The Brown Family

PJ's and Lipstick

2009-02-27T19:10:00.000-08:00

These are two of Ellie's favorite things. According to Ellie, one can never have too many of either thing.

Today I took she and Greyson to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping. After getting everything on my list and then some, we headed to the front of the store to check out. Right there at the front of the clothing isle were a pair of pink and yellow Spongebob pj's. Ellie's pj radar immediately went up and she ran over to investigate. Not only were they pink and Spongebob, they also had a little heart that lit up every time she moved the shirt. It was love at first sight.

"Please, momma, please can I have the pj's?"

"Ellie, you have 18 pairs of pj's. You don't really need another pair."

"But I don't have any Spongebob pj's. Please can I have them?"

"Oh ok. What's one more pair of pj's."

Off we go to the checkout isle. As I am unloading all the groceries from the cart she finds a container full of 10 different kinds of lip gloss.

"Please, momma, please can I have the lipsticks?"

"I thought you were getting new pj's?"

"I can have both."

"Uh, no, you can't have both. You can chose....the pj's or the lipstick."

Big dilemma time here. What will she chose? The 19th pair of pj's or the case of 10 lipsticks?

Finally after 5 minutes of intense contemplation she chooses the lipstick.

I saved $11. Priceless!

Long time, no blog

2009-02-27T11:24:00.000-08:00

I am the worst at keeping this blog updated. It's not like we don't do fun things because we do. I just forget to write about them. So today will be a catch up of what has gone on in our home over the last few months.

In January Ellie turned 4. She is an amazing little girl! She is so happy all the time and so easy going. We are so blessed to have her in our home. Happy Birthday Ellie!

A week after Ellie's birthday Clark and I ran the half marathon at London's Run again. This is such a fun race to run because it is right here in our backyard and where we have spent countless hours running through the dirt fields. The biggest bonus is that it benefits a wonderful family every year that lives here in Queen Creek. We just got an email setting the date for next years run. We will be there again I'm sure!

In February Spence turned 6. He is all boy and just knew that he would be getting a dirt bike for his birthday. Mom shot that idea down so he had to settle for a cousins party at Peter Piper Pizza for his birthday. I think he had just as good a time at PPP and I don't have to worry about a broken arm or leg from the dirt bike. Is he handsome or what?

So, I think that just about covers what we've been doing. We are just not exciting people I guess. LOL

BUCKET LIST

2009-01-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks Alicia! Way to get me to update my blog. LOL

OK HERE I GO.....(Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done.)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain~ Does a "mountain" in Arizona count?
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked ~ uh NO! Doesn't anyone watch those scary movies??? Who does this??
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a 1/2 marathon ~3 to be exact and 2 full marathons
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise ~ 5 thankyouverymuch
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke ~ I totally ROCK Playstation Rock Star. Oh yeah!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing ~ Clark has.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching ~ Alaska cruise, baby!
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar ~ NASTY!
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Merry Christmas to all!

2008-12-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

So it is a little after 9:00 here Christmas Eve. The gifts are wrapped and under the tree, stockings are filled and the Wii is ready for assembly. Just waiting for the oldest child to hit the hay and vacate the tv where the Wii will be stationed. Christmas is here! Where has the time gone??

We have had a blessed year. Indeed there were trials, and many will follow us into 2009, but we are thankful for a wonderful, giving family and supportive friends. Most importantly we are grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, for His sacrifice on our behalf and for giving us the TRUE meaning of Christmas. I am thankful for the trials in our lives that bring us back to what is really important: the gospel of Jesus Christ and our eternal families. Without these two core things everything else just wouldn't mean a thing. They truly are what this life is all about.

Our family wishes all of you a very happy and healthy holiday season and a blessed 2009. We love each of you so very much!

And because I was such a bad mom this year and didn't get my Christmas cards out, here is a gratuitous picture of the kids I took before our family Christmas party last night. I think they are the three most beautiful children in the world. Not that I am biased or anything! ;)

Merry Christmas!!

Student of the Month

2008-12-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

Spence got his first Student of the Month nomination today. At 8:30 this morning I headed out to the school for the awards assembly to watch Spence get his award. I've done this several times as Kendall is nominated every year, but it is always such a neat experience to hear a teacher say nice things about your child and it *always* makes me cry. This is what Spence's teacher had to say about him today:

Spencer is one of those boys who is all boy on the outside, but all heart on the inside. he likes to be "rough and tumble" playing with the boys on the playground, but is also nice and kind to his friends.

He is also one of my "go to" students in the classroom. he is always eager to participate and remembers to raise his hand. Whenever I need to get a great answer, Spence is one I know I can "go to".

Because Spence's hands are so large it has been really difficult for him to write with a pencil and stay in the lines. He worked hard and has really improved. His handwriting is so nice now!

Spencer writes great sentences too. He's quick to figure out how to sound out a word. he is also good at counting to 100 and has now mastered writing to 100 as well.

One of the best things about Spencer is that I rarely have to fuss at him for not following the rules. On some days, that is a real treat for his teacher. :)

All in all, I'd say he's just a great student, which is why he is our Student of the Month for December. Way to go Spencer!

I am so proud of Spence! He is such a great little boy and I am so so so happy to be his momma!

The BIG 1-2!

2008-12-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

Just between you and me, I am in complete denial that I have a 12 year old daughter. I couldn't possibly be old enough to have a child that old could I? LOL

Kendall decided to have a birthday party for this birthday. Kind of out of the normal realm for our family. I never had a birthday party growing up, so I am not sure how to actually throw one. But a mall scavenger hunt was proposed so we took that idea and ran with it. Kendall invited 9 of her bestest friends, I suckered my mom into being my 2nd chaperon and we headed out to the mall. Each team of 5 girls was given a list of 10 items to find at various stores through out the mall. First team to find all 10 would be the "winners"

A pair of pink high heel shoes.

Ice cream for everyone.

An expensive pair of jeans.

Some fun in the play area.

Type on the computers at the Apple store.

All together again!

I think a good time was had by all!

I'm amazed and blessed by the amazing person Kendall is becoming. She is a wonderful daughter, sister and friend. She is a 4.0 GPA student at her middle school and is currently in her schools production of A Christmas Carol. She is excited to have graduated from Primary with her Faith in God award and is eager to start Young Women's. Where did the time go? Where is my little girl? I watch in awe as she grows more beautiful everyday, both inside and out. I love you Beans!

All is well in my world today

2008-11-27T09:14:00.001-08:00

There is music blaring on our back porch. Neighbor children are here playing and Kendall is teaching them all a new dance. I hear laughter and squeals blending with the music ~ Taylor Swift's Love Story to be precise.

The turkey is cooking in the oven. Cakes and salads are made. Clark is on a QT run for a Dr. Pepper. Yum!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We have much to be thankful for.

Words to Live by

2008-11-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

Stolen shamelessly from my sister Alicia's blog because I think it is important. And because Sister Hinckley is one of my favorite people and her words are always great to live by.

Kindness and Gratitude

2008-11-14T08:55:00.001-08:00

Another work week down. This one seemed longer than last week, but flew by. I'm not sure how that happens exactly, but it's Friday and that's all that matters.

This has been a week of kindness and gratitude. I've had friends bring dinner for no reason, take care of my children when there was a mix up with the bus and call to see how things are going and if there is anything they can do to help. My parents have helped me out of more than one bind this week and for that I will be eternally grateful.

I have been amazed and humbled by the amount of support I have gotten since returning to work. It almost makes it bearable to be away from home knowing that we have so many people thinking and praying for us. We can most certainly feel their prayers and appreciate them so much. I hope someday to be able to repay the kindness that has been shown to us, but for now I can say THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU ALL and hope that that will suffice.

Listerine

2008-11-09T19:20:00.001-08:00

And just as a side note to the post below, when using Listerine as a way to loosen the nit glue to make it easier to pick out the nits please know that the blue color of the mouthwash will make your blond headed childs hair turn BLUE!

I sure hope she has some hair left when I am done with her.

A new low

2008-11-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

After 12 years of being a mother I have found something I hate worse than the stomach flu....LICE! We have our first ever confirmed case of head lice in the house. Nice. Ellie has managed to break our clean streak of numerous preschool and public school days without anyone in our family getting it.

I have decided after washing every single thing in my house that can fit in a washing machine ~ and I have Whirlpool Duets so you know just about everything except the kitchen sink will fit in these suckers ~ that I would much rather clean up puke than deal with this. Previous to this I would take any other childhood ailment to avoid the flu. Colds? No problem. Pink eye? Bring it on! Croup? That's a walk in the park. Just NO PUKING! But today, after doing 25 loads of laundry over the last 48 hours, I will gladly take the flu and the puking associated with it. In fact, if anyone wants to trade just let me know. I have more than enough to share.

Changing my profile

2008-10-31T16:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't been around my blog much lately and I realized today when I logged on that my profile no longer fits. Since this blogs inception I have been blessed to be able to stay at home with my littles. As of this past Wednesday I can no longer make that claim.

It has been a hard week. A hard week for me. A hard week for my kids. A hard week for Clark. And all for different reasons. After much prayer and consideration we decided that for, at least the time being, I need to be back at work. Many who are close to us know the reasons and if you don't already know call me sometime and I'll fill you in on the long version. Short version ~ is it was necessary. Prayers were answered in wonderful and amazing ways and I am able to work at a job where they know me and my family personally and know that my family has to come first even if I have to work. It is a blessing for our family to be taken care of so completely and I am humbled by the opportunity that was given to me.

I am learning a new out of the house routine. Laundry will no longer be done on Monday. It will now be done on Friday and that's ok. Change is good. The bathrooms may not get cleaned every week, but that's ok too. I can be (somewhat) flexible about that. Everyone is trying out a new role in our family and I hope that as time goes on it will enable us to appreciate each other more and serve each other without expectation of something in return. Change can be a good thing.

Alaska Cruise

2008-10-15T20:34:00.001-07:00

It has been over a month since our cruise to Alaska! Time has really flown. Tonight the kids got to bed at an early hour, so I thought I'd blog about our trip.

We took 3 of our favorite couples with us, so there were 8 people total. Clark and I have cruised many times (Alaska was our 5th cruise), but this was the first time we have ever had friends go with us. What a BLAST! I highly recommend taking a group of people with you if you ever cruise. The 2 hour dinners every night are so much more enjoyable when you are sitting around talking about things that you want to talk about instead of sitting with strangers talking about the weather. Do it! You won't regret it.

The boat pulled out of Seattle on Friday on it's way to Sitka, Alaska. Muster drill anyone?

We weren't due to arrive in Sitka until Sunday morning, so it was an at sea day all day on Saturday. Clark and I woke up early to hit the treadmills as we had a 20 mile training run to get in. We decided to run 8 miles on the treadmill, 6 miles on the track on the upper deck, then finish the final 8 back on the treadmill. The treadmill running wasn't so bad, but the miles on the deck were pretty funny. The wind was so strong and combined with the motion of the boat it was difficult at times to keep our feet on the deck. I'm sure we looked like a couple of drunk people running laps. A little over 3 hours later the 20 miles were behind us and our vacation could finally begin.

All the guys decided to do some deep sea fishing. Our good friend Eric made arrangements with a private charter company to pick them up on the dock and take them out in search of some silver salmon. The guys fished all day long, but only 2 of the 4 guys caught fish. Can you guess who the two were that caught something?

While the guys fished, the girls toured the town of Sitka. Loads of great Russian history here. I won't bore you with details. You could find out so much more on Google. LOL

Monday was spent trolling in to the Hubbard Glacier. We had an amazing environmentalist on our ship who told us that the glaciers in Alaska grow an average of 4" a day. More when the earth starts to warm up and will actually melt when the earth cools down. Needless to say he is NOT a big believer in global warming. The glacier was beautiful! We got close enough that we could hear it when it "calved" ~ pieces of the glacier cracking off and falling into the ocean. It sounded like giant thunderstorms without the rain clouds. Amazing!

Tuesday was spent in Juneau. We toured the city of Juneau by bus and even got to see Governor Palin's home. That was kind of fun! While on this tour we also got to see the Mendenhall glacier. Not nearly as spectacular as Hubbard, but beautiful just the same.

Juneau is also where the University of Alaska Southeast is located. Anyone with the Twilight saga on their brain knows that that is the university Bella and Edward first applied to for after she "changed". It was a little extra thing that was fun for me to see, though our tour bus driver had no idea what I was talking about when I pointed out the university from the bus window. Such a shame.

Clark celebrated his 38th birthday in Juneau. We got the ship to bake us a birthday cake complete with candles. What a fun place to celebrate a birthday!

Wednesday was Ketchikan. It is known for its totem poles.

They also have a rockin' Lumberjack show. It was hilarious!

Thursday was our last stop in Victoria, B.C. . We arrived there in the evening so we just took a walking tour of the city on our own. During the day they have beautiful gardens that we hoped to be able to see. Maybe next trip!

Friday was back to Seattle and back to reality. It was a fun filled 7 days and I think a good time was had by all. We might even do it again someday....soon!!!

St. George Marathon 2008

2008-10-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

Oh wow! Even after 2 days I have so many emotions running through my head. I hope I can get them all out and sound coherent.

I'll start with SGM 2007. Not a great showing for me even if it was just my first full marathon. It was perfect running weather, we had done our training and with 8 miles to go I just fell apart. I limped across the finish line in 5:14. I was disappointed to say the least ~ my goal was to finish under 5 hours. On the long drive home I told myself I was going to do this again no matter what. Clark was not so hip on the idea, but being the wonderful and supportive husband that he is, got on board pretty fast. LOL

Training for SGM 2008 went great! We put in our mileage, did our speed work and felt very hopeful for a great finishing time. Clark would never vocalize a time, but I was pretty adamant that it would be 4:30 or less. Driving to the race on Friday I was checking split times and doing the math to make sure we stayed on track. The wonderful Cliff Bar booth at the expo gave us wrist bands for our 4:30 pace group too. We were ready to go.

We got some sleep Friday night ~ about 4 hours. Better than we got last year so we were feeling pretty good about that too. Race morning was cool and overcast, a perfect day for running. Clark decided to leave his sweats in the car and just wear his running shorts to the start line. I was not as optimistic and chose to keep my sweatpants and sweatshirt on. As it turned out that was a good thing for me to do because midway through the bus ride to the start line it started to rain and it never stopped! We sat by the fires at the starting line for an hour and forty five minutes trying to stay warm and dry wearing only our running clothes and a black garbage bag. Imagine 6,000 people standing or sitting around 100 fires wearing trash bags. Really, really funny, though it is more funny now that the race is over than it was while sitting in it wondering how the weather was going to affect what our finishing time was going to be.

Finally it was time to run. We tucked in with the 4:30 pacer named Theo (GREAT JOB THEO!!!) and tried not to get run over by everyone trying to find a spot for themselves. Phew! The first 4-5 miles are always crazy aren't they? Add in all the black garbage bags and the wet roads and I feel mighty blessed to have been able to stay on my feet those first few miles. By mile 3 Clark wanted to be in front of the pace group, but I wanted to stay behind and keep our mile times closer to 10:30/mile. Clark won that battle so up front we went while I prayed we could sustain the pace for 23 more miles.

Miles 4-8 passed in a haze. Somehow I managed to get my sweatpants off as they were completely drenched and not doing me a lick of good. Caught back up with Clark and I don't really remember much else until we got to the hill in Veyo. We took a quick glance behind to gauge where the 4:30 group was so we could decide how much of the hill we could walk before they caught us. They weren't too far behind so we made the decision to run the hill slowly, but not walk until we were almost to the top. 11:28 later we were at the top still in front of the 4:30 group. One small victory to keep our spirits up!

Miles 8-13 are uphill. I don't care what anyone says about this being a "downhill" course. These 5 miles are the hardest ones out there and they are all uphill. It also seemed to rain harder during these miles. Maybe it just seemed to rain harder because of the hills? Who knows. This was a long stretch of road and Clark would say "Tell me a story. Tell me about anything, but just keep talking so I can stop thinking about how much further it is." LOL Half split time was 2:16. We were going to have to step it up for a sub 4:30 finish.

At the next aid station we decided to take our Excedrin. Though our legs were completely numb from the rain and cold we knew that mile 17 is where I got into trouble last year with cramps. I wanted to be fully medicated before my friend Mr. Cramp decided to make his unwelcome appearance. We took our meds and continued to run through the rain and wet. As we were approaching mile 17 a guy running next to me said "How is it running with an extra 5 pounds of wet clothing on your back?" I guess I looked like a drowned rat in my sweat shirt, but the extra layer, though wet, was keeping my core warm and since this is where I got cold and crampy last year I wasn't about to mess with the good thing I had going just to rid myself of an extra 5 pounds. I kept the sweatshirt on to the bitter end. The Excedrin must have worked its magic too because Mr. Cramp was a no-show and we headed past the Ledges Parkway and down into town. Isn't that the greatest sight ever? I love that view! And I loved knowing that miles 14-22 were behind us!

At mile 23 you finally hit St. George and the people are out in droves even in the rain. Bless them! I wonder if they realize how much they do for the psyche of a runner? It is so wonderful to hear someone you don't know and have never seen before in your life cheer for you. Even today it brings tears to my eyes. It is an emotional feeling for sure. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who stood in the pouring rain to cheer us on!!!

Some joker around mile 24.5 was telling everyone "Only a mile to go!" I thought about stopping to strangle him, but decided it would take too much effort so I just yelled "It is actually 1.7 miles to go!" I hope he got it right for those coming along later. 1.7 miles is alot further than 1 mile when you are 24 miles into a race. It doesn't sound like much, but that .7 of a mile is HUGE and by this point in the race you are wondering if it is EVER GOING TO END! Be exact if you are going to be yelling out distance at this point in a race. LOL

After mile 25.2 (did you just love this guy with the sign? *HE* knew the exact mileage to the finish!) they hand you a washcloth to clean up with. I used mine to dry my hair so my finishing picture wouldn't look quite so much like I had drowned, though I still think the pictures from this year are going to be pretty funny. I can't wait to see them. Definitely NOT Christmas card material.

Around the final corner and we could see the finish line. There are many more people at the finish line than we remembered last year. I'm sure that has much more to do with our finishing time being in the 4 hour group rather than 5 hours than the actual number of people out there. I wonder how many people there are cheering for those in the 3 hour group? I'll never know. :)

Finish time ~ 4:25:10! We did it! Through the rain and cold, neither of which we train with living in Arizona, we managed to better our goal! The feeling of relief, accomplishment, awe and gratitude mix with sheer exhaustion. With our finishers medals around our necks we headed to the park to eat our ice cream, bread, yogurt and water. This year we also took the time to wait for a massage. Wow! I will definitely do that again. It felt so good to have a total stranger rub my sore muscles.

So SGM 2008 exceeded our wildest dreams. We got our PR and made it to the finish line with no blisters. Who can ask for more?

20 miles

2008-08-31T14:08:00.000-07:00

Got our longest training run in yesterday. We started here at our house, made a big loop out to the east through the cotton fields, doubled back and finished at the Brown family homestead in Gilbert. Phew! Glad that one is behind us. Only a 16 miler next Saturday, another 20 miler the week after and then the 3 week taper to marathon day. I think we are going to make it.

Pillow talk

2008-08-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Many mornings when the kids wake up Clark and I are out on our morning run. Mondays are one of the exceptions. There is no running on Monday mornings so the kids will usually crawl into bed with us until it is time to get up and going for the day. This was my converstation with Ellie from Monday morning.

Me: Good morning Ellie. How did you sleep?

Ellie: Mom, did you get your new iPhone yet?

Me: Huh?

Ellie: You know, the cool phone you were looking at when we were at the mall.

Busted on two points. One, that I was at the mall (I'm supposed to be on a spending freeze) and two, that I was looking at the new iPhone. I really wasn't going to buy the phone. I just wanted to play with it to see what I am missing out on. I'm a gadget girl at heart and if I had my way I would own every gadget known to man just because they do cool things. Clark, however, does not share my obsession for gadgets. Especially the expensive ones. Thanks to Ellie and our conversation it doesn't look like I will be an iPhone owner any time soon. But I thought it was cute that she remembered my longing for the phone and thought to ask me about it. LOL

Just keep running

2008-08-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

We have officially made it to the half way mark of our marathon training again this summer and I find myself chanting "Just keep running, just keep running" ala Dory from Finding Nemo.

I'm tired. It's hot. And the biggest mileage is just coming up. 14 miles on Saturday. 16 miles the following Saturday with 18 and 20 miles not far behind. I know we can do it. We did it last summer. But today, when I'm fighting a lovely summer cold that one of my kids brought home last week as a welcome back to school gift for me, it really feels like I might never make it to October 4th.

Just keep running, just keep running....ad nauseaum.

Snowbird

2008-07-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again. Time for our annual trek to the Salt Lake valley to spend the week at our condo at Snowbird. We love to make the trip to see cousins, visit Lagoon and get the heck out of the heat.

We did some shopping at The Gateway then watched while the kids played in the fountains. It sounded like a great idea to the kids until they got hit in the face for the first time by the ice cold Utah water. Uh, yeah, not as warm as the water in our swimming pool at home. LOL

And in case anyone is wondering, I did not kidnap a little boy on our trip. The extra boy you see is my nephew Kai. He is Spence's bestest friend in the whole world. He made the trip to Utah with us, along with his mom and little brother Greyson. :)

Snowbird has a ton of fun summer activites to do. The boys were finally old enough this year to ride the alpine slide all by themselves and absolutely loved it. No pictures of the actual ride though because I was riding with Ellie and the boys were so dang fast they would beat me to the bottom every single time and get off their sleds before I could get down the mountain to take a picture. But I did get a couple of great shots from the bounce houses.

And some fun pictures from Lagoon too.

We ended the trip with a night of fireworks at Clark's brothers home. This was the first time my kids have ever been up close and personal with a fireworks display. I guess this picture pretty much sums up how my kids feel about being so close to the action.

I couldn't even get Ellie close enough to them to get a picture of her. She said "Thanks, but NO thanks!" to watching them. Kendall was lucky enough to be able to go to BYU's Stadium of Fire on the 4th of July. She got to see Blue Man Group and Miley Cyrus perform. It was an outstanding show!

We love our Utah trips! So much fun stuff to do, so little time to do it in. We can't wait for next year!

Recovery ~ day 2

2008-05-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

Day 2 is much like day 1, only worse. Yesterday Kendall atleast felt like trying to eat something. Today all she feels like doing is throwing up. Everything I've heard and read tells me that we will turn a corner around day 5. I am praying we make it to day 5 quickly.

Anyone have any great tonsillectomy recovery secrets? We are doing popscicles, ice cream, Sonic slushies, Bahama Bucks, ice chips and an ice pack on her throat. I hate the helpless feeling of not being able to do something to relieve the pain. :(

Tonsilectomy Day

2008-05-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

Finally, the day is here. The day I've been looking forward to for about 6 months, though Kendall I'm sure, wishes it never had to come.

We have fought strep throat for the past 3 or so years. In the past it has only been a couple of times in a year, but this year we have had 5 cases since October 2007 with 3 of those happening from February to April almost back to back. Our family doctor said *NO* to a referral to an ENT saying they will require 6 cases in a 12 month period before even thinking about taking her tonsils out. That didn't really fly with me. I was tired of having poor Kendall sick, so I put on my big girl panties and went over my family drs head and made my own phone call to an ENT. Seems like that is the best part of being PPO ~ self referring. :)

Dr. R wanted the tonsils out immediately because they were so swollen and infected, but with only 4 weeks of school left I managed to get her to hold off until school was out so Kendall didn't have to miss all the fun things that happen at the end of the school year. After a month of taking a maintenance dose of Amoxicillian to ward off another case of strep, surgery was scheduled for today.

I was so impressed with the surgery center and with Dr. R. I loved her during Kendall's consult, but really loved her after today. It is times like these when you are so grateful for wonderful doctors. Everyone took such good care of Kendall today. The nurses were AMAZING and so helpful and caring. Dr. R helped Kendall through pre-op and was so great about explaining the surgery and recovery to us again. She took her time and made sure Kendall was comfortable before she started the surgery. I just loved everything she did for us today. I cannot say enough good things about her and I will definately be writing a letter to let her know how much we appreciate the extra time she took in surgery to make sure Kendall was safe and well.

Here are some pictures I managed to take with my cell phone:

Pre-op while they were monitoring her and getting an IV started. Kendall took the IV like a champ! No complaints or tears. She admitted to being pretty nervous about the size of the needle, but came through with flying colors. I am so proud of her! You can see Papa in the background too. He came to lend moral support. I don't know what I would do without the support from my parents. They are so good to us!

And one from recovery trying to wake up from the anesthesia.

So, as a mom I am glad this day has come and gone and I can finally have Kendall well again. Hopefully her recovery will go as well as surgery and she can enjoy her summer vacation without the need for any antibiotics. :)

Hard to let go

2008-05-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

Last night at 11:30 pm I sat in our elementary school parking lot and watched as a bus drove my 11 year old away on a wonderful trip to California. I'm SO proud of her and all of her academic accomplishments and was so excited that she has the opportunity to go on such a fun and eventful trip.

But I was a bit sad when I realized this is the beginning of the end. Kendall is smart, outgoing, adventurous and curious about all the world has in store for her. She soaked in everything on our trip to Germany in March and I can see she will be alot like me in her desire to travel to as many places as possible as quickly as she can get there. There wasn't a moments hesitation last night as the bus doors opened. She threw her suitcase in the luggage hold and ran to the door without looking back.

I hope she does look back sometime so she can see how much I love her and how much I appreciate her goodness. Then it will be off to the next adventure I'm sure. And that's exactly how it is supposed to be.

Bad hair day?

2008-05-14T12:56:00.001-07:00

I'm not really sure what to do with E's hair. It will not grow and it has so much natural curl that most days it looks like a blond 'fro. I try to comb it every morning, but by the middle of the morning it looks like she just rolled out of bed.

Yet, every single time I take her with me to run an errand I have atleast one person stop me to tell me how cute her hair is. Maybe I should just take a chill about it huh? She's such a cutie patootie that it really doesn't matter what her hair looks like right?

Nope I'm not very good at this Blog thing

2008-05-10T14:33:00.000-07:00

January 2007? Really? That is the last time I used this blog? Holy cow I am worse than I thought I would be. LOL

How does one catch up on a year and a half's worth of stuff? I guess I can't really. If you hear from us on a regular basis you pretty much know it all. If you don't, I guess you are going to have to email me to get caught up. Our family has been pretty busy over the last year and the kids have changed so much it is unbelievable! I will try to get our pictures from our trip to Rocky Point up in the next few days that way you can atleast see recent pics of the kiddos.

Blankets

2007-01-23T11:20:00.000-08:00

I've officially become a blanket momma. I've been a paci momma before, but never a blanket momma.

Ellie is addicted to her 3 blankets. She carries them everywhere and anywhere and it is impossible to get them away from her long enough to wash them. Yesterday was laundry day and it took me three tries before I could successfully divert her attention to something else and swipe the blankets from her room long enough to wash them. It was like my own "Mission Impossible". She did discover about half way through the wash cycle that the blankets were missing and she actually stood in front of the washing machine and watched them as they washed. I think she had her doubts that they would come out again in one piece. A long hour later the blankets were all clean and yummy smelling..... just in time to be taken outside to the trampoline when she decided she wanted to go out and jump.

Oh well, I can say I tried right?

Long time, no write

2007-01-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it seems that I am no good at this blogging thing. I can think of 100 things to write about while I am driving in the car or out for a run, but as soon as I have time to type I've lost everything I have ever thought about. Maybe today I'll just start with a little family update.

Clark and I just got home from a caribbean cruise. It was a blissful 5 days away until my mom emailed me to let me know that Ellie had a double ear infection and RSV and Spence had a bad case of croup. It is a good thing I have such a great mom because being on a ship in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico makes you feel pretty helpless when you have littles that are sick. My mom was great. Took them to the drs, got prescriptions filled, gave each of them 2 breathing treatments a day and even managed to wash every window in my home and clean my oven. Unbelievable! I am still in awe of all she did for me while I was gone. I love my parents so much!! The littles are fully recovered now and life at home is peaceful, but I don't think I will be going away again any time soon.

I have been training the last 3 months for a half marathon that is being run to honor a sweet 7 year old girl in my ward who passed away last year of leukemia. It has been a fun thing to train for. For one, I have never run further than 3 or 4 miles and running 13.1 miles will be a huge personal accomplishment and secondly, because it is just such a great reason to run. You can read London's story at www.londonsrun.org and even sign up to race if you are in the Queen Creek metropolitan area on the 3rd of February. LOL It is a wonderful event that will help the Phoenix Children's Hospital and all the children who are battling leukemia. Definately something to run 13.1 miles for, even if it does kill me. It is something most of my neighbors are participating in and all of the youth in our ward have been challenged to run. It will be a fun way to spend a Saturday morning running with friends.

A quiet Friday night

2006-09-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Do you hear that? What you can't hear is pure, absolute SILENCE. Finally. It has been one of those weeks where breathing is too loud, too obnoxious to do. My cute SIL had her baby this week, so I have tried to keep her 3 year old out of her hair to let her get some rest. All that meant was he was another 3 year old in my hair. LOL Add him to Spence and Ellie and the decibel level in our home raises about 100%.

On Tuesday my sister had a drs appt and asked if her two kiddos could hang out at our home as well. So Tuesday's kid count was 5 under the age of 4. Did I mention that Tuesday was also one of the few days this week that the men installing the pavers in our backyard decided to work using tile saws and hammers? I couldn't even hear myself think let alone hear the 5 little people in my home tell me 234 times that they were hungry, needed a drink, needed to use the bathroom.... Phew, I was glad when Tuesday ended with a Tylenol PM. Just what the doctor ordered.

The rest of the week passed in similar fashion. Loud, loud, loud. The pavers STILL aren't done and my kids are still at each others' throats. But not tonight. Tonight everyone, including Clark, was in bed and asleep by 8:30. Leaving me blissfully alone for two hours. I almost hate to go to bed, but I guess I had better get some sleep. Tomorrow is bound to be as loud as today. LOL

A blessed life

2006-08-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

It is always a good idea to have a post with a title like this one following a post like Sundays. It makes me remember that the motto "This too shall pass" is a good one to live by. It allows for frustration and venting, yet tomorrow is always a clean slate and a day to forgive. I cherish days like today when the realization hits that I do have a very, very good life. I have a fabulous husband and three absolutely wonderful kids. Who would have ever thought?

I overdrew our checking account this week. An honest mistake in recording a withdrawal in our checkbook....I added it instead of subtracting it. Duh! I used to work in an accounting department. I know how to balance a check register, but completely blew it this week. When I realized my mistake I told Clark what I had done and he simply looked at me like I had two heads and said "Wow, that is one for the record books. You NEVER make that kind of mistake." Uh, who is this man and what has he done with my husband? LOL Yep this week I will keep him.

Spence and Ellie came in from playing outside today. Somehow Spence had managed to get one of his baseball caps on Ellie's head and she had left it there. As they came running inside laughing the thought struck me so hard "I almost decided not to have them." The thought left me almost breathless today. I can't IMAGINE my life without either of them. After Kendall was born the shock of a new baby and a husband starting his own business left me feeling like I had been run over by a mack truck. A year of no sleep will do strange things to a person and I swore to anyone and everyone who would listen that I was NEVER having any more kids. EVER! I stuck to my word for about 4 years. The year Kendall turned 4 I got the baby itch and we decided that maybe it would be ok to have another baby. It took 2 years and 2 miscarriages before we got pregnant with Spencer and Ellie came quicker than we had ever anticipated, but as they ran through my kitchen today I felt the most intense feeling of knowing that they are here for a reason and came at the time they were supposed to come. What if I had stuck to my word and had missed out on being their mom? Even tonight the thought brings tears to my eyes and a sick feeling to my stomach. I am beyond grateful for my change of heart.

I have the three most amazing children! Each with their own quirks and personalities. I don't know what I did to deserve any of them, let alone all three of them. My life is blessed because I am their mom and they are my babies FOREVER.

Sometimes I just really HATE Sundays

2006-07-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

And in this instance I don't think HATE is a strong enough word. I really, really detest them. And here is why....

DH (not Dear today! ) and I struggle through 3 hours of church with 3 kids. Most Sundays I ask myself why I do this because it's not really like I get much out of going, but in the end I know it is where I am supposed to be and "This too shall pass" and there will be a season where going to church will actually be for spiritual enlightenment, not just because I am "supposed" to be there.

After the 3 hours we head home with 3 very grouchy and hungry kids, feed them lunch and get them down for naps. I then get to clean up lunch while DH sits on the couch and watches some sport that is on tv (today is was DARTS! ). Just about the time I get the kichen ship shape again Ellie is awake from her nap and shortly after Spence wakes up too. About this time DH decides it is time for HIS nap and he retires to our bedroom to sleep. Must be freaking nice. Today neither kid woke up happy and have been at each others throats. Spence just pushed Ellie off the couch giving her a nice bump on the head and makes her scream the top of her lungs. So Spence gets sent back to bed screaming the top of his lungs and I hear DH say from his bed "Can everyone please just be quiet???"

Yep mostly I'd just like to KILL him, but common sense tells me that even if he were awake he would just be watching tv and I'd still have to deal with all the kids myself only this time having to keep them quiet so he can watch tv. I guess this way I can atleast keep myself out of prison for killing my husband. Someone has to take care of the kids right?

Everyone is currently in their TIME OUT spots until I can cool off enough to deal. And I can spend the next 4 hours until bedtime praising that tomorrow is Monday and DH will be back at work and out of my house.

Yes sireee, I do HATE Sundays!!

Our favorite family vacation

2006-07-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to posting about our quad trip to Beaver Mountain. This is a yearly trip that my moms extended family goes on and it is something that we LOVE and the kids talk about all year.

My dad took this picture of all of us on one of the 4 hour rides we take. We stop every hour or so to let the kiddos eat and take a potty break. The mountains are breathtaking and the trails we ride on are rugged and steep, but oh so much fun. This year we only had about half the number of quads we usually have. It is quite something to see 15 quads riding the trails. So very much fun!!

My cousin brought this little quad for her little boy to ride. Spencer had his eye on it for about 2 days before he got brave enough to give it a shot. Once he figured out the gas and brake he was off to the races. He loved it!! He still asks if he can ride the "little bike" again. I think it is just a matter of time before we have to buy him his own quad to ride. Spence is growing up so fast! Before I know it he'll be on a mission and off to college. I better not blink or he will just disappear.

I love family vacations. It makes me appreciate the family I grew up with and the family I am trying to raise. It is even more enjoyable to be able to do something that you love to do with others in your family too. Riding quads has become the one thing that draws my family together. Everyone is so busy with work and raising families and it is nice to have one thing that everyone enjoys doing and will make room in their hectic lives to participate in. I hope it continues and becomes one of our family traditions.

Potty Training

2006-07-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

I will admit that I am NOT a very patient person. I come from a long line of obsessive, compulsive women. My mom is one, her mom is one and her mom's mom is one.....you get the picture. So it should come as no surprise that potty training really pushes my buttons.

Kendall PT'd in literally a day. My MIL bought her a pair of panties for her 2nd birthday. After I threw my little temper tantrum about it being "way too early to start that nonsense" I promptly hid them in the back of her drawer, hopefully never to be found again. About 6 months later, Kendall brought said panties to me and asked to wear them. I said NO!!! and made her put them away. The next day she brought them to me again and asked to wear them. I figured now she knew where they were she wouldn't give up until I let her wear them, so I said "Sure you can put them on, but you CAN NOT go potty in them. You need to tell me when you need to go and I'll help you, but I will not clean up pee off the floor." That's it. That's all it took. She potty trained that day and never looked back. She wore those panties until I could get to the store to buy more. She was so proud of herself and I thought that I had done a great job! LOL

Now there is Spence. What can I say about him except he is ALL boy. Underwear? Could really care less. Poop in his diaper? No worries mom, I don't mind if it stays here all day. I'm a busy guy and I have no time for diaper changes or to figure out how to use that toilet thing. So I talked and talked and talked until I was blue in the face. All of his friends and cousins his age are potty trained, but would Spence budge? Not a chance. Not for all the chocolate treats in the world. Nothing is looking like it is going to budge this little guy......until.......we are headed out on vacation! Not just any vacation either. A vacation that means me being alone with all 3 kids by myself for 7 days after driving in the car for 12 hours. Yep this is a potty training nightmare, but I go with the flow (literally) because he is finally showing interest and hey I figured it would only last a day and then we'd be back to the diapers and my vacation would be saved. But it was not to be. The little bugger held his ground and potty trained while we were in the car and on vacation like a champ! No accidents, no wet car seats, NOTHING! All my previous screaming and tantrum throwing because he wouldn't potty train was in vain. I just needed to go on vacation!! It has been 3 weeks and he is going strong! In fact, just this morning he announced that he was "big enough" to wipe his own bottom! This is progress!!! I'll take it anyday!

That leaves only Ellie left in diapers. I wonder what her potty training story will be, as I am sure there will be one. Only time will tell, but if I had to venture a guess, I would say that Spence will have something to do with it. He has already taken command of the situation and will "share" his unders with Ellie if she promises not to pee in them. I wonder where he got that from?

I need to somehow remember that I can't control everything all of the time......nah that is NEVER going to happen. You just can't undo years of genetic programing and you know I do come from a long line of obsessive moms.

Pink Eye

2006-07-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure Ellie has pink eye. I can't be 100% sure because this is the first time ever that pink eye has made it into our home. One of our awesome neighbors is an optometrist and he brought some eye drops over last night to atleast get Ellie started on. Figured it couldn't hurt even if it isn't pink eye. She is fighting a nasty cold that has her nose running and a bad cough started last night. It is 112 degrees outside and my kids manage to catch a cold. Go figure! Wish I had thought to take a picture of her before her nap. She looks pretty miserable. Poor thing!

An introduction

2006-07-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

I hope this blog will serve as a type of journal of our family. Maybe it will be a place I can remember to write down some of the fun things we do as a family or record some of the crazy things that happen with 3 kids.

Here is the last family picture we've had taken. It is about a year old, but hey, with kids who the heck has time to have a RECENT family portrait done? Actually, I think it should be considered recent. LOL It took a lot of doing to have this portrait made and I just don't have the guts to attempt it again. What you don't know is that the head in this picture isn't Spence's real head. He would NOT sit still to save our lives, so our photographer had to PHOTOSHOP his head in from some random pictures he took of Spence while he wasn't aware anyone was taking his picture. So until everyone can sit still on their own accord, this picture will have to do.