The Yancey Family

A silver lining

2012-01-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

Maren is a daddy's girl. When daddy is home she wants absolutely nothing to do with me. Today was no exception. She cried several times and would not allow me to hold her and comfort her, only daddy. Only daddy could push the grocery cart. Only daddy could help her get a snack. Only daddy could change her stinky diaper (I was okay with that one). Only mommy gives baths though. Tonight while Maren was in the bath happily singing and playing, she looked up at me and said "I love you mommy!" She's never said that before. It's moments like this that make it worth it. She may be daddy's girl, but she loves me too!

Will it ever end?

2012-01-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

If you remember my post about blessings, we've had a lot of things break around here. Well, it hasn't stopped yet. Our ice maker broke again. We replaced it 9 months ago. Now our toilet has broken. I'm not just talking about the seat, the base of the toilet has cracked and is slowly leaking. Our weekend plans now include replacing a toilet. Exciting huh? Oh the joys of being a homeowner. I'm crossing my fingers that this is it.

The end of an era

2012-01-13T12:25:00.000-08:00

My first license (I was 18 when the picture was taken)

This was my last license (pic was taken just a few years ago)

Warning: Epic novel to follow, read at your own risk.
I have to admit that on new year's eve I was a little sad. Not because the year was ending, but because a huge chapter in my life was finally closed for good. My EMT certification expired. I know it probably sounds silly that I was sad over this, especially since I quit my job with the ambulance over 3 years ago. I guess in the back of my mind I always thought I would get to go back to work. I wanted to be an EMT since I was in grade school. I had neighbors who worked for the ambulance and my 6th grade teacher did also. When I was in grade school one of my friends fell off of the monkey bars and had the wind knocked out of him. Mrs. Durrant the 6th grade teacher came running out with her jump kit and took care of him. At that moment I knew that I wanted to be an EMT. My chance came when I was attending Snow College. I had applied for the class and was initially turned down. While I was home for Christmas break I received a call from the professor over the class telling me that he had an opening for me. I was thrilled. I'm not sure my parents were, but they helped me with the extra money I needed for the class. I loved the EMT classes. They were my favorite classes at school. I would go to class on Fridays from 6-10 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. I became really close with two of my neighbors whom I took the class with, they ended up getting married the next year. I loved the hands on aspect of the class and I did really well. I had some fun and interesting experiences while doing my clinical hours at the emergency room at UVRMC. I also had to do 100 patient assessments on people and take their vital signs. My sister-in-law Leanne was a good sport to let me bug people at her baby shower and take their vitals. In March (1997) I took my state tests and passed with flying colors and became an official EMT-Basic.
The next year I began running with Ephraim ambulance. I wasn't a homegrown citizen of Ephraim so I was considered an outsider with most of the locals. They weren't thrilled to have me running, but Dave Lanier and Kent Olson who were on the association board took me under their wings and treated me like a daughter. I didn't have many calls while running with Ephraim ambulance, but I got my feet wet and started to build my confidence. I ended up taking the EMT-Intermediate course. I loved this class a lot, I learned how to put in IV's and how to intubate. I absolutely loved learning EMT skills and practicing them. I sacrificed a lot of my social life and family time to take them, but I feel it was worth it.
After graduating from Snow College I worked as an EMT/first aid specialist for the LDS church for the summer at a girls camp. I loved that job and the experiences that I had. After finishing up the summer I took a few months off and then went to work for American Fork ambulance.
I worked for AF for 10 years. I put in lots of hours and was fully dedicated to my job. I worked on call for 12-24 hour stretches and was paid $1.25 an hour. I loved my job and it helped me to grow immensely as a person. When I first started I was so shy and felt like I was such an idiot. Once I got used to the people I worked with and learned where things were and how to use everything, I felt a lot better. I gained confidence and felt like I was really making a difference. I became a CPR instructor and loved teaching people. A few years later I became an EMT instructor which was lots of fun. I was able to help teach a basic class in Saratoga Springs and I taught our EMT's on training night. After I had been running with AF for a while I was asked to take the first response vehicle. I was scared but excited. I kept the car at my house which was full of all the equipment an ambulance was and if I was called out I would go directly to the scene. I was the first one to go in and start caring for the patient. I was always really nervous to run first response, but it gave me a good boost, I felt a little more important. While Ben and I were dating, he thought it was pretty cool to ride in the first response car with me. He wasn't too happy though when I would have to take off and leave him.
I had so many interesting and life altering experiences on the ambulance. I had some really good calls and some really bad. I also had a lot of really dumb calls where I wondered "now why on earth did you think you needed an ambulance?" I helped many an elderly patient back into bed after a fall, I took lots of patients from AF hospital to another hospital and had everything else you could imagine. I even delivered a baby once. There are some calls that still haunt me and even some that still cause me bad dreams. But all in all, I loved the time I spent helping others. It's sad that what ultimately caused me to quit were the politics and the poor treatments from my boss. I was a good EMT. I took my job seriously while still being able to laugh at myself. I worked hard and tried to show genuine compassion for people. I even became the training officer for the department to try and help out. I loved the people I worked with, well most of them. I loved my crews. My last crew I worked with were the best. We got along so well that during a call we hardly had to talk to each other, we knew what our roles were and we all just dug in and worked together. We also had a lot of fun together. There were many nights that I would come home from a call with a sore face from laughing so hard.
I also think about all of the time that I lost with family and friends. When the pager would go off, I would drop everything and run (drive) to the station. Ben was very patient with me and I know it wasn't easy. He hated it when I would have to leave. I missed lots of family events and holidays because of the ambulance. We even have a home video of Addy's first birthday. She was blowing out her candles and you can hear the pager go off in the background. Luckily that night I wasn't gone very long. I missed out a lot, but I'm still grateful for the experiences that I had. I'm grateful that my family, especially Ben is forgiving for all the moments that I missed. Even though my time with the ambulance didn't end in the best way, I still am grateful for those 10 years that I spent giving up my sleep to do what I felt was making a difference. I feel that working on the ambulance helped me to be a better person in many ways and it shaped who I am today. It's a little sad to know that it's over, but I am grateful to not have to run out on my family any more. I'm grateful to be a full time stay at home mom, it's the best job. Who knows, maybe one day I'll go through the classes again or finally become a nurse. Only time will tell.

p.s. now my mind is buzzing with memories of ambulance calls, I may have to write some of them down for history's sake. And if you read all of this thanks for putting up with my boringness.

2011-12-31T16:37:00.000-08:00

Happy new year everyone! We are celebrating with the kids tonight. We're eating appetizers for dinner and drinking virgin margaritas. We'll probably play some Wii and maybe some board games. I'll be ringing in the new year in my sleep, since we have 9 o'clock church in the morning. This years resolution is not to make any, I never keep them anyway!

Out with the old and in with the new

2011-12-31T16:24:00.000-08:00

You thought this was going to be a new year's post didn't you? Well it's not ;) We're getting ready for our first boy here! So it's out with the pink and in with the blue, well not out with the pink completely. We do still have 3 girls living here. Anyway, our new little guy is going to be all decked out in cute clothes thanks to a shopping spree and lots of gifts from friends and family. Here is just a sampling of what we got!

Highlights of December

2011-12-31T16:01:00.000-08:00

piano recital

our gingerbread house

Maren's new bed

first night in her new bed

first night without a binkie

last night in her crib

We kicked off the month with the annual Carter Christmas party. I love seeing my family and catching up. The kids got to see Santa and we played an old favorite game, Do you love your neighbor.
We had our annual neighborhood party (adults only) It was a riot as usual!
Addy had her Christmas choir concert and did a great job!
We had a dinner party at Rodizio with Ben's co-workers and the head boss. I was given a quilt by Ben's boss and he was given a nice fat bonus for all of his work with the relocation.
Sydnee and Maren shared the stomach flu (not really a highlight)
The kids had their Christmas sing at the school, I barely made it because Maren was sick.
I took Addy and Sydnee along with my parents and sister to the Nutcracker. This is one of my favorite new traditions we have. Afterward, Ben and Maren met us at the Brick Oven for dinner. They now have gluten free pizza. I was in heaven!
Addy and Sydnee had their piano recital, they both did excellent!
Maren graduated to a big girl bed, she did really good with the transition.
Maren also gave up her binkie, not by her choice. It only took two nights of crying to adjust.
We got to have Daddy home for two weeks!
We went to the open house at Ben's new office and got the grand tour.
We went to see the lights at Thanksgiving Point and the reindeer. The kids even got to be on the news while we were there.
Ben and the kids built a gingerbread house and we all helped decorate it.
I got to have lunch with 3 of my roommates from Snow College, I love those gals!
We bought several new appliances and did many home repairs (see two posts down)
We spent our $300 gift card on a new car seat and a few other little things.
We went to Salt Lake to see the lights at Temple Square.
We got to eat out 3 times in one week! The kids thought that was the best.
We've spent lots of time together as a family playing and making memories.

I think that's it for the highlights, it's been a busy but fun month! On to the new year and new adventures.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T15:46:00.000-08:00

The reindeer outfit,
a timeless tradition of hideousness

Christmas Eve jammies

Sydnee's new Rapunzel dress and Barbie

Check out our tree, it only has ornaments
on the top thanks to Maren

Mmmm animal crackers for breakfast!

Christmas dresses
(I should have taken pictures before church)

Miss Addy

We spent Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Williams. We had a great time eating and visiting. We played Christmas Pictionary, do you love your neighbor? and the kids acted out the nativity. The kids also received their new ornaments from Gma and Gpa and each family received a photobook from mom and dad with pictures of their yard and the grandkids. It was a great evening. The girls got to open their new jammies and put out cookies for Santa and oats for the reindeer. They had a hard time getting to sleep. Ben and I didn't get much sleep either. Ben was sick during the night and I just couldn't sleep. Christmas morning we opened presents, ate breakfast and got ready for church at noon. Ben had to speak in church and we were both praying he would feel good enough to make it. He made it and did a great job, he even showed off his spork he got in his stocking. After church we visited G & G Williams and opened presents, then it was off to Yancey's for the evening. It was kind of a rushed day, but it was very fun and peaceful.

Blessings?

2011-12-31T15:40:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks hit the Yancey household pretty hard. Within a week time frame my car broke down, it required $600 in repairs, our deep freeze broke, one of the burners in our stove top broke, our dishwasher was teetering on its last leg and our garage door opener broke. I wasn't too thrilled about all of this, but Ben reminded me that we were very blessed this year and that he received a nice Christmas bonus so we didn't have to go into debt to pay for everything. I am grateful for the bonus Ben got and that he has a good job. Sometimes its hard to see the silver linings when the bad stuff happens. Happily, my car is fixed and so is the stove. We have a new dishwasher, freezer and a garage door opener.

Tender Mercies...Again

2011-12-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

This afternoon my friend Kelsey called to tell me that I had won one of the contests on her blog. I remembered entering, but neither one of us could remember what the prize was. I went back to her blog to find out and was stunned. I won a $3oo gift card to a store called Babinski's Baby. I looked at their website and they carry mostly furniture and baby gear, but they also have clothes. After 3 girls, we need clothes. We have a crib and pretty much anything you could ever want for a baby, but no clothes for a boy. I almost started crying when I saw the prize. This couldn't have come at a better time. I knew we would be able to make things work, but I am so grateful for the small or in this case huge tender mercy that came my way today!
So go check out Vanilla Joy over there on the right. Kelsey is an amazingly talented, crafty woman with so many cool ideas. And you just might win something too!

It's a Boy!

2011-12-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

Can I just say that I'm still in shock that we are having a boy. I thought for sure that we were having another boy. Last week during the ultrasound, I was looking for the 3 little lines that are the tell tale signs of a girl, but instead kept getting glimpses of something else. The ultrasound tech asked us if we were ready to find out the gender and we both said "yes!" Then she was able to get a really good shot, and it was definitely a boy. Ben didn't say much, but I know he was excited. I was shocked. I really am excited to have a boy, but I just keep thinking that I don't know what to do with a boy. Then I think, I only have girl stuff at home. We went to my parents afterward to pick up Maren and showed them the video, my mom was surprised too. We made Addy and Sydnee wait until they got home from school and then showed them the video. They were very surprised. Sydnee was very excited because she wanted a boy, Addy wasn't so sure. By the next day they were both very excited. Addy walked up to me and said "so what are we going to name him?" I have no idea. Ben and I always have a hard time agreeing on a name, so I'm sure this time around will be no different. Yesterday I started going through boxes of baby clothes. I pulled out anything that could be used for a boy and saved the outfits that I brought the other three home from the hospital in. It was kind of sad to know I wouldn't get to dress a baby in the cute little outfits again, but I have good memories of all three of my girls wearing them. I just need to find someone who will need them and that will make me feel better about parting with them. Hopefully by clearing out the clothes, I can make room in the garage for the car. The day of the ultrasound I went to Walmart and had to buy a boy outfit. In the past I have only bought boy stuff for gifts, it was kind of fun to pick out something to keep. I'm sure every shopping trip I will pick up something new, otherwise this kid will have to go naked ;) Anyway, I'm glad we have a few more months to plan for this new adventure.
P.S. I'm sure when he's older he'll love the fact that I posted his ultrasound picture that says it's a boy!

So far behind...

2011-12-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm so far behind on updating my blog. We've been very busy, but nothing real exciting going on. We all took turns being sick in November, which wasn't fun. It started with Addy and Sydnee, then Ben. When they were well again, it hit me. Once I was well, it hit Maren. Hopefully we'll stay well for the holidays.
We had a great Thanksgiving. We stopped by my parents for a few minutes, Dad borrowed the pine wood derby track from the ward and we raced cars for a while. Then it was off to the Yancey's for dinner. I stuffed myself on all the wonderful Thanksgiving food and then of course pie! It was a nice relaxing day. Ben had the week of Thanksgiving off and also a few days off last week. He's been busy working on projects at home. Our garage door now opens and shuts and will soon look like it belongs to our house. Now if I can just clean out enough junk so that I can park in it.
Addy and Sydnee are loving school and are excited to go everyday. Addy is in the school choir and has early practices twice a week. She never complains about getting up early and loves to sing. She has her first concert tonight. Every year at school they have a story telling festival. Addy always participates, but it's usually a last minute thing. This year was no different. She didn't even practice her story for the family. She came home from school and told me that she had won in her class and would be performing in the school competition. She practiced her story at FHE this week and again last night. This morning Maren and I went to the school to see her perform. She did great! I'm very proud of her. I was also very impressed with all of the other kids who performed. They were all so animated and confident. There is no way I could ever have done that in grade school. It's fun to see Addy blossom and become more and more confident.
Maren is starting to mellow out a good deal, thank goodness. We had a few weeks of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad two's. Thankfully she is returning to her sweet self again. She is growing up too fast, she talks really well and loves to do things by herself. We bought panties the other day, I'm hoping to get her potty trained before the baby is born.
As for me, I'm feeling really good these days. I'm so grateful that my nausea is gone. I'm trying to keep up with my housework and kids and husband and all that comes with life. I'm staying busy, but never seem to have any proof of my busyness. I'm grateful for my family and I'm so glad that I can be a stay-at-home mom. I'm so glad I get to be home and watch my kiddos grow every day.

Announcement

2011-12-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

I'm so far behind, but I figure I'll just make a quick announcement. I had my ultrasound today and it looks like we will be buying matchbox cars, trains and legos in the future. We are having a boy!!!!

Whiner

2011-11-18T15:03:00.001-08:00

After my last post I feel like a big whiner. It was a rough week, but, I'm over it. This week has been much better. I've been kind of lazy, catching up on Glee on Netflix and doing lots of laundry. Maren ran a fever and was sick for a few days, but I kind of enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong, I hate seeing her feel yucky, but I got lots of snuggles and it was kind of nice just having to stay home.
I visited with our primary president about my calling and although I am nervous, I am feeling better about it. All in all, it has been a much better week and I am grateful for it. I'm also reminded of how nice it is to be healthy. Now that my cold is mostly gone, I realize how grateful I am to be a fairly healthy person most of the time. I also appreciate when Maren feels better. While she was sick, she worried me because she would just lay around with glazed over eyes, she wouldn't eat or drink. I was really worried about her. Now that she is back to herself, I'm almost grateful for her tantrums. Okay, not really, but I am grateful that she is healthy again. I've been trying to think more positively this week and look for my blessings and it has helped a lot. Hmmm, I'll have to write another post about what I'm thankful for, especially with Thanksgiving coming up.

Overwhelmed

2011-11-14T08:40:00.001-08:00

This last week was rough! I've had a cold which is somehow worse when you're pregnant, and my back went out on me. And to top it all off, Ben is working lots of really long hours trying to get things ready at the new office. Monday my back started to stiffen up and hurt, but it wasn't too bad. By Tuesday it was a lot worse and dumb me tried to carry Maren upstairs. She was throwing a tantrum and needed a diaper change really bad. As I was carrying her up, I don't know if my knee or my back failed, but I fell carrying her. Thank goodness she wasn't hurt. I lost some skin on my knee and hurt pretty bad. By the time Friday came I was a mess, emotionally and physically. I had extra kids at my house all day and just didn't feel good. Ben worked late that night and had to go back to work early Saturday. When Ben left on Saturday, I melted down. I thought I just can't do this today. Ben felt bad leaving me, so he called his mom. My MIL showed up a little later and took my girls for the day. I was able to get my house cleaned and rest a little. My mom and sister called and wanted to know what they could do to help. I felt kind of silly because I only have a cold. I was feeling very overwhelmed, I feel like not only do I have my own family to take care of, but I feel like I have many neighbors that are dependent on me. I don't have time to be sick. I am so grateful for my family that jumped in to help take care of me. Sunday my sweet sister brought me a pot of soup for dinner. I felt totally spoiled. To top it all off, Sunday I received a phone call asking me to meet with the bishop. Great! I was hoping for primary chorister or relief society teacher, but I was totally caught off guard by my new calling. I was called to be a primary teacher for the special needs class. I will be working with two autistic boys and one boy with some behavioral issues. I looked at the bishop thinking What??? Me??? I was totally overwhelmed. This is so out of my comfort zone. I accepted the call, but I keep wondering what on earth Heavenly Father has in store for me. He's obviously going to stretch me to my limits with this one. I would much rather do camp. Hopefully all will work out and I can learn and be patient. Here's to a better, less overwhelming week.

Tender Mercies

2011-11-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

Thursday I had a crazy, hectic morning. I had to get the kids up and ready for school, thankfully Ben helped get Addy to school early for choir practice. I was able to get Sydnee out the door to walk with neighbors. I had a doctors appointment that morning. Maren slept in which allowed me to get a shower and get ready for my appointment. I was really nervous for some reason and really didn't feel good. I had an upset stomach and woke up with a really bad sore throat. I somehow got ready, pulled Maren out of bed and dressed her. I grabbed a sippy cup of milk and a box of cereal. I got out to the car and had to scrape the windows. I dropped Maren off at my mom's at 9:59 my appointment was at 10. I drove to the doctors office and had to park about a mile away. I was really stressed at this point. When I checked in I asked if I was too late. The nice receptionist said that I was fine. After checking in and taking care of business matters, I didn't have to wait long before being called back. My doctor was actually delivering a baby, so he was late too. I was grateful, but I was still battling anxiety. The best part of the appointment was that I was able to hear the babies heart beat. To me that is the most soothing sound. After waiting for 20 minutes my doctor came in. He is always so nice to me and so sweet. I was nervous, but he put my mind at ease and everything was fine. I am so grateful for all the little tender mercies of that morning and that Heavenly Father was looking out for me and helped me to make it to my appointment and to live through it. I'm trying to look for the small things and blessings of the day that come from above. I know having a baby sleep in and having my doctor late seem like small things, but they were big things to me that day.

Halloween

2011-11-06T13:08:00.001-08:00

School parade

Mr. Bezzant one of the 4th grade teachers
was in an accident and paralyzed about 2 years ago
He always had the best costumes,
but I think this year topped all the others

Sydnee the bat

Officer Addy

Maren kept eating the suckers in her bucket

Grandma and Grandpa Williams house

A sad day

2011-11-06T12:59:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday I was released from my calling as camp director. Most people were congratulating me, until I would burst into tears. I am very sad to be released. I absolutely love the young women in our ward, and I have loved my calling. To me camp is the perfect calling, it may be a few months of planning and one really stressful week, but I love it. After I found out we were going to expand our family, one of my first thoughts was of girls camp. I thought "how am I going to do this?" then I realized it was stake camp. I thought this is perfect, I can get another assistant director, do all the planning before the baby comes and then help get things ready to go . I figured the baby would be at least 2 months old when camp time came and with some extra help, I could juggle both. Then I received a call late one Sunday night from our YW president. She told me she wanted to have me released because it was just too much work with a newborn. I told her I didn't want to be released and that I had a plan. She said she would think/pray about it. Well two weeks later I got the phone call to meet with a member of our bishopric. I told him I was not happy about it. He told me that they (bishopric) had prayed about it and felt it was right to release me. I cried right there in the bishops office. I was devastated. I told him that whoever was called could only have the calling for a year and then I wanted it back. He laughed and said he would keep that in mind. I made it through sacrament meeting and hearing my name announced, but as soon as my mom asked me about it later, the tears came again. I've been involved with the young women in our ward for 5 years in one way or another and now I'm out. It makes me sad. I just have to have faith in Heavenly Father's plan and not my own. I'm sure this is what is best for me, but for now I'm really sad about it.

Odds and ends of October

2011-11-06T09:36:00.001-08:00

We enjoyed the warm weather by
having a picnic at the park

Ben's mom gave the girls Halloween pj's

Grandpa Williams gave us a huge pumpkin
from his garden, Maren thought it made a great chair

Our spooky bat pumpkin

The girls designed the pumpkin and Ben carved it.

Those are supposed to be ears, not horns :)

Holy cow! Time keeps flying around here, it's going too fast for me to keep up. Life is a bit hectic right now, but I also feel like I'm boring and have nothing to write. Here are just a few of the things we have been up to lately.
Some other things of note, my morning sickness is gone! I had an ultrasound and there is only one baby and it's doing great.
Last Sunday was the ward primary program. It was so sweet, most of the kids wrote their own parts. I love to hear them sing and I love watching all of the cute kids.
I was released from being camp director, a very sad thing.
Ben worked a 28 hour day last weekend. His company is getting ready to move to their new building. Ben was in charge of moving the data center which houses all of the servers and equipment that pretty much keeps the company running. No pressure. He left for work at 11:30 a.m. Friday and came home at 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. It was a long weekend for Ben. My sister and I took the girls out on Saturday and did a little shopping and tried a new place to eat. We were brave and tried Johanna's kitchen in Sandy. It was your typical little greasy spoon.
All in all October was good to us, but it certainly came and went in a hurry. Hopefully we can enjoy November and all it has to offer.

11 weeks and counting

2011-10-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Back in May I was struggling with some nagging thoughts. Especially the thought of "should we have more kids?" or can I be selfish and be done with the 3 beauties I have. Let's just say that after Maren was born, I decided I was done having children. It was a rough experience to say the least. Anyway, Ben and I had talked about it and he kept telling me we needed to have one more baby. I kept having these thoughts of "No, I can't do this again." I wanted to be done with it all and move on. In the back of my mind I'm thinking well if we are supposed to, it better be soon because I'm not getting any younger and I don't want a huge gap between Maren and another child. I tried to fast and pray about it, but I didn't do very well. I didn't want to pray about it, because I was afraid of what the answer would be. I liked my own plan best. Well, I'm sure if you're still reading this, you know what I'm getting at. Heavenly Father has a different plan for me and my family. In August I found out that our fourth baby is due in April. Surprise! This wasn't planned and I think I'm still in shock. I'm happy and excited, but for some reason 4 kids just scares me. It's not that I can't handle 4, I've had up to 12 kids in my home all at the same time while babysitting. I feel like I just got back into a good routine. I have 2 older kids who are fairly independent, and a 2 year old who is also very independent in her own way, and we have a good routine/schedule. And now, I'm starting all over again with sleepless nights and bottles and newborn diapers and no schedule. Aaaaaaaah! I know I'll survive and things will work out, but I must say, I'm a little nervous. Hopefully once the nausea/all day morning sickness phase is over and I have some more energy, I won't feel so stressed. Until then, I'll keep drinking Sprite and taking Phenergan when I'm at my wits end. Wish me luck, only 28.5 weeks to go!

Odds and ends of September

2011-10-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Addy is the 5th from the right on the bottom row

It's hard to believe that September is already over and that October is here. September wasn't too exciting, but here are a few things from the end of the month.
I went to our ward's annual Relief Society service auction and had a good time. I auctioned off a custom birthday cake (I'm not sure what I was thinking) My friend Stephanie bought it and I made a cake for her little boy's first birthday the next week.
Ben wired up our garage door opener with electricity and re-wired the lights. As soon as we find the money, we can get someone to come and hook everything else up. Then, if I can get the garage cleaned out, I might be able to park in the garage before winter comes. Yay!
Addy joined the school choir and loves it! She had her first performance last week. They sang two songs at the beginning of the school district board meeting. I'm so happy she loves music.
I can't think of anything else at the moment, like I say September wasn't too exciting.

Fall is in the air

2011-10-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

we saw a lot of these on our walk

I thought this stick looked cool with the colored leaves under the water

3 cute little deer

Mt. Timpanogos

It's hard to see in the picture, but there's a patch of golden colored
Aspens right in the middle of all of the pine trees.

The days are getting shorter and the air is getting cooler. Fall is definitely in the air. I have to say that Fall is my favorite season, it has the perfect weather, sights and smells. As soon as the nights get cooler, I get very restless. I have a need to head for the hills. I've been going a little stir-crazy lately wanting to get out of the house and drive up the canyon. Finally on Friday evening we were able to leave home and head up the canyon. We took a picnic dinner and stopped at one of the picnic areas up the north fork. It was perfect weather, nice and cool, but not cold. We ate our dinner and then explored along the river. The girls absolutely loved it, Maren would squeal every time she touched the water in the river. She would dance around and scream "cold" then giggle. After exploring for a while, we got back in the car and drove the Alpine Loop road. It was beautiful! I love the fall colors everywhere and there are some breathtaking sights along the road. After a beautiful evening, we headed for home via Macey's for a few groceries and ice cream. We sat on the lawn in the dark eating our ice cream and listening to the High School football game. My kids laugh at me because when American Fork would score, the band would play the school song and I would sing along. They already thing I'm weird. The marching band performed for half time and I sat on the porch and listened to their show while the kids got their pajamas on. I love hearing the band, it brings back so many good memories. It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

Funny Kids

2011-09-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

This morning I picked up Maren to take her upstairs for a diaper change. I didn't realize that in picking her up my shirt slid down exposing, ahem, some cleavage. Maren looked down and said "Mommy bum". I guess they do look a little similar.

Saturday Ben kept all 3 girls entertained so that I could escape for a little while with my mom and sister. Ben took the kids to the store to get some groceries. He bought a rump roast to which Sydnee was disgusted and said she didn't want a rump roast. Ben asked her why and she responded "I don't want to eat chicken butt." Hmmm, I think she has the wrong animal in mind.

My niece was here a few weeks ago playing with my girls. They were playing hospital and Addy was having a baby. Addy had the baby under a blanket and my niece says "pull! Wait, I mean push." It cracked me up, I guess it's good they haven't actually seen a baby being born.

Owie!

2011-09-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday was a crazy day. The girls had their piano lesson right after school, by the time we got home it was late, so we went out for dinner. We returned home to hurry and get homework done before bedtime, and I sent Ben to the store to get milk. While the girls were doing their homework, Maren was sitting at the table. The next thing I know she's flying off the kitchen chair onto the tile floor. I tried to grab her, but it happened so fast. I picked her up on the bounce. I knew something was wrong when I tried to snuggle her and she stiffened up and let out the most heart wrenching cry. I looked down at her and saw blood gushing down her face. I had Addy grab a towel and tried to stop the bleeding. After taking a closer look, I knew she would need stitches. Ben returned home to two very upset sisters who were worried about Maren. We explained that she would be fine, but needed stitches. I called our doctors office and they gave us an appointment for later that night. Meanwhile, Maren had calmed down, but wouldn't let us put anything on her "owie", so there are blood stains on my couch now. After arriving at the doctors office, the nurse put on a topical numbing agent and let Maren watch a movie while waiting. She was so brave. She didn't fuss when the doctor came in and probed her wound. It turns out that it was really deep, I could see the dura (protective covering) over her skull. Maren did really good while the doctor numbed her up the rest of the way. She started crying at about the second stitch, I think she was more upset because she was being held down and had a drape over her face. Once the doctor was done, she sat right up, stopped crying and watched her movie. For several days she would walk around and point to her forehead and say, "owie". Yes kid, you certainly have an "owie". This is our first experience with one of our kids getting stitches, but they are so active, especially Maren, I'm sure it's not our last. I'm certainly grateful for my many years of medical experience, they come in handy being a mom.

Visitors

2011-09-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks our butterfly bush has been in full bloom. It is so pretty with its dark purple flowers. We have had a lot of visitors to our bush. We have had two humming birds that frequent it and lots of bees. In fact, we have had two of the biggest bumble bees I have ever seen in my life the last few days. One of my favorite visitors though is of course a butterfly. I think it's the same butterfly, but it has been frequenting our bush for weeks. It let me get right up close to it and take its picture. The blooms are starting to fade and I will be sad when our visitors are gone.

The First day of School

2011-08-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

Am I really old enough to have a 3rd grader? Okay, don't answer that. Some days I don't feel old enough to have 3 kids, let alone one who is in 3rd grade and one who is in 1st grade. How did they grow up so fast? Addy is in Miss Neilsen's 3rd grade class this year and loves it. She had Miss N. last year as well in her 2nd/3rd split class, she is thrilled to have her again. Sydnee has Mrs. Murdock for 1st grade. I'm so lucky that my kids love school. I never have to drag them out the door, they are always happy to go to school. We are one full week into the school year and they are loving their teachers. Sydnee loves recess and eating lunch at school. Sydnee is a really slow eater, so most days she gets home from school and eats the rest of her sandwich for a snack. Addy joined the choir this year and had her first practice this morning. I hope she loves it, she has such a pretty voice. I love being back to a schedule and a routine. I'm trying to get used to having Maren all to myself all day. I didn't realize just how much her older sisters entertain her all day. I feel like a one man show trying to entertain her. Thank goodness for Sesame Street or else I wouldn't be able to get a shower every day. Hopefully things will continue to go good and my girls will continue to love school!
p.s. check out Sydnee's totally cute dress, my sister made it for her!

Camping trip

2011-08-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

our redneck patio

Mmmm breakfast burritos!

happy campers!

playing with the wildlife (neighbor's cat)

peach cobbler

The girls have been begging to go camping all summer, we finally put it on the calendar so it would happen. The only problem is that after our trip to Logan with Maren refusing to sleep, we decided we didn't want to deal with that all night in a tent. So, we went camping in our backyard. We cooked dinner in our Dutch oven and it was yummy. We had our neighbor's the Chile's over for dinner which was lots of fun. Ben made a small fire for roasting marshmallows and we made s'mores. The kids thought it was great! We put Maren to bed in her crib and then we all went out to the tent to sleep. We watched the stars come out and figured out the temperature by counting the cricket chirps. Ben and Addy and Sydnee slept in the tent all night, but I'm a wimp. I came in at 3:30 to go to the bathroom and couldn't bring myself to go back out. Besides, the batteries in the baby monitor were dying and I didn't want Maren to wake up and not know about it. The next morning, Ben made us some yummy breakfast burritos on our new Camp Chef. Thanks to my parents for giving us our Christmas present (Camp Chef) early. I know we will use it a lot! We went for a "hike" around the neighborhood and then we made some Dutch oven peach cobbler to go with our lunch. I enjoyed our camping trip at the Yancey campgrounds, I wouldn't mind doing it again.

The girl with the curls

2011-08-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

Addy has always wanted curly hair. Lately she has been begging me to get a perm. I caved. I know perms aren't the cool thing anymore, but I always had my hair permed as a kid and I loved it. Our neighbor Ludean used to give me my perms, and she permed Addy's hair for her. It was fun to watch, it brought back a lot of memories. I just realized that I don't have any "after" shots, I'll have to take one tonight.

The sisterhood week #9

2011-08-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Movie Monday

Taco Tuesday

This week we bade farewell to summer and the sisterhood of the traveling van, at least for a little while. Camille and I went to see the Glee movie on Monday night. I'm a closet Glee fan! Since it was Taco Tuesday, we had some yummy tacos at Rubio's and then went next door to Coney's for some custard. Camille started back to work yesterday (sigh), I will miss my weekly outings with my sister. She is one of my best friends and I have loved being able to spend time with her every week.

The sisterhood week #8

2011-08-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

For this week's adventure, we went to the splash pad in Highland and then lunch at Winger's. The girls loved the splash pad. We practically had to drag Maren away from the water. Thanks sis for another fun week!

Sisters

2011-08-18T14:11:00.001-07:00

Odds and ends of July

2011-08-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

Summer has gone by way too fast! I haven't been able to keep up, but that is good because it means we've been having fun. Our time has been filled with trips to the library, trips with Aunt Camille, school clothes shopping, playing in the pool, two trips to Lagoon and a few stops for ice cream along the way.

The sisterhood week #7

2011-08-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

outside of the chocolate shop

The Brigham City temple

The sisterhood at Logan temple

The clouds were beautiful

Maren refused to sit next to me

My bench

resting at the zoo

statues

3 tired kids

Maren can stand up while buckled and walk around

Our big adventure came the first week in August. We took a road trip in the traveling van with Aunt Camille and Grandma. We went to Brigham City and Logan. We stopped in Brigham City for lunch at the Idle Isle cafe, then we stopped to take a look at the new temple being built. Our final stop in BC was at the Idle Isle candy shop. I have a weakness for their chocolate, it's heavenly. We stayed at the Crystal Inn in Logan. We went swimming at the hotel, my mom went swimming for the first time in 47 years. It's amazing what people do on road trips ;) We went to dinner at a fun little Mexican restaurant and stopped at the Logan temple to walk around. After a sleepless night with Miss Maren, we had breakfast and then went to Willow Park Zoo. What a great little zoo! I think I enjoyed it more than Hogle Zoo. It was nice and shady and clean and although there wasn't a huge variety of animals, I thought it was just right. After the zoo, we went up to the USU campus and stopped at the creamery for lunch. We ate Aggie ice cream for lunch and it was delicious! After purchasing some squeaky cheese and caffeinated beverages for the driver, we headed home. We had a wonderful time and I hope we can do it again sometime soon! Thanks mom for being brave and joining us!

The sisterhood week #6

2011-08-18T13:14:00.001-07:00

post crow incident

there's a smile

This week we were joined by mom for a trip to the Springville art museum. We went to see the quilts. We enjoyed oohing and ahhing over the beautiful quilts and of course the girls love to check out the sculpture garden. Maren wasn't too happy when I tried to take her picture. There were some crows sitting up on one of the window ledges making a ruckus. She was really nervous walking underneath them. She went running with Sydnee and one of the birds swooped down near her and was cawing. I don't think I've ever seen her run so fast, or scream so loud. Grandma tried to calm her down and get her to smile for the camera.

All I want for Christmas...

2011-08-18T13:06:00.001-07:00

Are my two front teeth!

Maren Turns 2!

2011-08-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

A tent big enough for 3

opening presents

Maren loves Cookie Monster

So Pretty!

Spaghetti Factory, we got to eat in the trolley

Cookie Monster blue

My nephew usually hides from the camera

Holy cow! Can my baby really be 2? I still remember her birth so clearly, it's hard to believe that she is 2 already. Maren is such a sweet girl, but she has a fiery little temper. She is very independent and likes to do things herself. She is just starting to become a little chatterbox. She's a big tease and has a funny little personality. Our family certainly wouldn't be complete without her. We let her open her presents the day before her birthday (Saturday) so she didn't have to wait to play with them. The water table and tent were a huge hit. She also got some new dresses, jammies and books for church. We took her to eat at Spaghetti factory and on her actual birthday we had dinner and birthday cake with the G&G Williams gang.
*We finally paid all of Maren's medical bills off the day before her birthday. Yay! She is finally all ours!

Pioneer Parade

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

Our stake has a primary pioneer parade every year. The girls love to dress up as pioneers and walk around the block at the stake center. Two years ago Maren was born on the day of the parade, last year she was too little, but this year she was big enough to be in the parade. The girls wanted to pull the wagon with Maren in it, but they decided that the wagon needed a cover on it. Friday night we spent some time making a cover, it turned out great! The parade is very short, so Addy was going to pull the wagon, but she wimped out and got other people to pull it for her. Silly girl!

Independance Day

2011-08-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

This year we went to the parade in Provo, we haven't done this since Sydnee was a baby. Caleb went early and got us some great seats in a nice shady spot. My girls loved the parade and Maren loved mooching food from everyone. We had a barbecue at my parents house with all of the Williams clan and we ended the night with a few fireworks. It was a great day!

June ???

2011-08-15T15:53:00.001-07:00

Addy spelled everyone's name in twigs

Ben took a day off from work and spent the day playing with the kids. He took them to the park across the street from our house. The kids love to roll down the hill and ride the wagon down the hill. Ben is such an awesome dad!

Wiggle Jammies

2011-08-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad sent Addy this night gown while they were on their mission. It was big on her when she got it, she wore it until it was too small and then it was packed away. I'm sure Sydnee wore it too, but I don't have any pictures of her in it, and now Maren wears it. It's so fun to see all of the old clothes Addy and Sydnee have worn, it brings back lots of fun memories.

The sisterhood week #5

2011-08-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

This week we took a trip to Cabela's. Maren loved the aquarium, she kept waving and saying "Hi fishie". My girls love to look at all of the animals and play at the shooting gallery. And of course, no trip would be complete without getting some fudge at the general store.

God is an amazing painter of the sky

2011-08-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think that the sunset was made just for me!

Ward Party

2011-08-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Our ward had an old fashioned picnic with food, games, a dunking booth and of course the big giant water slides. The girls had a great time. Addy and Ben took a turn at being dunked and Ben and all 3 girls went down the slide. They ended the night with cotton candy a bike parade and some fireworks. We love our ward!

The sisterhood week #4

2011-08-15T15:15:00.001-07:00

Poor little miss cried almost the whole day

The sisterhood stayed home this week. One of my good friends had to have surgery and so I watched her children for her. It was a rough day, but I am so glad that my sister was able to come and hang out with us. She really helped me keep my sanity.

The sisterhood week #3

2011-08-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

Maren did not want me to hold her hand

I love architectural details

The girls wanted a picture by the outhouse.
We looked inside and there was a geocache box.

We took the van on the road and headed up to Midway. We stopped at a few of our favorite little shops and stopped at Wasatch State park and explored Huber Grove. We stopped for lunch at one of our favorite places, Don Pedro's in Heber. Another fabulous week!

The Sisterhood week #2

2011-08-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

We went to Nielsen's grove. My girls love this park, they have a great playground and a duck pond. They had a great time feeding the duck's and just exploring. Maren wasn't too sure about the ducks at first, she mostly preferred to eat the bread rather than throw it.

Cheap Labor

2011-08-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

My girls helped me deep clean the kitchen. We washed all of the cabinets, drawers, door fronts and everything else. I payed them $2 each, I love cheap labor! My girls are good helpers, they love to help me clean.

Dinosaur Museum June 2011

2011-08-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

Cousins

Addysaurus Rex

swimming for their lives

Aunt Heatherasaurus

Maren designing-a-dino

Feed me!

Dear Blog

2011-08-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

I have so much to tell you, but somehow, I just can't find the time. One day we will get back together and catch up.

Birthday Baby

2011-07-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd birthday to my Maren, life wouldn't be complete without you!

Father's Day

2011-06-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

I know this is out of order, but I can't forget to mention Father's day. I am so grateful for my dad. He is such a kind, patient, loving man. He is such a good example to me. He has a strong testimony of the gospel and has always shared it. He is a hard worker, but also knows how to have fun. My dad is constantly trying new things and teaching himself new things. He has learned how to make his own knives from just a chunk of metal, he learned how to make canteens from gourds when I was a kid. He has learned how to turn wood with a lathe and make all sorts of beautiful things. My dad just spent last week with me at camp. He helped me so much with everything. I am so grateful for my dad and the wonderful man he is. I love you dad!

Ben is such an awesome dad to our kids. He is so patient with them and so willing to teach them new things. My girls were excited to spend last week home with daddy, he's the fun parent. Ben loves to cook and is always good to let the girls help him, even if it takes longer. He has a good heart and is very good to help others (especially when I volunteer him). Ben is very good to play with the girls and just let them be kids. I am grateful for Ben and the wonderful father and husband he is.

The Sisterhood Reunites

2011-06-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

Today feels like summer has officially started. My sister and I started our summer traveling series. We made our first stop this year at Bridal Veil Falls. Our trip certainly wasn't as memorable as last year, we didn't see any nudity, thank goodness! Addy and Sydnee enjoyed playing in the water. Maren didn't like the water at all. After playing in the water we went to Vivian Park for a picnic. After stuffing ourselves, the girls played on the playground and we left as the Heber Creeper came chugging in. It was so nice to spend the day with my sister and my girls. It truly feels like summer has now started.

Girls Camp 2011

2011-06-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

I love this girl! She was finishing off the lasagna

We made everyone pose for their picture on the last night

The Huber farm

beautiful views from the crater

"nature walk"

This year our camp theme was "We seek after these things", taken from the 13th article of faith. We were pirates seeking after treasures that were virtuous, lovely, praiseworthy and of good report. We talked about treasures such as family, friends and the temple and our ultimate treasure we are seeking after is eternal life. Some of the highlight's of camp are as follows:

Monday evening rain storm (not good) but it hit right after dinner so I guess it was good timing for rain.
Huge thunder/lightning/rain storm during the night=super scary, but we lived
Tuesday we finally officially started camp, it was a good day!
We made bottlecap necklaces and magnets, which were a hit, and super cute.
We went on a "nature walk" at the Homestead and walked up to the crater.
Ice cream at the Dairy Keen in Heber.
Lots of yummy food!
Showers, need I say more
The spider who visited me in the bathroom (not good)
Playing ride that pony and Sally Walker, I even played ride that pony!
All of the girls finished their certification!
Wednesday Workshops, something new I tried and it worked out well. We had four different workshops that the girls rotated through. The girls even said they would like to have workshops again at camp.
Beautiful hike (only 2 miles round trip) to Huber Grove. An old farm built by a Swiss emigrant. Mr. Huber was a mission president in Switzerland and helped translate the Book of Mormon into German among many other great accomplishments.
Beautiful weather on Thursday!
My Dutch oven lasagna turned out well (even though I couldn't taste it)
Testimony meeting turned out really good, better than I thought it would!
We all made it home safely with enough cars and other such transportation.

Camp was a success! I am very grateful for all of the blessings we received while at camp. Thank you to all who said prayers on our behalf!

The Zoo

2011-06-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

So what does the crazy camp director do when she only has two more days to get ready for camp and a mile long to-do list? She pack's up her kids and heads to the zoo with the in-laws. I needed a day to just spend with my kids. We headed to the zoo with about half of the population of Utah. We parked at the back of the zoo, I didn't even know there was another parking area and gate. It was really hot that day and we had to fight crowds to see anything. All in all, it was a fun day. Maren didn't care for the animals, in fact, they scared her. She really disliked the dinosaurs they had around the zoo as well. The T-Rex really scared her. Every time we would get near it she would scream and cry and shake. She would then turn and watch it to make sure it wasn't following her. I felt bad for her, but it was funny. We had a picnic, rode the carousel and the train and people watched. It was a much needed break.

Catching Up

2011-06-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have blogged, I don't count yesterday's post. Now I'm trying to play catch up and record some of the things that have happened in the last few weeks.
The last two weeks of school was super busy. Sydnee was the star of the week in her class, I read a story to her class and showed them pictures and told them all about Sydnee. The last week of school I helped with field day which was a long, but fun day. It was fun watching the kids play games and the highlight of the day was being sprayed by the fire hose. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera that day. Next up was the dance festival. Sydnee's class did a duck dance and Addy's class danced to music from the movie Madagascar. Both girls were so excited to dance, they had been dancing around the house for weeks. They looked so cute. Sydnee had a teddy bear picnic at school and both girls had lots of fun the last few days of school. The last day of school finally came on June 3rd. The girls went to school for an hour and a half. They came home with their final report cards and their class assignments for next year. Addy will have Miss Neilsen again which she is thrilled about and Sydnee will have Mrs. Call. Addy was in a 2nd/3rd grade mixed class last year which worked out better than I thought it would, but this year she will be in a 3rd grade only class with Miss N. again. The week after school got out went by in a blur. I was really busy getting ready for girls camp. I did take one day off and took the girls to the zoo. It was hot and super crowded, but we had a good time. I think that brings us to girls camp. I think I will do a separate post for that one. If you are still reading, my apologies, it takes me a while to ramble everything out.

Solid Ground

2011-06-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

I feel like I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Girls camp is over and so is the roller coaster ride I have been on. Girls camp went well. It's hard to say it went smoothly when I know all of the things that didn't go right, but I think it went really well. I think all of the girls had a good time and enjoyed camp. It's hard being in charge, I wasn't able to participate a whole lot with the girls, so I just kept praying that they would be able to feel the spirit. There were a few testimonies born at camp that made me feel like "yes! she got it!" those are the ones that made me feel like camp was a success. The girls loved the activities and crafts. They even had fun doing their certification. They were given punch cards to keep track of what they needed to pass off, and they were given charms when they passed things off. I am so lucky to work with such wonderful young women. They are such good girls, it's so nice not to have fights and drama at camp. These girls are such examples to me. My YCL's took their role seriously and took charge of their tent groups. They were moms to the younger girls and helped me out a lot. I am so grateful for my dad, he stayed at camp with me all week. He was such a huge help to me and I felt calm just knowing he was there. Ben stayed over the first night and helped get camp set up and then he went home to take care of the kids the rest of the week. I am so grateful for him. It was nice not having to worry about my kids all week. A huge thank you to my mom and sister too for all of their help before and during camp. I'll share more camp details and pictures later, but for now it's just nice to be back home. I feel like summer has now started for me and my girls!

Rollercoaster part 2

2011-05-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

I just got back in line to ride the rollercoaster again. Ben and I went to Jordanelle yesterday to check out the campground I reserved for camp. We had a fun day together as a family, but our trip was a bummer. I'm not sure how the state parks and rec. people can feel good about calling what we saw a campground. It has a nice pavilion and a beautiful view of the reservoir, but that's about all it has. There was a steep hill that dropped off from the pavilion with about four new "tent pads". These were just a few places where the weeds had been cleared, they were only big enough for a small 2 man tent. There was no real trail to the tent sites, they were spread out and super muddy. We figured if there were a rainstorm, tents would slide down the hill into the water. The campsite also had an ampitheater which consisted of a broken down rock wall with 5 benches. I was not at all impressed. By the time we got back to Heber and stopped for lunch, the tears were flowing again, and it wasn't because my french fries were battered in glutenous gunk. I was ready to quit and say forget it all. I'm so grateful we checked things out yesterday, I would be sick if we got up there for camp and discovered the mess they call a campground. Even though I feel like I'm back to square one, I'm feeling okay about things. I have a new plan, Plan C as I call it in the works. I'm thinking that Willow Park in Lehi will be our new site for girls camp. It's nice and shady with level campgrounds and flush toilets. It's not ideal, but it will work. My mom mentioned that she thinks Heavenly Father is trying to protect us from the weather by keeping us out of the mountains. I think she might be right. I know I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again. Things will work out. Heavenly Father knows our needs and he will help us find a location for camp. Hopefully this is the last ride on the rollercoaster for now. I'm sure there will be bumps along the way, but nothing quite as crazy.

Randomness

2011-05-22T13:47:00.001-07:00

my cosmo seedlings

Maren loves my shoes

long mop-top hair

I think Addy might be getting a little big for my lap

after first real hair cut

we tried rag curls, they worked, a little too well!

I'm so far behind, I think I will just post a few pics of the kiddos.

A long time in the making

2011-05-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

The only shot I have of the front of our house.
This is from right after we moved in, our front yard looks a lot better now,
but you can see the wall where a garage door should be.

When we bought our house, it had a nice little garage. The only problem is that it didn't have a door, well, at least not one big enough for a car to fit through. After scraping windows for 3 years now, I have been begging for a garage door. Doors are expensive, and so I figured it wouldn't happen for a few more years. The same neighbor that put the wall up in our garage put one up in his to make it a workshop. He gave us his garage door, and it has been sitting on our patio for a while. Once again I begged for a garage and Ben and my dad took a few days and now, I have a garage door. It doesn't open yet, but, it's getting closer. In a few weeks I should be able to park my car in our garage. There is still more work to do, but it's coming along.

Mother's day and birthday

2011-05-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

I don't like change, I bought the same shoes again

my new bedspread

Maren modeling my shoes

The quilted wall hanging my mom made

my other pair of shoes

nutella ice cream, mmmmmmm!

We stretched out our celebrations this year over 3 days. Saturday we celebrated Mother's day with Ben's family, Sunday mine and Monday was my birthday. We celebrated with lots of food and laughter which to me is the perfect celebration. I love the homemade mother's day gifts my children made for me. Sydnee painted a picture of me and answered questions about my favorite things. Addy made me a wind chime and wrote me a poem. Ben and Maren gave me a new pair of shoes because my old ones were falling apart. We made both grandma's lady bugs out of rock's to go in their gardens.
Monday, Ben surprised me by taking the day off. We celebrated with dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then Ben made me homemade Nutella ice cream. Mmmmm, it was delicious! I could go on and on about the ice cream. Ben and the girls gave me some new running shoes ,not that I will ever run in them ;) a solar shower for camp, and some weed spray. Addy made me a headband with pipe cleaners spelling out mom. She found the idea in a craft book at school and made it at home. My MIL gave Ben and I a bedspread for both of our birthdays, my mom gave me pillows to go in the pillow shams and a beautiful quilt. My room is looking pretty good now, it just needs a few more touches. All in all, I had 3 wonderful days. I just love being a mom and I love my mom and all the women in my life very much.

The Rollercoaster

2011-05-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

I need a nap. I am feeling weary to the bone and just plain exhausted. This week has been such a rollercoaster of emotions. Sunday I was feeling stressed over girls camp and worried about equipment. I was e-mailing the young men leaders in our ward at 5 a.m. because I woke up at 4 and couldn't sleep. 3 e-mail responses and a phone call took care of the equipment issue. Yesterday, 33 days before camp I received a phone call with a recorded message from the forest service saying that they had cancelled my reservation to Payson Lakes due to ice and snow in the campgrounds, and sorry for any inconvenience. Inconvenience? That was an understatement. I have 33 days, it's more than an inconvenience. After some phone calls and internet searches, we (me and the YW presidency) found a new camp site. When I returned from the meeting I tried to reserve the site and the web-site was down. Argh! I waited until a little after midnight and it was back up and the reservations are now made. We will now be staying at Jordanelle state park up above Heber. They don't have any snow right now! The price tag was a little higher, so we decided to cut camp a day short. I now have to revamp my whole schedule, but it can be done. I know my prayers were answered yesterday and God opened a window after the door was slammed shut. I am so grateful that things are working out, I know Heavenly Father has a hand in this. Now, it's time for a much needed nap!

What I really want...

2011-05-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Is a fairy garden! I saw these on a blog and now it's all I can think about. Okay, not really all I can think about, but still, I have been trying to figure out how and where to build one. I guess I really need a fence first to keep the neighbor kids and dogs out, but I think by summer's end, I will have a fairy garden. When I was a kid, I would spend hours building houses along the rock wall in my backyard, so as soon as I saw this idea, it spoke to me. I think this will be a fun project for me and my girls!

Camp on the brain

2011-05-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

I am eating, sleeping, and breathing girls camp right now. There are only about 6 weeks until camp. Can I just scream? I've been working on camp plans since I was called last summer, but the closer it gets, the further I feel from being ready. The basic plans for camp are in place, it's all detail work that's left. I'm trying to find the inspiration for the daily themes. Our main theme is "We seek after these things" from the 13th article of faith, we will be pirates searching for treasure. I want to teach the girls that if they use the 13th A of F as a guideline for living their lives their treasure will be going to the temple and eternal life. If any of my friends out there have favorite quotes or stories related to any of this, please share!
I just talked to a woman at the ranger station, I'm trying to set up service project, and she told me that they hope to get the campground open by memorial day, but they still have 6 foot drifts and at least two feet of snow in the campgrounds. I'm going to cross my fingers and say my prayers that things will work out for us and that we will be able camp and not freeze. We might be camping in my backyard!

This is me challenge #2

2011-04-29T15:06:00.001-07:00

The Challenge: What are some choices in your life that affected where you are now?

I have often thought about the choices I have made in my life and how I ended up where I am. After high school I decided to attend Snow college. I was miserable at first, because I didn't know many people and I felt very uncomfortable. After an apartment change, things went much better for me. I loved my school experience even the rough patches. They shaped who I am today. It was at Snow that I took the EMT courses. I loved the EMT classes and instructors. It was hard, but I made it. I worked as an EMT for 10 years and it really helped me to gain confidence and feel like I was making a difference in the world. After graduating from Snow college, I chose to live at home and attend UVSC (now UVU). I had a professor there that I loved and I remember him asking me if I would be a nanny for his daughter. She lived in Chicago and had some health problems which made it so she could not be home alone with her small children. If I would help her during the day, they would pay for me to go to school at night. I struggled with that choice for a while. Chicago has one of the best nursing programs in the United states. I finally prayed about it and decided to stay home. I have often wondered where I would be had I have taken that job. Living at home was a hard choice, but only because I had lived on my own for two years. I ended up going to a singles ward and meeting lots of new friends. I even met Ben there. I was getting restless and was trying to decide whether or not to go on a mission. Then I met Ben. We dated for a short time and were married a few months later. We have been married for 10 years and have three beautiful little girls who have changed our lives forever. Ben and I have been through rough times, but I am still glad I chose to marry him. Other choices I have made such as having children and being a stay at home mom have made me who I am today. I'm grateful for the choices I have made and that I am where I am today.

This is Me challenge #1

2011-04-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

The Challenge: If you were forced to go back in time to the olden days, but were allowed to take 10 modern conveniences with you, what would you take?
I've been reading the Little house on the prairie books with Sydnee and I have really come to appreciate how much I have. I am truly spoiled and have so much. Technology is such a wonderful thing!

Taking the challenge

2011-04-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

My friend Emily came up with an awesome idea. She has started a blog called this is me challenge. She has a new challenge each week on something to write about that will help you write your personal history. I love this idea and so I am going to take the challenge and try to keep up. You can take the challenge too. Check out the link on the side bar.

Miss Independent

2011-04-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

no more high chair

Maren has really become independent over the last few months. She watches everyone around her and has to be just like the big kids. About two months ago she refused to sit in her high chair. She threw a huge fit and arched her back and screamed. She now sits up to the table in a special chair. She likes to have regular utensils, not the plastic kid safe ones. She insists on feeding herself which makes for really big messes. She likes to have little jobs to do. She takes her clothes and shoes to her room and puts them in the hamper. She likes to help me push laundry into the dryer and she loves to sweep the kitchen floor and throw things in the trash. Maren is a very strong willed little girl. She takes after her mother for sure.

April in a nut shell

2011-04-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

April has flown by way too fast and I feel like I have been running non-stop. I haven't been good about taking pictures or keeping up, so here is my attempt at catching up.

Celebrated 10 year wedding anniversary
Celebrated Sydnee's 6th birthday
Loved watching and listening to general conference.
Spring break-1 week of having the kids home
Shopping trip with Aunt Camille, my first purchase due to a child breaking something (thanks Maren)
Trip to Kangaroo Zoo with 5 kids in tow ( I had to check my sanity at the door)
Addy and Sydnee had a sleep over with Aunt Camille
Lots of dates with my honey
Made 3 batches of strawberry jam, my first time to do this
Survived the kindergarten Easter party which I was in charge of
Had a wonderful Easter weekend with 2 egg hunts and 2 family dinners
Helped with the kindergarten walk-a-thon
Worked a lot on girls camp, I'm getting more excited every day

I'm sure there is more and that I'm missing something, oh well. I hope my kids don't mind that I didn't get any pictures of them at the Easter egg hunt or in their new dresses.

Blahhg part 2

2011-04-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

Blogger was having issues the other day and so the second post I wrote wouldn't save or publish. Grrrrrrr! So, after my last kind of negative post, here is a little more positive one. I have really been struggling, I won't bore anyone with the details. I was feeling hurt and angry and sad. We just got a new home teacher and a few weeks ago he came and shared President Uchtdorf's message about seeing the good. I know it was the message for the month, but I think it was written just for me. The whole March and April Ensigns were written just for me. I took a step back and I have really been trying to see the good in life, even the crummy moments. For now I am trying to remember to see the good and pull myself out of this hole I've been in.

Blahhg...

2011-04-27T13:23:00.001-07:00

I've been in a funk and really struggling for about a month now. I've felt pretty bad and just plain blah! I've been having some issues and wondering if I have any true friends in the world. It's funny, I never thought I would have friend issues as an adult. I'm starting to feel a little better, I think I know who my real friends are and I'm trying to pull myself out of this place I've been lately. Because of the blah's, I just haven't felt like blogging. So, since this is my only journal I keep, I guess I better at least record a few things. Onward and upward!

Sydnee turns 6

2011-04-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

Sydnee turned 6 on April 7th. She was excited to go to school on her birthday. She wore a new purple dress we gave her the night before. She was able to share treats with her class and she got a crown and a giant birthday card from her teacher. Next up it was lunch and shopping with Grandma and Grandpa Williams. She was overjoyed with her new sandals, flip-flops and tights. When Ben got home she tore into her presents. We gave her a pink scooter, a jewelry box, some clothes and books. Sydnee wanted a flower cake, so I did the best I could and came up with a cute little cake. We ate birthday cake and watched Wipeout. Happy birthday to my little mouse. I love this little girl, she is so mellow and sweet. She still talks in a little squeaky high pitched voice which drives me nuts, but that's just my Sydnee. I am so thrilled to have her in our family.

10 Years

2011-04-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

Ben and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary on the 5th of April. We had a great day. We celebrated as a family and talked about how it is the anniversary of our family being created. We celebrated with food, of course. We had grilled steak, baked sweet potatoes, sauteed zucchini and mushrooms and for dessert, gluten-free eclair cake. Ben and I both can't believe it has been 10 years that we have been married, but in other ways it seems like we have been together forever (in a good way). We both agree that our wedding day was great and some of our other favorite moments while being married are the births of our three children. Ben and I have been through a lot in the past ten years. We have literally had experiences that have made us feel as though we were walking through hell. The important thing though is that we have survived. We are stronger for the experiences we have been through. I'm glad I have Ben by my side as my best friend for eternity.

April Fools

2011-04-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

For April fools day we treated ourselves to hamburgers at our favorite burger joint, JCW's. Sydnee loved trying to play tricks on us. Most of them consisted of bugs or spiders in our hair and on our face. The kids asked for ice cream and I told them they could have any kind of ice cream they wanted. Their faces lit up and then I said "April fools!" They didn't like that joke. Ben being the softie that he is bought all of us ice cream. I'll be an April fool any day.

Ben Turns 35

2011-03-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Ben's birthday was yesterday, he turned 35. For a few months he gets to be 3 years older than me :) I made a big tray of brownies for Ben to take to work so his co-workers could help him celebrate. We celebrated even more at Texas Roadhouse. We had never eaten there before and decided to try something new and adventurous. It was awesome! The steak was heavenly and so was everything else. The owner came and brought us free ribs because it was our first time there. We feasted (pigged out) on cheese fries, ribs and fries, steak, loaded sweet potatoes and rolls. The owner even gave us a bag of peanuts to take home. The best part was when Sydnee told our waiter that it was her daddy's birthday. He brought over a saddle and made Ben sit on it while he made an announcement to the whole restaurant that it was Ben's birthday. It was great, I wish I would have brought my camera. We rolled ourselves out the door and home for more fun. Ben opened his Walmart bag of clothes I bought for him and we had our FHE. Side Note: Ben wanted a new ice maker for the freezer for his gift, so I gave it to him on Friday so we could have ice on his birthday. We ended the night with pecan pie as per Ben's request. I have never made a pecan pie from start to finish, I've always helped Ben with the filling, but not the crust or baking. It was a totally hideous pie, which was a little overcooked. Oh well, it tasted pretty good. Thanks hon for putting up with my pathetic birthday parties. I hope you enjoyed your day!

St. Patrick's day

2011-03-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

We usually celebrate St. Paddy's day with green colored food. This year we decided to change it up a bit. We tried corned beef with cabbage. Yes, I know this isn't traditional Irish fare, but it is what is considered to be traditional for the U.S. I have to say that I am cringing while writing this. I do not like corned beef. I tried it, but the whole time it was cooking, the smell made me nauseous. The kids didn't care too much for it either, except for Maren, she eats just about everything. It was fun to try something new, but I think we will stick to the green food coloring.

Pretty Princess

2011-03-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

this is my favorite

My friend Amy's sister took these pictures of Addy. Thank you Kimberlee!

Addy's Baptism

2011-03-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

The "before"

dressed in white

Addy and her friend Kai

Me and my friend Amy (Kai's mom)

The "after"

Saturday was a beautiful day! Addy was baptized a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She had a hard time waiting all day. The time finally came and we drove to the stake center. I helped her get dressed and we waited for the program to start. She was baptized with 3 other kids from our ward, needless to say we had a huge group at the church. There was no microphone, so it was really hard to hear any of the talks, but the spirit was there. Addy was the first to be baptized. She did great. Addy had asked me about a white dress a few weeks earlier and I told her not to worry about it. She wore one of her regular church dresses there, but I surprised her when she came out of the water with a new white dress. I actually surprised her! I bought her white dress before Christmas and kept it at my mom's house. I gave Addy all new clothes to put on afterward, underwear, slip, shoes, tights and dress. I explained how being baptized is like becoming new again, hence all of the new clothes. I'm not sure it sunk in, but hopefully it will later. Addy was thrilled to wear her new dress and come out to show everyone. We finished the program and she was confirmed. It was a very nice baptism meeting. Afterward, we had a barbecue at my parents with all of the family. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

I have to share...

2011-03-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

I should say I have to brag for a moment. I've lost 9 pounds in the last two months. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is to me. Especially when I have been eating a lot of junk food lately. The circus cookies, the cheesecake and birthday cake. I'm keeping up on my exercise, I haven't missed a day yet. I'd like to say thank you to the sweet heart who sent me a letter in the mail. It was so nice, I got a letter telling me how I had inspired them to change and to keep up the good work. Thank you, whoever you are, you totally made my week and have helped me to be more motivated!

New Beginnings

2011-03-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I got a phone call from my friend Erica. She's one of the counselors in our young women's presidency. She asked if I would be willing to speak at new beginnings.
Me:Sure (thinking they wanted something about camp) What is the topic?
Erica:Using the stars as a guide, comparing the Savior to the North Star, etc.
Me:Okay, how long do you want me to take?
Erica: 15 minutes, you'll be the main speaker.
Me: (silence, crickets, etc.) Are you sure? I'm just the camp director, why do you want me.

She gave me an answer, that was really nice and complimentary, but I was already gone. I was thinking, what have I said yes to. I really liked the topic and I had two weeks to prepare. The only problem is that I get super nervous when speaking to a group. Not to mention a group of not only girls, but parents, stake YW leaders, bishopric members and even a member of the stake presidency. No pressure right?
Last night was the program. I was so nervous, my whole body was shaking. The room was dark and only lit by some fake candle/lanterns. This helped a little, but I was still super scared. I barely had enough light to see my talk, and I left out a lot and added some extra stuff. I added a lot of "ums" too. I say "um" a lot when I get nervous. I'm not sure how long I talked, but I think it may have been a little more than fifteen minutes. I was glad I couldn't see too well to know whether anyone was bored to tears. I was so glad to sit down when it was all over with. Although it was a totally uncomfortable experience, I am grateful for it. I had lots of kind comments when I was done, which were very appreciated. I can't think back on what I said too much or else I over criticize. I am glad it's over, but I am also grateful for the learning experience. I stole a lot of my talk from a book by Laurel Christensen entitled "He loves us and we love him: You've memorized it, now live it." This is such and awesome book. I am not so much a young woman anymore, but it was great for me to read. I needed the message from this book. Today I am tired and worn out, I'm going to reward myself with a haircut for surviving.

Addy Turns 8

2011-03-03T13:31:00.001-08:00

The long awaited doll

Temper

Tantrum

The cake

Holy Cow! Where has the time gone? I can't believe that my oldest is 8 years old. It seems like yesterday she was born. Have I really been a mom for eight years now? I'm humming "sunrise, sunset" here. Addy is so happy to be 8. Grandma Yancey and family threw Addy a little party the night before with dinner, cake, and presents. Ben and I were not invited and were forced to go on a date. Addy had her choice of activities on her birthday, she wanted to go out with Ben. Saturday morning Addy and Ben went to breakfast at McDonald's. She and Ben had fun together. Addy asked for an American girl doll for her birthday. A few years ago, she asked for one and I told her she could have one when she turned eight. Well, I couldn't go back on my word, especially because she reminded me of what I had said. Because of the huge price tag, we only gave her the doll. To make it a little more fun, I made a treasure hunt complete with picture clues. We sent her all over the house until she found her doll. She was thrilled with her gift. Maren wanted the doll and had a huge temper tantrum. Thank goodness for naps. We had a last minute cake party with the grandparents and a casual day. It was great! Addy wanted her cake to be a surprise. I had a great idea in my head, but I just couldn't get it onto a cake. I wanted to make the cake look like an open book with a log cabin popping out of the pages. Addy love the Little House on the Prairie books. Well, I couldn't get it to work, so I went with plan B. I made the cake look like the Little House logo. It turned out okay, not what I wanted, but Addy was happy. Addy is so happy to be 8 and can't wait for her baptism this Saturday. I am so happy to have her in our family, I'm glad she was the first. She is such a sweet, beautiful girl. I love watching her learn and grow.

Indian Summer

2011-03-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

Ben's artistic photo

Making mud pies

dry onion stalks make good magic wands

Ben told me what to title this post. We had a few days of good weather and ended up playing outside. It was great, I have really missed the sunshine and warmth. I am looking forward to spring. Here are some random pictures from our day.

Tales from Kindergarten

2011-03-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

I have the privilege of helping in Sydnee's classroom once a week. Wednesday is my favorite day of the week. The kids in her class are so cute, and it's fun to get to know them. I was helping one little boy with his handwriting and he started talking about brushing his teeth. Then he told me I had stinky breath. Whoa, sorry! I apologized and he looked at me and said, "oh, that's okay, it's not your fault." As I was checking my pockets for a breath mint, he then told me my eye lids were really pretty. I said thank you and he asked me how I got them purple. I told him it was my makeup, he looked puzzled and said,"I thought it was eyeshadow." Evidently his mother has taught him about makeup. The next week I was helping with the 100th day of school party. I had one little girl that just stared at me. I smiled back and she said, "you're pretty." I just wanted to hug her. What a sweet little self-esteem boost! These kids are so great. It's fun to see how Sydnee interacts with her class and to meet her friends.

A Prayer for Presidents Day

2011-03-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

Sydnee spent a lot of time at school learning about presidents day. They learned about past presidents and even made a necklace with a penny on it. Sydnee was very excited for the holiday, she even had her clothes picked out she was going to wear, four days early.
3 days before president's day, Sydnee gave the prayer before bed. She said, "please help us to have a good president's day. Thank you for letting me make a necklace with a penny on it. We're thankful for George Washington."
That pretty much sums up her prayer, it was really hard not to laugh. On the actual holiday, Sydnee wore her clothes she picked out and her necklace. We had lunch with my mom and sister. I'm not sure the day lived up to her expectations, but I think she had fun.
My other favorite of the week, in kindergarten they learned about Betsy Ross. They learned that she sewed the first American flag. The kids got to practice "sewing" at school with lacing cards. Sydnee has been drawing flags ever since. She drew a flag the other day and said "I feel just like Betsy Ross when she made the first flag." I love it!

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's day, but my kids love it. They had so much fun delivering valentine's at school and decorating their envelopes. Ben and I decided to focus on our little family and have a fun evening together instead of going out on a date. We had heart shaped pizza for dinner, I had my GF pizza. We then gave the girls gifts, which we usually don't do. Sydnee had been begging for a pillow pet for months, so we gave in and got her one. We gave Maren a pillow pet as well and Addy a new outfit for her doll she'll be getting for her birthday. Last week for FHE we talked about love and the scripture from John about the new commandment that ye love one another. We wrote things we love about each person in our family. For FHE on Valentine's day we took it another step and talked about the gifts we received and how Jesus gave us an even better gift. We read scripture from John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." We talked about how we all love one another, and that Jesus loves us too. I made a scrapbook page for each member of the family with their picture on it and what each person wrote about them. It was a fun little project that I think went over well. The kids were totally wired so I hope they remember the message. We ended the day by eating chocolate and wishing our cheesecake was cool enough to eat.

Comfort Food

2011-02-19T13:22:00.001-08:00

I have always loved circus cookies. You know the pink and white ones with sprinkles. Until I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I always had them in my house. I never buy them anymore, and I miss them. My friend Kelsey had a post on her blog vanillajoy the other day on how to make your own circus animal cookies. I made my own gluten free version and they were so yummy! I was in heaven. I used my GF sugar cookie recipe and made smaller cookies, when they are cool you dip them in melted almond bark and sprinkle! These were a bit time consuming, but totally worth it. At least until I step on the scale again.

Baptism invitation

2011-02-19T13:21:00.001-08:00

Photo shoot

2011-02-19T13:16:00.000-08:00

The ghost

I wanted to make some invitations for Addy's baptism and put her picture on them. I didn't have time to get pro photos taken, so we hung a sheet in the living room and took some pictures. My photography skills leave much to be desired, but we had fun.

Waterfall

2011-02-19T13:14:00.001-08:00

Maren let me put a pony-tail in her hair. My mom always calls them waterfalls when they are on top. I think she looks cute!

It was so cold...

2011-02-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, it was so cold that the condensation on our kitchen window turned to ice.

Fancy Nancy 2011

2011-02-07T12:24:00.001-08:00

To help break up the blahs of January, my mom hosts a Fancy Nancy party. This is our third year to have one. We have lots of fun dressing fancy and eating with our pinkies up. Sydnee planned our party this year with the help of Grandma. We had fancy food for lunch and then painted the little girls fingernails. Addy and Sydnee made hearts with wax paper and crayon shavings. I love this tradition and hope that we can continue it for many years to come. (I'll post pictures when my mom e-mails them to me.)

The Old College Gang

2011-02-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Maggon, Kristie, Alyson

Stacey and Shalisa

Every Christmas I get together with my old roommates from Snow College. We had a day planned in December to meet in Salt Lake for lunch. I awoke that morning to find about 4 inches of snow on the ground. My friends Alyson and Maggon were going to pick me up on their way. At about 8 a.m. Alyson called to ask how the weather was up north. I told her we had some snow and that it was still coming down. She informed me that she and Maggon were snowed in. She said they had about 2 feet of snow. We decided to postpone our lunch so that everyone could make it alive.
Saturday I woke up to find a dusting of snow and thought, "oh no." Thank goodness it wasn't too bad. 5 of the 6 of us met up at the Lionhouse for lunch (Shalisa lives in Oklahoma). We had so much fun catching up and reminiscing. I love these ladies. Technically they weren't my actual roommates. I had some interesting experiences with my actual roommates and didn't really feel comfortable around them. My friend Kristie whom I had grown up with lived just below me. I hung out at her apartment and she and her roommates took me in and we became great friends. It amazes me that we are still friends, only because I was such a dork in college. I still am, but I'm glad they still count me as a friend. It was great to learn what everyone is up to these days. We talked about our kids and our church callings. Kristie is expecting baby number 4 next week and looked awesome. Alyson's husband Nate who is also a friend of ours is the bishop in his ward. Our lives are all pretty busy, but we still have time to listen and care for each other. I'm so glad I got to know all of these ladies. We need to get together more often. I forgot my camera Saturday, the pictures are from our get together in 2001.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

2011-01-28T11:43:00.000-08:00

Today is my brother Caleb's birthday. He doesn't read my blog, but I still want to say happy birthday anyway. Caleb was one of my best friends when I was little, even though there is almost a 10 year difference in our age. He helped me with science projects and one time he helped me build a model plane for school. I remember my mom sending me down to his room on Saturday mornings to wake him up. He would have me climb under the covers so he could go back to sleep and I was quite happy to hang out. When Caleb was in high school they had a donkey ball game. The basketball team played basketball while riding on donkeys. I'm sure Caleb's friends all had dates, but he took me with him. Afterward he took me out for ice cream. What an awesome brother. Caleb is still a good friend, I know he would do anything for me. He is such a hard worker and a great dad. I love my big brother!

10 years ago today

2011-01-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

I said okay. Okay to what you ask? Ten years ago Ben and I were watching a movie at his parents house with his sister. During the movie, Ben leaned over and pointing to my CTR ring asked if I wanted to get a new one of those. I wanted to make sure I understood, so I asked what and he replied by asking me if I wanted to get a new ring. Once again, I wanted to really understand, so I made him come right out and ask me. He finally asked if I wanted a diamond ring and would I marry him. I said, okay! I wanted to yell, YES! But for some reason I just said, okay. Immediately we searched for a calendar. Neither one of us wanted a long engagement, we decided on April 5th, a Thursday. The next day we announced to our families and on Monday we went shopping for a new ring. Good memories!

Addy the Romantic

2011-01-26T15:57:00.000-08:00

Addy has been reading the "Little house on the prairie" series of books. She has been cruising through them and loving them. Saturday she came upstairs and said "I can't believe it, it finally happened." "What?" I asked. "Almonzo finally asked Laura to marry him. (sigh)"
I haven't read the books yet, I know I can't believe it either, I asked Addy if Laura called Almonzo "Manly". I remembered that part from the TV series. A few days later she told me that Laura calls him Manly in the books. Then she started to gush about how he really is manly. It gave me a good laugh. Its funny that she gets grossed out if Ben and I kiss, but she likes to read about Laura and Manly and their romance. Now that she is finished with all of the books, maybe I can borrow them.

I'm not on a diet, I'm on a journey

2011-01-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

After a meltdown a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to make some changes. I want to be healthier and hopefully lose some weight too. My plan is to exercise 6 days a week, eat healthier and drink more water. I'm basically following the eat less move more plan. I hate diets. Every time I have tried a diet, I feel worse because I am hungry all the time. I also hate saying that I won't eat certain foods, because then they seem all that more desirable. My eating plan is working so far. Nothing is "off limits". I'm trying to be conscious of my portion sizes and the foods/calories I'm eating. I exercise for about 45 minutes in the morning and drink about 1 gallon of water during the day. I eat 3 meals and at least 2 snacks every day. What's amazing to me is that with all of these little changes, I don't crave the sweets and junk food I normally do. And if I do crave it, I give in, but I don't binge, I just eat a little chocolate. So far, I have lost 6 lbs. and I feel a lot better. I have a lot more energy during the day and I am definitely getting more done. My knees hurt pretty bad, but they are hanging in there with a little help from glucosamine and ibuprofen. I also have been praying for help and I am receiving it.
Have you seen those commercials for Progresso soup? You know the one where the lady is at the store in her wedding dress? I told Ben I wish I could fit in my wedding dress, he told me that was a great goal. My first goal is to be able to fit into my wedding dress again by the end of summer. That means I have to drop 3-4 dress sizes in the next 7 months. Don't worry, I don't plan on wearing my wedding dress to the grocery store and talking into a tin can. I'm just giving myself a realistic goal to start with. I am so lucky to have a supportive husband. Ben has always told me I'm beautiful and that he loves me no matter what. Lately he tells me all the time that he's proud of me, that helps motivate me a lot. Wish me luck on my journey!

Memories...

2011-01-26T13:22:00.000-08:00

I'm always amazed at how smells can trigger memories. Yesterday I polished my old scuffed up shoes. When I opened the can of shoe polish, I had a flashback to my childhood. I was sitting at the counter in our kitchen watching my dad shine his shoes. He had this big shoe shine kit in a wooden box. My dad wore a suit and tie to work every day and so it seemed like he shined his shoes a lot. I remember watching him brush and buff his shoes until they were shiny and looking like new. My shoes are looking shiny and new too. Its nothing special, but it was still a sweet memory to me.

I love my little curlylocks

2011-01-17T14:23:00.001-08:00

Twirly Skirts

2011-01-17T14:04:00.001-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa Williams gave the girls pettiskirts for Christmas. Needless to say they love them.

All about Maren

2011-01-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

marker and runny nose on her face

Maren has changed so much in the last few months. She's growing up way too fast. Here is a little update on what she is up to.
Maren can walk, run and climb. She is quite the climber. She loves to climb up on the piano bench and play the piano. She also loves to climb up on the kitchen chairs.
Maren doesn't say many words yet, but she communicates pretty well. She can say mama, dada, un-uh(no), Stella (her doll), bye, uh-oh, nana (bedtime),look and what's that. She also nods her head yes or no and is usually accurate with her answers. She is quite the tease. She loves to run away and be chased, especially when it's time to leave the house. She loves to explore and play with her sisters toys. She likes to "help" mom with the laundry and cleaning. She loves playing with her big sisters and loves when daddy comes home. She likes to color. She got a hold of a dry-erase marker the other day. She colored all over herself, the windows, the window-sill and my book. She's a good girl, but she certainly has a temper. If she doesn't get her way, look out. She can scream and cry for a very long time.
We often call Maren the Gremlin, or Little Miss Mischief. She is always getting into something. She dumped out all of the pictures in our gospel art picture kit and spread them all over the floor. It amazes me how much damage she can do in seconds, let alone minutes.
Maren has been more lovey lately. She will give hugs and kisses at bed time, and she will also kneel down for family prayer. She is such a sweet, good girl. I'm so happy she's part of our family.

January...the blah month

2011-01-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

After the first day of nursery

Another tooth gone

I'm so tired of seeing snow and feeling the cold. I'm ready for the warmth and sunshine and flowers. January is the blah month for me. I don't make resolutions, because I just don't keep them. I try to reflect and think of things that I need to work on, but no resolutions. This year I was reflecting and kind of hit bottom for a few minutes. My weight is so out of control right now, and all of my joints hurt. So, I'm trying to do something about it. I've been getting up at 6 so that I can exercise. So far, so good. I'm trying to eat healthier, it doesn't always happen, but I think I'm doing okay. I upped my water intake by about 400 times. I've never been much of a drinker;) I'm feeling better, eating less and moving more. Hopefully by next January, there will be a good bit less of me.
In other blah news, Maren is still sick. She's been sick since before Christmas. She has a nasty cough and runny nose and has been so grouchy. Some days I'm ready to pull out my hair because of her tantrums. I just figured we had hit the terrible ones. I finally took her to the doctor on Friday. Dr. Glade looked at me and said she has reason to be grouchy, her left ear drum was ready to burst. She has a sinus and ear infection. Great! Another awesome mom moment. She is now on the yummy pink medicine and is starting to feel better. She was actually pretty happy today. Poor kid.
I try to be a positive person, so here are the good things from this month. Sydnee lost another tooth, Maren went to nursery for the first time last week (her nose wasn't running and she wasn't really coughing last Sunday) She loved nursery, hallelujah! Last night we went to the baptism preview meeting for our stake. Addy learned all about what it will be like when she is baptized, she is so excited. I'm excited too. She will be baptized with four of her friends from our ward. Today we went to BYU with my parents to see the Carl Bloch exhibit. It was a small exhibit and crowded, but it was very nice. He was such a talented man. His artwork is beautiful. Afterward, we went to Brick Oven for lunch. The pizza was tempting, but I stayed away from the gluten and stuck to the salad bar. Tonight Addy has her second piano recital. January isn't all blah, but I'm still looking forward to spring.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T13:46:00.001-08:00

The cast of the Nativity play

mesmerized by Grandpa's train

Silly nephew

sorting

WOW!

Maren got a "quiet book" for church, hopefully it will work

matching jammies

I love the look on her face

We had a great Christmas this year. I tried really hard to focus on the real meaning of Christmas and to just enjoy things. I did pretty good, except for the frustrations of finishing the doll house.
We spent Christmas Eve with my family. We had a yummy dinner and the kids played the piano for us and acted out the nativity. I love spending the evening with my family, I love watching my kids play with their cousins. I think one of the funniest events of the evening was watching Maren try to steal baby Jesus from Mary (Sydnee). She threw quite the fit, luckily Ben caught it on video. The girls loved their new pajamas and got ready for bed pretty fast. We tracked Santa on NORAD and then went to bed. Santa visited our house and left us lots of presents.
The girls were up and ready to open presents, but Maren was still asleep. We fed Addy and Sydnee breakfast to try to distract them. Finally, Maren got up and they tore into the presents. Addy and Sydnee loved the dollhouse. I had a chat with Santa and between him and both sets of grandparents, their house is fully furnished. Maren loves her new little kitchen and tea set. She didn't tear into the presents like I expected her to. She loved seeing everything and toting it around. Next year, I'm sure she will understand more. After opening everything, we went to my parents to exchange gifts with my siblings and nephews. I think I won favorite Aunt this year. We gave my two older nephews remote control helicopters and the younger one a remote control train. They were a huge hit, so much so that we had to go to Macey's Monday morning to get a few more helicopters. We ended the day with Ben's family. It wasn't as chaotic there as other years and was fairly relaxing. We left when Maren hit melt down mode. It was a nice day and I am so grateful we could spend time with our families. I am so grateful for the best gift of Christmas, my savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful for his birth and for his atonement. It truly is the best gift of all.