The Butler's Pantry

Things I've Learned

2012-01-29T13:42:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard through the grapevine yet, in one week our family is moving to Denver, Colorado. John got a great job opportunity and we knew it was the right thing for him to take the job. Since Christmas, my life has been a whirlwind of tears, packing, cleaning, throwing out, tears, scavenging for boxes, saying some goodbyes, and more tears. Late last night I was staring at the ceiling (making a list of things I still have to do!) when I started thinking about everything I've learned since the day we decided to move:
1. We have way too much stuff. I've taken three carloads of "stuff" to DI and I've got another one ready to go. I just keep thinking, why haven't I done this sooner?! It feels so good to come home with an empty trunk. I thought I'd be more attached to our things, but I've become pretty heartless when it comes to what makes it into a box for the moving truck.
2. Cleaning is way easier. Now that 75% of our things is sitting in boxes in the garage, cleaning my house has been a breeze. I had a hard time keeping up with a big house- something always needed to be cleaned/dusted/vacuumed. I'm actually excited for a downsize because that means less for me to clean. Plus, our family doesn't need the size we have now! The only downside: our rent in the new house is a lot more than our mortgage was here. It's a little disheartening to go back to renting for a while.
3. Kids need their dad (and I need him too). Since John had to leave right away to start his new job, the bulk of the move has landed on me. I like to procrastinate as much as possible....but I think that would have been a bad idea with so much to do. Anyway, I've felt really guilty about the kids because I am so busy with packing, etc. And trust me, Marian lets me know that she can sense the change in the air. She may not understand that we're moving, but she knows John is gone and it's like a switch went off. No matter what I say, her response is "noooooo!!!" and also includes foot stomping and crying and earsplitting screams. I love that girl so much, and the nicest thing I can say is thank you Marian, for teaching me patience!
4. You can never have too many boxes. I can't believe how fast we go through them! My mom and I went to Macey's just about every day while she was here and got a cartload each time. It's getting harder and harder to park in the garage while they're getting stacked up.
5. I love our family. (This is where the tears part comes in). We are so, so, blessed by our family. I'm so grateful for the help and advice and support we've been given. We owe an extra big thank you to Jeff and Suz who flew John back for the weekend. You wouldn't believe how much we can get done when we work together over a quick weekend! Another big thank you goes to my mom, who got on a plane when I told her I needed her and stayed with me for TEN days. If she hadn't come I think my kids would have died of malnutrition, boredom, or any other accident that could have happened while I wasn't paying attention. She saved me!
6. I've had stuff of other people's for a LONG time. I'm so sorry if you let us borrow a movie or book and are just getting it back now, maybe 2 or 3 years later.
7. I love my house. I had no idea how much I would grow to love my house. I brought all of my babies home here. We've knocked down walls, built new ones, replaced floors, redone our kitchen, added a fireplace, painted and repainted...I try to remember that the memories stay with me, but when I look around my emptying house it breaks my heart! We have had so many good times here.
8. Prayers are answered. When I knew for sure that we were moving, I cried all the time. I cried going to the grocery store, at night in bed, at church, dropping Chris off at preschool. I got on my knees and prayed and pleaded that I would feel good and excited about this move. I already knew it was the right thing to do, but it was still too hard. My prayers were answered so fast! I'm still sad that we're leaving, but I'm happy. I'm excited about a new adventure. I can't wait to explore new places and meet new people. (This doesn't even sound like the normal me at all!) I'm so grateful for the blessing of answered prayers.
Here's to another week of packing, craziness, tears, and finally having our family back together!

Gingerbread Houses

2012-01-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

We had our playgroup over to make gingerbread houses before Christmas. It's easy to get stir-crazy during the long winter here so I love having a group of moms I can call to get together! We don't get to talk as much as we'd like because of a dozen screaming kids, but we have fun and it's nice to have a change of pace. My friend had the genius idea of hot gluing the houses together beforehand, and then letting the kids decorate them. It worked like a charm!

JB's job: pick up any dropped candy and eat it. He gets in A+.

Christmas Lights

2012-01-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

We decided to forgo the temple lights this year and stayed local, going to the Riverwoods to see their lights and find something fun to do. With three little kids, we thought this was such a perfect place! They loved the lights but the night was so much better with stores to run into and get warm. We met up with some of our favorite people for the night:

Inside the fun toy store, Blickenstaffs:

Riding the carousel at the Provo Beach Resort:

They each got to play one game:

Eating Bluebell ice cream:

Chris was loving Molly that night!

Poor Chris- he had great smiles for the other (blurry) pictures and obviously not for this one:

Elza did us a favor and completely wore them out at the end of the night- they love her!

It's not always easy to bundle up three little kids and a wimpy husband for a night out in the cold, but I think they felt the magic of the season like I did :)

Nativity

2012-01-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

I have such a hard time blogging while we're on vacation, and of course it just hangs over my head until I've gotten home, settled in, and then I finally get started again! I'm so excited to get caught up and write about all the memories we've made. Before I start on our road trip/Texas Christmas, I have to talk about all the fun we had before the holiday!

First, Chris got to play Joseph in his preschool's Nativity. Can I say how grateful I am that Chris has a teacher who not only celebrates Christmas, but who teaches the kids about the Nativity? Chris was so excited to be Joseph. We read the story together and talked about the kind of man Joseph was, and how he acted. I think Chris felt pretty special.

After the Nativity, on came the Santa hats along with some fun songs and poems. While they were singing "Jingle Bells" Santa came and surprised them! The looks on their little faces were so cute! I have a video of the program so I'll post it soon.

Chris' biggest fans were there cheering him on:

I'm so grateful for a great preschool and the chance our family had to support Chris while he showed off his hard work!

Little Dancer

2011-12-13T13:47:00.000-08:00

Marian's been taking dance lessons for a few months now, as anyone who has talked to her during that time will know! She tells everyone from family to the lady at Walmart that she's in dance class and learns tap, ballet, and jazz. On Saturday they had a little Christmas recital for family in their studio. It was so cute! Some girls were a little shy, some really enthusiastic, and Marian was about in between. In the first video below, you'll see she was a little hesitant with so many people watching her, but she warmed up by the end. She has loved going to dance. I hope it's something she'll choose to stick with!

She's the tallest one, in the middle:

I laugh every time I see this picture of Chris- love his bored, crazy looking eyes! He was done after about 15 minutes...

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-12T15:50:00.000-08:00

We had our annual ward breakfast with Santa last week and as usual it was a good time! We have so many talented cooks/caterers in our ward so the food is always delicious. Chris was the only one brave enough to sit on Santa's lap this year. He asked for a leapster....I think Santa will come through for him this year! Marian saw that only kids who tell Santa what they want get a candy cane, so she walked up really close and asked for a "lobster" (after hearing Chris ask for a leapster). Haha, I don't know if that's going to happen! She got her sugar fix and that's all that really mattered.

I have to talk about my two boys. JB loves Chris. He follows him around the house, tackles him, talks to him late into the night, and laughs at everything he does. In turn, he gets tackled, talked to, and wrestled by Chris all day long. I feel like I'm constantly telling Chris to be more gentle, to remember JB is a baby, but for the most part JB doesn't mind at all. Every night Chris begs me to let them play in their room for a few minutes. They have a game where JB will throw his toys out of his crib as fast as he can and Chris throws them back in even faster. I love listening outside the door and hearing them laugh and laugh! They'll never have a better friend than their brother.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with John's family this year! We went up to a cabin in Timberlakes that his aunt and uncle own, and it was gorgeous. I wish we could have stayed there longer! The house was cozy with a huge fireplace and the mountain was covered in snow, we had tons of food....probably enough to last a whole week. I don't know what I was thinking when I made four pans of sweet potatoes (we only ate about half of one). We had so many appetizers that by the time we were ready to eat, I wasn't even hungry. Of course I ate anyway. So we had Thanksgiving #2 with everyone on Friday, and then John and I ate the same thing for days until it was gone. If I have to eat leftovers, I can't complain about Thanksgiving leftovers- I love them! John's mom made 50 pounds of turkey so we had plenty of sandwiches too :)

I hardly saw Chris and Marian during our time there. I know they had so much fun with their cousins. They all made cute little turkeys with feathers saying the things they are thankful for. Marian's included "sparkles" and "myself", and Chris also included "myself". I can't complain about them having a high self esteem!

Here they are, watching a movie in the little theatre room:

In the hot tub: (I forgot swimsuits...it took me a while to convince chris it was ok to go out there in his undies)

Food prep:

After dinner, we cleaned up, packed up, and headed down to Jeff and Suz's. We had pies and talked for a while, but by about 7:30 our kids were worn out. They were asleep in the car before we even made it back home! It was sweet to look back at them, knowing they had full tummies and fun memories to think about.

I love Thanksgiving, and I love spending it with the people who mean so much to us.

Party Pics

2011-12-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

As I look over these pictures, all I can think is FUN! Grandma's surprise party was so much fun, full of laughing, eating, and reminiscing. You just can't beat that. Here are the pictures of the night:

If you ever wonder where JB is, just find me and he'll be glued to my legs, hips, etc.

John was in charge of taking pictures of the party, so it was nice to see myself in a few! Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever really present since I'm never documented...

"Surprise!"

Hello, blue eyes!

The candy man and his two biggest fans:

Still just as beautiful...

...and just as cute! Love the salute:

So I've always wondered, how big is David's mouth?

Oh, ok:

Testimony

2011-12-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, Chris was asked to bear his testimony in Primary. Every day he wanted to "practice" his testimony, so we would talk about what a testimony is, what he believes, and the things that are important to talk about in our testimonies. Well this morning he thought he hadn't had enough practice, so he decided to write out his testimony and he really did bring it up with him to the podium. John and I sat in the back and cheered him on, but we didn't help him at all even when he was struggling a little bit. I was so proud of him, he did a great job! It went something like this: "I'd like to bear my testimony, I know my church is true, (pause and look at picture), I know my family is true, (pause and look at picture), I know Joseph Smith and President Monson are true, (pause and look at picture), I know Jesus is my brother, (pause) and I know the Book of Mormon is true." He used the word "true" a lot, but that's the way Christopher says what he feels and I loved it. Here's a look at his testimony cheat sheet:

Happy 80th!

2011-12-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

On Monday night we had a surprise birthday party for John's grandma ("G") at Suz's house. Suz took Grandma to Wal Mart for a quick errand, and had to stall her while more people were showing up at the house. I heard she got a little impatient at the store... :) but I think it was well worth it. Incidentally, Monday was my own Grandma's 77th birthday. I love these two women; they are such good examples to me of motherhood, love, hard work, and service. I love you Grandma and G!

Now G, please don't hate me for this:

the dreaded dance:

Trunk or Treat #2

2011-11-30T20:38:00.000-08:00

On Halloween night we had our ward's trunk or treat in the culdesac right next to ours. It was so fun to see people in our ward all dressed up- I hardly recognized our bishop as a rough looking biker. We had a potluck (Mom made mummy hot dogs- so cute!) and then the kids went from trunk to trunk around the block. Dad did his best to embarrass us- what's new?- and everyone knew him by the end as the guy who wanted Almond Joys and Tootsie Rolls. Then we took a little walk to an amazing Halloween set up down the street from us (but not in the same ward.) It took 10 minutes to walk through the maze of spooky decorations! The kids loved it.

Our little pilot:

Our princess mummy and bumblebee:

Trunk or Treat #1

2011-11-13T19:36:00.000-08:00

The Saturday before Halloween we went to Molly and Jon's trunk or treat with their ward (which was our old ward in Provo!) It was kind of fun to see familiar faces, although I'm not sure anyone there remembered us. First of all, Molly won the chili cook-off with our secret family recipe! Ok, it's not that secret but I think people love it because it's sweet and has tons of meat. Way to go, Molly!

It's funny what grandkids can make you do...princess crowns, painted nails, what's next Dad?

Chris's reaction to the crown:

Chris was in heaven when he found Optimus Prime:

All of the kids showing off their costumes on the stage: (again, a princess because I didn't want to spend the time wrapping her into a mummy!)

Halloween Begins

2011-11-12T13:47:00.000-08:00

As the kids get older, I've noticed that Halloween is a week-long holiday. It's definitely not one night of trick or treating. It starts with cookie parties, pumpkin decorating parties, wearing your costume to school, wearing your costume to dance class, being "boo'd" by neighbors, trunk or treats, and then finally it's Halloween night. Marian had known for a long time that she wanted to be a princess mummy but I didn't want to wrap her for dance class, so she went in a princess dress and lots of jewelry:

Chris had planned on being a ghost but after a trip to Target one day he changed his mind. I told John when we got home that Chris picked out a bumblebee costume, and John instantly broke out into a cold sweat. ("Our son is a....bumblebee?") Don't worry honey, it wasn't a bumblebee. It was the Bumblebee from Transformers. So he got to wear his costume for his preschool costume parade: (And I could tell he felt very cool!)

So these are just the beginning of our Halloween extravaganza pictures...more to come tomorrow!

Messy

2011-11-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

I gave JB a scoop of black beans while I was making dinner a while ago...and it looks to me like he enjoyed every last one:

He's grown four molars over the last few weeks, so he hasn't been as easy to get along with, but now that they've all broken through he is much happier and I'm excited that he can try even more foods. At his 15 month appointment today he weighed 25 pounds, so we all know he loves eating!

Kasey's Games

2011-11-11T14:58:00.000-08:00

Even with Ryan gone, there are plenty of Bunker football games to enjoy! We didn't get to see Jacob play but we did get to see a few of Kasey's games. This one had beautiful weather, but the next one we went to was FREEZING and snowing! John's cousin Ryan was the coach and even though they didn't win a game, they were never shut out :) We even got to see Kasey score a touchdown. It's just great to live close to family so we can cheer each other on. Go Kasey!

I guess those signs got a little heavy:

Back On Track

2011-10-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

This is the way we go camping:

in the backyard-

with a gas stove:

and jumbo sized marshmallows,

with the baby tucked away safely and quietly in his crib,

and the only wild animal to worry about is the Beast.

As long as they'll believe this is real camping, we'll keep doing it!

Just FYI

2011-10-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

I'm jumping on John's computer while I have the chance...my computer cord broke so I haven't been able to blog in two weeks, and it's making me crazy! I feel like I have so much to write about and catch up on. I also haven't been reading blogs, so I'm looking forward to that too. Tomorrow I WILL find a new cord somewhere! Anyway, I just had to put my lame excuse out there :)

Soccer Season

2011-09-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Chris had his last soccer game of the season. He had a great time, ran really hard, and even got a goal! His team was a 4 and 5 year old team, so he was on the smaller side and didn't get to the ball much. You could definitely see the difference between the ages. Each half of the game was 20 minutes, and at their age the kids are running with the ball the entire time, back and forth, back and forth. After about 30 minutes all of them would start slowing down- haha, some of them would just walk right off the field to their parents or stop and start playing with each other. Chris pushed through every game- he ran and ran even though he was tired. I was so proud of him! He's excited for next year when he'll be bigger and faster!

He had some very loyal fans:

Put 'Em to Work

2011-09-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

First, some close ups:

(you should see the REALLY close ups they wanted taken!)

Then we put them to work:

I'm going to miss summer time! Marian will too, since it means putting clothes back on. Poor girl! :)

Getaway

2011-09-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago John and I had a night away at the St. Regis hotel in Park City. It was the most amazing hotel I've ever stayed in! First of all, it was on the top of a mountain, and the only way to get to it was by riding a "funicula", which was basically a very fancy, cushy, enclosed ski lift, up the mountain to the hotel doors. The views were amazing. I can't believe the only pictures I took of us are the flattering ones where we're modeling our robes before heading down to the hot tub...but oh well, enjoy! Anyway, after the hot tub when we came back to our room, our bed was turned down with chocolates on the pillows, bottled water on the nightstands and classical music playing from the TV. Oh, and the staff all know your name, which was so surprising! I guess I'm just used to the Best Western or La Quinta:) haha...anyway, I thought it was a perfect getaway, and thank you to Molly and Jon for watching the kids!

We could be models...

Oh, and the weather, if we needed to know:

Whenever we get away together, I realize we need to do it more. It's so refreshing to spend time with your best friend!

Sleepovers

2011-09-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

We got to watch David and Jenny's kids for a few days while they were in Hawaii. That meant SEVEN kids age six and under! It sounds like it would have been a madhouse, but honestly it was great! Really, we could have gone the whole week with them all and been just fine. But we also put life on hold a little bit- we didn't go anywhere, I had all the grocery shopping done, we didn't need anything, so it made it a lot easier. The kids played so well together. We practically had three sets of twins plus Jackson, so everyone had someone to play with, and boy did they play! The boys showed up at mealtimes and occasionally to ask for something and then they were off again. Marian and Jane shared a room and played late into the nights...but it made for good naps the next day. We had such a great time getting to know Jackson, Christian, Jane and Elle better- they're welcome anytime!

The girls' room:

and the boys' locker room: (they all slept in the guest room downstairs)

If you're already making three plates, what's four more? :)

The girls decided to run through the sprinklers sans clothes:

This game lasted for an entire day: Put the tent on the couch. Climb in. Tip it over onto some pillows. Climb out, and repeat.

Of course they had to use their phones! They're too far away to talk in person.

Did these girls get the same hair or what? They were like little twins!

Retreat

2011-09-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today John and I spent an inspiring day at the home of Richard and Linda Eyre, parenting experts/authors and who I really look up to. We went for a "couples retreat" to learn about parenting and family systems and how to become more effective with both. I left with 8 pages of notes, just trying to remember everything!
I told John on the way home how grateful I was that he went with me...I know it's not easy for a man to have group discussions about positive discipline or family traditions, but he has no idea how much it meant to me for him to be there. It would have been great to go alone, but with John there, it was incredible. We're on the same page with our family goals. He can see the purpose in doing the stuff he would normally want to roll his eyes at. :) It was just so much fun to be with other couples and share stories and get advice.
Some suggestions may seem cheesy at first, but like I told John, so what? We're doing our most important job- creating a family- and if I have to do some corny things to be successful, who cares? And I know their strategies are successful because the Eyre's have raised nine great kids who are great adults. And that's what I want, so I'll do whatever it takes!

If you're ready for some notes....here they are:

"Partnerships in Parenting: Building a strong partnership, working together on the big picture"

1. Live what you want to teach. What do your kids see when it comes to things like: Who controls the family finances? Who does the housework? Who opens car doors for the other? Are you teaching them that only one person can do certain things, or that responsibilities are shared?
2. If you treat each other with respect, the children will treat their siblings with respect.
**If there was one aspect of your life where you hope your children will practice what you preach, not what your actions teach, what would it be?? (My answer here was patience...I don't like seeing them get frustrated easily with each other, but maybe they do because I get impatient too easily and they think it's a normal reaction. So that's something for me to work on!)
3. The goal of marriage is not to become the same. Don't try to change the other person! If you change one little thing you don't like about them, you could change their entire person. It's ok and good to have different opinions and even some conflict. "If you never fight, you have a problem."
4. Connect with your partner every day. You don't have to "share feelings" (this would scare most men away:)) but take the time to talk and connect. Ask yourself, "what can I do today to show my partner love?" **What is your greatest limitation on connecting on an emotional level? John's answer: It's too cliche. (hahaha...how did I know that was coming?)
5. Become better at handling challenges. Because you've made covenants together and you've "become one", then when you hurt your spouse, you're hurting yourself as well. (This really resonated with me! I'd never thought of marriage that way before...but it's true! If I hurt John, I hurt myself too because we're one now.)
6. Do "Five Facet Reviews" every month with your spouse as you talk about your kids. Talk about each facet of their life individually: spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, and social. And make a plan to help them in any areas they need help with.

Your Family Legal System (Helping Children WANT to Behave) - wow, I was excited about this one!

1. How do you get your kids to want to behave? - create a positive environment, make rules/consequences clear, give incentives. Help them feel ownership of rules and consequences by creating them with you.
2. Ask yourself, Why do we have our rules? What is our end game? Who do we want our kids to be? Teach them life skills while you discipline. Example: when fighting, two children go sit on a bench together and sit there until they say what they each did wrong, apologize, forgive, and hug. They're learning repentance/forgiveness- two life skills. This also gives them ownership of their argument, you're not getting involved and owning it yourself.
3. Practice, practice in FHE so they understand clearly the consequences of misbehavior. Use case studies, role play, etc. Repetition is key.
4. Clear rules and consequences will force the children to be obedient to the rules, not to you. (This was something I needed, because I didn't want to feel like a dictator but I want them to obey...I love this idea of the rules taking over, not me!)
5. Idea for house rules: peace, respect, obedience, asking, order.

I'll write more on the family economy and family traditions tomorrow. Needless to say, it was a very inspiring workshop! I absolutely love learning about parenting and families (not surprising that my major was Home and Family Living) - I want to soak it all in and create the best family life I can. I love being inspired to be better, and that's what today was all about. I think it's important to share what you know, and to help "popularize parenting".

Update

2011-09-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

The house has been torn apart and we never found the cord, the tap shoes, or the remote. Yes, it's maddening! But I got a new cord and new tap shoes so I could get back to blogging and so Marian could dance. I hate spending $40 on things that I know I already have, I just don't know where! Time to move on...

This summer, chalk has been a big hit at our house. Sometimes I have to make it off-limits because it makes such a mess! This was in the extreme:

It's nothing a quick bath can't fix!

Arcade

2011-09-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer we got to spend a night with Kaden and Morgan while Christy did some girls camp things (lucky her!) We headed to the American Fork Steel Days carnival but when we got there it was completely deserted...we found out it didn't start until the next day. So naturally we did the next best thing: played in the arcade inside the movie theater! Ok, so it's not really the coolest thing to do, but the kids had a lot of fun and we spent way too much money playing dumb games. Chris is always asking to go back! I think we'll try the nickelcade next time we play.

Who could resist these cute faces?

Chris and Kaden, saving the world from alien invaders:

Losing It

2011-09-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

These past couple of weeks I feel like I've completely lost my mind. And not just my mind, but just about every other thing that I need. We've lost the remote to the roku (a little box connected to our tv so we can watch movies and shows from the internet). I've looked in every place I can possibly think of and still can't find it. Yesterday about half an hour before dance class we discovered that a tap shoe was missing- we tore the house apart and still no shoe. Today I was sitting down to blog, and no camera cord could be found. I got so mad! I HATE when things aren't where they're supposed to be. When stuff like this happens I vow that I'm going to be way more organized and I'm dragging everyone else along with me. We're going room by room and everything will have a place and everything will be in it's place. I want to laugh about it but I feel like crying instead! Anyway, my hope is that during the next week or so of organizing we'll find everything that was lost.
I'm going to do some posts from older pictures just to keep up with things, so keep checking back with us!

First Birthday

2011-08-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, it took me a lot longer than I thought but here are pictures from John's first birthday party! I felt so unprepared for it. I didn't plan a great theme or make gift bags or decorations like I wanted to because I put it off until the last minute! But we had the essentials- great weather for playing outside, good food (cafe rio style dinner), cupcakes, and a BLUEBELL ice cream sundae bar. So I think it was a success. We love living near so much family- it's already a big party when we all get together! Thanks to everyone who came.

Playing a little croquet...

Chris must have been confused by the rules:

Caught in the act! Marian was eating spoonfuls of sprinkles straight from the bowl-

Love the astros sweatshirt! I also love all the helpers surrounding the presents:

Look closely at Marian shoving a cupcake in her mouth while she swings: hahah...that girl makes me laugh!

Grammy got JB the cutest outfit for his birthday. I love it!

Yes, these were as time consuming as they look! But the homemade frosting was amazing and well worth the effort!

Happy Birthday JB!!

Bringing Texas

2011-08-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

As kids get older, you can't go away on a trip without bringing a surprise home. They promised to be good for me and they definitely were! John brought home some Texas clothes after his long weekend away and the kids were pretty excited about it. We missed him! In some ways it's harder when your husband is gone, and in other ways it's easier. I felt a little more relaxed (until it got dark out!) because I didn't worry about making nice dinners, or keeping the house really clean. Not that I let it get dirty, but I definitely cut myself some

slack :) At the same time, it's pretty exhausting keeping up with three kids when you know no one will be coming through the door at six to help you. Chris, Marian, and JB were great for me though and we had a great time playing, coloring, and eating cereal for dinner!

Playing

2011-08-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

I love that as the kids get older, they're doing a lot more playing. They play together, they entertain themselves well, and I love playing with them too (well...racing cars and flying airplanes gets old after about...30 minutes). The other day I looked in Marian's room and found the three of them playing together! They had the door closed and I could hear giggling, so I grabbed my camera and snapped a picture before they saw me. Chris and Marian are so sweet to John and can keep him happy even when I can't.

This is what happens when I get found:

I love how JB looks so grown up in this picture!

We went to watch the Owlz play in Orem (we've got season tickets, it's a triple A baseball team) and Chris got the one and only home run ball that night! It literally bounced into his lap. You know he slept with it that night!

We got to have a little visit with Lincoln and Trey- we love seeing our cousins! These boys matched that day without any planning.

And John is eating more and more solid food. I've said it before and I'll say it again- I love watching little kids eat! It's so endearing to me. Here he is, having some bread:

Next time I'll post some pictures of JB's first birthday party!

Gardening

2011-08-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm officially off of probation this year...John said I could try having a garden again after a two year forced hiatus. I tried planting a garden the first two years we lived in this house and they both failed miserably. I'm going to blame it on...bugs. Or heat. Or Franklin. The next year when I wanted to try one, John put his foot down since the years before he had spent so much time digging and tilling the ground up for me with no garden in the end. And so it went for another year. Well THIS year, I did some research, meticulously planned spacing and vegetable choices, hauled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow full of special mixed dirt into my beautiful planter boxes (that John built), and wouldn't you know...success! We've got a great garden this year and I couldn't be more proud. I'm a huge fan of square foot gardening. I rarely have to weed (Mom, why didn't you ever do this??!!??) and the plants are growing amazingly well, even when I started most of them from seed. This year we have:

Roma tomatoes

green peppers,

(just a top view of one of my boxes),

zucchini,

( "mine's bigger than yours" --always a competition with that boy),

Maybe I was wrong. It's not zucchini, it's a baseball bat.

Or a baby. Yes, Marian, that is where babies come from!

We've got beans- far and away my favorite choice here. They're already delicious!

More zucchini,

and corn.

We also planted cucumbers, spinach, and cantaloupe. Next year I'm going to do another box with more beans, more peppers, jalapenos, and more tomatoes. I want to try bottling my own salsa! So that's our garden this year- I can't decide if I feel thrifty or middle aged when I look over my post. :)

Six Years

2011-07-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

Happy six year anniversary!!

Lots has happened in six years...three houses, three kids, three jobs (wow, we must like threes!).

My favorite thing about our marriage is that we're honestly and truly best friends. I'd rather be with him than anyone else. We respect each other, we're honest with each other, we support each other in our jobs and church callings. We laugh together, talk together, and laugh more!

I can't believe that I made the most important decision of my life at 19 years old...but I think I made the best decision.

Birthday Boy

2011-07-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

It's our little John Allan's FIRST birthday today!!

Time is flying faster with each baby, and this past year was no exception. I miss my tiny little baby! John has grown into quite the little boy; he knows what he wants and makes sure I know too. He loves to eat- (favorites right now are bread, cereal, yogurt, and bananas) and he hates to sleep. I'm lucky if he takes a 2 hour nap during the day! And he's my alarm clock in the morning- up at 6:15. But when he's awake, JB is really good at entertaining himself. Give him a basket of toys and he'll play for a good hour or more, so that makes up for his lack of sleep! He loves playing with Marian and Chris- his face just lights up when he sees them in the mornings. And they love him back!

I love this little boy- I'm so blessed to have him.

Best Buds

2011-07-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

We all love going to Jeff and Suz's for dinner on Sundays, but the kids definitely aren't going for the dinner, they're going for the company. Seriously, the kids rarely eat when we're there (unless it's time for dessert or "happy treats") because they're so busy playing with cousins. We love being with family and catching up-we look forward to it every week! I've been incredibly blessed in the "in-laws" department. I love all of John's family. If I could describe them in one word, it would be fun. They love to laugh and reminisce (oh the stories Jenny and I have heard a million times!), tell jokes, dance funny birthday dances, argue about hurricanes vs. earthquakes, and invent games/challenges that they hope will prove their superiority.

Adam, Grant, Jackson, Chris, and Christian

Inspired

2011-07-25T14:19:00.000-07:00

"How fragile life, how certain death. We do not know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, “What are we doing with today?"....may we live so that when that final summons is heard, we may have no serious regrets, no unfinished business, but will be able to say with the Apostle Paul, 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.'"

-President Monson

This morning our good friend Brent lost his battle with cancer and passed away. Brent was a childhood friend of John's and his roommate in college. We have a lot of fond memories of those days! We knew this day was coming for months now and it makes today easier to deal with. Mostly, my heart just aches for his family, his parents, and his wife. I'm so sorry for their loss, and at the same time, so grateful for our shared knowledge of the plan of salvation. We believe that "the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life....and then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow."(Alma 40) I can't imagine going through the experience of losing a loved one without this knowledge! The comfort it brings is irreplaceable.
It always amazes me how someone's death can become a blessing to those of us who knew them. Your entire life is thrown into perspective and you realize that all of the "big" things that you stress about aren't really "big" things. After John and I spent an evening with Brent at Christmas time, we got into the car and just cried. We both realized how blessed we are. Beautiful children, healthy children, solid marriage, loving family, strong testimonies. What else can we take with us? I've learned this lesson before and I'm sure I'll learn it again and again throughout my life. When death happens, we go back to the basics, to what's important. I wish I remembered it more easily.
Like President Monson said, death is inevitable. We all have to pass through it. So what are we doing today? I hope that I'll be less selfish and more aware of the needs of the people around me.
We'll miss Brent, and we're grateful for his life and example!

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

We decided to try swim lessons this year for Chris and Marian. They went every day for two weeks- Marian was in a preschool class where they basically just played in the water and Chris was learning how to do "back floats" and some other skills. I think we can officially call Marian a swim class dropout now that it's over! She was great for a week and then she got new teachers for a day and never went back. I didn't want to stand by the pool and force her in kicking and screaming so I just let her sit with me. Maybe we'll try with her again next year when she's a little older. On the other hand, Chris loved it! He jumped right in to the deep end with his teacher and had a huge grin on his face the entire time. He'll definitely do a couple of sessions next year. We really want the kids to be good swimmers; I think it's a great skill to have!

Chris said he was "too cold" to smile:

Family Pictures

2011-07-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we took family pictures at a studio because I'd heard good things about it (Fotofly), but I'm not going to lie...was I nervous! We've never done studio pictures because it usually means cheesy photos and backdrops. I was so impressed with this studio. (John thought it would be good to try indoors since when we're outside he is usually squints and we can't see his eyes.) There were a few poses that were a little funny, but I love the way the pictures turned out. Marian was constantly distracted so I was shocked to see some good pictures of her. That girl just goes, goes, goes! It's hard to keep her focused. But there were no tears and no tantrums from anybody so I can't complain! I was also surprised with JB; we were there right during nap time and he just laughed and laughed at the photographer. Anyway, here are a few cute ones. There were so many to choose from that we liked! We printed a bunch that day and they're already hung on the wall.

This was at the beginning...Marian was already done with it!

7-16

2011-07-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

We love when Grandma....
reads to us
flies with us on the plane
plays Wii
lets me play on her Ipad (guess who?!!)
plays with us
gives us hugs
comes to Utah

We miss Grandma and wish we could be with her on her birthday!
Mom has always been an inspiration to me. I think about her when I'm gardening, when I'm kneading bread, even when I'm up in the middle of the night with a baby. I'm thinking, "I can't believe my mom did all of this!" Sometimes I'll get impatient with the kids for spilling their milk or juice, and then I think when I was young my mom never got upset about a spilled drink and I remember feeling so relieved that she wasn't mad! I think about her tucking my hair behind my ear over and over until I fell asleep when I wasn't feeling well, and it makes me want to cuddle my kids more when they're sick. I think about the "taste tests" we would have: blindfolded in the kitchen, mom putting different foods on our tongues while we guessed what they were (I loved when it was a chocolate chip!) and I want to stop being so "busy" and just enjoy the kids more. I think about our "joy boy" and the "gunnysack" and I realize I need to make childhood more fun and joyful.
People say you never really appreciate your parents until you become one yourself, and I can say without a doubt that it's true! Motherhood is emotionally and physically exhausting and I never would have known until I experienced it myself. I love my mom and I'm so thankful to have her as my role model!

Dance Class

2011-07-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

The highly anticipated day arrived yesterday: dance class started! If you've talked to Marian during the last few weeks, she's told you all about it and asked if you would come watch her dance. She was so excited! I didn't go into the studio with her but watched through a one sided mirror. She did a great job for her first time- she tapped her toes and walked on tiptoes, acted like a swaying tree, and twirled like a princess. Her tiny tap and ballet shoes are the cutest things I've ever seen! That girl is growing up too fast...

Funny Faces

2011-07-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

Silly:

Happy:

Surprised:

Sad:

Scared:

(Yes, we had just finished lunch and it involved ketchup, and yes, Marian's hair is usually a mess- I can't keep up with it. She's got these short little bangs that drive me crazy!)

These kids just keep me laughing all day! I love their little faces.

Cars 2

2011-07-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

John and I took Chris out for a surprise "date night" on Friday...do you know what we had been counting down to for months?

That's right, "Cars 2" opening day!

It was so much fun to spend time with just our oldest...why do they grow up so fast while you're taking care of the other little ones? You could just see on his face how special he felt to be the only one who got to go to the theater. We need to have special dates more often! He LOVED the movie, I'm sure we'll be back to see it again.

He also got a new shirt as a surprise to wear to the movie- I have a hard time taking it off of him to wash it :)

Wildlife

2011-06-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

It seems like this year we've had an unusual amount of animals around our house. Birds living in our gutters, snakes (lots of them!) living in our grass and garden, mice trying to live in the house, spiders in the bathrooms...it's really bothering me! I don't mind snakes too much but I don't like when they sun themselves on my front steps and I almost step on them. It goes without saying that I hate spiders and mice. At least birds don't hurt anybody, right? Besides being dirty. So I didn't mind when Marian found a hurt bird in our front lawn and picked it up. She loved it! It was gone the next day so I'm hoping it was ok.

I love this picture because it shows how hard she plays during the day:

About 20 minutes later she had a snake in her hands and I had to NIX that one before I even took a picture!

Catching Up

2011-06-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

June is an amazing month! It's always been one of my favorites because it's beautiful- spring, warmth, flowers, weddings, etc. Here's a post of a few of the beautiful things I've gotten to enjoy so far:

My lupine flowers from our front yard. A woman in my ward teaches flower arranging at BYU and came over a while ago to ask if she could cut some and take pictures for her new book. Later she brought the stems back in an amazing bouquet. Too bad I don't have any other nice flowers for her to take :)

Father's Day. This should be a post on its own, but I have to say how much I appreciate all of the dads in my life. It's been a while since I've gotten to be with my own dad on Father's Day and I loved it. We miss him already! When Grandpa is around I hardly need to take care of the kids because he's playing with them. John is the perfect dad for our kids and everyday I'm so thankful he's a part of my life. My father-in-law is the best- he takes care of everybody around him and is so giving. I love you all!

This sign says "Happy Father's Day!" on ties. It's hard to see with the light behind it but it was cute. I think I'll hang them with twine next year so I can hang it on the mantle.

The other night my neighbor told me to go outside and look at the sky and it was unreal! Pictures can never capture the beauty of a sunset. There were so many colors! We watched it for about 15 minutes until it was gone.

And the most beautiful thing of all....a wedding! more pictures to come...

Memorial Day Walk

2011-06-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

We had a fun opportunity on Memorial Day to do a walk that was organized by David and LDS author Emily Freeman. It was 22 miles, starting at the Draper temple and ending at the Salt Lake Temple. But it wasn't just for the sake of walking, it was sort of a commemoration of the sacrifices made by John Moyle (have you seen "The Stonecutter"? That's him!) He walked 22 miles from his farm in Alpine to the Salt Lake Temple every week so he could work on building it. The story of his sacrifice is so inspiring. Let me just say, walking 22 miles was no easy thing! Wow my whole body was hurting by the end. John thought he broke his foot because of it (I don't think so!) so he was limping around for a week after. It took a lot to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, hour after hour. But, I also think it was one of the funnest things I've done with John. We had so much time to talk and laugh and make plans. I would do it again just for that!

We made a lot of stops for new socks, bandaids, moleskin and powder. The day started out rainy/snowy and cold! I was so grateful for Dad B. that day because he drove around and around, catering to our every need (lunch, Spitz, and a Dr. Pepper around mile 10).

One mile left....

David must have said something funny here- (doesn't everything seem funny when you're tired?)

T-Ball

2011-06-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

A new phase of life has started for us...baseball games! Well, I guess we should take it down a few levels....WAY down to T-ball, where the teams are co-ed, everybody bats, there's no scoring, and the whole team hangs out on the pitching mound while they're in the field. Chris loved his first game- I could just see the pride in his eyes as he marched out onto the field with his little glove on. It made my heart melt. I think it's going to be a fun season :)

JB can't wait to get out there someday!

First hit!

I would describe his "run" as a "fast walk"....

Concentrating on the batter:

Fielding the ball....

....and throwing it to first! Way to go, Gus!

Watching Chris play reminded Marian that she has something fun coming up soon...dance! She asks me about it every single day. I hate to remind her it doesn't start for another month.

All in a Day's Work

2011-06-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

For a while I've been talking to John about how I want our yard to be FUN for the kids and a place their friends can come to. They're at the age where they want to go play, and we don't have a park within easy walking distance and I don't have all day to watch them play in the cul-de-sac (they're allowed some freedom out there, but Marian is the type to march down the road and keep walking until...I catch her, I guess!) So yesterday what does he do? He comes home with a HUGE playhouse for the kids! I had seen it on KSL, and he called and bought it while he was at work. It's so fun and they already love it. John and I were out early this morning ripping up sod, shoveling dirt, picking up rocks, spraying, laying down weed barrier...etc. just to get it ready to start building. We had some help from friends and neighbors, luckily! We've got more work to do- staining and painting, filling the ground with wood chips, and tearing up more grass, but it should be done within the week. It's amazing what can get done in a day!

Tractors

2011-06-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

No trip to Pennsylvania is complete without rides on the tractors.

Pittsburgh Zoo

2011-06-02T08:45:00.001-07:00

We went to the zoo the day before coming home. The kids only lasted about an hour and a half but we were able to see the essentials- giraffes, elephants, bears, lions, tigers, sharks, polar bears, monkeys, etc. It was a beautiful day and lots of fun!

There were some amazing fish! I think they were the kids favorite part. Sometimes I can't believe how many varieties of animals and fish there are. It's fascinating- I would love to spend a day at the aquarium by myself just to look at them all!

Well, it had been a long day...after the aquarium it was time to go home!

Simple Pleasures...

2011-05-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Chris and Marian get along so well. I love watching them play and encourage each other. These are the times when I'm grateful we had our kids close together!

Bowling with Cousins

2011-05-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Obviously I'm going to have a lot of posts about our trip to PA, so we'll start with bowling! All seven of the cousins were together for the first time ever, and we filled the house. I was so happy with how well they all played together; not much fighting or crying. They were all so good! I was so glad that Shauna and the kids, along with her mom Debbie, were able to drive over from New Hampshire for a few days. It was my first time seeing Hamilton, and I wish I could have taken him home with me. He just melts your heart with his little smile:

I'll tell you what...it's not easy keeping up with seven little kids in a bowling alley! Don't even try to play a game yourself, because you'll be helping the kids bowl the entire time.

Ellie is Hannah's little girl. Typical:

She was so funny the whole trip. She likes to talk with her mouth closed so it's hard to understand her guttural noises. You can't help but laugh when you watch her.

It sounds weird, but this bowling alley had the best pizza ever! I LOVE the pizza so much we got it again later in our trip.

Thank you

2011-05-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

I just want to thank everybody in our family and ward that was involved in helping me make a new friend:

This bear was hiding around the corner when I walked into the house after our loooong flight home. I didn't like him at first, but you can see that I was won over pretty quickly. I was sad to see him go!

Ok, now seriously.
Disgusting! I wanted that thing out as soon as I saw it.
Anyone who knew about this is in serious trouble (i.e. everybody!!)

Letting the Blogging World Know How Much I Love and Appreciate My Wife

2011-05-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Emma and the kids have been spending the last 22 days in PA visiting Grandparents. As my family has been away, I’ve noticed a few things that I normally wouldn’t notice otherwise. And in the spirit of Mother’s Day, I thought I would express my appreciation for all that Emma does—even if it has taken a month long absence to realize some of the little things.

1. I’m not sure how she does it, but Emma always has the house smelling nice. On more than one occasion, I’ve noticed that our house smells like a foot while Emma has been gone. I’ll just get whiffs of something as I’m just sitting on the couch or walking through the house. I’ve tried Febreze, opening windows, taking out the trash…but the house still smells…off. Before now, I’ve never really noticed nor have I recognized how good our house smells when Emma’s around.

2. Lately, I’ve been playing musical bathrooms—not because I need to exercise the toilet’s gaskets in each bathroom, but because I always forget to replace the toilet paper. I’ll walk into a bathroom and notice that there’s no t.p., so I’ll just go to the next one. Now, I always intend on going back and replacing the roll, but I always forget to do it until I walk into the bathroom again. I’ll certainly start appreciating having t.p. in the bathroom.

3. Why is it that whenever I do laundry, my clothes always come out clingy—and, yes, I used dryer sheets. One thing that I have defiantly begun to appreciate is the fact that my clothes don’t suck up against me.

4. For the record, I have done an above average job of keeping the house clean while Emma has been gone, but I never realized how dirty a floor can get! Every time I walk around barefoot I feel like I’m always having to clean off the bottom of my feet. I don’t know how she does it—especially with three kids running around, but I’ll certainly start appreciating a clean floor.

5. By far, the biggest thing that I’ve notice since Emma has been gone is how empty the house is without her and the kids—at this point, peace and quiet have become overrated. I miss coming home at night and getting two huge leg hugs, a smile from JB, and a 100% sincere “hi honey, how was your day”. Emma has done THE BEST job with the MOST IMPORTANT job in the world. Those kids are smart, well-behaved, happy, kind, etc., and they owe it that to their mother. I’ve come to better appreciate how important it is to have a loving wife and kids who love to be with you. I can only pray and hope that our children will learn to appreciate just how special their mother is. I thank my Heavenly Father for sending me one of his most precious angels to be my wife and raise our beautiful children. To my beautiful bride: thank you for all you do to make this family what it is today. Happy Mother’s Day. I love you. John

relax!

2011-04-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I love coming to my mom and dad's house is because I get to relax, almost to the point of being bored. I read, do puzzles, take walks outside, take the kids on ranger rides, etc. Now that I've come by myself with three kids I wouldn't exactly call the vacation "relaxing"...we've had some rough nights and days since we've been here! A stomach bug that involved lots and lots of laundry in the middle of the night, diaper rashes that kept babies awake around the clock and pouring rain every single day that we've been here, making it hard to get the energy out. I'm hoping for a better week coming up; I can't handle another rough one! If John was here it would be a totally different story- I wouldn't be the only one getting up in the middle of the night. My parents have been huge helps though with watching the kids while I catch up on sleep and taking care of them. At home I wouldn't have had a break during the day. I really do love being here! We just all miss John :)
Some highlights of the trip so far:
Easter! We've been reading our scriptures leading up to the resurrection and read about it today. I love watching Chris soak it all in and ask tons of questions. The easter bunny came and left some great presents and candy for the kids. They got WAY too much, especially since Suz and Grammy and Papa sent some presents. They love their gifts! I made them some scripture totes and put their new book in it, with some little pens and a notepad and some candy. I'll have to post some pics of them when I get home.
My parents have a family of bald eagles living on the farm, and I get chills every time I watch them. My mom and I rode the ranger to the nest and watched the mom feed their baby until she took off- the eagle is so big and majestic looking! It's hard to get a good picture but I keep trying; I just love to watch them.
Seeing Shauna and Debbie and boys: I haven't seen them in two years! The boys are so big and cute and I wanted to take Hamilton home with me. He's like a little bear cub and I couldn't stop smiling at him! It was so good to catch up with their family.
Seeing Garrett and Hannah- it's been about a year since I saw them and again, so good to catch up. We did three one-thousand piece puzzles in the week they were here (they left today). We love to talk while we do our Charles Wysocki puzzles :) I miss them already!
Mexican trains: of course we've been playing a lot, and I've been doing horribly. But it's still fun to listen as conversations get interesting late at night...I'm sure we have many more games to come!
So that's my update, I'll try to get on again soon....
Oh and by the way: If I had to grade my plane ride experience, traveling with three little kids alone, I would give it a C. Chris and Marian were great, but JB was sick and I had to change his diaper five times on the plane and he SCREAMED during every one. He also screamed for about twenty minutes on our second flight until he finally fell asleep out of exhaustion. I'm dreading the ride home but I try not to think about it :) As long as he stays healthy I think we'll be fine!

the best medicine

2011-04-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

John's computer crashed earlier this week and he took over mine, bringing it to work and working on it at night, but he got his fixed up computer back today and I'm so happy to have mine! I've been kind of bored at night without it.

I'm lucky enough to watch moments like this all day:

I love these kids!

Conference Weekend

2011-04-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

I love conference. I look forward to it every six months and I'm sad when it's over. I'm always anxious to read the text as soon as they put it online and then again in my Ensign! I learn so much and have such a strong resolve to be a better person. I'm sure that resolve fades pretty quickly...but that's why we have them every six months! :) I realized again how lucky I am to know we have a prophet on the earth.

There's no dress code for conference around here! Growing up we always went to our stake center to watch and had to wear church dress...it's kind of nice being in comfy clothes all day! Not to mention not worrying about hair, or even about having clean faces:

The Monday before conference we had a Family Home Evening about prophets. I hung these pictures and we sang it several times a day while the kids pointed at the pictures. Chris knows them all now (I don't know if he could get them if they were out of order; I'll have to test him!) and Marian can point out quite a few. More importantly than memorizing their names, I wanted them to understand that prophets tell us what Heavenly Father wants us to know and we are blessed to hear them speak. I don't want them to ever feel like listening to conference is a chore- it's a blessing and a gift! I try to make it a big deal to them because it's a big deal to me. This year they just loved coloring and listening for certain words, but I know they felt the spirit it brought into our house.

Bday

2011-03-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

Tonight John and I went out to celebrate his 28th birthday which was on Tuesday. We went to the temple and out to Olive Garden. Chicken Alfredo every single time, baby. I'm always disappointed if I don't get it! We committed for 2011 to go twice a month to the temple, once as a couple and at least once on our own. I've at least made it once a month with John but haven't gotten around to going again by myself yet. I haven't felt like I've had the time but I know that's a poor excuse! I've still got a week left... :) John has been great about going though. I can definitely feel a better spirit in our home when we go regularly!
We did sealings tonight which we hadn't done in a long time. (Remember our last time, Josh and Jacquelyn?) As I was listening to the sealer, I realized that there is nothing the world can offer us that would be worth giving up everything we've been promised! I'm overwhelmingly grateful that those blessings are mine as long as I want them. Time and time again I realize how blessed I am to have a knowledge of the gospel and to know that these are truths, that it's real. Nothing is worth giving up those blessings for. Nothing!
Being at the temple also reminds me of how grateful I am to be married to John- I'm sure he has his faults, but I can't think of any that aren't easy to look over; there's too much good to see. I feel lucky to be with him! I hope he had a good birthday (laser hair removal on his neck = his best birthday present ever! He's so happy with it.) I'm looking forward to all the birthdays to come. XOXO

Meet Bunny

2011-03-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Meet Marian's bff, Bunny.

She enjoys kisses,

posing for pictures,

being entertained while having a drink,

being read to,

preferrably in a way so she can enjoy the pictures,

and even better, while sitting on a lap.

She likes to be comforted by Marian,

and shown off,

and brought to every sort of activity that Marian participates in while at home. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, naps, time outs, movies, walks, games. She has to be a part of it all!

Thank you Grammy, for giving us Bunny since she is such a big part of our lives!

The Best Way

2011-03-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

The best way to make dinner is to have some company with you! I love cooking when the kids sit at the counter and color, play with playdough, or "help" me by sampling everything. This night's menu was honey-lime chicken in a mango/red onion salad....I'm sorry to say not many mangos made it into the salad (see Marian):

Felicitaciones

2011-03-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

Cory opening his mission call:

(it's almost like Christy was there with us....)

We're so excited for you!

Coming and Going

2011-03-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

We've gotten to spend some time with our extended families lately- Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit and we had dinner all together at Jenny's house- it's always so good to see them and catch up! I don't think JB and Marian appreciate it as much as we do:

We also got to say goodbye to Ryan...he was set apart as a missionary on Tuesday night and reported to the MTC on Wednesday. We'll definitely miss him, but we're so excited for his mission! He's going to be a great missionary- he's personable, funny, and a hard worker. We can't wait to hear what he has to say. I'm sure the two years will go quickly...right Suz?

We've got another one in this group getting ready to go....Cory! (second from right in back) I'll post his video tomorrow. I'm so grateful that Chris gets to see these boys getting their mission calls and being excited to go- I hope he'll remember them when it's his time.

Going Green

2011-03-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patricks Day! Since my family wouldn't appreciate the corned beef and cabbage dinner yet, we stuck with green pancakes, green milk, and peaches (pot of gold?) The kids loved it- everything tastes better when it's a different color :)

Chris and Marian always stick their tongues out for pictures now...I guess I'll take what I can get! It's better than crying or pouting, right?

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Bowling

2011-03-11T05:49:00.000-08:00

Chris has been begging to go bowling for a long time, so we decided to go last week and brought along some cousins for more fun! Chris loved it and is asking me constantly when we're going back. I'm not sure when since it was a little bit stressful on a Friday night when the alley was full. Marian kept wandering away and I was so afraid that someone was going to whack her with the ball their back swing. Or kidnap her.We'll definitely go back during the day when it's quiet!

Every day I realize that Marian is her own person- very independent- and DON'T try to tell her what to do. Of course I do anyway, but it's amazing how you can have two children who are so completely different! She hates to hold hands when we're crossing a street, she runs in the parking lot, rips up every book she can get her hands on, runs away while I try to get her dressed/change her diaper/do her hair...etc. But then there are moments when she plays with my hair and tells me its "so beautiful", she comforts Chris or JB and acts like their mommy, shares her toys willingly, asks me to paint her nails, tries to help feed JB in his highchair, says "please" and "thank you", find a baby for Jane to play with and brings it to her...these are the moments that I hang on to! I know she is a sweet, loving, caring girl with just a hint of an independent streak. I love that little Mar-Bear! She's my girl.

Chris got two strikes- way to go! Makes me think I should start using those ramps...

A different point of view...

2011-03-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

I'm not the only one who took pictures of the wedding... later during the night I started looking through my pictures and found about 50 that I didn't recognize! I think Kaden, Justin, and Jacob had a good time :) Here's what they thought of the wedding:

Haha....boys will be boys!

Snow!

2011-02-28T19:48:00.000-08:00

If it's going to be cold out, there might as well be snow! In reality we have had a very mild winter which we haven't minded at all. But when it snows, we'll be outside making snowmen and throwing snowballs! It takes about twenty minutes to get everyone bundled up and we usually last about that long outside. Mittens fall off, hands get cold, tears start falling...and we're on our way back in for some hot chocolate :) This particular snow rolled up off the ground like a carpet. I've never seen anything like it- pretty amazing! It warmed up later in the day and every inch of snow was gone. Looking at the pictures it's hard to believe, but the kids were sad that their snowman was completely gone!

Why am I always chasing this girl? I think 75% of the pictures we take are of us trying to drag her into a picture...

Another perk of wintertime: the deer coming down from the mountains and hanging out behind our house. The kids love to watch them.

I like winter, but I'm ready for some sunshine and laying out by a pool....who's with me?

Meds

2011-02-25T19:52:00.000-08:00

-Welcome to Butler's Pharmacy!!!!-

If you have:

a cough

ear infection

influenza type B

pink eye

nausea

fever

infection

or stomach pains...

....we have a prescription for you!

If you have questions, you can call me (Sue Barton) as I have been treating these diseases/symptoms for the past week and a half. All of my patients are on their way up... as of today we had no more quarantine, no more pills, no more drops, and only two doses of medicine for the ear infection. I dare another disease to try to get into my disinfected house.

Wedding Bells

2011-02-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

Brittany and Derek were married yesterday! My date was stuck in bed with the flu (he was "quarantined"), my son had pink eye, and I ended up going solo. It definitely made for the most stress free wedding I've ever been to! I missed my family though....I felt awkward during the pictures and I wish I had a dance partner. But it was still a fun time! Good food, good music, and time with family....you can't beat that.

Congratulations to Brittany and Derek!

Elza came to babysit some of the kids and was also my photographer. Thank you so much girl! It's nice to actually be in the pictures for once.

The sparkly shoes were the best part:

Good one, David! Always has to ruin a picture of mine...Also, what are you doing Jake?

The Butler/Wallin families:

Butler side:

"Everyone cheer for the couple!" I hate when photographers do that- its always awkward!

After dinner it was time to get down...

I thought that since I didn't have a date I counted as one of the "single ladies" going for the bouquet. Morgie caught it- lucky girl!

L-O-V-E

2011-02-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

We did the usual this Valentine's Day and John made us dinner after the kids went to bed. I wasn't in the mood for stuffed shells this year so I bought some steak and John grilled it. Yum! We had rolls and salad, and for dessert we had small slices of cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, and chocolate cake. It's nice not to deal with crowds and actually be able to have a good conversation during dinner! It's also nice not to cook :)

You know he finished his entire steak...

Another Valentine's Day tradition we have is writing things we love about each other on hearts and posting them all over the kitchen. It's always nice to be reminded why you're loved! Plus, I love hearing what the kids have to say. Things like- "I love watching movies with Marian" and "I love camping with Daddy" or "I love holding baby John". So sweet!

I hope you all had a fun valentine's day too!

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T15:48:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how lucky I am to be happily married. I had fun while I was dating and went out with lots of nice guys, but once I started seeing John I knew the dating scene was over (and I was glad). I remember going out with other guys and thinking, I could never marry him! The thought made me cringe. But when I thought about marrying John I didn't get the same feeling- I was excited and it felt right.

One cold night when we were dating we went for a walk by the Provo temple. John stopped walking and took both of my hands, looked me in the eyes and said "Emma, my heart is yours." I'll never forget that moment! In one instant my life went from being about me to being about us and our future together.

I never imagined how happy I would be being John's wife. I never feel disappointed or let down by who he is. I know, he's not the most romantic- he cringes at chick flicks, he thinks flowers are a waste of money, he hates presents. But that's ok with me. He's generous and loving. When he sees that I'm on the verge of a meltdown, he takes the kids and tells me to get out of the house. And I do! And I can relax knowing that while I'm gone the kids are being taken care of. He's a good dad. I'm sure he's tired when he comes home from work but he always has the energy to wrestle them, help feed them, bathe them, read to them and get them ready for bed. He's a hard worker. I know he does a lot of things that he hates to do (like soliciting!) because he wants to give us a comfortable life and he wants to be successful. He'll swallow his pride and get it done. He's ambitious and creative and finds new business ventures like you wouldn't believe. It makes my head spin sometimes! He's funny. He listens to me when I tell him to be nicer to someone or to stop doing something. He's not afraid to admit when he's wrong. He encourages me when I'm hard on myself. He's honest (too honest sometimes?) but I appreciate that he'll always "tell it like it is."

The thing I appreciate most about John is that I feel safe with him. Physically, emotionally, spiritually safe. I know we'll never starve. I know he'll always love me and our family. I know he'll always stay on the straight and narrow because he does the little things every day to keep him on it. And I know he'll always encourage me to do the same.

My heart is his, forever!

Excuses!

2011-02-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

Reasons I have been blog slacking:

#1:

#2:

#3:

and #4: cleaning up after them...it's a never ending job!

Volkswagen Commercial: The Force

2011-02-08T19:51:00.000-08:00

My favorite commercial of the super bowl...this little boy is SO cute! I can't stop laughing when I watch it:

It's all good

2011-02-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

I feel like I'm in a really good place right now. My 6 month old has grown out of his fussiness and loves to play on the floor with toys. He's sleeping through the night (doesn't that make ALL the difference?) I love 2 year olds; she's learning how to talk more and can keep up with Chris while they play. My 4 year old is counting down the days until he's 5 (three hundred and fifty something to go!) and has a crazy imagination. I feel like every day just gets better... Then yesterday John says, "Now that you're not in young women's anymore we can have another baby! Come on, it will be so exciting!"

I told him not to talk to me that way because it almost makes me want to.

Any suggestions on how to bribe a little girl to smile? Family pictures are two weeks away...

Winter Camp 2

2011-02-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

Winter camp was a little different this year....we slept inside! None of our girls wanted to sleep in the snow- I acted disappointed but inside I was heaving a huge sigh of relief!
Only four girls were able to make it, but I really appreciate the time we had to get to know them better. We talked, we laughed (and laughed and laughed) and cried and stayed up late and ate lots of junk. I really love my young women. It seems like yesterday I was in their shoes, struggling with the same things, with the same worries and goals.
Last Thursday I was asked to meet with the bishop, and I knew right then that my time with the girls was up. I was released on Sunday and I feel a little bit lost. I had so much going on this week with young women- class presidency meeting, two camp meetings, mutual, teaching on Sunday...and instead I have nothing, nothing and more nothing. Nothing to work on or plan. It's funny because I feel relieved and sad at the same time. I'm excited to be back in Relief Socety but I'll still miss the girls.
The bishop was talking to me about the two sides of every calling: the way we affect the people we serve and then the way our calling affects us. I only hope that I taught them as much as they taught me! The youth in our ward are strong and committed to the gospel. They cut out music, movies, and language from their lives that are inappropriate and they never look back. The young women are working on their personal progress constantly and have goals and plans for a righteous, gospel-centered life. I know firsthand the way that the personal progress program affects someone. You can't help but be a better person, more sensitive to the spirit, and feel a constant drive to be better. I'm not stopping just because I'm not in young women's anymore. I love having those goals to work on! I hope more than anything that I was a good example for the girls; I want them to have a temple marriage and to find joy in motherhood. I want them to be committed to the church and to their callings. I want them to stand up for what they believe in even when it's not the popular thing to do. Most of all I hope they always remember that they are daughters of God, and that fact alone can carry them through any challenges they face in life.
I love you girls!

Christmas Morning...

2011-01-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

What a Christmas we had! I love Christmas morning...the excitement is thick in the air, everyone is happy and smiling (except for Marian), and we're all anxious to see what's hidden underneath the piles of pretty wrapping. No one got up too early- around seven or seven thirty I think. Chris woke up and ran straight to David and Jenny's room to get Jackson and Christian. He was so excited to let everyone know that Santa Claus had come!

This was as close to a smile as I could get...she really was excited though, I just know it.
Santa brought Marian a baby and stroller:

I'm glad because she sleeps with the baby every night now. She's a good little mommy; she holds the baby and says "hiiiii honey!" over and over and over.

Chris got his first bicycle from Santa! He fell in love with it and rode it around right away. I was shocked that he figured it out so quickly- no help from Mom or Dad.

Grammy and Papa got Marian a box of dress ups. They've ended up in her bedroom, and lots of times I'll go get her from her room after her "nap" and she's got high heels and jewelry on. She's such a girl- I love it!

Chris got a race track from Grammy and Papa. It's noisy and loud and he absolutely loves it. The cars shoot around the track over and over. I don't know how he can sit there and watch the same thing happen for twenty minutes! It was the perfect gift for him.

Aw, my little JB was so cute all morning. I could kiss those droopy cheeks all day long! He got a really cute ABC book that my mom sewed for him. He actually held it and looked at it for quite a while which surprised me. It will be a great distraction at church!

Of course, John and I were spoiled by both of our parents and grandparents. We love everything we got. I especially love our papyrus print from John's parents with our family name on it and a "tree of life" so to speak.

I'll do a post another day of what we got for John's side of the family. My gift for my parents is getting to them over a month late...but it's fun to get gifts later right? right? Maybe I'm just making excuses :)

I hope everyone else had a merry christmas too!

the fun keeps going...

2011-01-25T07:12:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve it's tradition to go to Granny's house for dinner and gifts. She lives right on a golf course so the kids went straight outside to play and watch the golfers...until it started storming. We drove home later that night in a downpour! Granny is very generous with all of us and serves such a nice dinner. We love to see her when we can, because it's not very often! We tried to take a picture with her and the great grandkids...Marian was just done for the night- it looks like she wasn't the only one though :)
After we got home (around ten at night) we did a quick reenactment and reading of the Nativity story. The kids were tired, the next day was Christmas...there was a lot to be done! One of my favorite gifts from John's parents this year was a bag of clothes from Israel to use for a live Nativity. They're beautiful and I can't wait to bring them out again.

Still more pictures of fun things we did in Texas! One day we went to the children's museum. It was such a fun place! I almost wanted to go back without the kids so I could play on everything. There was a little "kid city" with a mini-sized grocery store, bank, crime lab, veterinarian office, etc. The kids could go to work, get their pay checks, and drop them off at the bank. I would love to go back there again with the kids as they get older. There was also a toddler room that we went to for the last hour or so with the little ones, which they loved. Marian found this car and tried to claim it as her own. She also claimed a little car at Grammy's- it might be time to start looking on KSL for a car for her! Yet again...driving a car. She kicks those boys right out of the driver's seat.

We also made a trip to the zoo. I love the zoo because animals amaze me- the sheer sizes of some of them and the tininess of others and their survival methods- it's all so fascinating! I think the kids enjoyed it too. I found out our Salt Lake zoo is open year-round so that might be a trip we'll be making soon.

Cute boys...

*thank you to Jacquelyn because I stole every single one of these pictures from her blog. :)

Tomorrow I'll finally blog about Christmas day- yay!

Happy Birthday Chris!

2011-01-18T21:09:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated Chris's FOURTH birthday! We've been counting down to this day for months now...he's been so anxious to be 4. I remember being younger and always wishing I was older, and my mom told me not to wish my childhood away- to enjoy it. I want to say the same thing to Chris, but also add that I actually want him to stop growing up! I was watching a slideshow of some pictures of Chris when he was about two, and my heart just started aching. That blonde, blonde hair, those chubby cheeks and legs, the protruding belly...they've been replaced by the first signs of muscles, longer, thinner limbs and darkening hair. I love the boy he is but I miss the little boy he was!

Four things I love about Chris:

1. He is very sweet to Marian and baby John- he would never intentionally hurt either one of them and loves to entertain them.

2. He acts really goofy and "shows off" around his cousins. He acts so differently when he's with his friends- it's fun to watch.

3. He says "you betcha" or "you got it, mom" when I ask him to do something. He's always willing to help out and likes to get his jobs done.

4. Everything is a competition to him, unless he is losing. If he's losing, (like he's slower getting dressed, or finishing his dinner) he says "we're not racing, ok mom?" Sometimes I say yes, sometimes I say no (gotta let him lose every once in a while, you know? :) )

Texas Roadhouse the night before his b-day. We met Grammy and the family for dinner. I think he liked getting sung to in the saddle!

I took him off and he tried to get right back on...
Good morning birthday boy!

And rise and shine to you too, Marian-

Opening presents after his pancake breakfast: Lucky boy:

He chose McDonalds for lunch (surprised?) and we met Daddy at the office to eat together. After dinner we had some cupcakes and sang happy birthday- we'll sing again at Suz's but I think you have to blow out a candle on your actual birthday!

Lately I've been catching Chris dancing to music when he thinks no one is watching. So, I bought some glowsticks while he was at school today so we could have a "glow in the dark dance party" tonight. After dinner we broke open the sticks, turned on our Shrek party cd, turned off the lights, and danced away! The kids loved it. It is so funny to watch little kids dance!

Surprise! Turned on the flash...

I love you my boy- happy birthday!

You Better Watch Out...

2011-01-16T20:14:00.000-08:00

Two nights before Christmas we had a special visitor come to the house.

JB was extra excited! He must have know who was coming...

The kids put on their new, special matching outfits.

Tutus, flowers, striped tights, and sparkly shoes for the girls. Dump truck shirts for the boys with their names written across them and black track pants.

(Marian was not in a picture taking mood tonight, or any other night for that matter...)
We waited anxiously until we heard a knock on the front door...

I think you can guess who it was...

Santa Claus and his wife, Mrs. Claus!

It sounds strange, but I got a little bit choked up when he walked through the front door...he looked so real!

He brought toys and candy for the little kids...

....and the big kids too! He brought John and David some long lost He-Man action figures (that had been sold at a garage sale long ago, much to their dismay.)

After the presents he read some Christmas stories to the kids (including "the night before Christmas") and then reminded them to be nice- and share! It's amazing the effect Santa can have on children- "Santa said to share!" was a common phrase after that.

It was so exciting to see Santa Claus- it made Christmas come alive a little bit more for all of us, I think.

Around the world...

2011-01-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

During the week leading up to Christmas we learned about Christmas traditions in different cultures around the world. We had an Italian night, a Scandinavian night but right now I can't remember the country (was it Sweden or Denmark?), German night, and Mexican night. We had food (brats and sourkraut, pappasitos, lasagna, etc.) and decorations each day that went along with the theme. What a great idea! The kids especially loved the hats they got each night. I only got pictures of Mexican night, which was my favorite night because of the food :)

Taking a swing at the pinata:

The three amigos: these boys stuck together the entire vacation!

And then I had to throw Shipley's donuts into this post. Josh and Jacquelyn's house is literally one minute away from Shipley's, and I'm sure I ate about two dozen donuts myself. They are so, so good. I don't even bother buying donuts in Utah anymore because they don't even compare. We were going through our receipts from the trip and found out we spent like $60 on donuts! So worth it...

Chris always wanted red or chocolate:

And of course, Marian ate her pink donuts. She only eats the frosting though. I passed by one day and saw four frostingless donuts sitting in front of her...oh well, I can't blame her!

Mmm...I really want a donut now.

Caroling

2011-01-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

Another tradition that I love...caroling! I remember going one time with the Perkes family when I was in high school- we rode on a wagon and caroled around the neighborhood. This was sort of like it, except we had a lot more kids and it wasn't quite as cold in Houston! We went with several other families in their ward and we had lots of fun. I think we talked and ate more than we sang, but we did manage to sing Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer about fifteen times. I went caroling with my Mia Maids earlier in December while we delivered gingerbread houses and cookies to people in the ward. Even though it can feel awkward at some houses, I think it's a fun tradition and everyone always ends up enjoying it. In Houston as we caroled we also saw lots of amazing Christmas lights- I think that was the kid's favorite part.

At least one of her ponytails stayed in- I have no idea what happened to the other one:

John added his voice to the mix close to the end when he was tired and wanted to go to bed:

I want candy...

2011-01-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread house decorating again! Mom planned so many fun activities for everyone while we were there. I love traditions and this will always be one of ours.

It was so cute to watch Chris concentrate and do his best on his house. He had such a fun time on this trip with his cousins! I hardly saw him it seems like.

I wonder if two year olds like candy...

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Yes!

Pre-Christmas Fun!

2011-01-08T20:10:00.001-08:00

We're back from our whirlwind, three week long, full of fun, Christmas vacation to Houston! I wish it didn't have to end- we had the best time!
We're happy to be home though-working (John) enjoying the snow and cold (Emma) and playing with new toys (all of us!) Before I get to the vacation pictures I have to start with the activities that got us warmed up:
First, fondue night and Christmas at Suz's. Always such a fun time! Thank you again for hosting all of us- we appreciate it and we love being together at your house!

He's about to open a tube full of trucks...every little boy's dream!

And we can't forget Kasey's piano recital- she may get nervous but she doesn't need to; she does a great job every time. I've loved being her teacher!

Happy Birthday to Jenny! I think we were all hoping for a little bit more on the Haggadah dance...Elle really got into it though!

Gingerbread house making with friends (we made three this year!) I think it's a lot of fun. One of these years I'm going to buy a kit for myself, and when the kids are in bed I'm going to turn on some Christmas music and decorate the house the way I want to! Anybody else with me?

I'm pretty sure they taste disgusting but kids don't seem to mind...

I always promised myself that my kids would always look cute with their hair done, faces clean, dressed nicely....obviously I've had to let a lot of that go with baby #3. Poor kids had pizza on their cheeks the whole night and I didn't even bother. And Marian's hair is almost always done, but after a few hours of playing it looks like she just rolled out of bed. Oh well! It doesn't really matter :)

LOTS more to come!

Rub a dub dub

2010-12-13T13:55:00.000-08:00

You can't take bathtime pictures without some well-placed bubbles...

JB absolutely loves the bath! He kicks and smiles and splashes until I take him out. Of course it's way more fun when his brother and sister are in there with him.

I just love these three...every day I feel so blessed that I get to spend my time with them!

Almost...

2010-12-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

Oh my.
It is HARD to take family pictures when some members have already decided that they don't want family pictures.
I'm so glad I didn't waste my money on a professional photographer.
Did you know I wasn't just talking about Marian?

Yes, John was a reluctant one.

then Marian....

then John...

then Marian and John...

and then I should get a turn too, right?
Now there's a nice smile! Too bad I'm in the middle of hitting him for his previous face.

There are about 15 more pictures of Marian kicking and screaming and crying.

Anyway, you could just be lucky enough to get a picture like this....

...or like this for Christmas.

Love, the Butlers

Before/After

2010-12-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago I got an itch to redecorate Marian's room. It didn't suit her, it felt cluttered, and really, I just like to redo anything as soon as it's been done. So here it is before (I left it a mess on purpose (more dramatic?), and Chris and Marian had been sharing a room for a couple of weeks at this point):

Antiqued beadboard:

And after! I don't know why it looks smoky, but her room was clean and I had to take advantage:

Hello there, Chris! Meet his favorite sidekick- a Transformer from McDonalds.

I gave myself a budget of $150 and it was pretty easy to stay under:

I made the headboard for $20: free wood (leftover beadboard from bathroom project), one yard of fabric for $2.88, batting for $13, and buttons for $3.

Comforter was $13 at target and is reversible (darker pink on other side), sheets for $15 from target, and accesories/pillows/picture/rug were about $50.

Then I bought spray paint (3 cans for $3 each) yellow paint ($20), white paint for beadboard ($20). And that's it! I just spray painted pretty much everything she had before in fun colors.

So that's it! I think it suits Marian much more than her old room. I love her room now, but do you know what's really sad? I totally want to do it all over again. It never ends :)

BirthdayS

2010-12-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

Considering this year's celebrations, Marian is going to think that birthdays are week long events! Blowing out candles twice, being sung to three times, opening presents four different times...lucky girl!! She liked the singing until we were all doing it at Suz's- too many people, loud clapping, and weird dancing scared her I think.
But she did enjoy blowing out her candle! I just can't believe she's two already.

Her cupcakes:

Marian and Jane really get along. She always tells me how much fun she has with Jane and wants to play with her all the time! I am so glad she has a girl cousin her age to play with. I have a feeling they'll both be getting a lot of princess things for Christmas...

Happy Birthday (again) to my favorite little girl!