There's NO place like HOME!!!

WE'RE HOME!!! YEAHHHH!!! We are finally home in Omaha after a long trip to Utah. We made the trip back home in about 18.5 hours...it was great (mumble mumble). The closer we got to home, the slower the speed limit went. What awful torture, but we finally made it. We are so greatful to have been able to stay with J's incredibley generous grandma who let us stay with her, even though she is still dealing with some injuries from a few months back. It was great getting to know her better and spending so much time with her (despite us being sick for the first two weeks of being there). We then got to go visit J's other Grandma and Grandpa in Brigham City and I love them too! We have been so lucky to have our families come together so easily. It's like we've been related forever! ha. ( I hope that feeling isn't one sided...lol). I wish we could have stayed a little longer with J's Grandparents in Brigham, but I was very anxious to be in my own home and to rescue my poor lonely kitty, Milo. We only had a one day window to get through Wyoming and Nebraska without snow so we had to take it. We got held up a bit in Cheyenne when our front tire started going flat and we had to spend 2.5 hours at a mechanic (who thankfully was open on Sunday....we would have been stranded there otherwise) and suprisingly the mishap only set us back an hour behind our planned schedule. We got home at 3:30 am to an anxious attention hungry cat ( which I loved, because I missed him too) and despite only getting 5 hours of sleep before we had to get up with the kids, we were very well rested when we woke up. Something about being in your own bed that helps you sleep better...huh. Anyway, I can't wait to see friends, and ENJOY BEING HOME. And tonight...I sleep in MY OWN BED AGAIN!!!! YEAH!

WHAT NEXT????

For those of you who are following our trip to Utah...I don't have anything fun to report. Some of you know that last week Bug caught a cold which inevitable spread to everyone, including our incredibley gracious host, J's grandma, and I felt horrible. It wasn't a huge suprise because it was a long stressful drive for everyone getting here and it's a new community with new germs. The REAL fun started on Monday morning at 2 am when Tman woke up puking. J and I were up for the next 3.5 hours with him puking all over us every 15-30 minutes. We had taken them to a mall playground that Saturday where we suspect he picked up the stomach flu. Then when I went to the Gym on Tuesday I was SO excited to see a big fat warning on the door of the gym's daycare stating that if you had brought your child into their child care between thursday and saturday that they may have been exposed to "hand, foot and mouth" ( which for those of you that don't know, it is a lovely illness where kids get sores all over their hands, their feet and their mouth/throat...highly contagious...sounds fun..huh?). Go figure, I brought them in on Friday. My luck just keeps getting better huh? To our excitment Justin showed signs of the wonderful stomach flu on Tuesday night, and I, lucky me, was only 6 hours behind him. Needless to say....I think we are all glad that I'm unable to post pictures...ha. Anyway, It's one thing being miserable, useless and contagious at home, but it's a completely different thing being miserable, useless and contagious in someone else's home. Luckily it was only a 24 hour bug, but now I have to live in fear that Bug and J's Grandma are going to get it. UGH!!! I will feel so horrible if they get it. Anyway, I wish I could tell you about great snowboarding trips (even though Utah doesn't have much snow right now) or our great family outtings to museums, or zoos, or maybe even visiting with friends and family, BUT we've been too busy being sick, so we can't. Aren't we FUN??? What will next week bring?

Dying to Blog

I'm so sad that I can't update you with pictures right now, but seeing as we are not at home and don't have the proper equipment to download onto J's Grandma's computer, I can't give you any. We did however get our family pictures taken last Monday before we left Omaha by a good Friend, Loralee, and they turned out great. As soon as I have them, I will post them. Things are still good in Utah. Despite all of us coming down with head colds once we got here, we are all making quick recoveries thus far. We are definitely anticipating getting out of the house and getting some fresh crisp air tomorrow. If I can figure out how to download pics here, I'll post them asap, but so far there hadn't been anything exciting. Just hanging out acclimatizing to the high altitude..ugh..that'll wear ya out. lol.

Are We There Yet?

We survived the dreaded drive to Utah yesterday, and surprisingly, the kids did GREAT! The last drive we took out here last summer was awful, but they did so good yesterday. I think Tman's attention span has grown significantly since the last trip, and that helped a ton. So now that we are here, we can relax, unpack, and enjoy the stay with Grandma Neola. The only thing to worry about now is my poor sweet kitty Milo. I hope his friends keep him company and give him the attention he needs. Isn't it amazind how we give human characteristics to animals? I've felt awful for the last week, because I was afraid that Milo might think we abandoned him , or that we didn't love him. ugh. Anyway, hopefully the drive back goes as smoothly as the drive out. Until then, we'll miss our beds, we'll miss our house, we'll miss our cat, and we'll miss our friends.

Defend Yourself!

A good friend of mine invited me to go to a self defense class last night, and WOW. It was great. I have to admit I am a "what if....." kind of girl. I always ask myself what I would do if some drastic thing happened to me like someone pulling a gun on me, or trying to take my children, and in my imagination I always end up the unconquerable hero. (Now if any of you see me spacing off, you'll know that I'm day dreaming about kicking someone's butt..haha) But in reality fear and adrenaline are debilitating sometimes. I went to this self defense class last night and learned SO much, and it made me so much more confident and empowered! So why would I keep it for myself? I think everyone should get out there and take a self defense course! If you can find one near you, the course I took last night was called "FAST Defense" and I HIGHLY recommend it. It does a great job of helping you recognize the adrenaline rush, and teaches you the easiest ways to defend yourself. You don't have to remember any type of complicated kung fu. It's plain and simple...so go find a class RIGHT NOW and learn to defend yourself!

Ahhh, the Holidays

Well, it is officially baking season in my book. Last friday some good friends from church had their 5th Annual Cookie Swap. Oh, but don't let the fun title fool you. It's a fierce competition of cookie tasting and judging. Last year we came in second with our self-standing chocolate chip turkey cookies. This year we came home with nothing for our layered sour cream cookie turkey. sad day. lol. Next year I'll plan better..ya know...before the morning of the cookie swap. It was still great to hang out with friends and put ourselves into a sugar coma though. So since I didn't have a blog last year, I'm going to post a picture of last year's entry as well.

Entry 2008

Entry 2007

I've turned into a "MOM"

Not the good kind...I mean the kind that doesn't do her hair or make up before she leaves the house...or even changes out of her pajamas for that matter. I laughed at myself this morning because I tried to look at myself in other people's views (particularly the other mom's from Bug's preschool group) and I just LAUGHED!!! No matter how empty my week is, I wake up Thursday morning only to look at the clock and realize that I have less time than I would like to get up, get the kids up, feed them, dress them, and get Bug to preschool. Usually what ends up happening is that I neglect to get myself ready. I left the house this morning in a mad dash only to realize I still had yesterday's make up on, my hair was EVERYWHERE...(luckily I had a hooded sweatshirt that I was able to partially hide it with) and I was still wearing my pajamas. I don't really view myself as a frumpy mom that doesn't take care of myself, but there are certainly days where others may see me and definately think that I'm that kind of person. Luckily I'm secure enough with my inability to go to bed early enough to wake up and get ready for the day..and I'm ok with that. Besides if I had worried so much about getting ready for the day T-Man and I wouldn't have had a great morning together. It also helped that Bug went home with a friend to play after preschool and T-man and I were able to have extra time. Thanks to Lacey! In my eyes being a mom is so much easier and SO much more fun when I'm able to let go of things like putting my make up on, or doing my hair and focus on having fun. Don't get me wrong...I'm not giving up make up or my flat iron, but love that I looked like crap today and I STILL had a great day!

Halloween

Here are a few pictures of the kids at our ward halloween party the day before Halloween. ( sorry..no pictures from Halloween day. We were too "pictured out" to take any more. We just wanted to be DONE with Halloween!) Random snap shot of the kids...that was the best

option for not getting intentionally scowled at

Can you tell Bug wasn't particularly fond of having pictures taken that night?

The stuffed scarecrow and his beloved teddy bear

Bug with her friend...and chili on her face

Carving Jacketie Lanterns

For Family Night the Monday before Halloween, we carved our "Jacketie Lanterns" as Bug likes to call them. Here are some pictures of the process. We decided since it was the kids' first time we would let them help us gut the pumpkins and make a mess. Both of them were grossed out and didn't want to do it, so J and I ended up having to help....just a little. lol It was so fun to watch the kids. Milo was tracking through the mess investigating the madness. It was a very fun night, and the kids are still talking about pumpkins and jacketie lanterns and Bug keeps asking if it's Halloween again?

The finished product

Final Display

Pumpkin Patch Marathon

This year was the first year we have taken the kids to a pumpkin patch, and we ended up going several times. The kids loved being able to run around in such open areas, and they loved the animals so we just kept coming back. October was a nice change from the everyday routine, and the kids learned alot about animals and shapes. The fall setting was absolutely beautiful, and the weather was perfect to stick around for a while to take pictures. I have SOOO many more pictures, but these were some of my favorites from each trip in no particular order. Sorry there's ALOT. Some of my ABSOLUTE favorites from this group of pics are Bug's first pony ride, Both of the kids' first encounters with chicks, and the kids with Daddy on the tractor. This post was exceptionally frustrating and uncooperative. could be the equiptment, I suppose. Our computere has been acting particulalarly pathetic the last few weeks. Technology is definately a love/hate relationship! Don't ya think?

Photography Ambitions

I've always loved photography (the appropriate kind that is) and I've thought about taking some classes lately. When I went to Seattle in March my dad let me play around with his really cool, really expensive, high tech digital camera, and it was so fun. I couldn't put it down..and I didn't even know what I was doing. I think I'm going to take a course, and take it to a higher level! These are some pics I took with my dad's camera... they are lame, I know... but at least I can say I did it!

Here are some flowers from my mom's garden

Bug the Hobbit. Friend of the Tree Ents

Daddy and Bug coming home from feeding the Llama next door

Grandpa and Bug getting ready to go on a walk with their Stormy Kromer hats

Before

After

Leap Year Party

I have so much to catch up on, and I'm going to start back in February. (the last half, anyway...The first half will have to come later since we have to download the pictures from J's parents computer). I'm going to start at the end of February when we were able to go back to my parent's house in Seattle. It all started when my brother found out he was going to be deployed again, so we wanted to have a family get together before he left. So I thought "Why not make the date easy to remember and do it on Leap Year..since it only come around every four years"...not to mention it's my birthday and what better present than to have all of my family together? It was also very special since it was the first time I was able to meet my newest sister-in-Law Trish. We weren't able to go to their wedding, unfortunately, and so this was the first time meeting her. She is GREAT. She fits in perfectly with our family! So here are a few pictures of the Shin Dig on February 29, 2008.

This is my sleeping brother-in-law Eric, My brother Tony, and his Wife Trisha

Christine...need I say more?lol

The Cake. (I'm refraining from any other comments)

Do you like our party hats?

My oldest brother Jason, and my Duck.....I mean my Dad. Sorry. I get so confused sometimes.

Halloween Costumes

k. So for the last three weeks I have been asking Bug what she wants to be for Halloween so I could get a head start on making their costumes. This is her answer ...."I want to sneak on bats!!!"

What the heck am I supposed to do with that? The only thing I can think of is giving her a butterfly net and a bat shirt???!?!? Any other ideas? I'm open for suggestions. There's always the other option of not giving her an option and choosing for her. I thought it would be cute to do something as a family....but what. I actually only enjoy the idea of wearing a costume because it would be cute for the kids. I haven't worn a costume in HOW long? Anyway...If you have any suggestions for "sneaking on bats" please let me know. Here is a picture of the first costume I made for Bug. I was SOOO proud of it...still am. Last year I didn't make they because I was way behind on planning...so I really want to make one for Bubba since he's never had his very own before. Feed back appreciated!!!!

Til next time!

SLACKER

So I'm realizing what a slacker I've been about checking other people's blogs and updating my own. I was finally able to checkout Lindsey's only to find that I've had several surveys passed on to me. I have work to do! Lindsey...this is for YOU!!

3 Things...

The Rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts,

and then tag 3 people

3 Joys:

1. My family....DUH!?!?! I have an amazing husband, and the two CUTEST toddlers in the world. "joy" doesn't do them justice!!

2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My life would not be the same with out it. Temples bless me with an eternal family (refer to joy #1....I get them FOREVER) and I love my calling. Being able to share my testimony with the YW is amazing, and some of my best friends are the women I serve with. I can't say how much I look up to them and enjoy being with them

3. Volleyball. corny, I know, but when you stuff block someone or slam the ball down, or dig someone...that has got to be one of the biggest rushes. AWESOME!!

3 Fears:

1. Loosing one of my joys...the first one specifically. (I've had to learn NOT to dwell on the possibilities, though..not healthy)

2. That my kids won't know how much I love them!

3. Spiders...DOUBLE DUH!!!

3 Current Obsessions/Collections

1. Money..but I can't seem to collect very much of it..lol

2. Crafts. Lately it's been sewing Justin's secret project (most of you probably already know what it is, but since Justin may look at this I can't say what it is), aprons for the kids(dinner time can get REALLY messy) and scrapbooking (although that may be classified as a collection...since I've been collecting , more than I've been using..ugh)

3. ebay. need I say more..lol

3 Suprising Facts

(Don't expect too much)

1. a month or two ago, I ALMOST started thinking about having another kid....yeah...NOT gonna happen right now.

2. I have TEN fingers and TEN toes

3. I wear a size 2 ( PSYCH!!!)

(told you..not very suprising)

I tag Cynthia, keri, and Angie

A Visit from Uncle Nathan

Uncle Nathan got to come visit last week, and Bug and Bubba had a blast with him. he got stuck playing lots of tea parties (which invovled wearing chairs as hats, as you can see )(It came from the book "Go Dogs Go" when they wear their Party Hats in the Party Tree...Bug will put almost anything on her head and say "Do you like my party hat?"). I think they wore him out by the end of his visit and he was ready to go home and have a break from his vacation. lol. These two rugrats are BUSY...and now Uncle Nathan knows just HOW busy.

Happy Birthday Bug!

Bug had her third birthday the beginning of August. Can't believe it's already been three years! Holy Cow. She and Bubba had fun unwrapping her cool presents, and then we ate some yummy cake.... (it's chocolate!!!) Hailey helped me make it and she was very proud of it. She was a great helper!

Rest Stop in Cedar City

We had to stop in Cedar City on the way back from Pheonix. The kids had fun running circles around this tree, so finally we decided to put them in it. Here we have a classic Bubba smile (This is his new smile lately), Bug's cute girlie pose, and finally both of them with Daddy. So cute!

Road Trip to Arizona

I love this picture. After stopping in Utah for a few days we got to drive down to Pheonix to visit my oldest sister and her family. Bug and Bubba had a blast with their cousins. They had lots of fun swimming in their pool, and sleeping in their rooms. Bubba did SO good with their two big boxers Sugar and Roxy. He was hesitant at first, but he warmed up really quickly because they were so nice and gentle with him. I wouldn't recommend them for gaurd dogs...lol

The Coolest Playground EVER

We got to go on a road trip to Utah with Grandma Lynne. Aunt Lindsey showed us a REALLY cool castle playground in Logan. The kids had fun climbing all over the castle and eating snowcones....or dumbing them all over the place.

Giant Golf Ball

The kids playing at the mall in July. The toys are cute, but I wish the mall provided a giant vat of purel to dip them in after they're done playing...ew! I'm sure Grandpa Kent will be proud of this picture.