And Lastly.... The Landons

2011 Wrap-up & Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

This is just a random pic- totally off topic but fun.

While the past few years have not been my favorite years I have to admit that 2011 was not too shabby. We were not blessed with tons of financial breathing room, but received lots of other blessings. Here is a quick list:

1. My kids were really pretty healthy and we avoided the Emergency Room and O.R. the entire year.

2. We got a good enough tax return to take our little family to the beach in Oceanside, CA for a week.

3. My nine year old car never broke down and just keeps humming along! One more year...please?

4. In July we found out we are expecting our last little one. The doctor says it's a girl. We shall see!

5. We got to spend a lot of time with family and friends.

6. Robbie's job continues to be stable and provide for our family.

7. Heidi potty trained at 2 yrs 3 months old; the earliest of all my kids.

8. Blake entered a skimboard, wakeboard, and skateboard competitions.

9. Our haunted House was another success this year, but even better, Robbie decided to put it to rest for a few years.

10. Robbie and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.

This year my resolutions are pretty easy and straight forward. Really they are nothing fancy but I need to post them so I can remember and check my progress. The first is one is to spend more time with my children one-on-one. They are all getting older and I want to have more memories of them individually and not just collectively.

The second is great. Since I am pregnant I get out of the whole losing weight one.... at least until March. So in place of dieting I decided to try eating mostly from the outer isles of the grocery store. It pretty much removes most preservatives and sugars from my diet. I am not going to be a drill sergeant about it but just try harder. So far so good. So that's it. Happy 2012!

Christmas Day 2011

2012-01-12T05:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day was spent at my parents house. Emily and her family came and stayed with my parents also so it was fun to do Christmas morning with her kids too. Later that evening my brother and his family came over for Christmas dinner. My sister Emily had taken a ton of time and created a Minute To Win It game for our family to do. Everyone got a chance to participate. It was so fun. She put in so much work and it was totally worth it. Christmas was wonderful this year. I was a little worried how I would feel being so pregnant and traveling but it was easy!

As a last note about Christmas Day..... we attended my parents ward for a Christmas program. The talks given were nice but the highlight was one I have never seen and never expected. We got to enjoy a beautiful rendition of Silent Night played on the accordian. It was almost funny at first but it was truly beautiful. A big thanks to my mom and dad for all they did to accommodate us and make it a great visit!

Heidi got a doll house from Santa

The boys got giant Nerf guns with torpedos

Robbie hates this picture but it makes me laugh so hard! Turns out he did pretty well getting his cookie all the way from his forehead to his mouth without using his hands!

Cup Towers

I do not even know what you call this but it looked hard!

Grandpa and Caleb nut stacking. Caleb kicked Grandpa's tail at this.

Tate & Owen were so funny bouncing like crazy to get the christmas bulbs out of the tissue box.

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-11T16:56:00.000-08:00

So it's early January and I am playing a little catch-up with the posts. This year Christmas was a little different for us. Usually we stay home. We like to be home for the holidays and especially to keep our own little traditions going. This year was a little different. Since we have not celebrated Christmas with Robbie's whole family in six years we decided to head to Cali. After baby # four arrives it will be harder than ever to travel..... at least for awhile. Robbie's family has the tradition of getting together for Christmas Eve. It's always lots of fun, good food and good company.

Just relaxing

Aunt Kim & Heidi

Aunt Doreen playing babies with the girlie.

Cute Candice

Just the boys

It's official. I am married to an old man!

2012-01-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot about this post for the last month. December 11th my husband turned the big FOUR OHHHH. Before I talk about the celebration I just want to give you a little back story on Robbie.

I remember being at our wedding reception over 15 yrs ago and feeling like such a lucky girl. I was such a baby.... only 19 yrs old. Robbie was just shy of turning 25. He was older and was pretty established compared to most. I was so spoiled and I knew it. He had a good job, we had a cute apartment, he had a brand new car and had purchased a really nice used car for me. Robbie had bought us brand new furniture and we were so lucky to start off so put together. In those days I thought a lot about my previous college roommates that started off their marriages living in basement apartments with one old beater car between them. They had thirty dollar couches they had rescued from the Salvation Army and just scraped by. I am not going to say that we have not had our hard financial times, but have not struggles as bad as so many we know.

As the years have passed Robbie has always been such a good provider. He has always taken care of me and our family. He works so hard and I have always appreciated that about him. So 15 years later I am shocked to admit that one of the downfalls of marrying someone older than you means they turn old sooner than you expect. Robbie probably hates that I am calling him old at 40. He really is in such good shape. He can still rock on the wakeboard, he beat a 20 year old at the hurtles on the Xbox Kinect and a still has a booty that never disappoints. It's just weird to think that he is 10 yrs from being 50. WOW!

Anyway, for his birthday his sister Kim and I decided to throw him a surprise party. Kim had some time share offers available and was able to book two great suites in Las Vegas. This allowed us to invite six of our closest couple friends for a weekend together. Our suites accommodated everyone and had full kitchens so we could cook. I made sure everyone got the dates early to put on their calendars and then sent out invites just a few weeks early. It was so fun to see Robbie's face when he realized that it was not just him and I spending the weekend to celebrate his birthday. The weekend was amazing. The girls shopped, the boys did go-carts and boy stuff , we went out for dinner and stayed up way too late every night. It was such a fun, kid-free weekend. I think Robbie felt pretty special and he really deserved it.

Here are just a couple pictures. They really do not include everyone that was there or show just how much fun we had. Love you Robbie ....... even if you are kind of old!

I got pinned!

2012-01-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

I guess I should actually say that Blake got his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts this last month. It's always so fun to see your kids accomplish goals. I have to be a little honest here..... the Cub Scouts know what's up. They give the mothers of each scout a pin also when their son finishes their den assignments for the year. Let's face it, I did most of the work. Anyway, we are proud of Blake and he looks so cute in his gold neckerchief.

Oktoberfest!

2011-11-20T06:29:00.001-08:00

Even though we do not drink beer. It seems that every October is one big celebration. It is the busiest month of the year for me and is mostly exhausting. I know it is past the middle of November already but I needed a few weeks to decompress from the happenings in October before I could talk about it. Here is a brief snapshot at some of the things we did. By the way, these pics do not include the school parties, homework, PTA volunteer time, making of costumes, trick-or-treating, company in town to visit, and a million other things that kept me busy last month.

Tate turned five and had a fun little family gathering. He asked for a "Real Fake Gun" and shoes that light up. I have to be honest. I despise guns and abhor shoes that light up. Alas, how can you say no to your child on his 5th b-day. Needless to say, Tate got a fun cap gun that has smoke and smells real. He also got those terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE Skechers that light up. He loves both presents!

Blake entered his first skateboard competition. We were a little unsure how he would do. Turns out the kid rocked it. He got first place and was awarded a new skateboard deck. We were very proud of him!

We decided to use one of Mindy's costumes for Heidi this year. With a name like Heidi and her fair complexion she made a perfect little dutch girl. Thanks for the costume Mindy. It was a big hit!

This year Tate was certain he wanted to be a ghost. I was a little disappointed at the idea of such a generic costume. I refused to put a sheet over his head and cut out holes for his eyes. After a little thinking we came up with this. With a little sewing and a lot of strips he made a super cute ghost.

You can tell your children are getting older when they want to start wearing scary masks. As a concession Blake agreed to do a half mask. I just can't stand the idea of covering up his cute little face. Not just yet anyway. He was a zombie punk and looked cool in the process.

Just a little side not here. There is a lesson to be learned..... if ever tempted to put your head in a plastic pink pumpkin full of candy because your owners put you on a diet, think again. Our dog Pearl learned this lesson the hard way. Turns out you never get the candy & your owner has to cut the pumpkin off with wire cutters and do it fast because you are suffocating. The worst part is that they do take a brief second to snap a picture so the whole world can experience the funny and frightening moment too!

Lastly, our Haunted house was in full swing this year. We had many workers come and volunteer time. It took Robbie and friends five weeks to set up and a week to take down. We had about 815 people come through and I lived through it all. I felt so bad for the Schwan's man who had to brave the clown hallway to sell us some frozen food.

That about completes our October festivities. Remember... steer clear pink plastic pumpkins!

Who can resist a boy and his dog?

2011-10-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Tate begged me to take this picture of him and Pearl. Thought I would share.

Heidi's Year

2011-09-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

These pictures show just a snippet of her latest incident.

This has been such a crazy year for our little Heidi. I thought having a girl would be all about femininity, playing quietly and being cautious. It turns out that I could not have been farther from the truth. While she is certainly girly and is a pretty quiet little thing, she can still really get pretty rough and tumble. We have begun calling this year Heidi's Year. Our poor little girl has hurt so many times this year it is getting hard to keep track. Let's make a quick list.

Februrary: Got a crazy virus that had 103+ temps for 11 days straight. We ran out of Tylenol and Motrin twice those 11 days. She was one sick girly.

March: While I was folding laundry on my bed she took a spill and hit the nightstand. She split open her eyebrow and it needed to be glued closed.

June: While I am getting eggs out of the fridge to make waffles she climbed up on the counter. Just as I turned to see her she slipped and landed on the HOT waffle iron and received 2nd degree burns from elbow to wrist on her arm.

August: While watching Tate and Heidi play on my bed Heidi took a spill and hit her two front teeth on my headboard. It split open her lip (not bad enough for stitches) and shoved her two front teeth back in her mouth. After a lot of blood and consulting with a dentist we had to hold her down and pull her two front teeth back into position. It was a worry filled two weeks while we waited to see if her teeth would die. Luckily they have remained healthy.

September: six months ago Robbie cut down a tree in our backyard. We have needed to get the stump ground but have been lazy about it. Over the Summer it started growing branches from the base. It sits only a few feet from where the slide ends on our playset. Well just last week Heidi came down the slide with her brother hot on her heels. As she landed his feet hit her back and she went face first into the sharp branches. We feel so lucky she did not lose an eye. The gouge below her eye was pretty bad.

One other crazy thing she had go on this year is weird passing out episodes. Luckily I have seen this happen with my niece or I would be totally freaked out. Anyway, anytime Heidi hits her head or falls hard she passes out starts to turn blue and her eyes roll back in her head. That has happened about four times this year also. This girl is going to give me gray hair. I need to say a quick thank you to my niece Quincey who had the same condition as a toddler. If it wasn't for her I may never have known that when she hits her head she releases a large amount of adrenaline that constricts blood flow to the brain and causes her to pass out. Quincey outgrew it by four and we are praying that Heidi will too.

Ok, I know what you are all thinking.... Where were you when all this happened? Right? Seriously I was right there when every single one of these things happened. Poor Heidi. It has been a crazy year for her! I think Santa may be bringing you a helmet.

Summer Wrap-up

2011-09-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

So, today is Labor Day. While I know that it is not really the last day of Summer it does stand as a close to the Summer season. I decided that I needed to record a few details of our Summer before it moves to Autumn. This is a pretty long post with lots of pictures of my kids. It won't disappoint though, just wait until you get to the diving picture of my fearless 8 year old. It will be worth it.

It's no secret that one of our favorite things to do in the Summer is to go boating. My kids love to be on the boat and it's fun to be together.

The last few Summers Blake has requested to let his hair grow. It's funny to see how long his hair will get in just 3 months time. By the end of the Summer his hair was long enough to really bug me. I do have to admit that Blake could be handsome bald. He's a cute kid that owes good genes to his birth-mother and birth-father.

So my very favorite day of the year finally came around. The first day of school truly feels like Christmas to me! Anyway Blake started 3rd grade and is doing very well. Tate started his last year of Pre-school and he is loving it.

One of our kids favorite things to do at our local lake is jump off the cliffs. I am usually pretty wary of letting them do this. Tate begged and begged this year to do it. I was pretty opposed to my four year old jumping but allowed it as long as it was from the shortest cliff. He loved it. Then we went last week and allowed the boys to jump again. It was not until they were really up there that I realized the water had receded a ton over the Summer. Turns out the shortest cliff became quite the high dive. It only took Tate one time to realize he was done. Blake (the dare devil) decided at the last minute to do a dive off the same cliff. Needless to say, Robbie and I were not happy about it and he got an earful when he got back on the boat. Crazy boys!

Lastly, This week Heidi took a monster nap and had the hair to show for it. I seriously do not know how one sleeps to make this happen. What I do know is that it was a beast to brush out!

Phewwww. And now on to Fall.

Skimming along!

2011-07-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that we keep our son Blake really busy. He is pretty adventurous and always looking for a good time. My husband does a good job at always finding fun things to fill his time. Last year he got Blake started on skim boarding. Other than buying a board, it's free. Just haul yourself down to the beach or in our case a shallow place in the river and go for it. Turns out that Blake is pretty good at it.

Just so you all know, Blake is pretty good at just about everything he tries. He's just one of those kids that has a lot of physical ability. I am not bragging here. There are days that I wish he could be humbled by being the worst at something but it rarely happens when sports are involved. I used to feel bad about it because I did not want him to think he is better than others. I have decided to change my view and be more encouraging with Blake he needs that support from me. I have always been a little apprehensive at cheering him on too much because he can get pretty cocky. I think that is the part that drives me crazy and worries me. I realize now the best I can do is love him and cheer for him, make sure he cheers for others, and get on him when he starts bragging.

Anyway, this weekend was the annual Virgin River Skim Board Competition. Blake was entered in the 9 and under class. They broke the categories up in three sections for his age group. They were: Longest Ride, Most spins, and Best trick. Blake did awesome. I was so proud of him and at the end of the competition he came away with 1st place in the most spins category. He was disappointed that he did not get the best trick, but there is always next year.

Blake out practicing
The group before the competition started
Starting his most spins run
Doing one of his best tricks
getting his medal

Vacation 2011

2011-07-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

Our vacation this year was about the same as last year. While our kids are small we needed to find a vacation spot that fit our needs. Last year we decided to try renting a condo at the beach for a week. We looked all over Southern CA for a reasonable beach house or condo and ended up in a large condo complex in Oceanside. Turns out that it was perfect for us. The complex is beautiful. The grounds are amazing and it has a wonderful heated pool. The best part is that the complex is oceanfront. We love that we can get up in the morning, cook our own breakfast, pack lunches, and head to the beach.

My kids absolutely love the beach. Blake splashes in the waves, boogie boards and skim boards the entire time. It was hard to get him to come in to even eat lunch. Tate happily plays in the sand or digs for sand crabs. This year he found the biggest sand crabs I have ever seen. They were seriously about the size of a silver dollar. After Tate kept putting them on my feet or in my hands without me expecting it I had to have a talk with him. It went like this, "Tate, don't do that! Don't you know that sand crabs are the cock roaches of the ocean?" Anyway, Peachie loved the beach too. She did her fair share of digging in the sand and when it was time to nap she would snuggle right into the bed we made her under the umbrella and fall fast to sleep.

After a few days of this I thought they would get tired of it but they never did. There was no complaining, fighting or whining..... just relaxing!

While there we did a few other things. We went to San Diego to visit Sea World one day. Another day we rode the Coaster (local train line) into San Diego. It took us to Old Town and we were also able to catch the city bus to Belmont Park. My kids got to see some interesting people. My favorite was the man who tried to bring his shopping cart onto the bus with him. Thank goodness the bus driver squashed that! Here's another funny thing that happened down at Belmont Park while waiting for the bus. A group of thugs walked by. They looked rough. Each seemed to be wearing some piece of Celtics attire. Blake quickly noticed them and without warning shouted, "Celtics Suck!" I have never seen my husband move so fast. He grabbed a hold of Blake and made it very clear that we were not in Utah anymore. I am still cracking up about it because Robbie was convinced they were packing. By the looks of them I would not be surprised.

Overall it was a fantastic week. We have already picked out the condo we will rent next Summer. Looks like it could become a long standing family tradition.

Jr. Sharks

2011-06-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

This year we have been busy filling our Summer schedule. Last Summer we traveled all Summer. It was fun but expensive and exhausting. Other than our week to the beach, this year, we are mostly staying put. I have had many sleepless nights pondering what on earth I would do to fill my children's time. How would I keep them busy enough to stay out of trouble but still be able to have some sort of routine. Blake, my oldest little chick is the one I worry about the most. He is a free spirit that wants to come and go as he pleases and roam the neighborhood all day. I hate tracking him down all the time and even more I hate the knot in the pit of my stomach the entire time he is not home. I am always worried that something terrible may be happening to him or that someone is showing him something inappropriate on You Tube. Seriously!

Anyway the answer came in the local Summer swim program called the Jr. Sharks. We decided to enroll Blake because it got him up bright and early every morning for swim practice. The program lasts most of the Summer and the best part is that he burns off a lot of energy right out of the gate each day. Another wonderful perk is that he asks to go swimming a whole lot less. Blake will participate in 5 meets throughout the Summer. He has already taken part in two.

Here is where I interject my own personal short story about our first meet:

Robbie and I have no idea what to expect for our first meet. Blake has to be at the pool at 7am for warm-ups and the meet starts at 8am. Robbie decides to take Blake down for warm-ups and I agree to meet him there when the meet starts. I get Heidi and Tate ready and haul all of us down to our local aquatic center at 8am. I am shocked to find that we were supposed to bring our own chairs. Most families also have ice chests and snacks. I am thinking to myself, "Holy crap, how long is this thing?" I begin to look for Robbie and realize he is in a chair at the end of one of the pool lanes. He is holding a stopwatch and I realize that he has been asked to keep time. I am pretty angry. The meet is about to start, I have two little kids to keep away from the pool all by myself, and I have nowhere to sit while my husband enjoys a perfect view of every race. Also the P.A. system is so bad I cannot understand what event is up for what age group. Seriuosly miffed at this point.

Right about this point Blake gets up for a relay race. I can tell by the order he is in that he will be anchor. The other teams all have matching uniforms and our team is seriously mismatched. Robbie and I clearly read all rules stating that each swimmer should have a black suit for the meets. Only a few parents on our team followed through on that and we look like a "bad News Bears" swim team. Miffed again! Blake's race starts, the other teams are diving gracefully into the pool (they are obviously club teams that practice a lot). Our kids belly flop in or sit on the edge of the pool and scoot in. Our team is a joke. The other teams swim the freestyle stroke so well while many of our kids doggy paddle. We are easily lapped and Blake is about up. I felt so bad for him. By the time it was his leg of the relay all the other teams had finished. Blake is a good swimmer and freestyle is his best stroke. He swam a great leg but felt bad because he came in last.

Now I am convinced that I am going to talk to his coach. I am certain that he needs to put the fat kids in regular swim trunks and the doggy paddlers in their own relays together and put Blake with better swimmers. It's only fair right? Well the next relay begins and our friend's daughter swims the first leg. She does an amazing job and puts our team in first until the anchor of her leg flops in and literally doggy paddles two pool lengths. It was agonizing to watch. My blood begins to boil. This is not fair to the kids who are trying. Finally that little girl climbs out of the pool and removes her goggles. I then realize a few things and feel humbled and stupid. She has Downs Syndrome and just swam the best two legs ever. Quickly I put my arrogance and anger aside and remind myself, "It's just a Summer program, Susanna!"

So on to Blake. He did OK in his first meet and found the things he really needed to focus on for the next meet. His second meet was much better. He placed 3rd in the backstroke, 3rd in the breast stroke, 2nd in the freestyle, and his relay team took 1st in the medley. I am so proud of Blake for his hard work and he looks so cute in his little swim jammers! One last note, I think they should consider changing their team name to the Guppies instead of the Jr. Sharks. It really seems a better fit.

Besties

2011-06-09T14:19:00.001-07:00

Last week my very best friend came out to visit for a few days. Nancy and I have been best friends since we were in 3rd grade. Nancy and I were inseparable during elementary school, Jr high and most of High School. During our late teens and early twenties we lost track of each other a bit. Our lives were in different places. Eight years ago we reconnected and it was as if not a moment had passed. A few years ago Nancy got married and had her first child. Her daughter is Natalie and she is just three months younger than our little Heidi. Although we are a few states apart we are determined to have these little girls grow up to be friends. I laughed so hard at these pictures because these two little girls are seriously miniature versions of Nancy and I. The whole time she was here we would look at the girls together and say, "That's totally me and you." Love that after all these years we are still close. By the way, Nancy was always the Be Fri and I was always the st ends. If you understand that little message then consider yourself clever!

Dragging

2011-05-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

Ever wake up and feel like this? Not only did I feel this way today because it is the last day of school, but also because I am just plain tired. Here's to 10 long weeks of wishing I could stay in a nice warm shower.

How To Make Me Love You

2011-05-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

If there was one thing that my mom would say about me it would be that I always root for the underdog. If you knew me in High School you would totally agree with that statement just by looking at the boyfriends I chose. True, I am a person that tries to see the potential in an individual, but I do not always root for the underdog. Especially now that I have gotten older, it takes a lot more to tug on my heartstrings than just being stifled or underprivileged in some way. Lately I have been thinking about what it takes to be regarded as someone I love. This is simply how it works.... you just have to have a funny little quirk. That's all it takes.

Living in Utah there are so many people that try to seem so perfect. They try to act perfect, dress perfect, decorate their homes perfect and accessorize just perfect (it's true, Mormon women have a thing for their jewelry). There are some wonderful things about living in Utah. Being LDS and living with so many that share the same religious beliefs is the biggest, but the constant bombardment of everyone trying to seem perfect gets so old! This is where finding the quirks in someone is fun. Here are a few examples: A white haired woman named Liz sat in an all women church meeting with me and many others. She was wearing her Sunday best just like everyone else when something caught my eye. She uncrossed her ankles and from across the aisle I could see a little rose tattoo just barely noticeable through her pantyhose. Any of you that know a little about Mormons would know that on the whole tattoos are discouraged in our religion. It was in that exact moment that I decided that I loved Liz. I had never shared a conversation with her but I loved her. She was not perfect and not trying to pretend she was.

Then there was Chelsea. She is a single mother to two boys. By all accounts she seems perfect. She is sweet, friendly and strives to be a good mom. It was when one of her young sons told everyone in Sunday school that his mom drinks "near beer" that I laughed like crazy and decided I loved Chelsea.

My last example is about Vanessa. She is new to our neighborhood and she shared with me the funniest thing that happened to her. She has a young 3 yr old son. During his primary class he told his teacher that he needed to use the restroom. While he ran off to the boys restroom the teacher promptly notified Vanessa that her son may need some help. By the time Vanessa reached the restroom her son had already gone in. She did not know what to do since he had gone in to the men's room. She poked her head in and discovered that only her son was in there so she went in. Her little three year old had already stripped off his pants, underwear, socks and shoes. She had no choice to stay in there with him until he was done. After he finished she quickly dressed him and opened the stall door. It was then that she realized that a man had come in and was using the urinal. She was mortified. As she told me the story I just laughed and asked, Well, did you just run out with your son." Her response became the reason I fell in love with Vanessa. " She said, "Well we hurried and washed our hands first and then ran out." A true mother after my own OCD heart. Who stays in the Men's restroom to wash their son's hands when a man is standing a few feet away using the urinal? Vanessa does and now she's on my love list.

There are a thousand different stories like this. If you are my friend then there is probably one about you too and you don't even have a clue what it could be, but if you are quirky then I love you!

*BTW, I did change all of the names of the people in my stories. Just in case they are trying to appear perfect!

Tired of Being Scared

2011-05-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

In the last six months I have come to realize how blogging about my feelings helps me so much. It seems like I obsess about something for so long until I finally vent about it (usually like a mad woman) and then I can move on. I have to admit something here. I think that I have a case of OCD. In the past few years it has just gotten worse and when I am pregnant it reaches max capacity. Even ask my poor husband. The whole time I was pregnant with Tate I was convinced that he was not washing his hands after he used the restroom. The truth is that he always did and always has washed his hands, but I could not stop obsessing about it. He was so good and patient considering I asked him every time he headed back from the pot. Sometimes I even secretly followed him and listened outside the door to be sure. Crazy huh?

Well, the fear just continues these days. It seems like I am always feeling so worried. I know that ignorance is not bliss, but sometimes I wish it was. Four years ago I changed all of our skin care products because of all of the terrible things in our cosmetics, lotions, soaps, etc. Two years ago I started buying only organic milk and eggs and as much organic fruit as was realistic. I stopped wearing deodorant a year ago because of all the heavy metals in them. I only use stainless steel cooking pans.... no teflon here and I never heat anything in the microwave that is not BPA free. I also stopped buying water bottles because of the toxins in the plastic. Only organic mac-n-cheese for my kids because I do not want them to have the artificial food coloring. Fruit snacks are a dirty word in our house and don't even get me started on Otter Pops or Kool-aid. I stopped getting fluoride treatments at the dentist for my kids and they receive their vaccinations very slowly at my discretion. I try to talk on my cell phone very little and when I do I always try to use the speaker. I do not want to get a brain tumor after all.

It is all so exhausting. My new fears are all about the radiation we are going to be exposed to in our food. Just this last week I bought powdered milk because of the enormous levels of radiation they have discovered in our milk and I am secretly putting kelp drops in my kids drinks so they will not be deficient of iodine. Don't worry they are tasteless and colorless. I am already starting to worry about using sunscreen on my kids because of the terrible chemicals in them and have found some really good natural products to protect our skin this Summer.

The truth is, I am tired of all of it! I need a break from the OCD. I want to feed my children giant bowls of high fructose corn syrup and Cheetos like other moms and not worry about it one bit. Unfortunately I know better. Anyway, I need a break from it all. Maybe I should just go check on my husband in the bathroom. It never hurts to be sure!

*By the way, I in no way want to claim that my children do not eat Otter pops, Kool-aid or Cheetos. We just limit it to very little. I am not trying to be self-righteous about my efforts.... just lamenting them!

Lucy & Ethel

2011-05-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

In the past few years I have started referring to my sister Mindy and I as Lucy and Ethel. I remember watching the black and white re-runs when I was a little girl and it always played out the same way. Lucy talks Ethel into some new scheme, both are put in compromising situations, but it always ends in a good laugh. That is my relationship with Mindy in a nutshell. It is never boring with Mindy, always tons of fun and there is always an embarrassing or especially hairy situation involved. One quick example would be the time she convinced me to go to an aerobics class on a gym guest pass. I loathe classes at the gym and I was seriously out of shape. I reluctantly agreed and when we arrived we found out it was an advanced aerobics class. I nearly passed out and found myself gasping for air on the floor in the back of the class. Totally embarrassing but so funny now.

A few short months ago Mindy called and said she had something to ask me but that it needed to be done in person. This seemed crazy since we can talk about anything with one another. What could be so important that she needed to ask in person? As I waited for her to travel the 0.7 mile to my house I decided I knew what she needed. I was convinced that she was going to ask me to watch her 5 sweet kids while she and her husband went away on a trip. What else could warrant a house call?

Anyway, she did not ask me to watch her kids which was a little sad since I was already planning the vacation where she watched my kids in trade. What she wanted to know was if I would MC a beauty pageant with her. She compared us to being like a Regis & Kelly. We would announce all the girls and the typical stuff along with filling the time between set changes and vote tallying with entertainment. I was shocked. How could we entertain a whole auditorium full of people on the spot. I think we are pretty funny when we are together but this was asking a lot. I also have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth & to be politically incorrect. It would be so much better if this was a roast. I could easily talk about a contestants "muffin top" or her flubbed talent but it's hard to be funny and nice on the spot. To be truthful... I did not want to do it. It was Mindy's friend that is over the pageant and not mine. I was scared to death that we would flop and be seriously annoying to the crowd. After a lot of convincing and her calling me a Wienie I conceded with the understanding that she would gather the funny material and I would do my best to go along with it and be witty.

Two months later the big night came. In the picture below you can see Mindy and I sitting at our table. I am the one glowing. I should have considered that wearing white with a spotlight on me could be bad news- total Staypuffed Marshmallow. The night went pretty well. Mindy came up with some good things to fill the time with and we practiced it a few days before. We got lots of laughs and lots of compliments after. I was so glad it was over and now I can laugh about it. Mindy was already asked if we would do it again next year and I politely responded, "Oh, Dear No. You will need to find a new Ethel for that." Love you Mindy! Thanks for always helping me make memories!

Night Terrors

2011-04-09T14:44:00.001-07:00

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and your mind won't stop thinking? I do this a lot! In fact for the past few years I have had one thing continue to play in my head each and every night. Simply put, it is about the character flaws in my children. Now don't get me wrong.... I love my little kids. They each have a thousand wonderful things about them, but let's face it, they have some flaws too. I do not believe that I am the only parent that thinks this way but If you are one of those parents that loves every idiosyncrasy about your child then now would be a good time for you to blog hop somewhere else.

Anyway, every night I am reminded of one thing I would change about my four year old if I was given the chance. It is his inability to sleep like a normal person. Since he was born he has been a poor sleeper. He never even slept through and entire night until he was about 8 months old. Now at the age of four he continues to sleep poorly. It does not matter if he naps or not. He wakes crying and screaming. He is totally irrational and cannot be soothed until he lands in my bed between my husband and me. In fact, it does not matter how many times we put him back in his bed at night he always creeps back. We have tried putting a toddler bed at the end of our bed, a make-shift bed on the floor next to one of us and nothing works. Just last night I had another one of my finer moments as a parent where I exhaustedly placed my four year old out on the back porch in the middle of the cold, rainy night. I had promised him that if woke up his sister again because he was crying in his bed then he would be put out on the porch and I followed through. I need to interject a quick apology to my neighbors here for the 2am disturbance. Luckily it was only for about 30 seconds or so.

Here is the part where I mention that I have my own character flaws and that not everyone is perfect, so on and so forth. I just need a little sleep! So Tate, here is a little letter I have composed for you:

Dear Tate, I am tired. I am fed up with putting you back in your bed and with you crying all night. Dad and I even bought you a fancy Serta mattress in the hopes it would help you be more comfortable in your own bed. Please try harder to soothe yourself. Please try harder to stay in your own bed. Please, Please, Please! Dad and I are tired of sneaking off to the guest bedroom to be alone in the middle of the night. I love you lots and I think you are usually pretty agreeable. Let's just work on the sleeping, Ok?

Love, Mom

I am going to also a include a quick note to my husband here too.

Dear Robbie,

I miss you! I am tired of being divided every night by the Great Wall of Tate. Thank you for taking turns with Tate at night. One day we look back and laugh about all of this, right? I am sure it will be when we are better rested. Anyway, you are a good partner and I love you!

Your wife, Susanna

P.S. You, Me, tonight - guest bedroom!

5 Years Ago Today.

2011-04-05T06:35:00.000-07:00

This date has been looming over me for months now. I have known that this day was creeping up and I have worried about it. How will I be? Will I be able to function? Will I forget about the day all together and remember after it's over? I have been worried. Anyway, for months "today" has been on my mind. Today, April 5th, is my due date for my first miscarriage. I don't want to beat a dead horse here on my blog about miscarriages, but I needed to comment about today.

Well how does this all tie into 5 yrs ago today? I will tell you. A few days ago I sat on my computer pondering this very day & I started blog hopping. Do you ever do that? I started clicking on the "next blog" button at the top of various blogs and it took me through many random blogs of no one I knew. I never know anyone that way but it is fun to see what others blog about. I happened upon a blog here . It really got me thinking about things. This woman is so funny and fascinating. She is an artist, a mother and jewish. I was intrigued by her posts and she cracked me up too. She posted what she was doing 10 yrs ago. It made me wonder what I was doing ten yrs ago. I knew that I was not an avid e-mailer 10 yrs ago and was pretty sure I could not find a shred of evidence about that far in the past.

I decided to make it my mission to find out exactly what I was doing five years ago "today". The past sheds a lot of light on our future and I needed insight if I was going to successfully conquer April 5th. I dug through bank records and found nothing. I looked at e-mails received, but I purged them long ago. But then I looked through my sent file (I never purge this file, I have never even considered it) and I found an e-mail that I send five years ago today. It was an e-mail sent to a dear friend. We were sharing news in our lives and here is an excerpt from that letter:

"I am almost twelve weeks. I am due Oct 20th. It seems so far away, but I am so happy to think that I am already 1/3 of the way through. We had a doctor's appt. at eight weeks and we got to see the baby on ultrasound. It was so refreshing to see a little blinking heartbeat. The baby measured right where it should be so we were really happy. It is amazing how you can fall in love with something that looks sort of like a pinto bean. Anyway, things are fine. I have been really lucky. I have not had any nausea or vomiting. Now and again I am really tired, but overall I would say that this has been a breeze."

I was pregnant with my first biological child. The thing I never thought could ever happen. And of all things that I could have been doing five years ago today, I was writing this. Again, the past sheds a lot of light on our future. No more complaints about this day. I will make it through and I will be just fine.

What were you doing five years ago today? Leave a comment.

Lovin this girl thing!

2011-04-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

I just had to post that I love having a little girl. The other day we painted our toes the cutest pink color since it is now sandal season here in St George. After Heidi watched me attach cute little flowers she insisted she have some too. Love those cute, little, girlie, baby feet!

Pearl

2011-03-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

For our first wedding anniversary Robbie and I greed on one gift. A brindle boxer puppy we named Delila. She was a wonderful dog and lived until she was about twelve. Shortly after her death we hurried and got another dog. We named her Charlotte. This was a big mistake. While we are dog lovers we had forgotten how hard a puppy can be. After six months of sleepless nights and our yard torn to pieces we decided that we were not up for two more years of puppy with Charlotte. We kindly returned her to get a better home. It was then that we decided that we had better wait and find the right dog for our family.

This led us to do a lot of research. We needed a dog that did not need a lot of exercise, that could not jump on furniture, shed very little, did not bark much and was great with children. Well needless to say, that is almost impossible criteria to meet. But what we did find was that an English Bulldog was about the closest match. The biggest problem is that they cost a small fortune.

So for two years now we have waited. Our baby is over two and the boys also older. The kids have been begging for a dog for a while. but we kept telling them a little longer. Then one day I was on a local rescue's website. I could not believe they had a female English Bulldog that needed a home. By the way, it is hard to come by these kind of dogs for just the fee of their spay & shots. I immediately called and got the low-down on this little girl. She was four years old and they estimated that her previous owners had bred her four times in those four years. She was dropped off at the local pound when she could not longer produce puppies. She had a raging eye infection and was way over weight. I loathe these previous owners because they just used this poor little girl up & then dumped her.

The good news is that she is ours. She is so sweet & mellow. She loves all people and is so good with my children. She never barks, sheds so little that she does not even bother my allergies and needs very little exercise. We have walked her faithfully though and she is just about on target for her weight. She has also never had an accident in our home and does not jump on our furniture. The boys named her Pearl & we think it fits her perfectly.

Lemonade Just 50 Cents!

2011-03-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about where I live is that there are always little kids with lemonade stands. It is a good and safe neighborhood with lots of families and kind people. I wondered when the day would come that Blake would ask to have his own lemonade stand. Well, it finally came. Today he set up our table and chairs and with a little help from Dad (for a sign) and Mom (to make the drinks) Blake was ready. So far he has made a whopping $7.50. I love the older people who came and contributed to the stand. I think it is so kind of them to pay for a drink that is either too sweet for them or will stain their dentures. That's sweetness right there!

The Perfect Tree

2011-03-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

I always thought that Autumn was my favorite season. I am beginning to think I was wrong. What I am discovering is that I do not like extremes. I don't like the burning heat or the freezing cold. I love the mild, wonderful temperatures of Spring & Fall. I also love all of the beauty that comes with it. For the last week I have been scouring the neighborhood for the perfect tree. I have wanted to photograph my children with Spring blossoms for more than a year. It is so hard to find a tree just the right height. After all a two-year-old can't climb up into trees. At least no responsible parent would let them. Finally after a lot of looking I found the perfect one. Not too tall, with just enough blooms and good scenery behind it. I love these pics and they perfectly reflect why I love Spring.

Breaking a promise I made to myself.

2011-01-28T15:29:00.000-08:00

Shortly before Blake came to us I found myself busy nesting. I painted the nursery, made crib bedding and all the usual stuff. Once I had completed those tasks I found myself longing to keep myself busy with something geared toward baby. I decided to try and sew a gender neutral pajama sleeper. I had never followed a pattern or sewn clothes before this day but decided to give it a go. I thought that it could not be much harder than blankets and curtains but I have to admit, it was a little confusing. Long story short, I made the sleeper and felt so proud of myself.

A few months later Blake joined us. He had been with us about two weeks when we pulled out the homemade sleeper and proudly put him into it. We took pictures & I remember laughing about it because the sleeves were a little short and we always said he had monkey arms. That night Blake cried on and off all night. I was so frustrated because I could not figure out what was wrong. In the morning I discovered that the sleeve of my sleeper had worked its way up on his arm and had cut off the circulation. He had a giant swollen wrist and hand. It was stark white and I fell apart. How could I have done this to my baby? After calling the Dr. and doing a lot of massage it turned out fine but seriously scary. I felt sick about it for days and decided that I would never sew clothes again.

Fast forward about six years. My neighbor and friend asked me to sew him a pirate jacket for his Halloween costume. I was reluctant to try again but finally relented to his pleas. It was amazing how easily it came together. Since then I have made another coat, pajama pants & skirts. Today I finished a dress for Heidi. It is the first dress I have ever done. I am pretty happy with it and wanted to share that some promises are made to be broken.

By the way, I promised myself that I would never run another 5K when I was about 2.5 miles in, but I am actually rethinking that one also.

The pockets are a tomato red, not orange.
It's a little bright and whimsical but fun!

Nothing a pink balloon can't fix

2011-01-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up grumpy. I pondered many things while showering. It seems like I do a lot of pondering in the shower and simply put, it's usually the only 15 minutes of uninterupted time I get in a day. Anyway, I tried to shake the blues by thinking of all the blessings Robbie and I have in our lives. I started to perk up a bit. A little while later I loaded Heidi & Tate in my bathtub while I cleaned my bathroom. I turned around and found this staring at me. Heidi holding a bright pink balloon. It has been wandering around our house for a few days and somehow it made it into the bath with her. I found myself chuckling about this sight and realized I really did feel so much better. The day was salvaged by a naked two-year old with a pink balloon.

A quick Follow-up to my last post.

2011-01-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention one bright spot in all of this. That is my sister Mindy. She was so fabulous to me and my family during this last week. She quickly made us the most delicious & organic dinner. She also took my kids off my hands for the whole day. She picked them up which allowed me to lay in bed all day. I needed it. Heidi even had Croupe and she took great care of her. I cannot thank her enough!

I also want to thank Emily. She totally commiserated with me and was so kind to even remind me that the fertility drugs caused me to poop my pants in Wal-mart last month.

Crying, Kicking, Screaming Mad!

2011-01-13T18:53:00.000-08:00

Since I consider my blog a sort of journal I decided I needed to log my feelings about this. I need a good vent and unfortunately you and the whole world is privy to it. So here it goes.

I have been married for almost 15 years. For most of those 15 years we have been trying to accomplish one main goal...... build a family for ourselves. It has come with nothing but struggles. It started in the form of infertility. I endured months and months of stupid treatments hoping for the one thing everyone else in the world seemed to be handed. After six and a half years of marriage we were finally blessed with Blake. His adoption felt magical and I will not complain that he is here by adoption. It still remains a fact that to have him we endured tons of paperwork, interviews, medical tests, fingerprints and even providing our dog's vaccination records. We had to expose every part of our lives to prove worthy to have him. It was OK though. It was worth it.

When Blake was a year we started our paperwork again and waited. In that time we had a mother choose us and change her mind. We had a baby born that was supposed to come to us but she died just a couple of days after her birth. It was tough. We decided to attempt fertility treatments again and they worked. We were so happy and I was relieved because I would get a break from the miserable side affects of taking those drugs. Tate came to us, and again I will not complain, I am so grateful for this blessing. After 10 years of marriage we finally had two children.

Just two years later Heidi came along. It was eight months of fertility treatments which included hot flashes, diarrhea and belly aches to get our little Peach. It was worth it.

Then July 2010 comes along with an amazing surprise. We did it on our own. No drugs, no hot flashes but we did have a pregnancy. We were thrilled until our first Dr. appointment when the ultrasound looked weeks behind where it should be. After a ton of stress and three more weeks of follow-ups it was determined that the baby had stopped growing and passed away. I carried around that baby for a few more days until we could schedule the induced miscarriage. I was 11 weeks along when the Dr. administered the medicine that caused my body to shed the baby & placenta. I flushed it down the toilet in my own home. It was miserable and I never wanted to repeat it. Sorry to be so graphic, but I am venting so it has to be dramatic. No one truly vents without some degree of harshness.

So here I sit today so mad, and frustrated and sad. We waited the mandatory three months to start trying again. I promptly started fertility drugs again with all of it's accompanying side affects. I was excited and optimistic. Again we did it. This time our first month showed that little pink line on our home pregnancy test. I was so nervous but convinced myself to be happy. Lightning would not strike twice, right? WRONG! At exactly six weeks I started to bleed. I went straight to my Doctor who confirmed the pregnancy was over. He called it a chemical pregnancy. I cried so hard I could not even tell my mom what was going on.

Again, I am angry. It makes no sense that I have to endure this trial in so many ways. I know that I should be grateful for what I have and I am. My children have done more for me than anything else in my life. They have helped me fulfill a role as a mother. They have taught me to love unconditionally and a slew of other things. I am grateful.

I still have the right to be mad, though. It's a good darn thing we don't have a puppy cause I could just kick one right now. (not really , I love puppies)

Anyway, I know what you are all thinking and what some of you have already said, " It's just one of your trials here on Earth..... blah, blah blah." Well I say, " Save it people." I HAVE A RIGHT TO BE MAD!

Night in Bethlehem

2010-12-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post this cute pic of our family. Last night our ward had their Christmas Party. It's theme was "A Night in Bethlehem". We were all asked to dress up for the event. Robbie had a part as a Centurion. The kids loved it and it was loads of fun. Heidi wore her costume through the entire evening.

Already 8!

2010-12-12T18:06:00.001-08:00

On November 28th Blake turned eight. This has been a long awaited event. There have been days that I worried like crazy about him being accountable for himself and other days I knew he was ready. He looked so handsome in his suit. It was a great day with lots of company. A big shout out to all of our family in CA that traveled for the event and good friends here that also supported Blake that day.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

This year we were given a wonderful gift for Thanksgiving. Robbie's sister Kim booked us a week in Park City with her time share. We thought that Thanksgiving would be a good week because the weather should still be good. We had plans to go to Salt Lake a few different days, visit family in the area and maybe hike, go to Olympic Park and spend time together. It's funny how things can change. It turns out that we arrived just as it began to snow. We realized it would probably snow just a few days before we left. The weather report did not look promising but we went anyway. Needless to say we spent a week mostly cooped up in our condo because it was either blizzarding or the temps were too low to do anything. Thank goodness for the indoor pool. It saved our lives with the kids! We did do a few things also. I guess it gave us a lot of time to drink hot chocolate, play games and reflect on the ones we were most thankful for.

Heidi was all smiles in her snow suit until she realized what snow really is.

Robbie took Blake to his first Lakers game. They were playing the Jazz in Salt Lake. He loved it even though the Lakers lost.

The boys loved the snow! This day we went sledding in 2 degree weather. We lasted less than an hour. It was sooo cold!
We took the kids to Temple Square. The weather was so bad that we were not sure we would make it down but we were tired of being cooped up. It was so cold that we were just about the only ones there. We could not even find a soul to take a family picture. Here is one minus me. After we snapped this we all ran (I mean ran!) to the car.

Ice Skating in the Desert

2010-12-07T16:39:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we met my sister-in-law, Kim, in Las Vegas. I knew we would be spending the weekend with her there and wondered what we could do to keep the kids busy. It turns out that I subscribe to a website called Groupon.

As a quick side note... it is so awesome. You just enter your local info and it sends you a daily deal for your area. The deals are usually fantastic but they rarely peak my interest since our closest big city is Vegas. Still I recommend you subscribe. Especially if you are going on vacation somewhere because you can watch for deals before you even go.

Anyway, We saw a Groupon come across for a killer deal on ice skating. I have only ice skated once in my entire life and it was years ago. I was not sure if the kids would like it or if they could even do it. To make a long story short.... We had such a great time. Blake was a natural and Tate loved it too with the help of the kid cruiser bars. Turns out I was pretty dang good myself.

Did these myself

2010-12-07T16:27:00.002-08:00

Last month I decided to take a few pictures of the kids. Tate just turned four and Heidi is almost two. I set up a little back drop and got the kids to cooperate for just a few minutes. Blake was in school so I will have to get him next time. Anyway, I thought they came out pretty well. Not professional or anything, but decent!

HALLOWEEN!

2010-11-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Our good friend Penny. She's an awesome greeter at our Haunted House
Some of our workers that make the scares happen.

Halloween has finally come and gone. I have to say that we were so busy this year with everything that I am glad to see it all get packed up and put away. This year we tried to keep things simple. We borrowed and reused costumes we already had. Robbie is the only exception to that. He decided to be Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder version) to go with my Oompa Loompa costume. I was proud of myself. I sewed up his jacket and vest in one very long day. Overall it was great. The Haunted House was an even bigger hit than last year. We had over 800 people come through and we made $205.00 in donations. My sister-in-law, Kim, came out with my nephew Trevor and we all had a really great time!

I think Robbie's costume looks great!
Holy Moley, I am one ugly Oompa Loompa!
Tatenheimer mad a cute Batman. His unitard was seriously snug!
Blake rocked the Ninja. He really wanted to be something else, but after giving him some swords he was totally on board.
This duck was used by both the boys when they were two. I just added some girly elements and it was perfect for Heidi. She was a grouch during pictures so this is best shot we got.
Blake carved his own pumpkin this year
I think he did a bang up job!
Tate wanted a "happy scary jack-o-lantern" & I think we achieved it.
Trevor was kind enough to carve Heidi's pumpkin with his own design. It looks so good.
Trick or treating
Finally a smiling picture in the duck costume
Blake looked so cute in his school costume parade.

We love Halloween!

2010-10-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

We are really in full force around here for Halloween. Our haunted house is nearly done and my boys have enjoyed helping. Heidi really loves Halloween too! Last year we had over six hundred people come through and this year we hope for more. Robbie loves putting it on and we have some great friends that help out. We never charge admission but we do take donations. Last year we actually got $82.00 in donations. That really helps offset the several hundred we poor into it every year. Oh well, we do it because we love it. If you are in the St. George Area come check us out & feel free to leave a donation!

Keep on keepin on

2010-09-27T06:23:00.001-07:00

I'm back in the game of life. Robbie had surgery just four days before my miscarriage, so it was a little miserable around here for the last couple weeks. The good news is that we are all on the mend. I guess that is what you do when life throws you curve balls. You duck and cover for a bit and then get up and dust off your pants. Anyway life is good and I feel like myself again. These guys are a really good reminder why I keep on keepin on.

Sad Day!

2010-09-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

11 week miscarriage. My body hurts, but my heart hurts more!

Indecisive

2010-09-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

I do not consider myself a very indecisive person. I am the type that makes a decision when it needs to be made and quickly moves on. There really is one and only time that I struggle to make a decision. This usually involves making a relatively large purchase of anything I really want. It really drives my husband Robbie nuts. He hates that I him-haw about something I love until it is no longer available. He usually says, "If you like it then just get it." For me it is not quite that cut and dry. I think of a thousand other things the money could be used for and end up talking myself out of it. I get this little practical side from my mother.

Anyway, I recently took a trip to Vegas for the day. When I returned home I found a sweet surprise. My thoughtful hubby had purchased me a clock I have been drooling over for a few weeks. He also had an extra surprise. I had mentioned a giant shelf I loved too and it was there waiting for me also. When I asked him why he had done this he kindly told me he knew that I would never do it for myself. I just love that guy! Sometimes it pays to be a little indecisive.Such a generous and fabulous husband!
I am still looking for the perfect Halloween Garland to finish this off.

It is hard to tell how big it is. Don't be fooled, it is almost 3ft in diameter.

"Summer Lovin... Had me a Blast!"

2010-08-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

This year I was determined to have a fun and busy Summer. Last year we really stayed local and spent a lot of time at home. I knew that I could not live through another Summer like the last. Robbie works from home full-time. It makes it really hard for him to work when kids are fighting, TV's blaring & Mom is shooshing constantly. So we decided the solution was to get out of town and occupy every other moment while in town. In June we spent the most time at home but filled it with swimming, skimboarding, movies, & lots of boating/wakeboarding. The last week in June I bravely loaded up my three hooligans and traveled 7 hours to my sister Emily's house. We stayed there for a few days and had a great time with Emily, Tim & the boys. Emily & I decided to run a 5K during the 4th of July weekend so we trained hard while I was there with her. Basically she ran my butt off!

The next adventure was a family reunion in Roosevelt, UT. It was about a 6 hour drive for us to be with my Mom's side of the family. We had a great time and they were very hospitable while we were there. This is where Emily & I ran our 5K. I finished alive....barely! Thanks Emily for really encouraging me and staying with me the whole time. I really think she could have got a better time had I not slowed her down. Nevertheless, I can cross it of my list of things I wanted to do.

After arriving home we spent the next week with Robbie's sister Kim & our nephew Trevor. I just love those two! At the close of that week we had a "Friends Reunion". Before we moved to UT we would hang out with five other couples. We would get together for parties and dinners. They are the best friends we have. Luckily four out of the five families traveled to St George for a 3 day weekend. We boated, barbequed and laughed and laughed and laughed. It was a blast. Doug & Emily were our missing couple. Can't wait to have you there next time.

After a few days of recovery I spent a few days with my Brother and his family. They were camping near Zion and I took the kids to enjoy the Virgin River with them.

Lastly we packed and zipped off to Oceanside, CA for a week. We rented a condo on the beach and had such a fun time. This is probably my very favorite vacation to date. My kids loved it and so did Robbie and I .

After getting home we hurried to do last minute school things and readied Blake to start 2nd grade. He entered school once again just yesterday. It was a whirlwind 10 weeks but sooo sooo good! Mine & Emily's boys at the Fresno Zoo.
Cooling off with some much needed ice cream.
Our family reunion. This is my side. We are just missing Merilee & her family.

This is just half of the kids we had at our "Friends Reunion".
Tate & my niece Skylar playing in the virgin River
More of the kids Tubing in the river
Daddy & Heidi with her ruffle bum swim suit
Tate looks like a penguin
Blake & Robbie
Tate & I loving the water in La Jolla
Our Peachie Pie.
Blake was a pro at boogie boarding!

I got the message people!

2010-07-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks I have had a few people kindly harass me about updating my blog. I think I am kind of over the blogging thing. I think that some of you guys are too. I rarely leave comments anymore and only check others' blogs every few weeks. So is it just me? Anyway, I have had a crazy busy Summer and I plan to update my blog with our Summer happenings when Blake starts back to school. We will see if I continue after that. As for this post.... sorry about the negative attitude. Post a comment if you think I should keep it up and enjoy a few random pics just because.

A much needed break!

2010-03-08T06:12:00.000-08:00

Just about a week ago we decided to take the kids to go skiing. Blake has been asking to go and we have really had some not-so-fun stuff going on around here. We decided this would be a good opportunity for some fun and a chance to spend a little time with just the boys. My good friend Jacque was kind enough to take Peachie for us so that we could get away for the day.

Blake wanted to snowboard, just like Dad. Tate was a little too small for boarding so we put him on skis. His skis were so cute and little. Both of the boys did amazing and we had such a good time with them. My camera died before we even hit the chair lift so these are the only shots I got. The funniest part was pulling out of the parking lot after a long day and seeing both boys doze off in literally 2 minutes. They were beat.

She's all business in the front with a party in the back!

2010-02-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

The title of this post says it all, but I have to ask the question WHY does this happen?

Back to the grind

2010-02-09T12:46:00.001-08:00

Getting back into our routine after the holidays can be a little stressful. My never ending list of things to do starts over, Blake gets back to school and sports begin again. It feels really good to be back to grind once we get through the first week or so. Blake started Basketball in Jan. He loves it and is on a good team. You can tell that his teammates love the sport as much as he does and it makes for good entertainment. This year Blake is on the same team as his best bud Payton. The season is going well and Blake has improved so much since last year. Here are a few good shots of him caught in the moment.

Ughhhh! This stupid table!

2010-01-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

When Robbie and I got married he had a new, little, black Honda Civic. It was a cute car. It was very faithful but after a few years it earned a catchy little name. It was called "Black Death". It was in 10 accidents in ten years. Anything from being backed into, rear-ended, and lots of crazy stuff like metal boxes falling from a paint truck on the freeway just in front of us. Yes we always said that we were waiting to die in it because it had such bad luck.

I am beginning to wonder if our kitchen table should take over the name "Black Death". It has now been involved in multiple accidents. All of these accidents have harmed just one person. Just about two years ago Tate tipped one of the chairs over and cut off the end of his finger, split his chin and nearly severed his tongue. Then he fell backward while strapped into his booster seat and had to be rushed to Urgent Care because he had goose eggs so big that they parted the hair. Seriously they looked just like Tom & Jerry when someone got hit with a hammer. Today is a new story. While scooting his chair back his hands slipped off the front of the table and he fell face first into the side of the table and gashed the corner of his eye. We debated about getting him stitches but decided a butterfly would take care of it.

Just like our car it is cute and dependable. Just like our car every incident has been repairable. So I am beginning to wonder, "Is it worth it to keep it? I guess I should ask Tate how he feels.

Already a year!

2010-01-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

Our precious little Peachie turned 1 on Jan. 3rd. I was so sad to see this day come. She is such a mild and sweet little baby. I just love her laid back temperament. She hit a few milestones this past week also. She had four teeth break through on top. Yep, four. And she was such a good sport about it. She also has enough hair to sport two little pig tails. They are only on the back of her head as the top hair is still too short. Still I think she looks darling. Here are a few fun pics of her birthday.

New Camera

2009-12-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas Robbie surprised me with a very unexpected gift. He was so generous to give me the new Cannon Rebel T1i digital camera. I really wanted it but never even asked because I knew it was too extravagant. Luckily my wonderful husband read my cues and got it for me anyway. Thanks Robbie I love it and I promise to put it to good use.

Here are a couple of shots that show just how awesome this camera is. I love all the detail it shows.

Feeling a little worried!

2009-12-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

Our three year old Tate is seriously starting to scare me a bit. He is the funniest kid. The things that come out of his mouth astound me sometimes. You can always tell that he is very observant.... maybe a little too observant. It started about a week or so ago. We took the kids to see Santa. We thought we would get it off our list a little early. Blake asked for typical kid stuff but Tate, on the other hand, was not typical at all. When Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas he said the craziest thing. He piped right in with a very certain, " I want a chain saw and a mask." Santa looked baffled. I knew he was wondering if he heard him right. Robbie and I just about fell over. You see this year Robbie manned the Chain saw in the haunted house. All evening Tate saw him chase countless people out with the chain saw while wearing a scary mask. We decided it was just a funny thing that we will always remember he said.

Just this week we started to worry though. It began when we took the kids to choose their Christmas ornaments this year. This is a tradition we have (I am sure many others share the same tradition) so that one day our kids will have ornaments to start their own Christmas tree. Blake's tree will no doubt be sports themed. That is what he chooses every year. Tate has a variety of things. This year we stood looking at the ornaments and he found a German Shepherd ornament he wanted. I tried to coax him into something a little more traditional. (One day I will have to answer to my boys' wives about all the crazy ornaments they are taking for their own tree.) I said, "Tate, look here is a snowman, or a this shiny bell. Oh, look Tate , here is a star." He then stood there for a moment and burst out, "Santa with a gun. I want the Santa with a gun." He was certain that this was the ornament for him. I saw the hunting Santa carrying a shotgun and found myself quickly saying, "Oh Tate how about the German Shepherd." It was too late. He was certain that the Santa with a gun was the one for him.

I am certainly hoping the whole violence thing wears off quickly. Maybe when he see that Santa brought him a shiny new bike and helmet he will realize that chain saws and guns are overrated.

December 1st

2009-12-01T06:08:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to try and do some really fun things with my kids for the holidays. I have already finished most of my Christmas shopping and stuff because I really want to focus on fun and service this holiday season. I decided to make my kids a fun advent calendar. I got this little idea and went to the dollar store to see if I could pull it off. With a little effort and time this is what I came up with. 8 feet of holiday fun. Every day my kids will get to pull a gift from a bag that coordinates with December's date. I think they are going to love it. Happy Dec. 1st!

Traditional?

2009-12-01T05:33:00.000-08:00

I grew up in a home that was very traditional. I had a great mom and dad. They have been married for 41 years. My dad always worked and supported the family while my mom stayed home and took care of the household. It was a fabulous and happy environment to grow up in. One of the best parts of my childhood was holidays and traditions. We almost always did the same thing for most holidays. The food was usually the same, the activities the same and it was so fun. My mom is pretty amazing. We celebrated every holiday including President's Day. She would post these cute cardboard pictures of our Founding Fathers on our bulletin board in the kitchen. She is the reason I love holidays.

When I married my husband I was exposed to a new environment. It felt a little foreign. I would go out of my way to do fun things for him and he would question why I was doing them. I would make him a big Easter basket and hide it. He would roll his eyes and say, "Can you just tell me where you hid it?" Then I would find that he had not even made me an Easter basket at all. At Christmas I would load his stocking with all kinds of fun stuff......... gum, toothbrushes, gadgets, CD's and just stuff. He would flounder and have to take my Sisters with him to figure out what to get for mine. Our conversations were funny about holidays. Mostly they consisted of me asking, "Didn't you ever do this on Valentines Day? Or what kinds of things did you do on the Fourth of July?" His response was usually the same thing...... "I don't know. We would just got together."

It took me years to realize that his family's traditions were completely different. At first it might seem like they had no traditions, but what I realized is that their food may change or the location or activities but the the tradition of being together was always there. Not bad, just different I guess.

Where am I going with this you might ask? Well there is one holiday Robbie and I definitely agree on. It's Thanksgiving. We really don't care much about this holiday. I like the giving thanks part but the whole turkey dinner thing is so overrated. Every year we endure a long boring day of hot crowded houses, cooking all day, football and then crowding around a table for 30 minutes to take in a pretty boring meal of Turkey and sides, just to clean it all up after. I hate it.

The last two years we have said, "NO MORE." We have had a nice quiet day at home and then loaded up in the car and headed over to our local Golden Corral Buffet. It is so nice to only spend $35.00 to feed the family and you never have to worry that the whole meal was ruined because you forgot whipped cream at the store. My kids love it. They choose fried chicken, mac-n-cheese, pizza or even turkey. It is so nice to leave with a full belly, go home and nap and later gather with friends and family for a little pie.

I know I am going to get comments left about having leftovers. Save it for someone who likes to clean leftovers out of their fridge two weeks later. It's not me. Also I do not want to hear that I must have never had an amazing turkey dinner. I have...... but I still prefer Mexican food. I guess I would just say, "You choose your traditions and I'll choose mine."

Great surprise!

2009-11-11T06:40:00.001-08:00

Today I received a package in the mail. It was so much fun and unexpected. Emily sent Heidi a gift. Some time ago she asked if Heidi could use a beanie. I said, " Yes". She really has so little hair and could use some protection from the elements this winter. Emily never said anything more about it. What fun to open our package today and find this cute little hat. The best part is that Heidi is no longer hairless. As you can see, she loved it. Thanks Aunt Emily you are awesome! By the way, Emily made this by knitting it. Seriously Emily, you have some mad skills!

Don't you just love those two little bottom teeth?

Zion

2009-11-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

Tony, Nancy & Natalie
Best buds
We are trying to encourage best friends here!

One of my very best friends came to visit us with her family this weekend. Nancy and I were best friends in Elementary School and thru High School. She recently married and then had a little girl. I was so glad that she, her husband Tony and their baby Natalie could come and visit. While here we went to Zion National Park. The leaves were turning and the weather was beautiful.

Thanks for coming Volkmanns!

Crazy Catch-Up

2009-11-04T14:10:00.000-08:00

Life has been super crazy for us the past couple of months. I know that everyone else is busy too so I do not use this as an excuse but hopefully you guys will cut me some slack when you see all that we have been up to. Let's start off with Tate's birthday. This year our little Tate turned three. We decided to take him to Disneyland. He had a great time. It drizzled on us all day but It made for small crowds and lots of fun. He had a little party at my parent's house. We ended up having a pretty good sized crowd. He got lots of gifts. Thanks everyone.

Next we went to the Farley's annual Halloween party. They are good friends and we have so much fun there. It is amazing what costumes they come up with. This year Robbie went as Ed McMahon. He wore a gold button that said Prize Patrol. I went as the new recipient to $10,000,000. It was a fun costume and felt good to walk around in my pajamas all night.

Next came our annual Haunted House. Every year it has grown bigger and bigger. Last year we realized that we needed some help. Robbie just could not pull it off without more help. Our good friends, Darrell & Penny Farley, started to help last year and this year they really helped make it amazing. We had all kinds of fun stuff this year. It was bigger and better. The line never really died down. We had characters working the line, Penny worked the entrance and a slew of friends and neighbors held down the fort inside. It was so fun to hear the screaming inside and see grown men, women and children run out. The chain saw is always good motivation to run at the end. This year we had 18 workers & Penny took a pretty accurate count of all that came through Halloween. We had over 600 people come through.

This year I swore it would be our last year for the haunted house. It took weeks to set up this year and our lives are in chaos the entire time. Unfortunately, Robbie and Darrell are already planning new things for next year. Everyone should think about coming out to visit. It is tons of fun here and there is a free haunted house you can visit.

Lastly, just a few side notes...... Kim and Trevor came out for Halloween. we had a great time with them. My kids' costumes turned out well. Blake was a knight, Tate was Robin Hood and Heidi was a flower. I also sewed my first thing from a real pattern. I usually sew things that do not need patterns, like bedding , curtains, crafts, etc. This year Darrell Farley asked me to make him a pirate coat. It was the hardest thing I have ever sewn, but it came out beautifully. I am already trying to decide what to make next.

So that should pretty much do it on the catch up.

Here are a few of the workers that night

These are the guys that worked the line & that is the pirate coat I made Darrell.

Here is the counter that says 634. Wow!

Sorry, did not mean to load this picture twice.

Part of the outside of the haunted house

The never ending line

Penny at the entrance. You can see we have a donations bucket. We only made $83.00.

Here are the kids ready to go trick or treat

I wish that was a real check!

Three year old cutie!

Blake, Tate and cousin Trevor at Disneyland

Once in a while

2009-10-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

Once in a while I come across the most amazing scenes in nature. I rarely am able or care to catch these on my camera. I am not really an outdoorsy kind of girl. I don't really like to get dirty or sweaty and I have terrible allergies. I do appreciate the beauty that nature has to offer. I enjoy a nice walk around the neighborhood or a liesurely bike ride with my kids but you will not see me wearing a backpack or those crazy Tree-Hugger sandals. You know the ones.... Tevas with all the crazy straps. Anyway, October in St George is the most beautiful month of the year. Once I take a good dose of Claritan I cannot help but to migrate outdoors. This year has been no exception. It is so nice here right now. I was outside with the boys and the sky did something amazing. Maybe it is the crisp, cool weather or the joy I feel knowing that Summer is over, but I had to get a picture of this beautiful scene. Minutes after I took the picture this was gone and I am so happy I captured that moment. It almost made me consider buying a backpack and some hiking sandals. Almost.

Wikawish

2009-10-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I gave our little Peachie (our nickname for Heidi) a piece of licorice. She loved it. It happened to be at a time when she was cutting her two bottom teeth and it must have felt great because she gnawed away. After a few minutes I had to take it away because it was getting too chewed up on the end. I was afraid a piece would come off and she could choke. Heidi is such a sweet happy baby that rarely cries or complains about anything...... except when you take away her licorice. She came unglued and I found myself scrambling to get her a new piece. I guess the moral of this post is "Don't mess with a girl and her wikawish."

I think we need a little lesson in modesty here.

2009-08-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Blake needs a serious lesson in being modest. He was born with this natural confidence . I know that that can be a great thing for kids, I just really worry that he will get a little too full of himself. So the other day we were on the boat and I told him to do his back flip. I counted down expecting him to just jump and then we got this cocky moment of commentary. It is a little hard to understand what he is saying so let me narrate it for you. He said, " Hey, I am Blake and watch my cool move." Then he jumps and comes up. His next comment is, " And that's my cool trick." I think it is definitely time to have a discussion with him about being modest.

In his defense, I will say that most six year olds don't usually do backflips. Funny kid!

THOUGH

2009-08-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

Tate is only two but has recently added a new & unusual word to his vocabulary. The word is not really that unusual but seems odd to hear it from such a little guy. You probably guessed from the title that the word is "though". He is uses it all the time and it cracks me up. He actually does not say it quite right and it sounds more like dough. Here are some examples: I tell Tate that he cannot have another snack and he says, "But I am hungry, dough." I ask him to buckle his seat and he says, "I am too little, dough." I tell him to get his shoes so we can go and I hear, "I can't find them, dough." All day long it is though, though, though. This one little word has been a good reminder of why I love motherhood. Sometimes I feel like I just may lose my mind but then I am simply reminded that I love it, "dough".

Staycation

2009-08-13T20:56:00.001-07:00

This year we decided to lay low for the summer. It is kind of hard to travel with a baby so we just decided to stay home. I really thought this Summer was going to just drag but then the calls came. Three of my siblings called and asked to come visit in the month of July & early Aug. We also got a call from Robbie's sister for the Fourth of July. Needless to say, I knew July would be busy. I really think we may have given new meaning to the term "Staycation". Here are many shots of our fun!

We went hiking at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
We all wore athletic shoes to hike so I thought it fitting that Heidi wore some too. A quick shout out to my friend Jen who bought these little cuties for her!
My good friend Jill came to see us with her little sweetie Hannah
Emily & Henry enjoying the boat
Owen felt right at home on the lake
My nephew Tristan became an amazing wakeboarder in just two short days
Cousins Caleb, Tate & Tristan
My sister-in-law Sharli & Tristan
Skylar & Blake loved the tube. She is ready to go & he is just relaxing.
Lincoln & Blake getting ready to set off fireworks for the 24th of July
Merilee and her youngest Alex

Girl Crazy

2009-07-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am afraid of what will happen if I have another baby.

look at all that red. I seriously need to get back to my hairdresser.

Remember when you were in grade school and you would pull out a single hair from one of your friend's head? Then you would pull it through your fingernails and see if it would curl. It always did..... and then you would tell your friend that she was boy crazy. Well something crazy is going on with my hair. I think I must be girl crazy! Shortly after Heidi was born I noticed some changes to my hair. I tried to put it aside as though it was not happening but then I went to hair hairdresser and she confirmed it. She said, "Susanna, your hair is growing in curly." I was hoping it had been my imagination. I am not trying to upset any of you with curly hair, I just really liked having straight blond hair. It's my piece of permanent high school. To add a little insult to injury I also noticed it had darkened to a crazy shade of light red. RED? OK, now this is just getting bad. Once again I don't want to offend any of you curly redheads. I just liked the old me.

Most days I try to blow out the loose curl or tight wave (whatever you want to call it). On days that I don't have time I put it up in a pony tail. Today I decided to embrace the wave and added a few curls to my new mop. It looks OK but I am sure that tomorrow I will be cursing it again.

"Girl Crazy"? Yes I would say so. Thank you Heidi for changing my hormones to produce curly red hair and introducing me to the world of bows, pink, and sweet little girlie things.

Hot Bed

2009-07-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

We call our guest bed a "hot bed". I know what you are thinking but it does see a lot of action. We joke that it never cools down. When we moved to St George four years ago we begged people to come visit and boy did they? It seems that St George is the perfect stopover. I loved having all the company for the first year or so. Then I got really tired of changing the sheets and cleaning the bathroom every few days (or so it felt). Year two and three here were a little slower on the company. I have to be honest, it was a nice break. Sometimes I would not even go in the guest bedroom for several days at a time. It seemed that I only went in to occasionally scrub the toilet or hide Christmas presents.

This last year has been pretty busy again. July will be no exception. It started with Robbie's sister Kim, nephew Trevor and Kim's neice Stevie. They came out to visit for the fourth of July. Next week Merilee will be visiting, then Chad & his family for the weekend of the 24th. Lastly, Emily & Tim are coming to see us right at the end of the month and beginning of Aug. I have to say that I have enjoyed having company again.

So if you are planning a trip anywhere north of here and need a stopover let us know. We have a fabulous "hot bed" with your name on it. My only rule is to stay out of the closet......I may have hidden a wonderful Christmas present in there for you!

The whole gang at Pine Valley Reservoir

Just before we went to the neighborhood barbeque & fireworks

Trevor, Blake and Peachy. Isn't her bow enormous? I wish she had some hair
Tate hating, I mean enjoying, the fireworks

In just one year?

2009-06-13T17:35:00.001-07:00

Recently I was looking at old Pictures. I was shocked when I came across a picture of Tate just one year ago. He was blonde. Not just a little blonde but really blonde. I knew his hair had darkened a little, but I did not realize it had darkened that much. I guess he will be like his dad and have brown hair. It makes me a little sad to see the blonde go.

On a side note.... Isn't the view from our front yard beautiful?

This is all I could come up with.

2009-05-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Life has been pretty busy lately. I have kept my mind open to new things I could post on my blog. I just don't have anything funny or interesting to share. Shoot..... I must have Bloggers Block. Anyway, just to give some kind of update I decided to post some new pictures of Heidi. These were taken about a month ago for her three month pics. Sorry once again to overwhelm you with baby stuff. Hopefully life will get interesting soon. Still I think these shots came out pretty cute.

The kids are trying to tell me something!

2009-05-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

The boys have been asking me when we can start swimming and going out on the boat. Today they really tried to send the message that they are ready for Summer!

Me??? A Grown-Up?

2009-05-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty responsible for a while. I have paid many years of rent or my mortgage on time. I adopted a child with my wonderful husband and successfully endured fertility treatments for two more. I have carried the title Mom for six years. Managing our business finances and doing our taxes can also be added to this list. Paying car insurance, cleaning our home, serving in many callings at church and putting away my shopping carts are all things I do regularly to be responsible. The funny thing about all of this is that I have never really felt like much of a grown up.

THEN IT HAPPENED! I decided to start a garden. THAT WAS IT. The defining moment when I acknowledged that I in fact am a grown up. I have never had much desire to have a garden. It seems like a lot of work and let's not forget how hot it can be here in the Summer. However, I have had a nagging feeling to get one started this year. So with a lot of help from my wonderful Dad I am doing it. I can only pray it will yield something wonderful.

By the way, Robbie helped a lot too. He grumbled quite a bit also. He is so wonderful and I will make sure I remind him how much I appreciated his help when we eat fabulous, fresh treats from the garden. Maybe then he will apologize for all the complaining.

Do you think Tate took a good nap today?

2009-04-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

The hair says it all.

Heidiheimer

2009-04-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

I know that I promised not to make this blog all about my family. I really try to add funny stories and complaints about my life. Today though, I have to put up more pictures of my little Heidi. She is so cute and sweet. She is three months old. She loves to slurp her long fingers, smile and coo. She is a gem of a baby and a perfect tag-a-long. I love having this little girl!

Snuggle Bug

Sacked Out!

Sweetie Pie

Sucking on her super long fingers

Why does this happen to girls? It's just wrong!

She looks so much like Robbie in this picture. Notice the widow's peak?

Not a "Happy Camper"

2009-04-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

Mindy wrote a little about this on her blog, but I thought I would write of my tales too.

A few months ago Robbie confronted me and asked about going camping with my family to Glamis, CA. I really do not like camping. It must be one of my human flaws because it seems like I am the only one in the world that hates it. Anyway, he gave me a big presentation about how we could rent a motorhome (especially since the baby was only 2 1/2 months then) and we would have a great time. I was really reluctant. Robbie has an ATV, and it is fun, but I just don't like all the hassle and dirt. Anyway, after a little prodding he convinced me. We decided to rent our motorhome in Vegas because it was so much cheaper. After loading up we drove our crazy, grandma smelling, rattletrap more than four hours to a place in the middle of nowhere. I was shocked that we camped three feet off the side of a busy road. This made for three days of a constant sinking fear that Tate would cross behind the motorhome and get hit by a truck flying down the road. The other sinking feeling came from the fear that one of my children would be run over by a quad, sandrail or buggy. Tate is so busy and he really kept us on our toes for three straight days.

The second full day we were there Mindy and I decided to ditch our fears and take our children away from harm to the closest town. It was a scary place called El Centro. The town was not too bad, but the parks were very scary. It took us a while to even find a park we would consider allowing our children to play at. Then the fear kicked up again. It was different though. Used needles & predators took the place of quads.

The last straw came when we returned to camp to find a huge sand storm. That was it. The group collectively decided to pack up a day early. I was so glad to be heading home. I could not wait to take a long hot shower and sleep in my own bed. We rattletrapped our way back to Vegas. We dumped all of our tanks in the motorhome in preparation to return it. We pulled into the rental lot and were shocked to find that they were closed. Apparently they are not open on Sunday. Robbie and I just about broke down in tears together. What were we going to do. We had a place to sleep, but could not use the bathroom unless we refilled our tank. Then we would have to find a place to dump them again. Luckily one of our dearest friends lives in vegas. She let us park and sleep in her driveway. We also used her restroom and took fabulous showers Thanks Jill and Don!

On a good note... we enjoyed spending time with our family and are happy to be home.

The beginning of the trip in our rented motorhome
Hanging out at our campsite
Blake is in absolute heaven (I love this picture)
Heidi, just along for the ride
I think they were saying, "Mom let's blow this joint!"
So happy to be leaving early!
Almost blown away. Thank goodness for my big hiney!

This is how we all felt at the end of the trip. Thank you for summing it up for us Tate.

What's the problem?

2009-03-12T20:23:00.001-07:00

I just thought I would throw this on my blog. Robbie has been out of town for a few days on business. Tonight I felt overwhelmed and tired. This gave me a good laugh and helped me get through until bedtime. For a moment I actually considered leaving him there.

Don't you just love the dollar store?

2009-03-06T13:34:00.000-08:00

Today Blake asked if I would take him to the dollar store so that he could spend a dollar he had found. I happily agreed. I knew it would break up our day a little, make him very happy and it would not affect my budget by even a dollar. After Tate was down for a nap we set out. He was so funny and cute looking at every item. He took spending his dollar far more serious than he ever has spending my money. Anyway, he happily thanked me on the way home for the best day ever. Who knew a fake gold, plastic, pimp necklace could make a kid so happy?

Heidi's Baby blessing

2009-03-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

Sunday March 1st was Heidi's baby blessing. We had a really great time. Robbie gave Heidi a beautiful blessing and we had a lot of family and friends there. My mom made Heidi's dress. I pretty much gave her full creative control. She did such a beautiful job. I felt a little emotional with the surprise of a beautiful H embroidered on the front. Thank you Mom. It will be treasured by her I am sure.

It was also Kim's birthday this weekend and we had a little party for her. A big thank you for all of the support from our family and friends. Here are some pictures of our weekend. I have tons thanks to my friend Katie (thanks).

Robbie had a rough morning. You can see he is not very happy in this picture.

Two great friends...Trina and Marcy

Close friends Jen and Kevin

Great friends.... Arlene, Jacque and Bart

The H on Heidi's dress

Grandma Packard and Heidi

Papa, Grandma Judy and Heidi

Pretty girl

Me with my 3 hooligans

Grandma Judy and Tate

Kim's 39th, Uh I mean 29th birthday

Trevor and Blake

You asked for it

2009-02-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

I have had several requests for more pictures of Heidi. She is getting so big. She is now smiling and has gotten a little chunk on her. Here are some fun shots.

Sweet Girl

Valentine Cutie

Chunk-A-Munk

One of her first smiles

Blue eyed Beauty

The Grizzlies AKA the "Underdogs"

2009-02-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

Blake started his first year of basketball a few weeks ago. He was assigned to the Grizzlies team and was really excited to play. He loves sports and he is pretty athletic. Everyone on his team is six and they play against others teams the same age. After Blake's first game it was clear that the Grizzlies had some challenges ahead.

There are seven kids on the team. Blake is by far the shortest kid, but he is a pretty good dribbler and hustler. He has also made a few baskets. There are also two darling girls that are really good. They usually score all the points. That leaves the extremely passive twins, the boy that puts his shirt over his head and spins in circles in the middle of the court and the poor kid that wears glasses except during games because is parents don't want them broken. The poor kid shot the ball at the door instead of the basket during the last game. He is as blind as a bat.

Robbie helps coach and is so frustrated. Another thing that is stacked against them is our little Blake. He wants all the glory and has a hard time passing the ball. It usually means he is shooting a lot of "air balls". All I can say is Heaven help the Grizzlies and "Blake, pass the ball!"

Happy Goodbyes, Gross Baby, The Itchies and Cold Showers

2009-01-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here's an update of things lately:

Goodbye, good riddens & we did love you (at first)

Happy Goodbyes: I really had to get real with myself. I cannot manage three kids and a dog. I am sad to say that I just could not make it work. Someone always ended up left out and that was Charlotte. She was a good puppy and I could see her potential, but I just did not have the time to give to her. Unfortunately I had to make the difficult call to the original owners and say, "Sorry, I just can not give her what she needs." So yesterday Robbie loaded her up and drove her back. You are a sweet dog Charlotte but I will not miss the dog hair, poop on my kids shoes, or the barking. I know she will be happy where she went because they let animals on their furniture and we never do.

Heidi waving to all of her fans

Sweet baby sister

She is getting so big. 7lbs and growing

Heidi's first bath

Gross Baby: Heidi had her first real bath this week. I always love when they get their first real bath because it means that their umbilical cord has come off. I hate the umbilical cord. It really grosses me out. I am not one put off by gore. I love watching surgeries and medical stuff, but for some reason I cannot do the brown yucky goo that comes when it is starting to get loose. I always try to convince the Doctor to take care of it for me. So anyway, it is gone and my sweet baby is gross no longer.

I know this does not look too bad, but this is four days after the test.

The Itchies: Blake has had to have two sets of tubes in his ears in the past year and a half. The doctor decided it must have to do with allergies. I know Blake has allergies. He suffers the same time I suffer. I just had no idea how bad his allergies are. This last week he had allergy testing and came back allergic to just about everything. The good news is that none are life threatening, just very miserable. Poor kid.

Mr. Tirade- After he bit his sister.

Mr. Happy- What a nice big brother.

Cold Showers: Tate has become unbearable. I know I mentioned this before, but I have to give an update. One minute he is Mr. Happy and the next he is Mr. Tirade. There really is no in-between for him. While things have gotten a little better he still has his moments of absolute misery (especially for Robbie and I). I could not find a way to solve the problem. I found myself tip toeing around him to avoid any sort of fit throwing from him. Then I remembered something my sister told me. She said that when her kids got out of control she would throw them in a cold shower, clothes and all. I remember thinking it cruel at the time, but now it seemed my only option. Nothing else was working. Well let me tell you, IT WORKS. Tate hated it. The first time he would not stay in his bed at nap time, the next time he bit the baby's ear. Since last week he has had four cold showers and boy has he shaped up. He is still Tate, but just the threat of a cold shower gets him back to Mr. Happy really fast. The best part is that it is guilt free. I don't have to spank and it does not leave a mark. Ok, maybe an emotional scar, but nobody sees that! Thank you for the good advice Mindy.

Baby Blues or Grandma Blues?

2009-01-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

It has now been six days out from Heidi's birth. Boy have they seemed challenging. I was very fearful of becoming a parent of three. I thought it would be overwhelming and boy was I right. I have had moments of shear madness as I have tried to put some normal life back in place. The first obstacle is our little two-year-old Tate. He has been very difficult since he turned two and worse since the baby came home. I expected this would happen, but it is still hard. Also, I have suffered from some crazy back pain that makes it difficult to walk. I went to see a chiropractor yesterday and I am praying it will get better soon.

As for the baby, she is sleeping fabulously and is really such an easy baby. I am really enjoying her and I never thought I would enjoy pink so much.

So here comes the real question. Why did I find myself crying today? Is it the baby blues or because my mom left today? I never had one spec of baby blues after Tate was born. He was a terrible sleeper and we even struggled with breast feeding those first couple of weeks. Somehow I still felt emotionally stable. This week I have found myself holding back tears for silly things. I am trying to tell myself that it is just circumstantial. Probably because my back hurts, Tate is trying to drive me insane and Blake got a cold the day the baby was born.

Anyway, I hope it passes. Just a quick shout out to my mom. She was so amazing. She took care of the house, helped with laundry, took a morning shift with the baby, dinner, dishes, babysat and even helped coach me through labor. You name it, she did it. Thanks Mom! I love you and appreciate you!

More of our Heidi Girl

2009-01-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

Baby Heidi has been evicted

2009-01-04T18:06:00.000-08:00

Finally our new little girl has joined her proper place in the world. Yesterday I was induced at 12:00pm and delivered Heidi Ranae at 6:53pm. I am so glad to have her here. It was an interesting delivery as I chose to deliver naturally. I had an epidural with Tate's delivery and had some complications. I decided this time I would try to see how long I could go without drugs with the hope that maybe I could deliver drug-free. Holy Moley, it was the hardest thing I have ever done. I am still overwhelmed and cannot say I would do it again. I think I need a few years to recover. The good news is that I feel really great.

As for the baby, she was 6lbs 14oz and 18 1/4 inches long. Basically she is this little package of chub. She is doing well and nursing well. I look at her and cannot find an ounce of resemblance. Hopefully that will come. Either way I just love those chubby cheeks. Here are some shots of our day. By the way, if I am holding up fingers in a picture it shows how many centimeters I was at the time. Enjoy!

I think I am going to die pregnant!

2008-12-29T14:21:00.000-08:00

I decided it was time to post something new. I had hoped the next post would be about the birth of baby no. 3 however that seems that it may never happen. Three weeks ago I went to my regular prenatal visit and my doctor informed me that I was 2 centimeters dilated. I was so excited. I have always felt that this baby would probably come early and here was my emerging proof. The next week I found out that I was dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced. I thought, "Wahoo, here comes baby." Unfortunately it has not happened. I am still dilated to 3 and 50% effaced for the third week in a row. I guess that it is really common for women to dilate early and then stay like that for weeks on pregnancies after their first.

I am so tired and ready to have this baby. I have tried just about everything to go into labor. I have walked, had accupressure, and every other wives tale out there with the exception of castor oil (I do have my limits). I have come to the conclusion that they are all just wives tales and nothing more. Today my doctor pretty much confirmed that he expected to see me no sooner than my induction date on Sat. Jan. 3rd. I feel defeat. I wanted to go into labor on my own and before the end of the new year. We could really use the tax credit and my body could use the break. So I guess that is enough belly aching. The good news is that I must not have lost all hope because I still find myself pleading for my water to break every time I put on my shoes. I guess there is still a chance.

The Mall Santa may be overrated

2008-12-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

Today Robbie and I planned to take the kids to see Santa. I dreaded hauling my kids and my 36 1/2 week pregnant body down to stand in line for an hour and pay an outrageous price for a picture with the Jolly, Fat Guy. It's Christmas time, though, and that's what parents do. Right?

So early this morning Robbie ran to the local grocery store for some fresh breakfast donuts. As he was leaving he spotted a Santa display. Santa was saying hi to the early shoppers and handing out donuts and chocolate milk. Robbie was quick on his feet and promptly asked how long he would be there. Then he hurried home and we loaded the kids to go see him. Blake did say that he was a nice Santa but he thought he might also be a "fake Santa". Oh well. I took my own camera, saved myself $35.00 and now the rest of the day is mine. Aside from the shopping carts in the background I think it's a cute picture. Hurray for the grocery store Santa!

Pink Overload...but soooo fun!

2008-11-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

This last week has been a busy one in our home. Robbie had surgery Monday the 24th for a hernia and so he had to help me get lots of unfinished business resolved before he went under the knife. He was so busy... poor guy. One of his projects was to paint the baby's nursery. I really wanted stripes and he really did not want to do all of the work, but eventually he conceded. He painted for days and he did such a nice job. In the end the room is a little shocking but so cute. Mindy said she felt like it looked like a candy store. I think it is a perfect description. With the exception of some pictures and curtains it is done. We did pink on pink stripes with a small green pin stripe. What do you think???

Lesson learned? Probably not!

2008-11-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

The other day Blake and I went out to run some errands. We had three stops and one of them was to Home Depot. That was our longest because we had to pick out three paint colors and then wait for them to be mixed. Blake was amazing. He was a great sidekick and was so well behaved. I really enjoyed his company.

Later that evening I noticed he was hiding something in his pocket. It turns out that he swiped a small tape measure on a key chain from Home Depot. I was so mad. I just kept thinking, "Dang it, my kid's a thief!" I immediately sent him to his room and told him that after school tomorrow he would be returning it and telling them what he did. Blake was very distraught over this. My heart even went out to him as he lamented what would happen to him. He must have cried for two hours straight. He just kept saying things like, "I wish I did not seal this." "Mom what are they going to do to me?" and "Please Mom, can we keep this a secret?"

The next day he acted like nothing was wrong, but I could tell he was worried. I knew he secretly wished I would forget. As soon as school was out we headed to Home Depot. Blake was worried. As we walked in we found an old woman at the service desk. He tearfully told the woman that he had taken the tape measure and that he was very sorry. I found myself very choked up over the issue and had a hard time holding back the tears. The woman was kind and told Blake that she was glad he made the right choice to return the item and that she was glad he was so honest. I felt my heart swell because I knew a lesson would be learned, but then she dropped a bombshell. She knelt down in front of him and said, "You are such a good boy, let's get you a balloon."

WHAT? A BALLOON? I was so shocked I couldn't even hardly respond. A few moments later I watched my little thief skip across the parking lot with his big red balloon. I was steaming hot. Why did she do that? Didn't she ever have kids. That was a defining teaching moment for me and she pissed it away. I am still so mad. I tried to figure out why I did not say, "No. He doesn't deserve it." I guess I was still a little choked up and so shocked that I just froze. Anyway, I bet he steals again. Wouldn't you? Especially if some nice woman told you how good you are and handed you a prize. AAAARRRGH!

A Big Pink Party!

2008-11-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

My sister Mindy was so good to throw me a shower yesterday. I felt a little silly having a shower because I had one with each of my boys. It just didn't seem right and maybe a little greedy. After some good convincing and looking at an empty closet I decided maybe this was a matter of necessity. I have had a really hard time shopping for baby girl clothes. Everyone thinks that sounds so weird, but it's true. I stand and look at something for a minute & think, "Is that cute?" I guess I am just used to shopping for boys. Ultimately I end up leaving empty handed. This has happened time and time again. With the exception of few good finds, I had very little for this baby.

Anyway, I really appreciate Mindy's generosity in having a little shindig for me and I got a lot of great gifts. I think that I may be pretty close to ready. Thanks to all of my friends that came. Here are a few pics. By the way, our next project is the nursery.

You're Mean Mom!

2008-10-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

So the other day I caught Tate sitting on the kitchen counter. This is so common. I pull him down about twenty times a day. It just so happens that this day he turned to me and said the funniest thing. He said, "You're mean , mom." This is a phrase that he picked up from his older brother. At first I thought it was so funny and cute. Now I hate it. Tate repeats it nonstop when he is upset. Today I caught it on video and I thought I would share.

I love Halloween!

2008-10-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

Robbie and I love Halloween. It is our favorite holiday. Every year we put on a haunted house in our garage for anyone interested to come. Last year we had more than three hundred people come through. I will be sure to post some pictures of it after Halloween.

As for the boys, we took them to get pictures and also Tate's two year old photos. Tate is wearing the duck that Blake wore when he was two. It was just too cute to not use again. Blake is a viking and it took a lot of convincing for this costume to work. Eventually he caved in when I told him he could have big muscles and sword. Here they are.

Tate turned two!

2008-10-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Oct. 14th) our little Tate turned two. We had a good day together. He helped me bake his birthday cake and he picked out his ice cream. Tate is such a little character and he is so fun. Here are some shots of his fun day. Happy Birthday baby!

I'm Alive!

2008-10-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

So after several weeks I am finally going to post something new. My life has been crazy busy the past two months and there were moments that I wondered if I would make it through. I am so glad to say that I AM STILL ALIVE! We have been traveling quite a bit through Sept. and Oct.

We went to CA for a baptism, Vegas for our anniversary and then to CA for my best friend's wedding. All while this was happening we decided to renovate our home.

We built our home three years ago and at the time we really wanted wood floors. Alas, our builder talked us out of it. After three years of trying to keep grout and carpet clean we decided we had enough. So, we pulled up carpet and jackhammered tile until we were covered in eight inches of dust. I thought I was in Hell every time I walked through the doors. The grime had me climbing the walls. I just wanted my life back to normal. Anyway, enough complaining. It's finally done! I am so happy to be back to normal. So what do you think?

IT'S A GIRL!!!! Maybe

2008-09-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

So we finally had our ultrasound a week ago. It seemed so late since I am 22 weeks along. Anyway, the baby was in a great position...bottom up. The pictures looked pretty clear that it is a girl. Our doctor is a fabulous man, but he will never give more than 95% certainty when it comes girls.

The maybe part comes in because this same doctor told us that we were having a girl two years ago. Later we ended up with our little Tate. So much for 95%. In our doctor's defense, Tate was in a lousy position and he did say that it looked like the umbilical cord was between Tate's legs. Ends up it was more than an umbilical cord.

Today we celebrate a girl, though! We are very excited but we promised ourselves not to go overboard this time. No painting the nursery until we know for sure.

Fun at the lake

2008-08-30T11:51:00.001-07:00

It dawned on me that I have never posted pictures of our family at the lake. We go just about once a week all summer long. We love being out on the water and so do our kids. Here are some fun shots from our trip this week.

By the way, everyone is welcome to come visit and go out with us. You just have to get to St George!

Blake started wakeboarding last year when he was four. Now he thinks he is a pro. I love to watch him. It cracks me up when he tries to do tricks. He is pretty much a daredevil.

Robbie still loves Wakeboarding. Here he is pulling off some big air. He has almost mastered his back roll also. It is pretty impressive

We Recently bought a new boat. After a long struggle we decided on the name Wakenheimer. Some may ask why? Well, since our boys have similar nicknames we felt it was fitting. Here is a picture of Blakenheimer and Tatenheimer sitting on the Wakenheimer.

Blake started Kindergarten!

2008-08-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

My cute little Blake is finally in Kindergarten. He just started last week and I am loving the half day break. He is loving it too. Hooray for school! Here is a picture of him on his first day. By the way, I didn't even cry when I dropped him off. I laughed and cheered all the way back to my car!

What was I thinking?

2008-08-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

So here I am just trying to keep my head above water. After recovering from a miserable first trimester, Robbie's surgery and a long bout of two year old molars I prayed for one thing........a good nights rest. It seems elusive though, because just after Robbie was finally able to lift our little Tate (which means he can get up with him at night) I made the worst decision ever. I convinced Robbie to get a puppy. WHAT WAS I THINKING? Every night I find myself standing under the stars at 1:00am, 3:00am and 5:00am hoping our new dog Charlotte will hurry and pee so I can get back in bed.

The good news is that she is a sweet dog with a great personality. She is a four month old lab hound mix and really cute. She is doing well with the potty training and needs a quick lesson in sleeping through the night. Overall I am glad she is here except at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00.

Pray for me to get a little sleep before I have a brand new baby waking me also.

My kids are cracking me up today!

2008-07-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

Today I have been really amused by my children. Maybe it just seems like an extra good day. I feel great and my house is finally clean. Maybe it's just that my kids are darn funny!

This morning I found Tate sitting in Daddy's chair with his headset and phone. I thought it was such a cute picture because he was totally naked. He had just gotten out of the bath and he snuck off while I was getting his outfit. If only Robbie worked like this. It would make my day a lot more interesting!

Moments after I found Tate and managed to get him dressed I found Blake strapped into his wakeboard practicing his "new tricks". I laughed because he had his vest but forgot one key piece of clothing....his shorts.

Sorry for the delay...life got in the way!

2008-07-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I last posted anything. I have had a few things on my plate. The biggest is that Robbie had emergency surgery. It was a crazy week and fourth of July holiday. He had not been feeling good for a few days and went to the doctor for some tests. Wednesday July 2nd his doctor called at 4:30pm and said, " Go straight to the hospital. A surgeon is waiting for you." We were shocked and by 11:00 that evening he went in to have a rare condition called a Urachal Cyst removed from his abdomen. All is well now. He still has a large, deep wound that must heal from the inside out, but overall he is getting around OK. Last week they fitted him with a $40,000 machine that is his 24 hour companion for the next few weeks. It is called a Wound Vac. It has a crazy suction cup that attaches to his open wound and helps cut the healing process in half. The best part is that it makes burping or gassy noises all day. I give him a hard time and call it his "tooty man bag".

During this ordeal we had company in town and just said goodbye to them after a 3 week visit. I think I am also through the worst of my morning sickness. I have not thrown up in over a week! Yeah! All seems to be settling down.

Here is a picture of Robbie with his crazy man bag. By the way, the wound is the size of the black circle in the middle of his belly.

Uuuhhmm......Excuse me, I have an announcement to make

2008-06-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

After eight long months of miserable fertility treatments I am so happy to say that it is over. Now I find myself bent over the toilet thinking, "I bet I am just glowing." I am 12 weeks pregnant and the end of this pregnancy does not feel like it can come fast enough. I was not sick even one day with Tate, so this is a little new and miserable. Hopefully the yuckies will be over soon.

My first ultrasound picture did not come out so well, so you will just have to use your imagination. Anyway, we are happy and excited. January 7th here we come!

Mr. Tate

2008-05-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

It dawned on me that I have not written much about my little Tate. He is our miracle baby. The one we never thought was possible. He is also very sensitive, impatient and accident prone. In February of this year we returned home from the ER after he received ten stitches in his chin and the doctors reattached a portion of his middle finger. Yep, he cut it clean off.

While Blake challenges & entertains me, Tate is going to put me in the grave. He has tumbled down a large flight of stairs, fallen from just about every surface he can climb and he still forgets that you cannot walk behind kids while they are swinging. He hates to get haircuts and loves to snuggle. He is a true "Momma's Boy" and I love every minute of it.

Lighten Up Susanna!

2008-05-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

Some days I sit and wonder why I am Blake's mom. We are very different. I am a "Rule Follower". I don't like to cause a scene or be the center of negative attention. I hate when others break the rules also. So here I am everyday watching my funny Blake breaking all the rules. I wonder what is going on in his head. I imagine it sounds something like this, "I wonder what Mom will do if I just try this one time?" It drives me crazy. Then I remember how certain I am that he is my child. He was sent to be mine without a shadow of a doubt. I can only imagine Heavenly Father sent him to me with the thought, "Lighten Up , Susanna!"

The following are of few of his most recent rule breaking antics. He is so funny!

2008-05-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

Blake kept spraying this little boy in the face at our local splash pad. I finally had to intervene and the crazy kid sprayed me. I was so mad!

2008-05-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

At Blake's Pre-school graduation they sang lots of cute songs with coordinating movements. Blake decided to improvise with a little air guitar.

2008-05-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

At T-ball pictures the photographer reminder the children about ten times that it was not OK to make silly faces or put up bunny ears. At the last second, one little kid just could not resist. Can you guess which one is mine?

2008-05-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Smorgasbord!

2008-05-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

So here are a few things that have happened in the last couple of weeks. I have included a series of pictures and a condensed explanation of them all.

*I took Blake in to get his Kindergarten physical. He was great for the entire exam until they pulled out the four shots he had to get. He became a different child. Picture this: A strong five year fighting a nurse and his mom, kicking, screaming and then a 1 year terrified by the commotion begins whaling. It was the funniest minute of my life until I saw the terrified faces in the waiting room. It must have sounded like a horror movie. Oh well.... Kindergarten here we come!

* Robbie and I just took a long weekend to Kentucky. My parents went too and we had a great time. It is so beautiful there. Land is cheap, and we may buy some lakefront property. Why Kentucky you ask? Who knows! It just seems like a good idea. While there we saw some great things. One of those was Lincoln's birthplace. We also saw the most amazing countryside. Oh and let's not forget that in Kentucky they are called "speed humps" as opposed to the western version of "speed bumps".

* Also while in Kentucky, we had a chance to stay with my cousin Wade and his wife Nancy. They live in a beautiful home in Lexington. We were charmed by their four darling kids and their wonderful hospitality. Thanks again Powell Family!

So That's it!

T-ball Free-For-All

2008-04-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

Blake started T-ball a few weeks ago and he is so funny. I thought I would write a little about the silly things we have encountered. Last week we had his third game. I can tell he is starting to understand the basics of the game, but he surely does not get appropriate behavior. We felt like he wasn't aggressive enough in the field and so before the game we had a big talk with him about going after the ball. Big Mistake. It turns out we should have explained ourselves better. The entire game he ran after everything. Sometimes he ran all the way from Left Field to Right Field just to get the ball. He even cut off the runner from the other team at second base just trying to cross the field for the ball. We laughed at first, but it got old after a little while.

The next antic we experienced was him running to base. He thought it would be funny to make a silly face and stick out his tongue to the following batter as they approached his base. At the last second he would then run to his next base. The entire game was filled with one phrase....."Run Blake!" At the end of the day the other parents got a good laugh. On a positive note, he looks so cute in his uniform. GO DODGERS!

Birthday Bash

2008-04-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

So my birthday recently passed and I have to say that it was a doosey! I turned a fabulous 31 and I had a great party. Earlier that week Robbie asked me what gift I wanted. He followed that with a casual, "Just figure it out and go get it for yourself." I was a little upset. For the last several years I have just figured out what I wanted and gone to buy it. I was determined that this year would be different. So after stewing over this dilema for a few hours I decided Robbie needed to know. I simply called him from my cell phone and said, "This year I would like you to take our two children out to a store and buy me a real birthday gift. I would like it wrapped in birthday paper, so I actually have something to unwrap. I plan to wear the Birthday Hat and, oh by the way, you are making dinner." After a few quiet seconds Robbie said, "I really have to do all that?" "Yes!" was my response.

The day was great. Dinner was delicious and I wore the birthday hat while I opened a cute pair of Roxy flip flops and a gift card to my favorite home decor store. Good job Robbie! Sometimes you just have to spell it out to get what you want!

Are you kidding me?

2008-04-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

After church today we went straight home and put Tate (our 18 month old) down for a nap. It was so nice to have a little peace since he refused to attend Nursery earlier, and church was spent in the halls. Robbie and I were happily preparing lunch when we heard a door open. Suddenly we heard the pitter patter of little feet. I was horror struck to see my little Tate smiling up at me. HE CLIMBED OUT OF HIS CRIB! My 5 yr old never ever did that, so I was shocked and dismayed. My freedom is gone! I immediately sat down at the computer to order a crib tent, but I found that they will not fit my style of crib. So, now we pray that he stays in his crib all night. We'll see....

I added a little video just for your viewing pleasure.