Holy crap! I have a 3 & 5 yr old!

(I love how their invites turned out...I used the same girl as last year and she always puts my thoughts together perfectly.:)
June was filled with lots of birthday celebrations! Well Noah's birthday is on the 4th..which fell on a Saturday. Adam had to work, so we had an easy day and he helped me make cupcakes. We let the kids decide something they want to do, and Noah chose the zoo. So when Adam got home, we went to the zoo in Idaho Falls and then to TGIFridays for dinner. We had lots of fun and I can't believe my baby is 3. He is so much fun and such a joy to our family. He is my easy going kid, with a temper at times! he is such a love bug and will cuddle with me any time of the day if I ask him to. :) Love this kid.



This was the same weekend as Beer fest apparently...and it took forever to get our food. Noah even fell asleep. We did however get our entire meal for free plus a dessert. :)

we still let Noah come home and have one of his cupcakes. :)


Mady's birthday is on the 20th. Her birthday was on a Monday...and of course Adam had to work. lol. So we went to the park with my steps sister and niece and nephew, then out to ice cream. Mady decided she wanted to go bowling. So we did a little get together at Fat Cats and bowled and had pizza. She had tons of fun and got lots of barbie stuff she wanted. :) She is definitely my girlie girl. It's so crazy to think that 5 years ago I had her. time has gone too fast. I tell her all the time I want her to stay little and she tells me she can't because she want's to be big like me. :) she is HUGE mommy's girl and my drama queen. That certainly hasn't changed. ha ha. She will start a pre-K program this fall and that is just crazy. She is such a sweetheart and we feel so blessed to have her in our family.

Aunt Brigitte put pink and purple extensions in Mady's hair, which she loved. :)




Mady lovin up her barbie stuff. :)

We did their big party on Saturday the 25th. It was nice that Adam had Friday off too and that jamie came over to help. I literally worked on their cakes from 9 a.m. to midnight or so. We did take a break during the day to go have pizza, and we stuffed bags for the kids, cleaned the house...and in between i baked, frosted, froze and repeated on like a million layers. I think I used 4 boxes for mady's and 2 for Noahs. I have a neighbor who does amazing things with cakes...I don't know how she does it. It requires way too much patience! Saturday turned out good. Mady was so tired and kind of crabby. She fell asleep right before everyone showed up so I had to wake her up. She had FITS about the wind blowing her balloons and presents away...what would a birthday for Mady be like without the drama? lol. I will just sum it up with pictures.
The awaited cakes! lol. Noah's was a double layer chocolate with peanut butter cream filling. It was way yummy.

Mady's was red velvet with cream cheese filling....and LOTS of decorating. I had to re-arrange my fridge to put them both in over night...then we put a child lock on it so it wouldn't ruin the surprise. Mady was so excited and Noah just thought i was the most awesome mommy ever! :) At least I only do it once a year, but 2 in one day is a lot of work! glad that part's over for now!

We got the yard all decorated.

We had an awesome lunch of BBQ chicken and lots of sides thanks to everyone who brought stuff! and then the kids did the piniata's. Mady's was a princess crown and Noah chose a basketball.


we opened presents...my kids were SOOO spoiled!...we battled a little more drama over the wind and mady having fits about putting all the tissue paper in the garbage before she would open the bags....sheesh! But they got tons of presents and were super excited to get their bikes at the end. Mady got a barbie bike and Noah got a Cars bike. They even got helmets and bells that match their bikes and have loved them this summer!


and this is what I get when I leave my husband in charge of the camera...and then you put Dal and Jamie in front of it...:)

We sang happy birthday, the kids blew out the candles...which I missed on camera AND video camera...sad. :( 1st year that's happened.

then we demolished all of my hard work! ha ha. but it was a great day. we have amazing family and friends and it was so nice to celebrate that day with everyone!

A very neglected blog....Easter? YES!

What a neglected blog I have….sheesh! I’ve never been this bad! Is anyone even reading this anymore???? Ha ha. I’ve even been behind reading everyone else’s…but it’s been fun to catch up! Hopefully someone will care about mine too! lol. If not...I use this for journal purposes so I'm going to do some little posts to catch up. Although I'm pretty mad at myself for getting so behind! to start where I left off....after we got home from vacation in the spring...Mady had her dance recital. She did absolutely amazing and we just love her dance teacher! she is great with the little girls.
They did their 1st dance in their cute little T-shirts!

Mady and her teacher Michelle!



It was awesome to have so much family come watch her!
This was also Easter weekend....so it was a busy weekend!!! Saturday morning we woke up and went to the Easter egg hung in St. Anthony! There was tons of eggs and the kids loved it!!
All ready to go!

Mady was so distracted by all the kids running around she was going so slow! lol. the parents of some of these little kids are super competitive!
We went to McDonalds for lunch and then to Mady's dance recital that night. After the dance recital we went to my step sister Brigitte's for dinner and to color Easter eggs. We had lots of fun and had some seriously tired kids by the end of the night!
Coloring easter eggs!


Some cute bunnies!

The next morning the kids were super excited to see that the Easter bunny came! It's so fun this year because the "get it"...and I love it.

We went to church and then had my family over for Easter dinner and an Easter egg hung in our yard. It was actually a beautiful day. Brigitte and I had stuffed a TON of eggs. Our kids ended the day with more candy then they needed for sure.

The kids were ready to run!

Collecting their prizes!



Then we had an amazing dinner and all crashed around on the couches! ha ha. It was a fun and busy weekend!
Other then that...I will up date a little on how we are all doing now! Mady is doing great! both she and Noah did gymanstics this summer...and they've loved it! She also did swim lessons over at the new pool here in town. She literally cried every day when we had to leave. Every day after swim lessons we ate lunch at the park with brigitte and the kids. Mady has loved it. We also have gone to lots of movies and played at the spray park a bit! It's been busy! mady will start pre-school and dance here in a couple weeks! I can't believe how fast it has gone!
Noah also loved gymnastics. no swim lessons for him. I figured he wouldn't do well and I'm glad I didn't sign him up. He is such a boob butt at the new pool. He just wants to sit in a chair on the side! lol. He is going to do pre-school this fall also! I think he will love it. and on Monday-Wednesday-Friday I will not have ANY kids for like 2 1/2 hrs...what ever will I do with myself??? ha ha. :)
I'm doing good. working more then I should probably...but at least I'm getting hours. That is a change from Madison. I've only worked like 2 shifts at madison since May. I'm liking Mtn. View more...it's just taken time. I do still hate the driving though....Adam is doing good. Working lots also...we're just trying to fit some playing in between all this work! :) anyhow...I'm going to try to post again tomorrow the kids birthday stuff...it was LOTS of work for sure! but so worth it. :)Anyhow...hope everyone else had an awesome Easter...if you can remember that far back...cuz that's how long it's been since I blogged! AAAAH!

Park City, Utah

So we haven't been to Park City for almost 2 years! Crazy cuz we usually go every year. We've missed it for sure! Plus, I can't believe how good of a deal we get on clothes for the kids. Especially for a certain little girl named Mady whose went from a size 3T-4T last summer to a size 5 in girls this year! sooo nuts. so basically she had nothing. We had a lot of fun, spent a lot of quality time with each other and just relaxed. I think we stayed in the nicest condo yet. Every night me and Adam just watched a movie by the fire...it really was nice to get away. We've been so busy and just haven't made this time for each other. Here's some pics of the condo:




The first day we got there, which was Saturday, we met our friends Chant & Kara and had dinner at the condo. It is SO nice to have them closer. We've been friends since before we all had kids... I can't believe how much has happened over the lenght of our friendship! They're amazing and we're lucky to have them!

Ainsley and Mady..they're only 2 months apart. crazy huh? (hence Mady's clothes not fitting!)

Sunday we were lazy... we took the kids to dinner and a movie and enjoyed the hot tub. Monday we decided to do some shopping and then go to Salt Lake and see Chant's chiropractic office that he will be opening any day now. It will be amazing! can't wait to see it all done! Then we took the kids to Temple Square in the rain! ha ha. but the kids enjoyed it with their umbrellas. It was lots of fun and a great learning experience for our kiddos.




Tuesday we did most of our shopping, enjoyed the hot tub and just relaxed.
Just some pics of us hanging out....




Wednesday we headed home. On the way home we stopped in Ogden and took the kids to the Dinosaur Park. It was ok...I think it's better for older kids, but our kids enjoyed the playground! lol. Good thing someone gave us free tickets as we walked in!

It was so funny: when Noah saw this slide he went RUNNING for it. he climbed the stairs, went down and caught air off the last bump! he hit the slide and then the ground with a huge thump! as we caught up to him he almost cried, but he just looked at Adam and yelled, "DAD! you were suppose to catch me!" Well duh, why didn't we know that? ha ha! how trusting little kids are. Like we were suppose to poof out of thin air at the bottom! ha ha. dang little boy! :)





Anyhow...it was great to get away. I think we've definitely had a busy/rough year and it was well deserved! ha ha. Anyhow...I was going to add Mady's recital and Easter to this post, but it's gotten long so I will make it a separate one. maybe tomorrow! We had lots of fun in Park City and already can't wait to go again. The kids still talk about our "Park City house" ha ha!

Jazz Game & Kru's Birthday

Well since I feel like crap and am kind of just lounging today...I decided I need to catch up on my blogging. I'm so behind I'm going to split it up into 2 seperate posts.
Well first of all...to follow up on my last post. VaLayn's funeral was amazing. Very heartbreaking, but the family portrayed her perfectly. I can't believe how much I will miss her. Even more then that, I can't believe how hard it's been to see my best friend hurt so much and not have any way to help. I would give anything to see that happy smile of hers that I miss so much. At this point I just try be there for her and be the best friend I can be. It's so tough. But I know SHE'S tough and will pull through this! I'm so grateful for eternal families! I can't say that enough!!!

Other then that....I've started my new job. It's...different. I'm getting more used it.I think I'm just so comfortable at Madison so it will take time. i can't count how many times a night I hear the F-word. I work with maybe 1 religous person. I guess I'm just used to Madison where 90% of people are LDS, including our Dr's. Plus everything is on paper where as at Madison it's all on computer. BUT... it will be ok. One thing...I was excited about getting better insurance...but as of May 1st. Mtn View's will be way worse! ha ha. figures. At Mtn View the deductible is going up to what ours already is and will cost double what we pay now! Thanks Obama!! ugh.
Anyhow, that next weekend we had our nephew Kru's birthday at our house and it was lots of fun. Jamie decorated really cute, made some awesome meatballs, and a cute cake. We had a good dinner and then did a pinata. The kids all had lots of fun. Then Kru opened presents and we had cake! It was great to have everyone together and I can't believe that Kru is 2 years old. Crazy. I still remember Jamie bringing him home when he was a newborn and living with us. It was definitely a crazy time, but we have lots of good memories.
Mady holding Dax!






Anyhow..After I worked 2 days at Mtn View, we went with my hubby's parents to a Jazz game. It was actually lots of fun and good conversation! We ran in the pouring rain after the game and had dinner. Then we stayed the night at his Aunt's and then came home so I could go to work again! lol. Thanks Jeff and Terri for coming with us!! Hopefully we can do it again when we have more time to play!

It was a close game! 107 to 103. lots of fun!!!




I just had to add a couple pictures of Mady getting her hair cut by Aunt Brigitte. She is such a girl! she loves to be pampered and get her hair and nails done! love that girl. I'm so glad I will have her to do things like that with! I can't belive how big she is getting!


Noah's idea of a day at the beauty shop!

Anyhow...our Park City trip, Easter and Mady's dance recital will be on the next post! Hope everyone had a good Easter weekend!

So Many Questions....

Why do we have to lose people we love?
Why does one family who has lost so much, have to lose more?
and why does each death they have to deal with be so tragic?
Why can't I take the un-bearable pain away from my best friend?
Why can't the knowledge of the gospel and eternal families just erase the pain?

It's been a rough day. My best friend JaLayn's mom died last night. This woman was amazing. They had 11 kids and it never slowed her down for a second. She was the very center of that family and had a relationship with every child and grandchild. She was so giving. She accepted me from day 1, since I was 12 yrs old and always treated me like part of the family. She was at the temple the day I got married, she helped throw my baby shower when I was pregnant with Mady, she helped me and JaLayn make baby blankets for all our babies, she was always interested in my family and my kids. She always had such a positive outlook. A friend from high school told me this today: when VaLayn's son Brand'n died (another tragic story) when me and JaLayn were in Jr. High... she said when she walked through the viewing line, crying and saying how sorry she was, VaLayn hugged her and told her to never be sorry that someone we love is in Heaven with Heavenly Father. Although I know she struggled with it every year, she was so strong and tried to see the positive in things.

I wish I could take away JaLayn's pain. I called her last night, not even knowing this had happened. I didn't feel right when someone answered her phone that I knew wasn't family. she just said, "JaLayn is with her mom" it bothered me all night. I was afraid something had happened to her dad. I called JaLayn twice this morning and then got to dance and didn't see her there. I texted her and then finally her husband, he called me back almost immediately. I was in complete shock, yet somehow I knew something horrible had happened. I didn't expect this. I tried to be there for her tonight and be strong, but I just can't. I don't know how to answer her questions... I don't know how she's going to get through this either. I pray that she knows how much I love her and how awesome of a family she has. She is so much like her mother and should be so proud of that. They were best friends and I KNOW they will be together again. I know that she has a loving Heavenly Father that is watching over her and will not leave her in a time like this. I know that we just need to trust in His plan for all of us. Most of all I know that her mom had a very sweet reunion with Brand'n last night; the son she has missed every day for the last 13 years.
I love you VaLayn...thank you for sharing your heart, your home and your amazing family with me. I will miss you.