SHE DID IT!!! YEA!!!

So on Saturday Mady had her final dance recital and she did AWESOME! After not dancing at ANY of her performances she did it all! There was even an entire gym full of people. She was so cute and we were so proud of her. It makes you feel all emotional over her progress. Adam even said, "I'm not going to lie. I was a little choked up afterwards when she ran up to me." She was also extremely excited to have everyone come see her. She told us afterwards, "Mom. My family come watch me dance!" So thanks to everyone who came!! It didn't go un-noticed. It was a long and fun day.

Mady had a dress rehearsal that morning and then that afternoon I took her to get her hair and nails done at the beauty college. She felt like a princess; which she is. :)



She looked so beautiful. We gave her a little shimmery blue eye shadow and some blush and sprayed her hair with glitter. She was adorable.



Daddy even brought her a rose, which she was so super excited about!
(And for those of you who can't tell, she's the second one in from the left)



I still can't believe how good she did. She didn't skip a beat. I think she decided she loved the attention and the clapping people did for her! :)

I'm just going to add on to this already long post. But last weekend was also my mom's 50th BIRTHDAY! Yea! We had so much fun. She had no idea what the plan was. We just drug her along. We went to Garcia's for dinner, where she got to wear the sombrero (sp?) and they sang to her. Hee hee! Then we went home and dropped my kids and Brigitte and Craig's kids with Adam's little sister and we all went bowling for a couple hours. It was way fun and I hope she had a great time too. I love you and Happy Birthday Mom!






And since Noah has been pretty well skipped over in this post, I will just include a cute picture of him. Usually he has both elbows behind is head though. He likes to get up at like 7:00 after Adam leaves and come climb in bed with me. And all this pic says to me is "like father, like son" This is exactly how Adam would sleep if I let him, but I don't appreciate the elbows in the head :) Noah's are just a little smaller. Lol

Adorable!! yep he is! It makes me want to kiss hims little cheeks!

When life gives you lemons....

MAKE LEMONADE!




So since we have all this crappy snow...we played in it! We got so much snow Monday night that there was several schools closed Tuesday morning. Why not one last snow day? The kids love it and have been sick so much this winter that we didn't go out very much. So we spent 1/2 an hour putting on all our snow clothes, and just a 1/2 hour playing before the kids wanted to go in and have "chocolate and marshmellows". It's funny how long it takes to get ready and how quickly they're done. Maybe as they get older it will last longer. We did get the sled out and Mady loved that, but Noah didn't want anything to do with it. Here's some pictures. They look cute all bundled up. I just want to squish Noah!




So it was fun while it lasted, but at this moment tonight, our yard is almost completely cleared. Idaho weather is crazy.

Another thing we did, I just gotta tell all the mommies out there...On Monday, Me and Brigitte took the kids and went to see "How To Train a Dragon". Such a cute movie! The kids loved it. Noah fell asleep though (it was nap time) so it's a good thing he was free! Lol, but it was an adorable movie. Long though, like 2 hrs. So we had some restless kids afterwards, so we went and got ice cream. It was tons of fun and Mady is still talking about the movie.

Happy, Happy, EASTER!

(WARNING: lots of pics :)
So we've been loving the clearing of the snow in our yard, the kids have loved playing on the trampoline and in the sand box while Adam would BBQ. Granted they still had to have warm coats, but it was progress! On Saturday we were suppose to have an Easter-egg hunt outside at my step-sisters church and we woke up to this....





It was pretty, but oh-so disappointing too. So the Easter-egg hunt was inside the church. It was fun and then we took the kids to McDonald's. That night Adam's sister Aubrey came and spent the night and helped me with the kids so I could cook and bake for Easter dinner at our house. She helped fill Easter eggs and then we all played the wii. It was fun. Easter morning the kids were so EXCITED about the Easter bunny coming.

Mady threw herself on the floor and screamed, "HUNGRY, HUNGRY HIPPOS!" It's so neat to see your kids get so excited.

Noah went straight for the baseball bat and ball. Of course.


Easter day was fun. We were going to go to Twin Falls to see Adam's mom but that didn't pan out so we had Easter at our house. Adam's Dad, Terri and the girls came over. So did my mom, John, Josh, my step-sister Brigitte, Craig and their kiddos and Adam's friend Scott came over too (his wife and adorable new baby girl haven't moved up from California yet, so he spent the day with us). It was fun. We had an Easter-egg hunt with the kids! They loved it of course.


We made 2 hams, Brigitte brought AMAZING home-made rolls and we had so much yummy food.



After we all picked our way-too-full selves up... Me and Brigitte colored Easter eggs with the kids.

We soon realized that 2 adults and 4 kids were going to be a MESS. So WE colored them and then let them paint and sticker them. That worked out tons better.

I also had to post a couple pictures of these bunnies that Brigitte got the kids. You put jelly beans in them, wind them up and then they walk and poop jelly beans! Ha ha! The kids loved it. They were a hit.


So we relaxed for awhile and everyone left but Craig and Brigitte, so we broke out the Wii and played some Guitar Hero. We made ham sandwiches and made the kids eat some fruit and corn dogs, since all they'd eaten most of the day was CANDY! Blah. It was fun. I'll tell you what, by the end of the day our kids were POOPED. Mady was out by 8:15. Brigitte said Kynden and Ashton were barely in jammies with teeth brushed before they were OUT. but overall it was such a fun day.
Mady and Kynden loved a chance at rockin' out to Guitar Hero! They were so cute.

Anniversary/Honesty/Preschool/BEDTIME!!!!

So to start, we had a not-so-happy-anniversary. It basically sucked. Mady had dance at 11:00 a.m. and they were getting pictures that day. I tore the my purse, the house, and the car apart for my wallet and found nothing. I had to pay for the pictures so I called Adam and asked him to go to the bank and call Albertsons to see if I left my wallet there the night before (and yep, the night before was a Sunday.. that's what I get). Albertsons didn't have it. Adam even went over there and him and several people searched every cart and the entire store...but nothing. We left the cart outside so anyone could have grabbed it. So we went home and cancelled all our debit, credit, and store cards. Went to the bank and put a hold on my checks. We did squeeze in lunch before we took Mady to school. And then I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up and putting a fraud alert on my social security card which was behind my license. STUPID! NEVER KEEP THAT IN YOUR WALLET! I knew that, but I even had Noah's in there too; oh and $120 cash. Afterwards we picked mady up, went to Wal Mart and then to JaLayn's little boys birthday. We came home resolved that someone must have really needed it more then me, but still super stressed. Adam had plans for flowers and a surprise lunch. I was going to let the kids make him cards and take him balloons to work..but none of that happened. Kind of depressing. The whole day went by without much acknowledgement, just stress. However, the next morning I got a call from Albertsons!!! My wallet was sitting on their customer service counter when they opened. EVERYTHING was there, even the $. Thank goodness there are still honest people out there. So we are going on a date Friday for our Anniversary and Adam's sister is babysitting. We're looking forward to that. What a relief! We also went to the temple last night with Adam's Dad and Terri, while Aubrey baby sat. Then we all had dinner at our house. It was such a nice night; we definitely feel that we don't go enough. And we feel so good when we do!!
So today was the last day of Pre-school for Mady. Both her and Noah will start school in May. But today the parents were invited for the last 20 min and to have a treat. It's so fun to see Mady in her comfort zone. She's such a big girl. Noah loved it there too, so I hope that means he will do well. So here's a few pics of today!


Mady showing us the class guinea pig.


Noah LOVED it.


They had a "circus" day today and Mady had to show the Lion to us!


So I've been excited to re-decorate Noah's room. It's fun to make it look like
a big boy room. "bittersweet" :) But we are doing it in black, tan, and red, with a sports theme. It's fun. Just wish we could paint! Hopefully soon. I'll have to take pictures when I actually get all that I'm planning done. Other then that...bedtime has been AWFUL! He will not go to sleep unless we are laying by him. We played this game with him for almost an hour tonight before Adam finally gave in and laid down with him. He fell asleep in like 5 minutes. I tried too and he just kept saying, "mommy. you hold me. I hold you" He would put his arm around me and play with my hair... but not go to sleep. so frustrating. Oh well. I think he might be cutting his molars. We'll see. We had to lock Mady out of our room and that fixed the problem in 2 nights, but it was sad. Noah is just too young for that. So we are hoping this is short lived. Wish us luck.

Just a cute picture of Noah during his nap. He looks so little and comfy.

My Big Little Boy

So today was bittersweet. We took down the crib and it is in the garage. It has been up in our house for 4 years and I almost cried watching Adam take it down. But we put our little boy in a big boy bed. I really think he will sleep better. It's more comfortable and bigger. And he loves it...he jumped right in it and said "My bed! It's comfy!" so I'm hoping he sleeps well. He's sure cute. So now we are going to do some re-decorating and take down his "baby" stuff. :( Like I said...it's "bittersweet".

Another thing that has been fun with him is that he loves church. He's doing so well. He learns fast. We talked about the temple once, and today we went to Adam's Dad's and he looked at the computer screen and said, "Dad! The temple. Behind you." it was very cute. He also said the prayer before bed (with Adam's help of course), but he said the whole thing. He can almost bless the food by himself... he's even had to remind us a couple times. He'll fold his arms and say, "Prayer?" Oh, And he got accepted into the Toddler Lab at the college. he'll go May-July. I think he will love it. He's so excited to "go to school like Mady". It's happy/sad to see him hit so many mile stones.
Just a cute picture of him eating lunch. He was so tired that he would take a bit and then lay his head down. so cute!

Mady is doing well too. She's loving school and dance. She is EXTREMELY anxious to get outside. Her and daddy spent time outside cleaning up the yard. She loved "helping" him.

Mady got the movie "Princess and the Frog" and it's definitely her new favorite. She already knows all the songs. It's really cute to hear her sing them from the other room. She's had a love for dresses lately too. She likes to twirl in them, but it's still a little cold to wear those through the day yet. She's certainly our girly girl.
Other then that we are all doing well. Me and Adam ended up with the flu too, but we are feeling better now. Tomorrow is our 7th Anniversary and I cannot believe it. So much has happened and our family has made so much progress. The only thing I wished we had by this point is a house, but we're working on that. Even so, that is just a possession...we have everything we need. Each other. I am so grateful for Adam and the good husband and dad that he is. Our children adore him and he is so good to me. Maybe more so that I deserve sometimes, but I feel like we compliment each other well. We've been through so much in the 10 years and I hope that each year just gets better! I love him so much and I'm so grateful that we have eternity with each other and our families!

Some Seriously Sick Kiddos

Well I officially hate strawberry Crystal Light. I know I will never buy it again. When something is puked up over and over it just messes with me. I wouldn't eat the Chicken flavored Ramen noodles for YEARS, like 15! So Monday night was miserable. Noah kept getting up all night and it's hard when you don't know what's wrong. But I finally let him climb in bed with me at like 2 a.m. just to have him puke all over me, all over him and all over our bed. NOT FUN. I just got him in the shower with me while Adam cleaned up the bed, the floor, the towels etc...I was up with him until 4:30 while he threw up every 1/2 hour. he slept until like 7:30 and then it started again. I was suppose to work last night but luckily someone switched me for tomorrow night. Thank goodness it wasn't tonight, because guess who came in our room covered in puke at 5:30 a.m.? Yup. Mady. It's 7:30 and she's already thrown up 4 times. It's not starting out well. I don't know how people do this with 3 and 4 kids, or MORE. uhhh. It's so sad seeing them sick, it breaks my heart. And I am sick of doing laundry! I think we've used every towel in the house. At least she can hit the bucket most of the time. Anyhow...wish us luck.
Well Noah just woke up...this should be fun ("This too shall pass....") :)

I also had to post these pictures for Jamie because we FINALLY got batteries for the Elefun game she got them for Christmas. We played it Monday and they LOVED it.


I also had to post some pictures of a couple projects I did this week. I love the beaded watch bands. I made so many for people for Christmas that I never made much for myself. So I finally put a few together. And I love my recipe box. I actually bought it at a craft store and then I didn't really like the paper and design much. So I ripped it a all off and re-did it. It turned out cute.

Saving for the future!

We finally emptied the kids piggy banks and opened each of them a savings account. The kids got excited to see all their money. It was kind of funny. In the process of emptying Mady's we found monopoly money, barbie money and even some plastic coins that may be stuck in there forever because I can't get them out.:) So Mady has had her piggy bank for almost 3 years and she had $234.50 and Noah has had his for not quite a year and a half and he had $94.81. Not too bad for a couple of toddlers. We try to give them money on the holidays and whenever we have a little extra. They get ALL of our change and whenever grandparents or anyone send them money we put some or all of it in there. The get super excited to 'feed their piggies'. My mom adds to it quite often too and they love it. In fact this morning my mom left a $20 bill on the counter for Adam to go get us all breakfast, and when she turned around it was gone. They looked everywhere for it and finally Adam asked mady and she said she fed her pig. Sure enough, she'd found the money on the counter and thought, Yippee and shoved it in her bank! So we can't really leave money laying around. It will disappear. Anyhow I thought it was a good experience and they were excited to see the lady at the bank dump all their coins in the machine. Now we have empty piggies to feed!