Family Fun!

We met up with some friends from our ward in Magna today out in Tooele. They were penning cattle. The kids had fun watching the action and our friends let us ride a horse around outside. The kids thought that was lots of fun! Thanks Tuttles for the fun afternoon!

Caitlyn looks mighty comfortable and relaxed up top. Don't you think?

Brevin was SO excited to be near the horses, but a little timid of their size! He loved sitting up there and was not interested in getting down!

Haidyn and Dilyn had lots of fun too . . . until the horse decided he had an itch and started shaking. Haidyn was fine, but it scared Dilyn a lot! She wanted down and would not go near the horse again!

Yeah, we couldn't get him out of the tractor either!

John even managed to get on top of this poor animal. I was repeatedly asked to ride. I love horses and would not have minded, but I didn't want to at the risk of looking like a little kid at a pony ride . . .

Need I say more?

No appreciation . . .

And no, this isn't about my family. It is about all my blogging friends. No one appreciates my love of Nascar and my posting on Matt Kenseth winning the Daytona 500. How sad it is! Can I get a comment on happiness for Matt? It makes my poor little heart so sad. I feel no love, no support from my friends. Give me some love!

DAYTONA 500

Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500! WOO HOO!! Does it get any better than that . . . Nope, sure doesn't! Congratulations Matt!!

Happy Valentines Day Mom!

So as some of you may know. I was a butt head and did nothing for my wife on her birthday. I guess I thought that we do not have the money to do anything fun, but that is no excuse for not doing at least something. Not only did I do nothing but I wasn’t even the first one to tell her happy birthday, my dad was of all people. I didn’t even remind my own children of it, although that night when we went out with friends I asked the kids to try to make her cards. Yet again I did nothing, no card, no happy birthday, nothing. I tried later that night and even the next day, but it just did not work out for me. It wasn’t until my sweet bride said something to me a few days after the fact. But then at that point it is too late. Nothing would make up for my doing nothing, its just out of guilt now. I must say that to this day I feel so bad, and I know that this will not make up for it, and that you, Tiffany, will not let me live it down for the entire year. I’ll I can say is that I deserve it. So here it goes. I have to share some of the things that I love about my wife on this Valentines Day.

1. I love that you get up each day, get ready, and look beautiful before I get home from work.
2. You are one amazing cook, we eat so go. (Just look at me I love to eat)
3. You love to watch NASCAR with me, and go to the race. (Vegas baby)
4. I love that you scrapbook, it’s so fun to look back on the memories.
5. I love that when ever you call me or I call you, you ask if I am naked.
6. You have put up with me for all of these years, I don’t know why, but I love you for it…
7. I love that you enjoy to work, and teach our children the importance of school and work.
8. You make me laugh.
9. I love the way that you have been doing your hair.
10. I love the way you cut my hair.

This is just some of the reasons that I love you Tiffany. I love all that you do for me; I truly hope that I can make it up to you this year. You make me so happy...

I asked each of my children to give me a list of at least 10 things that they love about mom. We will start with Cait, who at first e-mailed me some things that I should do.
1. Buy her almond joys. 2. Make her cards. 3. Make Valentines. 4. Make a list of "10 Ways I Love you". 5. Take her to dinner. 6. Take her to a movie.
All of which are great things. I then asked her again to tell me what she loves about mom, and again this is what I got. “Why not do something nice”, yes I total agree. In fact one of the items on the chore list for our children is to do something nice for one of there siblings without them knowing. I need to do that also… So yet again I asked Cait for that list and this is what I got.

1. Her cooking.
2. She is loving.
3. Going shopping.
4. She is nice.
5. Doing my hair.
6. Helping with homework.
7. She is happy.
8. Taking me to lunch.
9. Taking care of me when I am sick.
10. Getting me a soda. “like you should be drinking it or me for that matter”

I asked Haidyn the same thing; this is what she e-mailed to me.

1. I love the presents.

2. The clothes that she wears.

3. The food she makes.

4. She is my favorite mom.

5. The games that me and her play.

6. The puzzles we do.

7. The stuff she buys me.

8. The name she gave me.

9. The things she does for me.

10. The things that she gets for me.

I love it. Both of them came up with some great things and I am sure that they could each come up with more.

So Dilyn’s turn to give me a list. (with Haidyn’s help as the scribe)

1. The presents she gives me.
2. The toys she buys me.
3. I love WOC (I could not figure this one out.)
4. I like that she takes me to fun places
5. I like that she takes me out to eat. (To the star) that’s Carl’s Jr.
6. She lets me go to my friend’s house.
7. She buys me books.
8. She takes me to preschool.
9. She helps me.
10. She takes care of me.
11. She picked my name. (I believe dad picked her name)

Now this one is kinda fun and hard to do, but let’s see what Brevin says. So I asked him what he likes about mommy.

1. Cakes. I am not sure where that came from. Maybe because we have some frosting that mom made for the sugar cookies. I come into the kitchen this morning to find him with the tub on the floor, open, and him eating the frosting…
2. Snowman. He was looking out the window at that time.
3. Drinks. He was looking at my drink on the counter.
4. Piggies. I am not sure on that one. Mom loves to collect pigs.
5. Pizza, pizza, pizza. We had pancakes for breakfast, not sure on that one ether.

But in all, it was fun to find out from each one of them how they felt about mom.

Tiffany, mom, you are the one that keeps our house going, we love you and need to show our appreciation towards you more often. Thanks for all that you do.

Scary Moment . . .

This morning was just like any other morning, John left for work, Caitlyn was up getting ready for school, nothing unusual. I was doing Caitlyn's hair for her, she wanted it a little fancy for her Valentine's Day class party. Anyway, she said she was dizzy . . . I look at her face and she is that lovely pale green and going even more pale. Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp. Luckily I was right there with her. I was trying to remain calm, but was panicking ever so slightly . . . I kept saying her name over and over. I laid her down on my bathroom floor and said her name again at which point she jerked a little. I was worried she might be having a seizure, but she only jerked the one time. She was only out for a few seconds, but it seemed like forever. Here I am kneeling over my baby and she is unresponsive! What do you do!? Her eyes suddenly flew open and she is staring at me with these huge questioning eyes. "What happened?!" she asks me. Half-way between a sob and a laugh (my laugh was only due to my relief, not because I thought this was funny!) I tell her she passed out. She immediately starts to cry. I asked her if she had eaten yet, she hadn't. I helped her up to sit for a few minutes, then got her into the kitchen to eat. I called John at this point, because I was a little freaked, and needed him to calm me down. When I told him Cait had passed out, he asked me if she was still out? I was calm after that. No, she is still passed out on the floor I just thought I would call and tell you where she was, unconscious on the floor. And he wonders why I think he questions my ability as a mother?! Anyway, she ate and said she still wanted to go to school. I told her what to do if she ever feels like that again. Poor girl! I hope she not still freaked out about it! Love you Cait! Thanks for the exciting morning!

Two Reasons . . .

Despite the fact that I have had 2, count them, 2 sick children, I have 2 reasons that I am excited and happy today! First, I got a job offered to me that is close to home . . . just down in Riverton at the Riverton Transitional Rehabilitation Center. No drive to Murray anymore. Very good! Second, and most importantly, Nascar was on over the weekend! Oh how I have missed it! I know there are a few people out there that do not understand my white-trash-love-affair with Nascar, but I do love it! I truly do! I know most people that don't like it just see it as a bunch of cars driving around in a circle, but I love it! I love the drivers, who I lovingly refer to as My Nascar Boys. John and I are going to Vegas in a few weeks to attend the wonderful race the hold there annually! I love it! I am so excited! I can't wait! LOVE IT! Go Matt!

Week In Review . . .

Caitlyn:

This past week Caitlyn had her History Fair Project due. Last year she had done it on Brown vs Board of Education with her friend Jaici and the took first place at her school for 5th grade and then won first place at the district level,but in 5th grade that is as far as you can go. No state level for 5th grade. We were excited but disappointed that they couldn't go any further. This year they have teamed up again and did their report on Elvis. They got a first place for the school and have moved on to the district level. We are so proud of her! (Although no form of pride is good . . .)

Caitlyn has horrible seasonal allergies, as well as to dust, and animals. So, after taking her to an allergist we decided to get her allergy shots. There is no guarantee it will "cure" her of her allergies, but should lessen the effects of them. We have been doing the shots for several months and the serum is getting stronger and it is really starting to cause some swelling in her arm, so I thought I would take some picture to document all the pain and suffering she goes through. We try to get in a couple times a week, because you have to get around 60 shots. I know it sounds like a lot, but it is less expensive than medication!















Haidyn:

Haidyn is off track this week. She is on D-track and Cait is on C-track (No I didn't request it but if you ask the school, it only happens if you request it). So Haidyn had a sleepover this week with Olivia. They slept in the family room and had to make a tent, which the helped stabilize with scotch tape! Those two together are hysterical! They are a mini-Thelma and Louise.












Dilyn:

Dilyn has not been feeling all that well for the past couple of weeks, I just can't seem to get her to stay healthy! So, this week she has decided to become a Cullen, she has been way too pale. When I mentioned this to Caitlyn, who just finished reading Twilight, she thought I was hysterical!

Brevin:

He is such a boy! I know I say this frequently, but for me, after three girls, well, just bear with me please! He makes us laugh constantly! Aside from the fact that he speaks constantly and I only understand about 25% of it, he is like the energizer bunny! He never stops! I find myself running after him with food because he doesn't like to stop, even for food. This week he found a new sitting place, for the rare occasion that he actually sits for a moment, and I do mean a moment . . . it took me several minutes to conveince him to sit back down so I could take the picture.

Blub! Blub!

So I am getting Brevin in the truck and he looks under the seat and grabs the two cars that are under there (I'm sure none of you have anything under your seats :). I then proceed to put him in his seat, at which point he starts to yell at me something about Elmo, or that was what I thought. I tell him he needs to stop yelling and crying and to use his words. He then says "Blub! Blub!". What the . . . I look at Caitlyn to see if she knows what he is talking about and she justs shrugs her shoulders. Then Brevin starts pointing to the floor and says "Blub! Blub!" yet again. So I look under the seat and low and behold the is a Littlest Pet Shop Fish that has the coloring of Nemo (Elmo and Nemo sound very similar from his mouth). He wanted the fish. He is silly in the fact that he calls most animals by the noise they make and apparently fish say "Blub! Blub!".

Are they painted on?

This is how I'm feeling about my children's ears today. I am seriously wondering if their ears are painted on? Perhaps they are truly deaf and are unable to hear my words. Or could it be that they just simply don't understand what I am saying. Whatever it is, it has me truly frustrated. How many times must a mom say no before that word permeates their brain and recognition occurs? I can't tell you the number of times I have heard the phrase "But, I didn't hear you!". Perhaps I am invisible and my voice can only be heard by other mothers, because I know there have been plenty of times that my sweet husband doesn't hear what I say either. I don't like being frustrated . . . it is very frustrating. :)

Happy Birthday John!

I did not get the opportunity to post this yesterday . . . John was home all day sick, then Caitlyn called from school and she was sick . . . so my day was spent taking care of sickies! John is now 38 and here are 38 things that I love about him . . .

1. I love your crooked smile.

2. I love what a good Dad you are to our children.

3. I love the way you kiss me . . . yummy lips.

4. I love that you appreciate my humor.

5. I love your strong work ethic.

6. I love how smart you are even though I don't appreciate it all the time.

7. I love your goatee.

8. I love that you are patient with my moods when necessary.

9. I love that you don't mind taking me to Cafe Rio so frequently.

10. I love how supportive you are to my wants and needs.

11. I love that you read to the kids every night.

12. I love that you do the dishes.

13. I love watching Nascar races with you.

14. I love trying to solve the worlds problems together.

15. I love your silent laugh.

16. I love your willingness to help others.

17. I love cooking for you, because you love everything I cook!

18. I love that you have grey hair and I don't. :)

19. I love that you forget something every morning and kiss me goodbye at least twice.

20. I love that you try to surprise me, but I always find out before.

21. I love you be willing to rub my hips when they bother me.

22. I love that you try to cook on occasion.

23. I love going shopping with you.

24. I love that you love shopping with me.

25. I love that you never remember the punch line of a joke.

26. I love that everyone likes you.

27. I love that you think I am amazing.

28. I love that you fold the laundry!

29. I love that you support me wanting to work.

30. I love your shoulders.

31. I love that you love it when I ramble on about nothing.

32. I love laughing with you.

33. I love your need to have a project.

34. I love that you can fix anything.

35. I love that you can laugh at yourself.

36. I love your patience with the kids.

37. I love seeing you with our children.

38. I love that you are a true friend, to me.

John, I love you very much! More than words can say!

Love, your Sweatheat! :)

(I also love that you can't spell)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today would be my Dad's 59th birthday. Last year my Dad's youngest sister gave me a couple of discs with pictures on it and they are so neat! I just had to share a few of them. And you have to understand that up until a few years ago, I had never seen a picture of my Dad as a child or teen. There were so many great pictures, I could look at them for hours! Lucky for you I didn't post too many. I hope you enjoy them half as much as I do!
I love this picture! It would have to be Christmas morning with all their loot! That would be my Dad by the tree. He was the oldest, then Angelia, who is holding the dog, and Brenda, the youngest, is in between them.

Okay, most of the pictures of my Dad were him without a shirt, luckily this one he is fully clothed! :) I can only assume that this was in front of their house. I love the girls with their tightly curled hair. I know that was the style, and I know they laugh at it now, so I can't help giggle about it. I love my Dad's stance with his arms folded across his chest.

I love the laughter and love in this picture. This is my Grandpa, who actually died the same year as my Dad did. From what I have heard about him, he was a very loving man. I wish I had had the opportunity to get to know him too.

I about wet myself when I saw this picture. My Dad with a tuba!? I had no clue and I still have no clue as to when or for how long. These are just a few of the questions I have for him. One day I hope to have the opportunity to ask him many, many things. Isn't he cute!

I LOVE this picture! Doesn't he look so cool! I think this could be a beer advertisement. I'm sure my Mom will not be pleased that I am putting a picture of my Dad with an Old Milwaukie beer in his hand, but I just had to. You have to understand that my Dad had a bit of an ego. He had to being an Army Test Pilot. You can't put your life on the line every day and not have an ego and this picture shows that ego and I LOVE it! But he loved to fly. How many people can say they love what they do and love to get up every day and go to work. My Dad could. My Dad wasn't perfect, he had many flaws, like most of us do, but he was amazing! He was and is my Dad and I love him so much. I look forward to the day when I get to put my arms around him, I wonder if I will ever let go . . .

I miss you and I love you Dad! Happy Birthday!

Yep, It's a boy!

"I did it!" This is what I kept hearing coming from the kitchen accompanied by the pounding of his hammer. So, I had to check it out, because when he says "I did it!" he throws his hands in the air and has a huge smile on his face. It is just way too cute to pass up. So I round the corner and this is what I see . . .

He is smashing Cheetos with his hammer! That's my boy!!

Pay-It-Forward . . .

Read closely...this is how it works...

The Rules...

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Wax Museum

It's that time of year when the Wax Museum comes to town. I loved this assignment when Caitlyn was in 3rd grade and I still love it now with Haidyn. One of the book reports that they get to do is a biography. Haidyn chose Annie Oakley. Their book report consists of doing a poster and then dressing up as that person and posing in a "wax museum". It was lots of fun learning about Miss Oakley. Caitlyn chose Elizabeth Blackwell, one of the first woman doctors. I am thrilled that my girls have picked and learned about such strong women in history. Women who go against the grain and are strong and unwilling to do the norm. Anyone who knows my girls knows that they are very independant and strong willed (guess where they that from). I am and glad they can see such good examples of women in the past to help them prepare for the future.

Sick Princess

Our poor little Dilyn has been sick this past week. She had been up several times during the nights and running a temp on occasion. So, after three days of this I took her to the doctor. She apparently has croup or the beginnings of it anyway. This picture is after we went to the doctor and we got the nice cough syrup that has the narcotic in it that helps them sleep. Love that stuff. John read her, I think, about half the book and she was out. I love it that she fell asleep with her hands behind her head and her knees up. She looks so relaxed! Poor girl! She is going stir crazy now, tired of being stuck in the house!

Bakin' Fool!

This week I have been a woman obsessed! I have been obsessed with baking and cooking! I don't know why, well, actually I do. Let me share . . . I had a wedding cake for Saturday, but that was only a portion. I know this is surprising, but I have been a rebellious soul when it comes to food storage. Not that I don't want to do it, I do, I really do, but when I start thinking about it and the amount of food I need to still get it becomes overwhelming. The thought of the amount of wheat one should have seems slightly ridiculous, and once I have it what am I going to do with it? I have nothing against making stuff from scratch, I make just about everything from scratch, except mac & cheese, but on occasion make that from scratch too. But until this week I had never made bread. It intimidated me, not sure why, but it did. I started this past year making rolls and scones, and this week I finally took on bread! And if I do say so myself, it was delicious! Last week I was at an Enrichment Board meeting and after attempting to argue my pathetic side, I was told that I needed to be hit upside the head and just accept it and follow it. So this was my attempt to follow the teachings that I have been presented with. No, I did not grind my own wheat, but I actually did buy wheat flour, for the first time. I am taking steps in trying to improve my attitude.

Isn't it pretty? Then I made dinner every night this last week. No eating out, nothing from a box. And I must say, we ate really good this week and we had homemade bread for almost every meal. Then, yesterday I had a wedding cake to do for a sweet young friend of mine. Karyn and Matt were married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple yesterday! I am so happy for them! Karyn asked if I would make her cake, and I was excited to do so. I have the habit of getting very stressed out when I do wedding cakes, to the point where I can't sleep and almost every time I say I won't do another one, but I always do. This time, for some reason I didn't get stressed out. I love it when they look as good as I have them planned out in my head, that doesn't always happen, but it sure is nice when they do!

What do you think? The bride was very happy how it turned out, and that is the best part! Now I am off to make another batch of bread and my kids want to make some soft pretzels for a treat. Another busy day in the world of a mom.

HELP!

Okay, here is my silly dilema. I am trying to set up a slide show in Add a Gadget. I have set up files in Flickr and Photobucket but cannot for the life of me get it to load in the Slideshow. Has anyone been successful in this endeavor? I need help. Thank you for listening!

-Tiffany

New for me!

For the past 11 1/2 years of motherhood, I have played my fair share of Barbies, Dolls and dressup. Now I get to play cars! I must admit, I never thought I would be doing this after having three girls! I love it when Brevin grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall to play cars with his mom. (What is really great is when he won't let his sisters play, cause he just wants to play with mom, and they sit back on the sideline looking eagerly on in hopes of one rolling past so they can roll it back to him!)

Is it like this for you?

Today as we were cleaning up the house, Saturday is a special day . . ., I thought I would keep track of the amount of hair accessories that I picked up. This is a common occurance with three girls, and one little boy who is always sucking/chewing on a ponytail holder (Why? Don't ask, I don't know). Every day I manage to put away at least ten different accessories. I'm not sure why this happens every day. I know that I don't put this many items in my girls hair everyday, but I sure put away a lot. Is this a normal thing for any of you? I must admit it frustrates me greatly! Every where I turn . . . bobby pin here . . . barrette there . . . it is getting a little tiring!

Happy New Year's?

I love New Year's! The start of the next year is always fun and this year is no exception. I have only one complaint concerning New Year's . . . resolutions. Why do we have to do this? I can't help but think that all I am doing is setting myself up to fail. I have nothing wrong with setting goals, but it always seems that we set these many goals for ourself and by day three at least half of them we have already failed at. I love setting goals for myself, but I haven't set a New Year's resolution for myself in years, because I don't need the pressure of yet another failed attempt at reading my scriptures every day (that lasted I think at the most 3 days), saying my prayers every day (one day), being nice to my kids (3 hours), being nice to my husband (10 minutes), losing weight (this is always in process, I have 20 lbs to go to get my tummy tuck!) over my head. I hope I am not sounding angry or grumpy, I just like to start my goals when I am ready and one at a time versus ten all in one day. I am still trying to accomplish my goals from years ago! So, if you set your goals for this new year, I wish you luck! And I wish you a Happy New Year's.