoveled out of the yard. It was so hard to get the mud out. Not your normal mud!!!
There were hundreds of people from wards and members of other faiths who just showed up to serve. It is awesome to see neighborhoods, wards, and a city come together for a common purpose. In disasters, the best of a person comes out!!!

Pictures I Took Of The Flood

2009-07-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

Wow! Having a mudslide/flood in our area has put everything on hold! Time stops still and everyone focuses on preventing more damage and clean-up. This will be one event I will always remember.

I was hoping to get a deal on some frames and twin sheets at a garage sale when my phone rang. A neighbor asked if we were home because a 'ditch' or 'canal' was flooding one of the members in our ward. I told her I would call Chris and tell him to get down there immediately. I left for home to watch the kids. Upon arrival, I could hear sirens and see water down the street. As I walked closer, this is what I saw! This is the street I live on - I am about six houses down from where we live. Yikes! A river of muddy water. Lots of it! As I look across the street, I see Roxy's old place taking on water. Much water left 200 N. through Roxy's and Campbell's backyard and went to the canal behind their house.
Walking a little farther, I see Chris and the gang putting up boards, rocks, whatever they can find to keep water from going into Eris' home. Unfortunately, there was too much water too fast. Her basement got a couple inches of water. Her yard grew mud!
Rounding the corner, I looked down Crockett Ave. A river of muddy water! What a surprise.Norma's rental. Does this picture not scream 'Welcome home!!!' The tennant in this house just moved in three days earlier!There are three houses for sale on Crockett. This one is the only one that got flooded. I have a feeling she will have a little bit more difficulty selling her home now. Flooded basement! Muddy lawn! Tangi's front yard. Harley's little truck! Luckily, it didn't get swept away!!!
Whenever there's a river in your front yard, you want a family picture, right? Well, I got one for Tangi!!! Did you see Harley on Channel 13 news! He's famous - like Chris!
Mr. Busby's yard always looks amazing. His house just got put on the National Historic Register 3 weeks ago. See him taking a picture of the plaque he put in front of the house with muddy water for the background. Beautiful. His yard looks awful. Luckily, his home didn't have a basement!!! No flooding inside! His house will stay on the register.
The old house on the corner of Crockett and Canyon Rd. This yard was devasted. Most the water and mud ran through it and left an annoying present - a large quantity of silt!!!

Looking down Canyon Rd. They wouldn't let me through due to downed power lines, a gas leaked and a house that was destroyed. You can see some rubble and rocks in the road.
On my way back to where Chris was, I see Chris' truck in the middle of the road being used as a tool to block water. This is the dam they had made against Chris' truck to divert the river through a garden instead of into yards and down 200 N.
I guess there is a reason we have so much crap at our house! It came in very handy this day. Those big tree limbs, board and OSB scraps kept a lot of water out of houses and yards.
I came back to assist in anyway I could. I talked with Eris' and calmed her down. She was a little in shock - almost fainting. I made her sit down, got her water, told her not to worry about teaching relief society the following day, helped her contact her insurance, got some people in the basement moving furniture and assessing damages. Then I went to the next house - Tvetdnes and did similar. This is why I was walking the streets with a camera and not assisting with a shovel. I had Cooper in my arms! At 25 lbs, he gave me a workout! I held him for a couple hours! The mud and water prevented me from using the stroller.
After they got the water stopped, Chris and I checked in on other homes. We went to Tvetdnes'. Her house was flooded and had about 6 inches of water in the basement. Chris ran to get a pump and got as much water out of the basement as he could along with others.When the water stopped, this is what was left. Mud, silt, dirt - EVERYWHERE! Inches of it! Luckily, many people had rushed to serve and clean-up. Hundreds of people brought shovels and went to work attempting to clean up what they could.There were people everywhere including people from our ward who rushed to the store (or food storage) and brought water, popsicles, and treats. Chris was in a parade (or so he thought). He was jsut on the way to the next house!
Mr. Busby's flower art is destroyed. The birds are covered with mud.
Our street. Covered with mud!!! What a mess. This is slick stuff. I fell on it!!!
We went back home to check on Cadence and to refuel our bodies. I wanted to make sure our house was ok. I was hoping the irrigation ditch that ran through our backyard didn't flood. I knew it would have more water than usual in it. This is what I found in the garden - silt (and weeds). Even with our headgate in, we got a thin layer of silt.

The irrigation ditch was lined with mud! I'm nervous for the next time we are supposed to irrigate. Will all this silt come into the garden?We ended up taking both kids back through the rummage to see what we could do and what the plan was. The news helicopters were buzzing around. At the church, it was full of news trucks. I should have given them copies of my pictures since most of the ones they had were after the water was stopped. The Bishop talked with Chris to find out which houses in the ward were damaged and the extent of that damage. They copied my pictures to print out for a large meeting that night with community and church leaders.This is a picture of the roof that had been swept off the house that was destroyed and the garage full of rocks in the house next to it!!! Unfortunately, this is where we heard that there were most likely 3 people inside the house who were dead.

The next post will be about Sunday.

The Flood And Chris on TV

2009-07-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard or seen the news, "the Island" (our neighborhood) was flooded today (Saturday, July 11) from the canal above Canyon Road breaking. Crockett Ave was a river and a few people in our ward had their basements flooded. The river started down our road on 200 N., but found ways to the other canal across the street from us before it got to our house. We are grateful we weren't flooded!!!! We were out assisting all day! Here is the link to KSL news. Click on the video to watch Chris. He was interviewed as we were reporting/assessing damages of the houses in our ward. He also was quoted in the article. What a crazy day!!! More pictures to come later!
Here are some pictures from CacheValleyDaily.com. That truck is Chris' truck. Cooper and I are in the pictures of a neighbors garage.

Patriotic East Canyon

2009-07-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

My mom usuaaly reserves her time share at East Canyon over the 4th of July. On the 2nd, we watched the fireworks with the Fredricksons out in Hyrum. Cadence was afraid of the noise and Cooper stared in amazement. On Friday, we packed up the car and headed to East Canyon. Syd and Cole were there and Cadence was so excited to be with her cousins. They went swimming and played together all evening. After a dinner of Rib-eye steak, everyone played a killer game of Monoply.

In the morning, we filled our bellies with pancakes, eggs, bacon and potatoes at the 4th of July breakfast. Because it was Cadence's THIRD birthday, she opened her presents and played with the ballons and blowers(?).

Her cousins had to leave and on a little "hike" we went!

Cadence was brave to sit on this fence all by herself. (Part of the resort is in the background.)

That day we swam, tried to go fishing (but got attacked by mosquitos), played we Cadence's presents, explored the playground, talked with Zazu, and just had fun! In the evening. we drove to Henefer for fun fireworks. (I don't know why this picture is sideways!)

Sunday morning we drove home because Chris had to teach a lesson at church. Vacations are so much more exciting and busier with kids!!!

A Late 11 Months

2009-07-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

Cooper has reached the age of 11 months (one month ago. I'm late again!!!) He is requiring a lot of supervision as he is a very busy, curious, happy and mischievious little guy. I no longer think of him as a baby:( He has taken on a whole new persona. Cooper loves the dirt and mud. Irrigation time, dumping water from the pool into the flower bed, or anywhere else he can sit in dirt, mud or small rocks will keep him occupied for hours. He still enjoys putting the rocks in his mouth. Sometimes, I think he looks like an abandoned or neglected child because he is filthy (but still cute!) He also like to hold the hose and assist in filling the pool or watering the lawn. Cooper also loves water and swimming both in the wading pool in our front yard or big swimming pools. At bathtime, he crawls from one end of the tub to the other and back again. He stands up and is so busy touching everything outside of the tub he can. When it rained a lot, he loved sitting in the puddles and splashing.Cooper's communication continues to improve. He has added the signs "duck," "rain," "again," "water," "airplane," "book," and a few more. His vocalizations have continue to increase and are becoming more distinctive. He loves to talk and call out to people. He attempts copies sounds and blowing that we do - like giving raspberries, saying "shhhh" with a finger upto his lip, blowing air on hot food, and blowing kisses. Eating is going well. He still loves to nurse (but won't sign "milk" and he pulls his own hair when he nurses at night), but eats a variety of food. Oranges are one of his favorite foods. I usually put the oranges on top of this countertop and he climbs and reaches for them and starts eating the peel. He gets a funny look on his face from the taste, but continues to eat!!! He actually spit out some food this month - mashed potatoes and jello. Cooper is still crawling. He is fast and has a "sprint crawl" when we wants to get somewhere fast. When he crawls outside, he uses his hands and feet (not his knees). He looks like a stink bug crawling through the grass. He is obsessed with the stairs. Whether we are inside or outside, he climbs the stairs and has climbed up our long steep stairs by himself quite a few times. He has stood on his own a few times, but will fall down when he realizes he is doing it. Walking while holding our hands is another favorite activity. He holds one of our hands and walks, but does not want to let go. Cooper is getting heavier and heavier. He's got some major stomach overhang and rolls. I am developing some great muscles in my arms. His 5th tooth broke through. It is on the top. His hair is turning quite blonde and straight and his skin very white (although he sunburns quickly and easily). He doesn't look like a bi-racial baby.
Cooper enjoys assisting me with the laundry. While the washer is filling-up, I put him on top of the clothes and he plays with the water. When I am getting clothes out of the dryer, he pulls up and empties the lint tray. Sometimes he tries to eat it, but realizes that he does NOT like the taste or texture. He wants to help me wash the dishes, but there is little space for me to put him up on the counter. Let's just say he doesn't like to help me clean up. He carries toys all over the house and plays/destroys/messes up Cadence's dollhouse toys. One of his newest obsessions is pulling the wallpaper off the wall in the upstairs bathroom. He finds the edges, and with his little finger nails, gets underneath it and pulls. He has ripped some rather large pieces off. Oh well :(!!! I guess we will get to redo that room too someday. He also likes to ring the doorbell when entering the house, turn lights on and off, and turn the water in the sink on and off.Cooper is into everything - even more than last month. He has dumped bags and boxes of cereal. Two more shelves in the kitchen have been cleared off and one of the countertops is a victim of his climbing and pulling off items to eat or play with. He can climb on couches and even can get up on some chairs. He has a stubborn side and gets mad if I take something away from him. He lets me know when I have made him upset!Cadence loves Cooper and they are becoming better friends every day. Cadence is his partner in crime. They both love the mud and dumping water, riding bikes, and laughing. It is so fun to see them interacting. Most of the time, they get along. Cooper got sick for two days this month. He had diarhea (yeah for me) and threw up twice. He was a little clingy even though he usually will go to most people and is very social. Cooper doesn't hold still for very long. Church is a struggle. He has the desire to explore, move around, crawl under the pews - not sit still for three hours. He keeps me busy.

Getting Cooper into his carseat is NOT fun. He does this stiff body thing and turns while screaming so it is nearly impossible. I feel like I am abusing the poor kid while I belt him in. He is just so interested in everything he sees (like the seatbelts and hooks and locks and window roller) that he wants to touch them. He doesn't mind driving though. Him and Cadence have lots of fun pretending to drive. Even though Cooper is no longer a baby, he is my baby and I love him deeply. His smile melts my heart. He LOVES to cuddle and is a momma's boy. Despite not getting anything done and some frustration on my part, I love this stage of exploration and curiousity. Cooper is learning and growing tremendously. My "Bubba" is my joy!!!

A Walk Along the Wiver

2009-07-06T12:59:00.001-07:00

For FHE a couple of weeks ago, we took Cadence to ride her big wheel/bike along the Logan River Trail and us to follow with Cooper in a stroller. It was so fun and beautiful! Cadence is so funny. She would pedal as fast as she could and then put her feet down to stop herself because she was going to fast. She rode almost the whole 2 miles. When she got tired, I took a turn. Let's just say riding a big wheel isn't as comfortable, fun or functional as it was when I was 5.
I did manage to make the pedals go around, but Cadence felt like she wanted to push me! What a big helper! I'm sure the people who passed us thought we were crazy. Well, we are!!!
A week later, my mom came up to take care of the kids while I sold my latest creations, bandana dresses at the farmers market. She stayed a couple of days and we took her on a walk along the river! She loved it and now this gives her one more reason to move to Logan after she retires!!!
I love taking pictures on the train tracks by river. I wish I had an amazing camera!!! Cadence is one of the patriotic skirts I made her.

Swimming at Snowbird

2009-07-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my mom had her timeshare week at Snowbird. I've been going to Snowbird the third week in June since I was a baby. All of us went to relax on Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures with Chris there! Chris had to work on Monday so we drove back with him and left after playgroup (at our house on Tuesday). The kids and I had so much fun!!!

Cadence and Cooper got to play with two of their favorite cousins (Cole and Syd) on Sat and Sun.

They went swimming together and played at the park. Cooper loved the kiddie pool because he could stand and walk by himself. The water made it easy for him to hold up his weight and maintain his balance. He was more confident walking when he was holding onto a noodle or in a floating donut!

On Tuesday, we brought our other fun cousins (Maddie and McKinley) down with us to stay until Friday night. Party!!! Much of our time was spent in the pool. Cadence actually got her face wet without crying! She was much more daring than last year. She wasn't clingy and wanted to go in the deep end! She still won't put her face IN the water. Maybe next year!

Cooper got his face wet too. He liked to splash. I put him underwater a few times. He didn't freak out, but he didn't seem to like it either. The pool is so much fun!

We hiked too! We definitely had to walk/hike to "Look Out Point" and get our yearly picture. The weather was good this day. (It rained a few of the other days we were there.) So beautiful!
While we were there, Cadence, Maddie and McKinley went exploring! They found this pile of sticks to climb in. Cadence did not like the ants she would see on the ground. She took off running once, tripped and skinned her knee. It was traumatic for her!!!!

We also played on the playground more! The swings were awesome because it was an all-ability playground. Cooper enjoyed driving the car and attemping to climb the slides.

The most fun activity and newest addition to Snowbird is the mining activity. We bought two big bags of dirt/gems and poured them into the contraptions that one puts in the running water. The water sifts the small dirt pieces out and leaves the larger gems and minerals. The girls loved finding and sorting the gems. Cooper just loved playing in the water. This is such a good idea! I wish I would have started the company that sets these mining mills up!

Cooper also loved this large stuffed dog that we passed in the Snowbird Center several times. He gave it lots of slobbery kisses and darling squeals!

Grammy brought some paint and other activities for inside the condo. Cooper found the paint and enjoyed fingerpainting!!!

I brought my sewing machine and sewed almost 30 bandana dresses. I didn't get them all the way finished, but I made A LOT of progress!

The last evening we were there, Snowbird held a "Grill On The Hill" BBQ contest. The kids stopped at the arts and crafts booth. Afterwards, we walked upto where the food and beer (of course) were. The band started playing and Cadence started dancing!!! In front of everyone! She was so cute! Maddie joined her and so did I. You gotta love that Cadence is following my footsteps of being a crazy dancer in the front of crowds!!!

We've been home for 2 weeks and Cadence is still talking about Snowbird! Oh, how we love thee! I enjoyed this year much better than last year. I kept thinking back to how my body felt like exploding with Cooper 2 weeks away from popping out! We are excited about next year!!!

Campfire and Tin Foil Dinners

2009-06-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, we took the kids up the canyon to Second Dam for dinner and a fun evening. I made tinfoil dinners for our meal and had roasted marshmallows for dessert. Cadence loves marshmallows!
Cooper was intrigued by the fire and especially by the ax. He wanted to assist Dad in chopping some wood! He signing quite a bit these days and his sign for "fire" is so cute! He was filthy and shoeless by the end of the evening!
Cadence wanted to fish. Of course, we had to run, go up and down the stairs, talk to and check out everyone along the bridges and rivers edges. Only two people had caught fish. Dad put the fishing pole in the water (without bait) for two or three casts so we could say we fished!
Cadence was so excited when we said we were going to roast marshmallows. She loved to cook/burn them, but wouldn't eat them. She just wanted hers straight out of the bag. Cooper and Cadence are both pyros. Putting long sticks in the fire was a big hit. (When we decided to go fishing to Mantua (see prior post), Cadence got all excited because she thought we were going roast/eat marshmallows again. She asked if we could bring the marshmallows along.)
It was a fun evening! The kids are so busy! We love the outdoors!

Fishing Fun

2009-06-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

We took the kids fishing for FHE last weekend at Mantua Resevior and had a lot of fun. Because I made a new yummy recipe (Chicken with red pepper sauce) and was running behind schedule, we took the dinner there and ate it by our fishing spot. I'm a little worried about Cooper's drinking habits:)

After dinner, we casted our poles in the water. The people next to us said just to drop the line in the little black holes a few inches/feet off shore. We did and Cadence and I caught this little bluegill beauty. It was about 4" long! (It is the tiny black thing by the pole.)

Cooper is refusing to wear shoes (he pulls them off within minutes of getting them on) so I put long leg warmers on him to keep him warm and his feet a little bit protected. There is no hope for us catching fish. He just likes to jerk the pole up and down and all around!

Besides fishing for a few minutes, we walked on the pier/bock dock, threw pebbles in the water, walked the trail to the restroom and acted silly (especially Cadence! - She is so silly these days.)

Chris turned a chair bag into the fishing pole carrier and Cadence likes to assist in carrying the supplies to and from the car.

Cadence used to love to drive the car when she was younger and she is now teaching Cooper how to drive! They love the buttons, knobs and steering wheel. Cadence also enjoys putting coins and objects she finds in the windows and CD player:(

They also love smooshing their face in the window and blowing!

What cute little blowfishes!

Rainy Days

2009-06-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

June has been an unusually rainy month so far. I haven't watered the lawn yet this year and it is green!!! I haven't irrigated the garden (that I replanted) for at least 3 weeks. I think I love the rain most days!!! We've had fun finding alternative places to play to stay dry and also have had many fun moments in the rain and puddles!!!

As always, McDonald's playplace is a huge hit. Cadence LOVES the cheeseburgers and hot fudge sundaes. We met Jack and Piper out at the Smithfield playplace and had a blast. It was packed because of the rain!!!
Cooper is getting big enough to climb around. I am too big to climb around, but I still do it (carrying Cooper)!!! This time, I cleaned up urine in the playplace. How fun!!! I really love my kids! Cadence (and Cooper) have started attending the Get Ready School program again at the Family Information Center with Jack, Piper and Bridget. (I love this picture of Cadence. I think she looks so pretty.)I'm glad to have this resource close by and FREE!!!! Storytime, activity time, play time and run through the puddle time make it a joyful day! Hosanna, Hallelujah's twin sister, got baptized on Saturday and I offered to have a little get together for her at our house afterwards. I made 48 cupcakes and there were tons of leftovers. Even though it was raining, we walked/rode bikes up and down the street delivering cupcakes to our neighbors. Cadence loved riding her big wheel "bike" in the rain. Cooper enjoyed being strolled through the rain too! I thoroughly enjoyed it also.

We also strolled through the rain-soaked Summerfest looking at half the artists that had stuck it out! Cadence and Cooper found such joy in chasing big bubbles from the bubble tower. I got out a pair of hand-me-down shoes besides "grammy shoes"/crocs for Cadence and she is smitten by them. They are velco and light up when she walks. She wants to wear them all the time now!
We keep walking and playing in the rain and love it. I secretly hope that it rains at least one day a week for the rest of the summer. There are so many exciting activities to do on rainy days - most of which happen outside!

Father's Day

2009-06-22T09:11:00.001-07:00

I thought the Father's Day gift we gave Chris turned out cute! I bought these big letters of "D" and "A" and took pictures of the kids holding them. This will become a yearly tradition and it will be fun to watch the kids grow over time! (I found this idea on the internet at Brassy Apple and linked to it on my craft blog. If you are a crafty person, you should check it out daily.) Father's Day was nothing special. Church, dinner that Chris fixed and relaxing with the kids! Happy Father's Day, Chris! You are a great dad!