Freebie!!!

One of my favorite things recently has been taking classes from Jessica Sprague and learning all the little tricks I've wanted to know about photoshop and photo editing. She just announced today that she has created a new class about telling the stories in your life. This isn't just a scrapbook thing. It's for anyone who wants to keep a journal or learn a better way to record the things you want to remember. The best part is she is doing this class for free!! You just have to register on October 20th and there is no class limit for this, so if you want in, you're in. She's never done anything like this before. I'll put the link for her website here you can follow it and read more about it, but I recommend trying it while it's free.
http://www.jessicasprague.com/

Was that a stuffed animal?

Al was out in the garage (in his bare feet) with the kids the other night washing the 4 wheelers and putting them away. It was getting dark and he was trying the hurry and get everybody in. As he was walking toward the door, he kicked something he thought was a stuffed animal. When he looked down he saw what it really was....a Tarantula!!! No worries though. I hear they are super friendly and one of the most harmless bites you can get. So now we have bats, cockroaches and tarantulas. Who wants to come visit me?

My mid-day meltdown

Ok, I really need some advice. Nap time at our house has turned into a 3 ring circus! We have had the infamous "naked nap" where they both strip down completely before they fall asleep (I chose not to post pictures). The "destructive nap" where they completely tear their beds apart, empty the drawers in the dresser and pull everything they can reach off the walls. And recently there is no nap at all because I spend 2 hours getting Aidan out of Olivia's bed because even if she stays in and falls asleep he climbs in and messes with her and wakes her up. Their beds have turned into jungle gyms and apparatuses to help them climb higher and reach more. It is such a frustration because they are still tired, but I am done with the daily fight. I've tried keeping Aidan up and letting Livy sleep, but he can't stand being without her and always sneaks in and wakes her up. There is such a difference between 1 toddler and 2 because they play off of each other. This is so different than Kelsee. She was in her crib until 3 and a half and never even tried to climb out. She still never gets out of bed. She calls for us if she needs something. She took a nap until she was 4. Do I get rid of the cribs and get big beds? I am just afraid they will get out all night long as well if I do that. Do I give up even trying to do naps as well? I feel like I have no patience these days.
My days are shot if I lose nap time. Aidan is such a climber. He can get into any cupboard at any height. He can get on top of the washer and dryer. He climbs his closet shelves. He has an attraction to knifes and scissors and has cut himself several times. They finger paint with anything they can find (lotion, A&D ointment...my favorite, it doesn't come off, and countless other things).
I love this age. They say the funniest things. They make me laugh all day long. They love to play and try new things and are amazed by everything, but my house is a constant disaster and I truly can't ever leave them alone right now. Nap time was my break. Any suggestions?

This is the result of no nap

Makin' me smile

Aidan is so into shapes right now. He learned them at right about 2 years old along with his colors, which actually makes things more complicated because he has such an opinion on what he wants and he is able to express it. Friday we were outside and he was standing on the sidewalk that had a wierd corner piece and wouldn't move. I went back to get him and he said "Wow, this is a triangle on the ground." Then yesterday he wore a pair of shoes to church he wasn't happy about, but I talked him into it. When we got home he was limping and saying his foot hurt. I took off his sock and shoe and there was a huge blister on the back of his heel. He looked down at it and said, "Livy, look at my circle owie". It is so cute to see him realize that there are shapes all around us. I took me a while to figure out where he was learning all this, but I have to admit Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is my babysitter in the morning while I run on the treadmill and it finally dawned on me that is where he was learning it. I don't feel so bad about it anymore.

Ready, set, it's back to school again

It's the start of another school year and I love that Kelsee is still so excited to go. She loves school. I think mostly for the social aspect of it though. She is in 4th grade, loves her teacher, and has so many fun friends. It is still pretty hot here which makes it nice for the kids because they love to ride their bikes to school. I load the babies up in the bike trailer every morning and usually have a couple neighbor kids in tow as well. The afternoon is spent doing homework, going to cheer practice, reading tutor and activity days. I don't know how we will manage when the babies start getting involved in things.

When did I become old enough to have a 9 yr old!

Happy 9th Birthday Kelsee!!!!
Wow, where does the time go? I get a reality check on my age when my kids have a birthday and not so much when I do. I feel like I'm still a young hip thing and then I catch a glimpse of myself every now and again driving around a SUV full of carseats and 3 kids and think, "oh yeah, this is my life and I am getting old and maybe the guy in the car next to me wasn't checking me out, but instead thinking, "Look at that lady handing something back to her kids while driving and singing along to Radio Disney!"

Here is a flashback picture of when Kelsee was only 4 weeks old. It is our first family photo. This really made me realize how much I've aged. We look like such babies ourselves.

The night before Kelsee's birthday we planted "doughnut seeds". Kelsee is getting to old to go along with my fun ideas anymore. She kept saying, "Mom are you lying that these are doughnut seeds because they sure look like the apple cinnamon cheerios from the pantry."

In the morning they woke up to find that doughnuts had sprouted for breakfast! A rate treat at my house. I usually make them eat Kashi cereal or something packed with fiber. You can see that Aidan can hardly contain his excitement.

That night Kelsee had cheer practice. She is on the competition team this year and has 3 hours of practice a week plus one Saturday of tumbling a month. She is loving though. We'll see how much I love it when we have to start traveling for competitions.

When she finished we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. She wanted steak and to be able to sit on the birthday saddle and scream "Yeehaw" she said.

The next day was her friend party that I tried desperately to get out of doing this year. Anybody who knows me knows that I would much rather take the chaos somewhere else instead of having it all plus the mess at my house, but her heart was set on having a "chef party". So we had 12 screaming girls and lots of food.

Here is a picture of all of them in the aprons I made them. They were so excited that they had their initials in glitter on them! We started off with everyone making their own personal pizza and while they baked we went outside and played a couple of games. After they ate their pizzas I had a little 3 tiered cake for each of them to frost and decorate. When everybody's masterpiece was complete we boxed them up and tied a cute ribbon around them for everybody to take home. She opened presents (6 webkins...she was in heaven) we sang happy birthday and had icecream cones. She had such a blast and thanked me many times for doing it for her.

I can promise this would not have been very fun without the help of so many. Thank you Cheryl for running my errands and picking up the boxes in Salt Lake. Al's sister Emily and her family came down and helped us celebrate. Thank you for the ideas and all the help with the kids. And thank you to my sweet neighbor Michelle for volunteering to help and to Al who is always such a good sport when I get my hairbrained ideas and is always right in there playing with the kids and helping with whatever needs to be done.

Happy Birthday Kelsee, We love you!!!!

Disney or bust!

Ok, I know it has taken forever for me to post. I got a Flip Video Camera that I wanted to learn how to download so you could see some of our trip. It turned out it takes no technical knowledge at all, just a chunk of time to sit and do it.
So, our friends the Allman's (who the babies have affectionately named "Cereal" and "Cake", otherwise known as Cheryl and Kate) were planning a trip to Disney and asked us if we were game. It wasn't top on my list because we had just done a week trip over Halloween with my whole family and I was Disney'd out for a while. But school was out and it was only a couple of days, so we decided to go for it. We drove for the first time and the kids were so great! We all had so much fun. They have been loving Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and recognized all the characters. It was so fun to see the sparkle in their eyes when they saw Mickey Mouse. They were so excited to see everyone, but wanted that safe distance from the giant creatures.
The babies stood in line, waited turns and really were so sweet the whole time. I felt like they did better than the bigger kids. The teacups were the highlight for them, but they rode everything they were big enough to ride (which surprisingly is quite a lot). Kelsee had many favorites, everything that is big and fast (a girl after my own heart)
We only went to the park for 2 days, but we got there when it opened and left when it closed with a bunch of tired monkeys. We ate at Goofy's kitchen which I think was the highlight for the boys who insisted on getting their picture taken with Jasmine, watched the parade, ate plenty of snacks, rode everything we wanted, and walked about 20 miles. Thanks guys we had a blast.


Al and Aidan on the buzz lightyear ride


The babies loved the characters from a distance, but
wanted nothing to do with them up close.


Kelsee on the other hand has no
problem getting up close and personal


They finally figured if they didn't look at
them, maybe they would go away



This is my favorite picture of the whole trip! This is the
family we sat next to during the pixar parade (which the
kids loved) I laughed so hard at this guy asleep in his
baby's stroller holding his giant pickle he had been gnawing
on. Cheryl couldn't believe I actually took a picture of this.
Of course I had to make it look like I was taking pictures of the
kids so his wife didn't think I was some crazy, Maybe I am!


The teacups were the favorite of both Aidan and Olivia.
They cold not get enough. They asked to go again as
soon as the ride stopped. I put a video of their first ride
at the bottom of this.


Very typical to have one crashed and the
other one going strong


Judd was not happy at all. The boys took the bigger kids
and him on the Matterhorn as soon as we walked in the park.
I think it took him most of the day to get over to scary
monster with the red glowing eyes.


Al's birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory




The Teacups!