The Verdict is in.......

Well, it looks like little Miss Sydnee will be having her tonsils removed on August 4th. Only 8 days before the baby is due, are we crazy or what?

Quotes from Addy

Usually Sydnee is the one that keep us laughing with the things she says, but Addy has had some good ones lately.

Addy was being a pest one night and I asked her if she wanted to make it to her seventh birthday. She rolled her eyes at me and said "I can be as bad as I want and I'll still turn 7." Not if I have anything to do with it. There's even a commandment to go with this one, "honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long." Moses and Heavenly father obviously understood what it was like to have children.

We had a wedding reception early on a Friday morning. After we got home we changed our clothes. Addy changed from her dress, to her soccer shirt and said"I was pretty, now I'm tough."

"Do mommies get bored?" She asked Ben this one. I don't remember the last time I was bored.

Random Pictures

Sydnee's tonsils, the picture just doesn't do them justice

Senior recognition night for the kids that graduated from our ward, the girls had a great time walking down the red carpet.

Relief Society sleepover at Mutual Dell. My mom and I went up for dinner and some of the games, it was lots of fun.

Our newest niece, Mae Iris she was born May 7th

The Dance Festival

Where does the time go?

I'm way behind on my blog, so here is my attempt at updating without boring anyone to tears. Let's go back to May. Addy finished kindergarten and will start 1st grade in August. The last week of school was filled with lots of fun activities. The school puts on a dance festival where each class performs a dance. It was lots of fun to watch. Addy's class did a train dance called Rockamotion, it was so cute. The last day of school we celebrated with ice cream at Baskin Robbins and dinner at the dinner store.
Addy finally got to go see the pediatric dermatologist at Primary Childrens Medical Center a few weeks ago. We love Dr. Vanderhooft! Addy's skin is looking great and she doesn't itch all the time. She was so miserable for so long it's nice to see her happy and not covered in blood every morning from scratching so much. Yea!!!
Addy also has learned to ride her bike without training wheels. We set some goals for the summer and this was one of them. Ben took the training wheels off and helped her a few times and now she cruises up and down the sidewalk like a pro. I wish I had a picture, because her face was all lit up and so happy.
Sydnee gets to go see the otolaryngologist (ear,nose, throat doctor) on Wednesday. She has had many sore throats this year, but we're always told it's a virus and not strep. Her tonsils are so big that they are touching. She often has a sore throat and won't eat much. She also snores super loud and breathes noisily even when she's awake. We'll find out if she'll need them removed. Sydnee is definitely my child, she rarely complains and she's still her happy self. Addy's tonsils look just as bad, so maybe we can get a group discount. If they need to come out, hopefully we can get it done before the baby comes :)
Ben was bitten by the gardening bug this year and tends to our garden daily. He is also intent on keeping our yard as weed free as possible, so spraying weeds has become his new hobby.
Me, well, I'm trying not to spontaneously combust due to the heat. This pregnancy has been more uncomfortable than the other two. Between my swollen feet and lots of contractions, I'm just trying to survive for the next six weeks.
I'm in the process of re-arranging all of the rooms in the house so that we can move Addy and Sydnee downstairs. It's been great fun moving all of our junk again, especially since we have so many stairs in our house.
This last Saturday was Ben's company party, it was held at Lagoon. The kids loved it. It was so fun to watch their faces and hear them giggle. There were lots of rides they could go on and they had so much fun. Addy's favorite was the Rattlesnake Rapids. We got soaking wet, but it kept us cool. Sydnee loved the Skyscraper ferris wheel. The kids lasted a lot longer than I thought they would. They kept going and going and going. We can't wait to go back next year.
Well, that's it folks. If you actually made it through reading all of this, your either bored, or you like us a lot.

The Host

Since I read all of the Twilight series, I decided to finally read "The Host." It's only been sitting on my shelf for 6 months. I had a hard time getting into it, the first few chapters were confusing. Once I got into it, however, I couldn't put it down. It was very interesting and I liked the book a lot. I thought it was better written than the Twilight books. I must say that Stephenie Meyer has an interesting mind. Overall, I think I will give it 2 thumbs up.

Book Review

With Addy reading like crazy, we read a lot of books. Just recently we finished reading "Charlotte's Web" Addy loves the movie and so we read the book together. We would take turns reading. I don't want to brag, but Addy is a fabulous reader. On our last trip to the library, we found a book that we loved, it was hard for the girls to give it back. It's called the "Princess and the Pizza" It's the story of a princess who lives as a commoner because her father the king wanted to be a wood carver. The princess hears of a contest to marry a prince and enters so that she can live as a princess again. There are many tests that the princess must pass, the final one being a cooking contest. I'm sure you can guess by the title that she makes pizza. The princess does not marry the prince, but she still lives happily ever after. This is a fun read for all of the princess lovers out there, but you don't have to take my word for it.

Memorial Day

I always enjoy Memorial day. My family takes flowers to the cemetery on the Sunday before. This year, all of us (my brother and sister) were able to go together. We start at Provo cemetery where we take flowers to My Grandma and Grandpa Riddle, Grandma and Grandpa Carter and my Grandpa Williams. Ben and I read the headstones and it may sound weird, but we see if we can find a name for the baby. There was a woman playing the bagpipes at the Provo cemetery, it was pretty cool. I love the sound of bagpipes. We then went to the Springville cemetery. We visited the graves of two sets of my great grandparents. And drove past other relatives graves, because the rain and wind started. My girls love their cousins and they had fun playing together at the cemetery and running around. At the Springville cemetery there was a headstone with the name Bird on it. My nephew looked at it and said "look, a dead bird!" What a funny kid! There are so many cool headstones in Springville. Sydnee found one that looks like a tree and tried to climb it. I still really enjoy this tradition and I hope it continues on.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the mom's out there, Happy Mother's Day! And to my mom, I love you very, very, very much. You have always been such a great example to me. I am so glad that you are my mom! Now that I am a mom, I appreciate all that you have done for me even more. Thank you, for going through 27 hours of labor to bring me into this world. Thank you, for all of the sleepless nights you spent with me. Thank you, for always cheering me on in whatever I tried. Thank you, for loving and putting up with me even when you wanted to ring my neck. Thank you for being a wonderful grandmother to my children.

99 Days and Counting

99 days really isn't that long, but today it feels like forever. I think I'm starting to feel uncomfortable being pregnant. I have to admit though that I'm kind of happy with myself, I'm 26 weeks pregnant and I can still fit into my own jeans. Only one pair is real comfy, but I can still wear all of them. Which is really good because most of my old maternity clothes don't fit. I have since bought a few things to make it through the next few months, and I have to say that the new secret fit belly pants they have now are fabulous. They are so comfy, I might just continue wearing them after the baby is born, well, at least for a while. I'm starting into the nesting phase of pregnancy, Our house is cleaner and more organized than ever. My food cravings aren't as bad as they have been with the other two girls, but I still have cravings. Reese's peanut butter cups are my favorite right now, rainbow sherbet, PF Changs chocolate cake, chicken curry, and chips and salsa from Los Hermanos are on the top of my list. The only food that kind of turns my stomach is eggs. I have to be in just the right mood to be able to eat eggs or else I just can't get them down. I've also made it to the insomnia phase, where I just can't sleep because I can't get comfy and if I do, then I have to get up to go to the bathroom, which ruins the comfy feeling. Oh well, I'm really not complaining, just stating the facts. 99 days will pass by soon enough.

The Candy Bandit and Other Tales of Syd the Kid

About a week ago I had gone into my bedroom after taking a shower. Sydnee came in my room with a green face and green hands. I asked her to come closer thinking she had found the markers again. When she finally came over to me, I noticed that her tongue was green also. It took a few minutes to get the whole story out of her. She pulled a chair over to our cookie jar which is filled with leftover Halloween candy. Upon further inspection, I found that she had a feast of candy while sitting under the computer desk. The green coloring was from one of those lick-a-stick things with the powdered candy. There was a pile of wrappers under our computer desk. What a stinker! So just a few days ago, I was upstairs and heard one of the kitchen chairs being drug across the kitchen floor. I snuck down stairs and caught Sydnee pushing the chair back to the table. She looked at me and told me to go back upstairs. She then told me she didn't want me there. I caught her with a sucker behind her back. She has a serious sweet tooth.

While Sydnee and I were both sick, we watched a lot of TV. Qubo has kid shows on all day, but in between shows they have infomercials. We saw an infomercial with Billy Mayes, the guy that yells. In Sydnee's raspy voice she asked, "mommy, why is that man yelling?" All I could say is "I don't know."

At dinner a few nights ago, Addy asked for something and I said no, so Sydnee pipes up with "oh, bang it." I think she ment "dang it."

Soccer Star

I'm not sure why it took me so long to realize this, but I am a dorky, mini-van driving, soccer mom. Addy had another game yesterday. It was nice and warm and sunny when Ben left to take Addy to her game. He called me ten minutes later to tell me that it was cold, windy and starting to rain. What? They were a half a mile away and as I looked out the window it was still sunny. Every game Addy has played has been cold and miserable. I sent Addy to her game in shorts and a T-shirt. Someone took pity on her and loaned her a jacket. Sydnee and I were home sick, but braved the weather to take Ben and Addy some warmer clothes. The game was hilarious as usual and lots of fun to watch despite the cold. I'm not sure who won, but it was probably the other team, their kids were all at least a foot or two taller and 10 lbs. heavier. Addy is loving soccer and having fun. She even got to play goalie.

Spring Break

Spring break was a big bummer! The weather in our lovely valley was anything but nice. The girls and I stayed indoors and went stir crazy. Addy and Sydnee were at each others throats and I was feeling those winter blues again. We finally tried to make our own fun. I gave the girls pedicures and Addy did our hair. This activity was fun, but unfortunately didn't last too long. Friday Ben took the day off of work and we wandered our way up to Salt Lake. We had planned on going to Tracy Aviary, but it was too cold. We tried to go to the aquarium, but it was too crowded. We wandered until we ended up at the gateway. We took the girls to the Discovery Gateway. Wow! It was a mad house! The girls enjoyed themselves while my eyes just kept spinning. After a few hours we left for lunch, which was the highlight of the trip for me. We ate at Thaifoon, a totally yummy Asian restaraunt which had a gluten-free menu. My favorite dish was the evil jungle princess chicken. It was fabulous. The girls loved their food, Sydnee even ate her edamame (we have the picture to prove it.) After lunch we headed back to the discovery gateway for several more hours of fun. When the crowds died down, it was lots of fun. Sydnee had a great time running to the store and filling her basket, then she would bring it back to the house and cook. Addy enjoyed the construction area and liked running the crane. After about 6+ hours we decided we had gotten our money's worth and headed home. Discovery gateway wasn't my favorite place, but the kids loved it. Unfortunately, Monday when school was back in and the weather was gorgeous, Addy was too sick to go to school. Why couldn't she be sick during spring break when it was snowing?

Fashion Diva

Check out Sydnee's sweet outfit! I think she has a future in fashion. I especially love the St. Patrick's day socks with the flip-flops.

Happy 4th Birthday Sydnee!!!!

I can't believe that my baby is 4! Sydnee is the perfect child and so fun. She has an amazing personality, Happy Birthday Baby! Sydnee and I spent the morning playing with play-doh, making her cakes (the first one didn't work) and watching Dora. We stopped at McDonald's for happy meals and then home for some more play time with Addy. Sydnee is so laid back, she asked for homemade chicken curry and corn for dinner and a Snow White cake which turned into a princess cake. Sydnee is just a really easy kid to be with.

Cookie Cutters

Yesterday Grandma Williams took Sydnee to Cookie Cutters to get her haircut for her birthday. Here are some pictures of their fun little outing. Thanks Grandma!

How on Earth?

Last night Addy called out for help while she was supposed to be getting ready for bed. This is what Ben found when he got to Addy's room. Yep, that's our girl, head first in the hamper. Supposedly she was trying to retrieve the dirty clothes from the hamper so they could go in the wash. I'm just not sure though.

The Soccer Game

Addy's first soccer game was last Wednesday in the freezing cold Arctic wind. She had a great time and although we about froze to death, Ben and I enjoyed watching the kids. It was hilarious! The kids were running the wrong way and not daring to kick the ball when someone else was trying to. The goalies were sitting down and wouldn't move. It was great! Addy thought it was fun, especially since everyone was there to see how good she was, ha ha!

8 Years...

8 years ago today, Ben and I were married. We've been through a lot in the last 8 years, but I have to say that I still love Ben very, very much. I wouldn't want to repeat some of the experiences we've had, but I know they have helped us to grow stronger. I look forward to many more happy years and also eternity.

Our Baby Girl