Happy Birthday's!!!

We celebrated Evie's and Asher's birthday together again this year. We took family and bounced away at the bounce house. I think the adult guys had just as much fun as the kids! On their very birthday we just had cake and ice cream at the house. I can't believe my kids are 4 and 2!!! Where does the time go. Thanks for everyone's help on their b-day it was great!


EVIE
-I love that she can spot a McDonald's from miles away.
-She can sing her ABC's and count to 11. Smart girl!
-She loves to tickle your face and arms.
-She is seriously the sweetest thing. She will always share, most of the time without asking, and loves to help with everything.
-She's overly polite. For example, when I clip her nails she says, "thank you mommy" after each finger.
-She answers to the names piggy- (because she makes the cutest snort when you ask what a pig says), pickle and pretty.
-She eats everything.
-She loves to talk about mama's baby and look at my belly.
-She loves animals, Curious George and anything pink.



ASHER
-He loves the fact that he's four. His birthday morning he woke up and coughed and got so upset because, "four year olds don't cough!"
-He is obsessed with spider-man. It's my favorite to listen to him sing, "spectacular spider-man" when he doesn't know I'm listening. He is always shooting everyone with his pretend spider web.
-He's basically the funniest kid I know. He always has something to say that makes us laugh.
-He loves to talk about going to school.
-He now will wear the exact outfit as long as I let him before I insist I wash it. I think we went for close to a week last time! (is this bad to admit?) So if you think he's always wearing the same thing every time you see him, it's because he is!
-I love that with all his personality he's still shy when he meets new people.
-He is still a little scared of loud noises, but much better than before. The automatic toilets are his arch enemy, especially when they flush while he's still using it.
-He still wants to name the baby Paint. This stemmed from us asking if he liked the name Paige, he replied, "no, but I like Paint".
-He loves chocolate as much as his mom!

We love our cute kids and are so happy we get to watch them grow and learn! Love you Ash and Eves!

Trip

We try not to make a habit out of vacationing separately, but Brian got to go to Alaska to go fishing and so I thought since we got a new van, (I'm converted! It's wonderful!), we'd go visit my dad in North Dakota.

Kate and I driving

Kate was nice enough to come with and help with the 19 hour drive.  While Brian was catching huge fish grandpa Kelly and Katee took the kids fishing. It was a nice visit and great to just spend time together. Dad and Kara were nice enough to have a birthday party for the kids while we were there. Kara's spider-man cake killed the cakes I made! DVD players are amazing!

Dad, Kara and Karl

Swimming at the pool.

Fishing with Grandpa Kelly

This plus 50 lbs in our freezer!

This plus 50 pounds of fish is now in our freezer!

A Summers events-

Well we've been out busy doing fun stuff! We went to Lagoon. The kids had so much fun. I thought that Evie might be too young to enjoy it or that they might be kind of scared, but they LOVED it!

Evie still talks about riding a zebra everyday.

We had a really low key 4th and we just did sparklers at home.


We went with cousins to the dinosaur park.

We went camping by Heber were Asher figured out the purpose of the small door in the tent, and we enjoyed a flat tire, forgotten flashlights and lots of ants! It was still a lot of fun.

We participated in the days of 47 children's parade. Our stake's primary was able to walk in the parade. We all dressed as TV's since the inventor of the TV was LDS. The theme was "catching the vision". Because he had the vision of the TV we are able to watch conference and receive the vision. Let me tell you how glad I am as primary president to have this over with!
We've been really busy with Monday night softball games as well. Here's Brian hitting a home run. I've learned to never be surprised by Brian. We've been married almost 6 years and he casually mentions he likes softball and we should play sometime, so this year when we have an opportunity to play I learned he's not just kinda good, he's the star player! He pulled the same surprise on me a couple years ago when I heard him play the drums, and my brother said he was WAY better than the drummer in his band, and Bri hadn't picked up the drumsticks in 10 years!!!
Anyway, those are our fun events for the summer.

Names

A few names we're considering.

-Leena, (Can you name her Emaline and call her Leena? For some reason this makes sense to me even though the name leena isn't in Emaline)
-Elsa or Ilsa
-Norah
-Hayden
-Paige
-Meda (my g. grandma's name who is my hero. Brian okayed if for a middle name only!)

What a si-wee girl!

Evie has developed into quite a ham. She is a chatterbox! She always is talking whether it's to herself or to anyone that's listening. We moved Asher's bedroom downstairs so I went through all the toys and found her dolls. She's had them for a while but never really liked them. But once I pulled them out she can't get enough. She carries it with her everywhere. The doll has her own special blanket and Evie loves to dress/undress her. She puts her doll to "night night" and gives her hugs and kisses. It's adorable.
She still has the sweetest most loving attributes. The other day we were outside and Asher fell and started crying. Evie went into the house on her own, found his blanket and brought it out to him.  Then later, I was watching a movie with them and started to doze. I kept waking up because blankets were too close to my face. I then realized Evie was putting her special blanket under my nose because that's how she likes to sleep, fingers in mouth and blanket right under her nose.
On a side note, my most favorite word my kids say is "silly". Evie is always calling herself "si-wee VeVe" It's my favorite.

New Bike

So Asher had been asking for a bike, but he really is spoiled, so we decided he was old enough to earn a bike. So we started paying him to do extra chores, his favorite being cleaning the toilet.  We only had him earn money for a few weeks, but he emptied his piggy bank and he chose his favorite.

 I don't know why but it made me SO happy to watch him on his bike. Maybe because I'm realizing how quick he's growing. I remember my first bike and the excitement. Anyway, he was estatic and it makes me so happy to see him happy.

This one is just cute, and no he is not wearing boots!

GIRLS TRIP!

Here are some pictures of my BEAUTIFUL friends for your viewing pleasure.
Viva Las Vegas!
We did all kinds of crazy, (well I guess the definition of crazy has drastically changed in the last 15 years!), I guess a better descriptive word would be silly, (such a parent word), anyway, this is us at the Mac counter in the mall. The poor worker ladies ended up giving most of us makeovers. I don't feel too bad for them since once 6 or 7 board girls wait for a few friends, they end up piddling in the make-up and I'm sure between all of us we spent WAY too much $.
We spent 6 HOURS IN THE SPA! Seriously it was amazing! Naps and all!
I know that I have the most incredible friends in the world. It really says something that we've all stayed close after 15+ years. I look forward to these trips every year. I leave remembering who I am and liking myself, but ready to start being better. Thank you girlies for so much goodness! YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME!

He loves her, he loves her not....

Well I think Asher is finally coming around to liking his sister. He FREAKS OUT and screams whenever she is near the road, (I guess this could be just a good excuse to yell at her), but he also now plays with her and the other day he voluntarily held her hand!!! Evie is loving it! She insists he does up her seat belt, puts her shoes on and plays with her toys. It's such a beautiful sight! Could this be a sign of a wonderful friendship forming? One could only hope!

Pre-req's to be in the stake presidency?

Q: How old do you have to be to be in the stake presidency? A: Turns out 30 is old enough. (And if your wondering the new stake president is only 32!)
Q: How many children under 4 can you have? A: Three is apparently not too many. (Again, if your wondering the new stake president has 2 kids under 3! We can hold each others heads and cry Mary!)
Q: Do you have to have served in the bishopric? A: Nope- common misconception.
Q: Are you disqualified if your wife is primary president? A: Again, this is just a minor detail, and can be taken care of quickly.

I know these answers really wouldn't make a difference if someone is called to serve in the stake presidency or not, but when these are your questions, your circumstances suddenly it seems like a big deal.

The last 48 hours have been really crazy and honestly an incredible experience. I know Brian will do really well and this will be a great blessing to our family, but I'm kinda freaking out!

Happpy Mothers Day!

Sorry, so late, but I couldn't let the opportunity pass to mention what a great blessing it is to be a mother. I love my kids so much and can't imagine life without them! Thank you mom for all your help and always be willing to listen to what ever complaint or heart ache I have for the day. Thanks for teaching me how to be a great mom. Thanks Cindy for being the most perfect mother-in-law ever. You are so involved in the kids life. They truly love grandma Kris and Nana endlessly.

Call Heavenly Father!

When we first started asking Asher if he wanted a baby brother or sister he told us he wanted a baby sister that was a boy. He's since changed his mind and insists the baby is a boy. He talks about toys they'll play with and that there will be 3 boys and 2 girls. He's even named the brother Nemo. Well we went and had the Ultrasound yesterday and it's a GIRL!!! All of us are so excited, well except Asher obviously. He started yelling, NO- I DON'T want another girl! Then on the way home he asked us if we called Heavenly Father. We asked him why and he told us we needed to call Him and tell him that he didn't want a sister and to only send a brother. A little late for that prayer. Anyway, I hope he warms up to the idea pretty quick. He still won't allow Evie to touch him so we'll see....
We're super excited! The baby had hiccups during the U/S and she was wiggling like crazy. She kept moving her arms around and opening and closing her fists, kicking up and down, just wiggling. It's so fun to see them inside moving and alive.
Now we just have to come up with a name...

How much testosterone could a 3 yr old really have?

I'm telling you Asher has more hormones than a 14 yr old boy. When we go to the store we always have to pull him away from the manikins, often touching their legs, and anytime he sees a pretty girl on TV he raises his eyebrows up and down like huba-huba. Anyway I checked out a couple movies from the library, 3 for the kids and one for me. Out of those movies he clings to my movie and is just staring at the girls on the cover. Brian asked which girl was his favorite and he told us right away it was the blond.... should I be scared?

Coming Up!!!

Hooray!!! Our annual girls trip is all booked and I can't wait! Less than a month to go! I think this will be the first year all 8 of us will be there and I'm sooo excited!

I didn't die!

First of all I have to say that if you're really tough and are super outdoorsy and exercise regularly you're not allowed to make a comment on this post.
Well, Jason and his girlfriend Alisa and Brian and I went backpacking this weekend to Canyonlands. I was under the impression it would be a nice flat walk for about a mile then we could set up camp and go on other short walks, and stop when ever we were tired. This was really important to me since #1 I'm so out of shape and #2 pregnancy is exhausting! Well when we pulled up to start our hike and I put my 35 pound pack on, I was told five or six miles to camp, my eyes immediately welled with tears. I knew I couldn't do it, I can hardly take a shower without sitting down during this stage of pregnancy, but I was already there and everyone was ready to go. Brian kept insisted we just didn't go, but I decided to quit thinking about it and put one foot in front of the other. After we hit the 5 mile mark there was a sign that said 2.7 miles to go. Are you freaking kidding me! We hiked for 8 hours taking maybe 4 fifteen minute breaks. The most ironic part was when we finally made it to camp, a truck drove by.  I was so mad.  We could've driven there!  I get going on a hike just for hikings sake, but if I'm going to kill myself I better end somewhere I wouldn't be able to see unless by foot!  After we set up camp all I could think is this is what rigamortis must feel like!  Anyway, I insisted on the way out we walk the road rather than the trail, since this was 3 miles shorter.  Brian hiked the last 3 miles to get the car and come pick us up. The last day we did a 3 mile hike and called it a weekend. I've decided backpacking isn't my thing, but it was beautiful and I am so dang proud of myself!

I hide my feelings well don't you think?

Our beautiful camp, Devils Kitchen

The four of us

Corona Arch

Flowrider

Well it was my sister's Katee's birthday and she wanted to go to the flowrider in Ogden. It's an indoor surf/bodyboard place. So Brian, Kate and her boyfriend Travis and myself enjoyed an hour of craziness. I didn't dare surf, the bodyboard was enough for me. I really couldn't believe how powerful it was. It really was so fun. I may be getting older but I was in the water while none of my other YOUNGER siblings would do it!  See, I'm tough!  I love that Brian and I are the same in that way:)

WELCOME HOME!!!

Toff is home from Iraq! He came home last weekend and it's great to have him back. It was great to see him and mostly to have him out of all the danger. It was also a great weekend because my dad was able to make it from North Dakota for his return. Family is the greatest and I love all the time I can spend with them.

Grandpa Kelly and grandkids

Grandma Kris and grandkids

Spoke too soon!

Please refer to the post on Jan 19 and change a few words. "Am not ready" needs to be changed to "guess I'm ready," And I would also like to change my statement of "my favorite" since I obviously wasn't remembering the 1st weeks, oh it's not fun at all! Anyway, this is the surprise of the year and we're trying to adjust to the new plan. The funniest thing is that when I posted the previous post I was already in my, um... current condition, just didn't know. I guess that's God trying to get me to warm up to the idea! After the initial shock has worn off we've had a chance to get more excited. Guess we'll start looking for a minivan!

Plug for Rachel!

I had Rachel take some pictures of Evie a few months ago and thought I would share her talent, and of course show off cute Eves.

Happy St Patrick's Day

Asher just started drawing people and it's my absolute favorite! This leprechaun is wearing a big hat and a four leaf clover on his chest. I can't figure out how to rotate this picture so just turn your head!

Tub time fun!

I figured out this great assembly line, where if I can get the kids to lay next to one another I can go straight from one kids face to the next, one set of hands to the next, ect. Much easier than chasing the kids around the tub trying to grab body parts as they fly by. Asher has given the thumbs up so maybe this system will work!

Viva Las Vegas!

My sister Klare her husband Dan, and Brian and I went on a get away to Vegas. We found a super cheap flight and 3 nights stay, so decided it was a great chance to get away from the kids and take a break. So off we went to the smoke filled, thong wearing, brightly lit, casino infested city. It is not my favorite place, but it was a fun break. We are so cheap we went to two time share presentations to get free dinner and show tickets. Should I be embarrassed? Hey a few hours of saying "yes, they are beautiful, yes we probably would use them, but no thanks" for $100 at Beni Hana's, tickets to the top of the Stratosphere, another dinner and two different shows was time well spent! It was a blast and I think our kids had fun too. Asher is so into scheduling, so if you want to know where they played and how many nights they stayed at each persons house, just ask and he'll inform you. Thanks Robyn, Katee, Mandy and Tawny. What a kid shuffling 4 days!

Their relationship

This picture defines their relationship perfectly. Evie is all over Asher and Asher just goes through the motions to make us happy. Compared to how they used to be, they are BFF!

My Favorite

I'm so not ready for another baby, but I really loved being pregnant and the birthing process. How fun to meet your beautiful new babe for the first time. I just found this picture and it makes me so happy, although I look huge!

Evie

Evie is getting so big! She started nursery and Asher is now in sunbeams with me. The nursery leader commented on how opposite they are, and it’s true. She is just content and quiet and independent. She won’t really talk. I’ve noticed a few attempts. Like when she wants to brush her teeth she says “shh” for brush, and the other day I heard “goo” when geese where flying over our house.  She just learned how to jump. She loves it. She just bounces until she finally lifts her feet off the ground. She is in love with Baby Einstein. But it has to be the one with all the animals. She knows all the animal sounds and would watch it over and over if I’d let her. She has the greatest cheese smile whenever I tell her to look at me, even if it’s just to clean her face.
She just got her first haircut! Kristi did a beautiful job! It's an adorable bob. I don't have very good after pictures so you'll just have to believe me!

She also loves to read. She'd rather look at a book than play with any toy.

She is our adorable girl!