One of my favorite things about being a Mom.....

I get such a kick out of the weird little things my kids do. It's seriously one of my favorite things about being a mom. This week we had a few of these moments that I just had to share :).
Luke somehow got locked in the bathroom. It's funny because he is learning how to open doors, so I was surprised he couldn't get out, but the funniest thing was that he wasn't really all that worried :). He yelled out to us, and banged on the door a bit, but he wasn't crying or anything. And then when Brad and Kelly started putting things under the door for him to play with and they were all goofing off, he was actually laughing! LOL I seriously couldn't help but take a picture and laugh for a minute before scrambling around to find something to pick the door with. Normally we use bobbypins, but apparently we are out, so it did take me a little while to find out that our paintbrush ends work too. But Luke seriously didn't seem to mind- we were all laughing by the time we opened the door, and of course, as soon as it was open- Bradley, realizing what fun it was- had to try it out. Good times :)


This is kinda cute too. Kelly has a habit of coming up to our room in the middle of the night, and we have started having her just get a pillow and a blanket and lay down on the floor next to our bed. Her room is all the way downstairs so it's a bit of a trip for her to go back down and get a blanket and pillow, so I always feel bad making her do it. But one night this week- she thought it worthwhile to make SEVERAL trips just to bring the comforts of her own room- up to our bedroom floor :) I'm not sure how this is more comfortable than her bed, but whatever :) Do what ya gotta do :) If you can't tell, there are about 7 stuffed animals, 2 blankets and her pillow- she could NOT have done that in less than 4 trips. She even lined them up like this- I didn't do that for the picture!! She's nuts, but it made me laugh to see her sleeping there :)


Okay, so this is kind of disgusting, but definitely worth the laugh I got out of it. I was just sitting here on the rocking chair feeding Noah, and Luke comes in the room, obviously bored. He looks around for a minute, like he's trying to find something to do, and then thoughtfully runs over to the couch. He was driven by something, but I wasn't sure what it was as he was throwing up the cushions.

Then he looked around for a second under the seat cushion, and then quickly his cute little hand dove in for a surprise. It was HILARIOUS!! Luke was fishing for leftover....stuff (mostly food, but there were some other lint and crumb covered things that he found fascinating) that had fallen into the couch. He was determined though- and found a few surprises before his siblings saw what he was doing and made way over there.


I know I probably should have stopped them, but come on!! I was totally dying!! I can't believe how long they were fishing in there (guess I need to clean out the couch more often, but we've really only had it for what a few months or something) It was really funny.

Here he is showing me one of his treasures.

Man! Kelly even took advantage of the moment! It's so gross, but SO FUNNY!! You can totally see Luke's face like, "Oh, wow! Where did you find those- I want one!"

Let's see, there's got to be at least one more in there :)

Totally cracked me up!! I couldn't get enough of it. Don't know if it's necessarily Blog-appropriate material, but who cares- I'm still laughing :) And it wouldn't have been so funny if he had just stumbled upon it, but he knew what he wanted to do and went over to do it with a purpose in mind. What a crazy little animal. Ya gotta love Luke's scavenging abilities- time for lunch I guess :)

Charity on her bike

On Saturday, when we got home from Murray Park, Nate and I just sat on our nice cozy porch while the kids all ran around. It was SO NICE. Felt like it had been so long since we were able to do that! Charity rode her bike for us. She's such a pro- didn't have any trouble getting up on her bike and riding it even though it's been a year. What a great day!!!

Hanging out with the Lignells

On Saturday we had the priviledge of attending Sariah's baptism- that was so neat! After the baptism and yummy food we all went to Murray Park to feed the ducks. This was an oldtime favorite for our family- the kids don't remember it, but for Nate and I- it's a special place. It was so neat to be with the Lignells as well. They are such a neat family. Scott and Debe are the kind of people who you can just tell are happy to be alive! I love it! It makes ya realize that life is just great, and there is so much to love about it. It's just really pleasant to be around them. I don't think I've ever seen them unhappy. Maybe they're just good at faking it, but I can't help but be happy and enjoy being in their company. It's really nice to be able to get together with them and have our kids get along so well too. Charity thinks she's a big girl like Sariah now- it's kinda cute. I can do without the "Do you think I look like a teenager when I wear this?" question though ;)


We had a lot of fun at the park- even if we were just "throwing bread at the ducks". Nate WOWed us all with his skipping rocks ability- it really was cool to watch from a different angle.


I think this was when Charity had the camera- she took pictures of everyone and everything- especially the ducks.


Jenna's such a cutie!


There's my big "teenager" :) She's getting so grown up!


I love this picture just cuz all you can see is the bread in the water- no ducks eating it :) lol


And I love how my kids sit down and hold the bread out- like the ducks are gonna come running over to them. How funny.







we're a little rusty on the monkey bars, but Brad still gave it a shot.


Charity was a little nervous at the start, but she picked it right back up from last year- too bad they don't have monkey bars for her in the Kindergarten playground here, she sure loved that at her old school.


Ah the volleyball pit- who needs a playground or a duck pond, or anything for that matter when you can play in the volleyball sand pit.


yep, a whole loaf of cheap store bread floating around on the water lol. We decided that these ducks were just picky- they wanted something more than just $1.19 white bread.


Love this :) That's my girl :)







Ya gotta see this kid run- it's so stinkin' cute. He has a little twisty-hop to his run- makes me laugh. Anyway :)


It was SUCH a nice day on Saturday! We totally got fried by the sun- poor little Noah even had rosey cheeks when we got home. (has anyone else ever heard that you're not supposed to put sunblock on anyone under 2?? Our Pediatrician told me that- or now I'm wondering if I heard him wrong, but I coulda swore he said not to put any sunblock on the baby. He said to just keep him in the shade--- which I did, but come on- maybe someone could enlighten me on the subject-- we've always had just a family doctor, so we didn't get the usual Pediatrician rules for our other kids- so I'm just curious if this is just something I didn't know or what!! ANyway- side note)


that's brad.
It was a really nice Saturday!!

Matching Airplane Jammies

Brad was so cute- getting all excited about having matching jammies with Noah. We're all about airplanes these days :) Way cute- thanks Natalie.

Luke's growing!

I just thought this was kinda cute- to see how Luke's changed- still driving the car, but a little more interested in actually driving :) He's getting so big!

Utah weather

This is what we woke up to Friday morning. Just a few days before I had pulled out all the kids shorts, and short sleeved shirts, and put all the coats away (silly me). I forgot that Utah was like this. In AK (at least when we were there) once the snow melted, it was gone. Of course the kids think it's SO WEIRD that "it's snowing in Spring! It's NOT WINTER!" Course it did melt by the afternoon- Brad had fun in it while it lasted though.

We need to get out more :)

Yesterday, Luke didn't fall asleep on the way home from taking Charity to school like he usually does, so come 2:30, he was getting pretty sleepy. He climbed in Noah's seat, and was rocking himself for a while, and then the next time I looked at him he had totally zonked out. It was cute. He slept there for a good hour- I think he woke up just before we picked up Charity- funny kid. Please ignore the messy house- I would have cleaned it up for the picture, but I was preoccupied :) Noah's had me working for him 24/7 the last few days.


Charity, Kelly and I made up this game a long time ago when we were doing the laundry. It's a lot like the old Monkeys in a Barrel game my grandparents used to have. But you try to hook the hangers on to each other and see how many you can pick up in a row. Charity was doing really good and wanted a picture of it :) Please ignore the messy house, and the scraggly-looking kids :) I'm not accountable for how they look until at least 11:00 :) (I'm kidding)

I've Been Tagged

I've been tagged by my awesome sister-in-law Beth.

The following are my ABC's:

A- Attached or single: Attached -Nate and I have been married for almost 7 years (I like to say almost 7 because then people don't have to wonder why we have a 6 year old :). It will be 7 in May :)

B- Best Friend(s): Nate all the way!! He is my hero.

C- Cake or Pie: I don't really like cake all that much, unless it's icecream cake from Dairy Queen, but pie isn't always my favorite either- I like brownies- if you can make brownies into a cake or pie then that's mine.

D- Day of Choice: Saturday- Nate's home, awake before me, singing his little made up songs to the kids in the kitchen while they make breakfast- Love that!

E- Essential Item: my camera (surprise, surprise).

F- Favorite Color: Purple, Red, and Yellow

G- Gummi Bears or Worms: gummi worms- although if they're chocolate covered- Gummi bears are really yummy.

H- Hometown: Sandy, UT

I -Indulgence(s): Chocolate, cadbury mini eggs, chocolate chip cookies, caramel popcorn and in case you didn't get it before- brownies (but I'm sure there are many more, I just sound like a pig now.

J- January or July: July all the way!

K-Kids: Cheerful Charity, Cute Kelly, Super Brad, Goofy Luke, and Nursing Noah
L-Life is incomplete without: Family and Friends and a reason to take a picture of them :)

M- Marriage Date: May 15, 2001

N- Number of Siblings: 3- Brent, Heidi, Steve (if you don't count my 18 sibling-in-laws- and soon to be 19 right steve (wink wink, nudge nudge :))

O- Oranges or Apples: Apples- no wait, Oranges- I like those little Clementines that we always get at Christmastime.

P- Phobias or Fears: I have a fear of my house burning down, don't know where it came from, but apparently it's hereditary and I've passed it down to my daughter.

Q- Quote(s):My favorite- "Trials are like manuer, they sure stink but they can help you grow".

R- Reason To Smile: I have the best husband and kids a girl could want, and they actually love me back!

S- Season: Spring.

T- Tag Six: The six of you that read my blog :)

U- Unknown Fact About Me: I love Pepper Jack Cheese too, Beth! how funny.

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I'm not a vegetarian, but does that make me an oppressor?

W- Worst Habit: Complaining and spending too much time filling out tags :)

X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds- now why would anyone choose x-rays with an option like ultrasound! Course I did have that one ultrasound a long time ago that was somewhat painful (not pregnancy related, that's all you need to know :))

Y- Your Favorite Food: I like Italian food- just about anything Italian sounds yummy to me right now. Well, anything I don't have to make myself sounds yummy to me right now :)

Z- Zodiac sign- Capricorn

I've been tagged about a lot- sorry :)

What was I doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago I was 18, getting ready for High School Graduation. I was working at Fred Meyer in the Seafood Department. I think I was also the Laurel President at that time. I don't think I was dating anyone, probably "waiting" for some missionary, I can't remember- man that feels like a long time ago. I guess I was also planning where I would go to college.

What was I doing 5 years ago? 5 years ago we were getting ready to have my second little angel, Kelly. I was really anxious for to get here I remember and I was having a hard time with the pregnancy and wanting it to be over (more than normal :)). We were all settled in to our first house, and awesome neighborhood. I think I was in the YW presidency at the time, having fun, crazy "Joe-cool meetings" with Claire, Julie, Kris, etc.

What was I doing 1 year ago? A year ago we were still living in Alaska, but I was actually here in Utah at this time last year. Seeing my brother sealed to his eternal companion- what an awesome experience that was. If only my sweetheart had been there with me :(. I got to go to a yummy barbecue with the coolest neighbors in the whole world. That was priceless. Crazy that we've been back here now for over 3 months, and we still haven't seen much of them :(

What was I doing yesterday? Yesterday was quite uneventful, as Sherry would testify for me. I spent most of the day feeding Noah. I guess I did go to scouts, where we (I say "we", but since my partner and I don't know anything about football really, NATE did it) taught the boys to play Flag Football. It was cold.

5 Snacks I enjoy I am the biggest snacker in the world. I think I prefer snacks to meals. But if I have to narrow it down- 1) Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (if they're on sale) thanks to Natalie 2) caramel popcorn 3) dried mangos- although it's been a while since I had those 4)Chicken in a Biskit Crackers

5 things I would do if I had a million dollars 1) pay off any bills 2) buy my dream house, with a wrap around porch (it doesn't need to be big, in fact- just enough room is fine, I hate cleaning) 3)put some away for my boys missions 4) put some away for the girls weddings (a lot :) they need to be really special :)) and 5) go on a nice (really nice) trip with Nate around the world.

5 T.V. Shows I Like 1) Law and Order SVU 2)The Office 3) Deal or No Deal 4) Jazz games- they make Nate happy :) 5) Curious George- my kids will all sit together and watch it, and they talk, and get along so cute when it's on- I guess I'm watching them watch it- does that count?

5 Things I Hate Doing 1)cleaning the bathroom 2)moving 3) dishes 4) being without Nate 5)missing out on a good night's sleep

5 biggest joys of the moment 1) my husband 2) my kids 3)doing things as a family 4)visitors 5)driving around in circles around the roundabouts :)

Now I want to tag:
Annie, Alicia, Bethany, Charity, Sarah, Crystal, Dan, Debe, Jen, Julie, Marci, Natalie, Paulette, Shannon, Sherry, Tiffany and Wendy

Charity finally "lost" her tooth!!!!!

Charity's cute little tooth has been kinda loose for the last month or so (she thinks it was longer, but I couldn't get it to budge when I would "wiggle" it until like a month ago). Then we noticed her permanent one coming in from behind, so we started trying to motivate her to get it out of there. SO she's been working on it for about 2 weeks nonstop now.

Well, so yesterday, Charity was sucking on her shirt, and since Kelly thinks it's her job to stop Charity from doing that- KellyYANKED on charity's shirt to get it out of her mouth, and in the process pulled Charity's tooth right out!!! She was bleeding and crying so much, and probably hurting too, that she didn't even notice what had happened. She went and got some tissue to wipe off the blood and when I looked in her mouth to see where she was bleeding from we noticed that her tooth was GONE!! I had to search through the tissue to find the little thing!


We found the tooth, and Charity's tears turned into this HUGE smile and excitement! She was SO EXCITED to finally have her tooth out that she didn't even care about the pain. And personally, just looking at how long the root on this tooth was, how it had been ripped out of the front and torn her gums, she HAD to be in a little pain.


Kelly the Dentist apologized profusely, and since Charity was actually happy, she accepted. Kelly kept kissing her on the cheek, it was kind of cute. (and I wish you could see how wet Kelly's shirt was from sucking on it!!! The little stinker has the same problem as Charity!!)
She probably saved us the trouble of having to have the Dentist do it I think- considering that permanent one was right there coming up- I don't think the root was dissolving like it was supposed to (listen to me, like I know what I'm talking about :)) I'll consider it a good thing :)


This was the "I THINK this is a good thing?" face.


This is the "I lost my tooooth, I lost my tooooth, I lost my toooth!!!! I can't wait to tell my class, I can't wait to tell EVERYONE!!! I'm the only one in the family to lose my tooth!!! When is Daddy coming home so I can show him that I lost my tooth!!! I LOST MY TOOOOOOTH!!!!!" face :) She's pretty proud of herself, it's adorable.


She wanted me to put this one on here cuz she said "it's the CUTEST"! I just love how kids have so much self-esteem. She DOES look the cutest!!! It's crazy to have a kid old enough to lose a tooth!! She's growing up WAY to fast for me. It's one of those special things that you look forward to for them though. She is SO HAPPY about it :)

How her tooth fell out- in her own, muffled words

Trying to steal the moment :)

Whenever I get the camera out Brad and Luke start posing and throwing faces for me to take pictures of- it's funny- they took advantage of Charity's moment :)


Love this kid!


I even love this kid too :) jk, no, this is his new "cheese" face :)


I think he's showing me his teeth :)


"maybe if I get in here I will get some attention- works for Noah :)"

Random Pictures

Cute Noah after his bathybath- love the naked baby!


We painted sugar cookies the other day- it was way fun- so much fun that we did it again today for Charity's school snack :)


This was pretty cute- Kelly got all of the blankets she could find, laid them out on the floor, got a few pillows, and all of our library books. She wanted to do this for Noah so that she could read books to him- it was so sweet of her, I had to let her at least try it out for a second. But that was about all Noah would take of it. He likes her, but he's still not sure if she's for real :) She's such a little mommy- it's funny.


Charity's been getting really good at rollerblading in the house- she and Kelly will each wear one, and they will just roll through the house all day. It'll be nice when the weather is nice enough for her to practice outside :)

Nate's got fly!

Thursday was Nate's big interview with the FAA. He says it went well and they will be sending his info to OK city, they will request his health info, and then he will hear back from them sometime about when he will be going there for training. He actually asked for a tour after the interview, and they gladly showed him around!! (he's so gutsy- I would have been way too nervous to do that- I love that about Nate!! He has so much confidence- I'm proud of him!) This was a huge deal, if he had bombed this interview our chance of getting a job here in Utah would have been out the window, so we were way nervous, and then WAY excited that it went well. There are only a few more hoops to jump through now!
Wednesday night the kids and I decided we needed to spoil Daddy, and pump him up for his big day. We made him a sign, and the kids all made him good luck charms. Then we had his favorite Beef Stroganoff for dinner, with cute little blue airplane jellos. I made my very first German Chocolate cake (definitely need some practice, but it tasted yummy)- I just found out that it is his favorite kind of cake (ya think ya know a guy :)), so we had to spoil him with it. Anyway- it was a neat experience and one that we are glad to have over.

Some pictures finally-

Friday was hat day at Charity's school, so she wore this cowGIRL hat. She looked so cute in it- I had to take pictures. She, Bradley and Kelly were riding their horses through the house all morning.


There they go- Giddyup!


We had a really fun Friday night. We went to Charity's school for "Beach Night". It was pretty cute and we had a lot of fun watching the kids dance around to the music. I LOVE watching my kids when they get along with each other (who doesn't I guess), but Charity and Bradley were totally getting into it and dancing together. They would drag Kelly and Luke out there with them and at one point all four of them were out on the dance floor just having fun together dancing! I LOVED IT! I'm still beating myself up for not takin gmy camera with us. So anyway- when we got home we had our MOVIE NIGHT!! The kids love this- we get a movie, popcorn, and all of us watch the movie together as a family!! They love that Nate and I watch it with them. We watched Enchanted this time- cute show- kinda scary though. It's been so long since we had Movie Night, so this was a real treat for all of us. It's nice to be getting back to life now.


Last night we got to attend Kyson's baptism- what a neat experience!! Nothing beats that feeling no matter how many times you see it!! Congratulations Kyson- we're proud of you!