Good News~Bad News

Good News~ Were leaving to go to Disneyland in three days!
Bad News~ Ive lost our annual passes for Disneyland.

Good News~ Were finally getting family pictures today!
Bad News~ Madi has a giant space between her teeth.

Good News~ I'm completely caught up on laundry!!
Bad News~ I will be behind again by morning.

Good News~ School is almost over!
Bad News~ I just might loose my mind before summers over.

I guess I need to just learn to take the good with the bad, we can't always have our cake and eat it to! I guess I will have to just settle and eat a nice hot churro in Disneyland instead. Happy Summer!!

Funky Monkey Mo~

No, Madi didn't just loose a tooth, that extremely large space between her two front teeth is the result of the spacer she had put in our mouth. It has only been about 3 weeks since she had it put in, and it has widened her mouth a ton. The orthodontist said he put in a 9mm screw and he is going to milk it for all its worth. Madi is not to excited about the gap, especially because we are getting family pictures today. She has been trying to practice smiling without showing teeth. I hope it all works out. We are excited it's working, but she just wants to get it over with, and cant wait to get her braces on, {just in time for junior high} Madi has been working on better eating habits.....she started weight watchers about 4 weeks ago and has already lost 14 pounds! At first she thought losing weight was impossible, and that it was never going to work. We just kept encouraging and did what ever we could to help, {we could all use to be a bit more healthy} Now that she can see the results and others have noticed as well it seems to be really easy for her. She is so good about counting and keeping track of her points, she has really stuck with it. I'm soooo proud of you Madi, you have proven that you can do anything you set you mind to! You have been so inspiring to all of us! I hope we can all follow your example! We love you Madi Mo! Oh, I almost forgot to mention she got a new hair cut for the summer, I think it looks really cute short!

My Little Graduate!

On Friday Abby had a preschool graduation! It was complete with a carnival party and the making of a cute paper graduation hat! She came home with so many prizes, starburst, bubbles, a water ball, a bag she made with her name on it, a ballerina toy, and a long colorful balloon. She was so excited. Abby still has one more day of preschool, but they get to have a fun water party! We just love Miss Holly, she has been a great teacher, Abby will really miss her next year, but is very excited for kindergarten! Good job Abby, we are so proud of you!

~Boy Oh Boy~

I can't believe it, the highly anticipated, way overdue, long awaited haircut is FINALLY HERE! Last night I finally got my boys back!!! Darrin took Kaiden and himself in to finally get their hair cuts before family pictures on Wednesday, And I couldn't be happier! Kaiden has been trying to grow his hair out for so long, and it just wasn't working for him, {or should I say me?} When we went to my moms house on Mothers Day, there were some people that didn't even recognize him with his longer hair, and at that point I just kept on asking him to cut his hair and he finally agreed Yipee!!! Anyways here is a picture of the new man in my life, isn't he a cutie? Well I sure think so!!!

Before~

After~

Only 11 More Days!

We are so excited for our upcoming trip to Disneyland! I can already smell the churros and have been dreaming about Pizza Ports chicken fusilli, and to top it all off for dessert I think I'll have a yummy Carmel apple, or a fresh slice of pineapple, and we cant forget about the frozen chocolate covered bananas, and slushy lemonade, and my kids favorite, the chocolate mickey ice cream ears! {are ya droolin yet?} Oh how I love vacations, and the fact that we get to forget about diets for the entire week, Yipee!!! After all, Disneyland wouldn't quite be the same without all the traditional park food! Anyways, I thought I would share a fun experience from our last trip to Disneyland......As we had just come off of the Haunted Mansion ride, one of the members of the "Dream Team" started talking to Kaiden and his cousin Nate. Of course I was all over that, I heard that if they ever approach you that you should be overly friendly, {just in case they might want to give something awesome} Well she just happened to be looking for 2 kids to march with the Grand Marshall's in the flag retreat ceremony/parade. Kaiden for some reason was being really shy and wanted nothing to do with it, so Madi agreed to take his place. Later that evening Madi and Nate got to hold and wave flags as they marched in the parade and as they sang the National Anthem! When the Flag Retreat ceremony was over they gave Madi and Nate Limited edition collectors pins, now these weren't just any ordinary pins, the only people who have them are the ones who get to do the Flag Retreat ceremony.They are highly coveted by all the pin collectors. They also gave them a picture holder to put a picture in and let us take their picture afterwards. It was such a fun experience. Kaiden was really mad that he didn't jump on the chance to be in the parade oh well, maybe next time!

The Big Green Disneyland Machine!

So yesterday for family home evening we taught the kids a valuable lesson about cleaning......We pulled out the big ole' green 18 passenger van that my mom bought and gave it a cleaning! It came pretty clean, but could still use a carpet cleaning. My kids are sooo excited to drive this van to Disneyland, they can hardly wait. We took out the back seat, and that is where we are going to store all our luggage {and we have alot, leave it up to me to always over pack!} With the luggage in back each of the kids will get to have their own individual row of luxury to travel in! We are so thankful to my parents for buying this van to let us travel in, it is a natural gas vehicle so it will really save us in the gas department, not to mention the fact that we wont have to put the miles on our Tahoe. Just in case you are wondering if this awesome van/bus will be available for your next trip to Disneyland, just know that it will be put up for sale in June....Yipee! So the van is clean and ready for travel, we just have to pack it up and were off!

ABC Tag~

So this is the first time I have been tagged. My friend Amanda tagged me~ Here it goes.....

A~ Attached or Single: Happily attached for almost 13 years in June.
B~ Best Friend: Darrin, of course!
C~ Cake or Pie: Both, I love Birthday cake, and apple pie with vanilla ice cream.
D~ Day: Sunday.
E~ Essential Item: Hairspray, I never leave home without it!
F~ Favorite Color: I would have to say black and pink.
G~ Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms are more fun to eat.
H~ Home Town: Mostly Lindon, Utah.
I~ Indulgences: Reality tv and ice cream {a perfect combo}
J~ January or July: Neither, July is to hot and January is to cold!
K~ Kids: 3; 2 girls and 1 boy.
L~ Life is incomplete without: My family and the gospel.
M~ Marriage Date: June 3, 1995
N~ Number of Siblings: Just one brother!
O~ Oranges or Apples: Apples, but I prefer them covered in Carmel
P~ Phobias or Fears: I have never really liked deep water, or getting in any lake or pond. I also hate the thought of losing a loved one.
Q~ Quote: "The tragedy of life and the world is not that men do not know god; the tragedy is that knowing Him they still insist on going their own way."~ William Barclay
R~ Reason to Smile: My kids!
S~ Season: Fall, I love the changing colors, the smell in the air, and the cooling temperature....it also means that Halloween is just around the corner! Hello yummy popcorn balls!
T~ Tag Four: Madi, Sarah, Rock, Mandy.
U~ Unknown Fact About Me: I'm a "Beauty School Dropout" Ouch!
V~ Very Favorite Store: Oh so many choices I could never narrow it down to just one. But I do have to say that I love shopping online, the possibilities are endless. I love shopping for my kids, and for shoes!
W~ Worst Habit: Overly obsessing about everything.....I would have to diagnose myself with OCD. Everything has to be the right way...{my way!}
X~Rays or Ultrasounds: Both, isn't technology great!
Y~ Your Favorite Food: Another one with so many choices...I would have to say Juniors Cheesecake, Pepsi, Breakfast and anything Mexican. Yum! Whens dinner?
Z~ Zodiac Sign: Capricorn, but who cares right?

Spiritual Recharge~

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the Temple with my husbands brother Rock. We went to the Provo temple. He had a small group of family there that love and support him so much! It's always so neat to watch and witness someone taking out their endowments for the first time. I love watching their reactions and feeling the spirit so strongly! I will never forget the feelings I felt when I went through the Temple for the first time, what an amazing opportunity! We are so proud of you Rock, and we are so thankful that we could be there to experience the Temple with you! After we went to the Temple we went to Ruby River for lunch. It was sooo yummy! I was so stuffed! Later that night I had to go to Young Women leadership training. I always kind of drag my feet on the way there, but once I'm there I'm always so glad I went. The young women leaders in our stake our amazing! They always have so much valuable information that I can use, not only for my calling, but for my family as well. I always feel the spirit so strongly when I'm in their presence. It seems as though they knew just what I was needing to hear, and I'm so grateful for that. I feel as though I need days like this more often, it was the perfect "spiritual recharge" that I needed. I often tend to loose sight of what is important right now in my life, but days like this are always there to get me back on track!

This is a picture of the Santiago, Chile Temple. Rock received his mission call to Osorno, Chile. The second picture is of the San Diego Temple. When we went to Sea World we passed this temple, it was so pretty, it looked just like a castle! Someday I'm hoping to go back and do a session. My all time favorite Temple has to be the Salt Lake Temple~ what can I say, there is just so much to love about that Temple. The picture at the top is one of my favorites! Someday I will have this picture adorning my walls, until then....I can only dream!

~Happy Mothers Day~

"Everything I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my Mother"

This quote is so true. Yesterday was Mothers Day, we went to my mom's house for breakfast with her side of the family. My mom had prepared the most amazing breakfast buffet. There was so much yummy food! My mom is a wonderful cook, she always tries her best to please everyone, and that's one of the qualities we love so much about her. {not to mention her yummy cooking ability!} She has taught me so much in my life, and I can only hope that one day I can be as amazing as her. Thanks for everything, I love you mom!This had to be one of my favorite Mother's day's ! My kids really put thought and effort into the gifts they got me. Madi made a cute little box with a bunch of coupons inside that were good for all sorts of free services, {I especially like the one that said "good for one day off, I will cook dinner and take care of the kids!"} I think I will be using that one real soon. She also gave me a really nice card, that she picked out, and a puzzle that I had to put together that said ~You Rock Mom~ It was all very thoughtful! Kaiden made a book at school, that was all about me. It was soo cute, he drew a picture of me, and apparently I only weigh 99 pounds and I'm about 50 inches tall? He also said that I spend my time day dreaming about Darrin, and if I could have one wish it would be free braces! He is one smart kid! Kaiden also gave me some cute little magnets he made at school, and a bag of candy and a pencil. Abby made me a really cute card, and she drew me a picture. My favorite part was the tube of squeeze candy that she bought at the store just for me, did I forget to mention she decided she would try it for me before she gave it to me just to make sure I would like it. How sweet! I hate to judge, but I think my kids are the BEST! After we ate breakfast at my moms, we decide to watch 27 Dresses in my mom's theater room. Now I know its a "Chick Flick," but it's mothers day right? Anyways Darrin said it was the best Chick flick he's seen {did I mention he slept through about 75% of the movie?} After the movie was over we went to Payson for a barbecue to celebrate with his family. It's always fun to go and catch up and see how everyone is doing. I had a great day! Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Track our 4x4-

Recently Darrin purchased a 1993 Jeep Wrangler from my parents neighbors for $1,500. It needed a new engine, and had a couple big dents {you can hardly tell in this picture because the dents are on the other side} other then that it seemed to be in pretty good condition. It came with a hard and soft top, and hard and soft doors. Darrin thought it had a lot of potential, so once again he has started another Jeep project {as if he didn't already have enough going on} I thought it would be fun to track the Jeep in progress. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the Jeep before, but this is all I can find right now. Darrin has met a lot of amazing people working at BYU, and it just so happens that they have an entire paint and body shop they were willing to let him use! Justin {a friend of Darrin's at work} taught Darrin so much about body work and paint, this is good because I'm sure were going to need it after our first trip to Moab. Justin spent tons of his spare time helping Darrin get all the body work perfect! Once this was done we had to choose a paint color. There were so many choices it was hard to decide, but we finally agreed on blue. Darrin and Justin came up with the perfect custom color, it's a one of a kind, sorry everyone don't be to jealous! When Justin was done painting the Jeep, we were so excited, as you all know we have never owned a Jeep that looked this good! Thanks Justin!

So these are the pictures we have of the body work, and the new paint job, Sweet! As you can see there is still a lot of work to be done. I didn't get to take a picture of the interior or the seats before Darrin started taking it apart. Darrin wanted some custom seats for the new Jeep, but we couldn't find any that we liked that were affordable. Darrin's friend at work Will {who works in the upholstery shop} offered to recover the existing seats that were in the Jeep. I don't have a before picture of the seats, but here is the after. They turned out better then we expected! Thanks Will!

Darrin has also purchased new wheels and tires. The tires are 37 inch BF Goodrich mud terrain km2's, and new high impact beadlocks! I know this doesn't make much sense to us ladies out there, but I'm assuming they must be pretty darn sweet with technical terms like that! Below is a picture of the new wheel and tire. Just so you know, I helped mount that baby! Thanks Tiffany!

That's my Style Mom!

So I finally convinced Kaiden that it was time for a haircut. As we were going through some old photos he saw a picture of Darrin when he had his long hair. Kaiden thought it was sooo cool and so he decided that he was going to grow his hair out just like his dads! So for weeks we have been in the awkward stage. I thought it was to puffy, and looked a little bit like a wig, it was just to shaggy and out of control. Kaiden kept on telling me "but that's my style mom!" So the much anticipated hair cut/trim finally arrived. They didn't really cut to much off, but they did do a lot of thinning and they trimmed up the front. I think it looks just like.....His Style! What can I say he defiantly knows what he likes! Thanks dad for all the many wonderful cowlicks that give his hair soo much personality!

Anticipation!

YIPEEE! There is only 26 more days until were off to Disneyland (again!) I feel just like the parents in the Disneyland commercial, you know the one...... The parents want the kids to go to sleep, they giggle and say "were to excited to sleep" Then they go to the parents in bed, the wife rolls over and says to her husband "you asleep?" then the husband says "nope, to excited!" I love this commercial! It makes me laugh every time! Anyway, the anticipation is killing us all, this vacation couldn't come any quicker! We all desperately need a break from everyday life, the kids are counting down the days left of school, and Darrin once again has overloaded himself with work, and is now frantically trying to get caught up so he can enjoy this vacation without worrying about work! I'm hoping to try and get another cute Disney themed outfit made for Abby to wear in Disneyland, but I have so much going on before we leave, I'm not sure if I will have the time. I will have to keep you posted. In the above picture is one of the outfits that I designed when we went to Disneyland in November. My mom did all the hard work, I'm no good at sewing, but love designing.

She's Growing Up

During spring break Abby wanted to ride her bike, we got it out and she started riding. A few minutes later she came inside and said she wanted to try it without training wheels. Darrin was at work so I went out and adjusted her training wheels so one was up higher then the other. This was really hard for her she couldn't really balance and she didn't like it at all. Next I decided just to take the training wheels off. Madi came out and tried to hold the bike steady for her, and it would just make it to hard for her, so we decided just to let her try it on her own. Sure enough she just took off and was able to do it all by herself! We were so shocked that she learned so quickly, and on her own. We should have taken the training wheels off a long time ago. We are so proud of you Abby!