It's a CARNIVAL!

This weekend we had a carnival party for Aidan and Liv's birthday. It is so hard to be excited about planning another huge party when you are still trying to find time to take your Christmas tree down, but they really wanted to have a little friend party. And you know how I roll...as hard as I try to scale things down it never happens because my brain goes crazy thinking up all these things I could do and I can't sleep at night because I'm creating it in my head all night long.

Instead of doing a big elaborate cake this year I did cupcakes. We had all the healthy carnival food...corndogs, popcorn, cotton candy, animal crackers and candy. I made a big red and white circus tent in the middle of the room with a lion jumping through a hoop and made little miniature top hats for all the kids.

I had a lady come to entertain the kids. It is slim pickins here in St. George. I was looking for someone to tie balloon animals. One person never called back and this was the other. She did a little I spy game, a magic show (she is breaking an egg in a bottomless cup over Kelsee's head below), and then she tied balloon animals for all the kids and hats for Aidan and Liv. You could tell she didn't have a ton of experience, but the kids still thought she was great.

I also set up a little photo booth and made little mustaches on a stick for the kids to take silly photos. I enlisted the help of my sweet neighbor Kali to take all the pictures. They turned out really cute and I will post them when I download them from her camera...Thanks Kali!

The star of the show was my stage hand (Al) who always works so tirelessly to help me with all these crazy ideas and gets none of the credit. He spent lots of time helping me set up and then spent the rest of the afternoon tearing it all down and cleaning up while I went to a baby shower. He really is the best thing that ever happened to me and I don't know what I would do without him.

I know I've been awful at keeping all of you updated so I am really going to try and do "flashback Friday's" every once and a while to catch you up on all of the happenings of 2010

I'm 5, I'm 5, I'm 5!!!

That is what I heard as little feet came running down the hall and into my bedroom at the crack of dawn the morning of the big day. You have never met 2 little people so excited to turn 5. They have been talking about it for months. All day long Aidan would say, "Mom, I'm 5. Am I really 5 mom. I mean mom, am I really, really 5?" It was a hard day for me. I hate how quickly they grow and the realization that my babies are no longer babies, but I couldn't stop smiling at their excitement. They still tell every random stranger everywhere we go, " Hey, did you know I'm 5?".

They chose to celebrate by going to "the yummy roll place" (Texas Roadhouse) and because Aidan wanted to sit up on the horse in front of everyone. he asked the waiter as soon as he came over to our table when he was going to bring the horse over for him. Olivia wanted nothing to do with it though. She was just worried about wearing her birthday skirt she picked out and lipstick.

After dinner we came home and opened presents. They both wanted Heely's (thanks Mom and Jamie). Now I just hope they don't break a hip. We plan on taking several trips to Costco where they can hold on to the cart and figure out how to use them.

Aidan got a Nerf laser tag set and as you can see he and Al are already putting it to good use.

Olivia got a play kitchen which I wrote about below.

Thank you to all our friends a family for all the sweet cards, gifts, and phone calls. They loved every one of them!

Who needs Pottery Barn?

Thank goodness I have a husband who is willing to go along with all of my project ideas because I never could have done this without him...thanks babe!

So I really wanted Olivia to have a play kitchen. The girl loves to pretend! I really loved the pottery barn kitchens, but who really pays $750 for that?

So in the middle of moving and just coming off of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I convinced Al to help me build this for Olivia for her birthday.

We started with a couple of sheets of plywood from the hardware store and several hours later this is what we came up with. I can never let go of something until it is complete so in my sleeplessness (is that a word) I would design and build this.

I grew up around power tools and my dad taught me how to use a band saw by the time I was maybe 11. I love the smell of fresh cut wood and turning the pieces into creations...and just in case you were wondering I took best of show in wood shop class in middle school. I also grew up sitting by my mom at her sewing machine and watching her turn fabric into beautiful dresses. So thanks to both of them I learned how to build and sew.

I have to give most of the credit to Al though, he spent hours and hours on this and I did most of the running to store, ordering parts and pieces off of ebay and the "cosmetics" of it. It was really fun to work on this project with him and Liv loves it!!!

I was this many, now I'm this many!

This is the phrase I am hearing over and over these days. Aidan and Olivia turned 4 and they love to show me with there fingers how much bigger they are now. Here is a montage of their birthday weekend.
First they got to celebrate their birthday at preschool and take some treats in to share with their friends and teachers. I don't have a picture but they were little brownies that looked like ice cream sundae's complete with sprinkles and a cherry on top.
The next day Jeff and Jamie came down with their kids and with a few other friends we went to Little Chefz for a "cooking party". This was so great! The kids got to measure, stir, decorate, eat, make a mess, and play and I just got to sit back and watch...Best idea ever!

Making the dough

putting on the sauce and toppings

This is the dessert pizza they made with cookie crust and candy topping. Then everybody sang and they got to blow out the candles

The next day the Osborns had us over for dinner and we brought the cake for dessert. This year I tried to simplify by doing one cake but letting them each have their own. This turned out to be one of my favorites I've done. Thanks to my ever patient husband for going along with my creative tangents and making me this great "cake base" even if he couldn't see my vision and didn't understand why I needed it just to set a couple of cakes on. I really couldn't have asked for a better husband!

The last day of this marathon birthday celebration was actually their birthday. As per their request we went to their favorite place for dinner "the fire place" (a hibachi steak house) where they are both completely entertained by the throwing of the food, fire, and the chinese man with an accent talking to them.

Aidan could not have been more excited to get a Darth Vader costume (complete with breathing device). This child would live in dress-ups! And Olivia got a doll house that entertains her for hours, which means it was the best gift ever!

I just want to say a big "THANK YOU" to all of our great family and friends for making this such a great birthday and for making them feel so special. Thank you to Jeff and Jamie who drove down just for a birthday party because Aidan and Olivia wanted their cousins to be there. Thank you for all the pre-birthday celebrations in Salt Lake, thank you for all the packages in the mail, thank you for all the phone calls and birthday songs and thank you for always being there for us and making all of these milestones in our lives so memorable...we love you all so much!!!

Top Ten for 2009

So, since I am so awful about updating this and I didn't get a christmas card done this year. I will do a run-down of our top ten for the year:

#10...One of the highlights for me was when Cheryl braved the snowy roads of January weather and surprised me with a day in Vegas for my birthday. We spent 3 hours in Sephora alone just trying on make-up with no one tapping their toe and asking how long this would take. It was shopping and food all day. I also got the entire day to talk without being interrupted or having to clean up after anyone...It was heaven!

#9...In March Al walked away from his job because they were trying to force him into signing a non-compete. So we decided to take the plunge and finally start his own company that he had been talking about doing forever. He partnered up with a refrigeration specialist and with the help of a great friend the company grew really quickly and is doing well.

They named the company Jacer as an acronym from the letters of his and his partners names. They have accounts from Nevada to Salt Lake and are so busy (which I keep reminding myself is a huge blessing). Here is a picture with him and Aidan in the boom truck. The kids think this is just as good as Disneyland.

#8...In March Kelsee went to Nationals for her cheer competition in California. They did really well and had a lot of fun. We took the kids to Disneyland for a couple days while we were there. It was so fun to see how excited Aidan and Olivia were to see the characters and go on the rides.

#7... Aidan is a walking accident. The child is fearless and thinks he is indestructible. I promise you he can climb up anything and figure out how to get into things you think are childproof, locked and safe. Because of this we have been to the hospital 4 times this year (with the worst insurance ever!). First to get his tonsils out (not an accident), next when he slammed Olivias poor finger in the hinge of our huge, heavy wood door, then when he slipped and cut his head on the corner of the counter and just in December when he was climbing to the top shelf of the cabinets in my kitchen for gum and fell and hit the edge of the granite putting his bottom teeth all the way through his face. Oh, and lets not forget the time he fell out of the neighbors (stopped) car and fell face first onto the road (this did not require a hospital visit).

#6...Aidan and Liv started preschool in August. It makes me so sad that they are old enough to go, but lets not lie. The 3 hours twice a week to run errands without them has been wonderful! I can go to the grocery store with one cart and don't have anyone crying about being touched by the other one. Also, it has given me the opportunity to go to the temple once a week with some friends and regroup.

#5... Kelsee wanted to learn how to play the electric guitar so for her birthday this year she got one and has started taking lessons. Her playlist includes, Scooby doo where are you and jingle Bells. We are looking forward to adding to that list.

#4...One of the funnest things this year was that Al finally got to go to an NFL game. OK, so it wasn't the Bears and it wasn't Soldier Field, but he was in a stadium full of fans watching the football game live with some of his best friends. Maybe one day he will see the Bears play and maybe on that day they will actually be good.

#3...This year I accomplished something I never dreamed I would be able to do. I ran 26.2 miles in the St. George marathon. I have always been an avid excerciser, but my running always topped out at about 5 miles. This year I trained with 4 of my patient neighbors ( I was the only first timer) and was able to complete it in 3 hours and 56 min. I swore I was one and done, but this ended up being one of the best days of my life. My sweet husband had a huge banner made, my mom, my brother and his family and my best friend cheryl and her family all came down to cheer me on. I also had countless little gifts and notes messages painted on my windows by all my cute neighbors and friends. I think the reason I loved that day is I really felt so loved and felt the support of so many people cheering me on. I also think the other reason I loved it was that I never felt like I was going to die. I really had fun running it. So now I have the bug if anyone wants to come run with me, or if biking is more your speed I'm thinking about a triathalon next!

#2...Another highlight of this year is when Jordan decided to go on a mission. And can you believe of all the places to be called to, he was sent to Zimbabwe, South Africa. I am so proud of him because I know he did it because he wanted to and he gave up a lot to go. I also have such great respect for my mom who is so patient and loving and is willing to do whatever it takes to support him. He just left the beginning of December, but is doing great. I have set up a blog for him where his letters are posted weekly and will link it from here if anyone is interested.

#1...would be spending time with family. We didn't go on any grand vacations or anything, but we had a lot of fun weekends with family and friends who took the time to come down and see us as well as watching our kids grow and make us laugh Here are a few of those moments...Hiking the red rocks. Aidan getting into his usual mischief and coloring Olivia's belly button with marker while she slept. Aidan sporting some of his "running outfits". Crawdad fishing in Veyo with the kids. Going to the sand dunes with cousins on what turned out to be a cold and windy day (doesn't mix well with sand). And Al sporting his winning sweater from the "ugly christmas sweater" party. Here's to another year full of family, fun, and milestones!

Happy Halloween!!!

So after a month long of sewing....this is the result. The kids couldn't have been more thrilled. Aidan was just excited to have a sword. He has not taken his costume off since halloween by the way. Olivia told everyone we saw that she was a cupcake with a cherry on top and Kelsee told everyone who took a picture of her to make sure they also got the back. I think we need a little more humility around here. So the kids are still running crazy on a sugar high. It was a gorgeous night. We just wore jeans and t shirts and most people sat outside to hand out candy. Al got called into work. As for me, I spent the night chasing two 3 year olds who kept going different directions all night and joining other parties along the way and for some reason thought the street was the best place to be. I was just relieved to have everyone home safe that night.

We sure missed all of you and are looking forward to seeing all of your pictures

Thank you Cheryl for going to the trouble of sending the tights even when the whole fam was sick. They were the perfect addition to Kelsee's costume even though you can't see them in the pictures.

Love you All!!!

Who does this?

Who gets up at 4:30 a.m. and drives 45 minutes away to run 20 miles....that's right, Ido. I know it is the craziest thing and swore I would never do it, but it finally happened. I live by a bunch of great girls who run the marathon every year and they finally talked me into running it this year. So I have spent the last several months

dragging my tired butt out of bed every morning to run what feels like an endless amount of miles. Luckily the company is great! This is a picture of us (minus Laura...she is the smart one who is sleeping) in the wee hours of the morning at the top of the course before we started my first 20 mile run. We really should have taken an after shot.

So training has not come without it's pains. I have had

major shin splints, a knee injury, massive blisters,

ankle and foot pains and the best one of all....lost 3

toenails. Yep, I'm looking pretty hot right now.

The amazing thing though is I have learned what

sounded so impossible (26.2 miles!) is something that

I can actually do.

This is a picture of what I live in these days...my running

shoes, garmin watch, i-pod and knee strap. Unfortunately

I can also be seen all over town in work-out clothes with a

salty sheen covering me

The marathon is this Saturday and several of my sweet

family and friends are coming down to cheer me on.

Wish me luck!!!