The Bargerons from A to Z

Hair today, gone tomorrow...

2012-01-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

This post is about hair. Emma was born with thick, dark hair. Everybody who saw her would comment on how nice and thick it was. Well we've been growing that hair for 5 1/2 years. We've invested money in trims every other month and $50 bottles of conditioner. It was one of those things that sort of defined Emma. That was until yesterday. Emma asked if she could cut her hair. I'll be honest, I wasn't happy about it. But she did it. She is still adorable but now she has a bit more sass. That's all we need!:)

Emma on Monday.

Emma's hair before the cut.

Here's the after.

She looks so much older to me. Sad :(

Just so you know we were able to donate 10+ inches to "Locks of Love" so someone else can enjoy Emma's hair as much as we have.

Mmm, mmm, good...

2011-10-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Take some of these...

Get a bunch of this...

Then have fun putting them all together!!!

We made caramel apples after FHE last night. We were so lucky to have our cousins over to join us.

Cameron (cousin)

Derek (cousin)

Andrew

Jacob and Emma

Zach

I love that half of the children are wearing BYU shirts! Go Cougars. Are you ready for Fall? We are!

Jacob's Baptism

2011-10-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

Jacob turned 8 in September. He was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a beautiful day and we are so proud of Jacob for taking this step.

Jacob was baptized by his father, Steve.

Thanks to all of our family and friends that came to support Jacob on this wonderful day!

Here are some thoughts on Jake. Jacob is a bright boy. He always wants to be the best or win at everything he does. He works hard. He is shy and always quietly observing everything that is going on around him. We love Jacob!

Love Letters

2011-09-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

So I found this note in Jacob's backpack.

"Dear Andrew,

I am not going to kill you. I'm sorry I tried to kill you.

Your friend,

Jake"

And then there was one...

2011-08-30T07:12:00.001-07:00

Well another summer has flown by and school has started. I love the forced routine of school days.

Andrew - 5th grade. Loves video/computer games, reading, legos, music and piano. Is the only one of my children who will eat whatever I make and not complain. Kind to his siblings/teases his siblings relentlessly (depends on his mood).

Jacob - 2nd grade. Loves sports, sports, sports. He'd rather play sports than eat. Skinny and quick. Has only lost a couple of teeth and is very bothered by this fact. Sweet as pie when he isn't being a stinker.

Emma - Kindergarten. What can I say about Emma. Loves her dolls, riding her bike, playing, art projects. Can bring lots of drama to situations. She was such a trooper when we took her to her first day of Kindergarten. No tears or drama. She's our only daughter and she is spoiled.

Zachary - Almost 3. Loves running, jumping, flipping, spinning, riding his bike/scooter, playing with any sort of ball. Working hard on listening. Wants to be just like his brothers and usually follows them everywhere. He's having a hard time with the other kids gone. He asks me every few minutes if Emma and the brothers are coming home yet.

Like I said... then there was one. I'm excited to have some quiet moments with just Zach. I used to look at other women and say "she is at such a good stage in her life", now I feel like that woman. There is a sense of joy in seeing your children grow and learn so many new things. It is so cliche, but time really does fly by. So here's to another school year!

Emma's Photos

2011-03-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Whenever I go to upload my pictures I get tons of surprise shots that Emma has taken. Here are just a few that I thought I'd share. I love to see the world through her eyes and see what she thinks is worth photographing.

California/Disneyland - January 2011

2011-02-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

10 plus years ago when we left BYU we moved to Orange County, California. We bought a small (950 sq. ft) house that was only a few miles from the beach. The weather was amazing. There was always something to do. Ahhh...those were good days. Then we had a few kids, moved out of the country, moved back to the US, and have since settled in where we're at. We promised the kids for years that we would take them to California to go to Disneyland. Well we finally did it! We took a week off from school and stayed in a two room suite blocks away from Disneyland. It was so much fun. While we were there I kept thinking..."why did we ever leave this place?" I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

I can't wait until we can go again!

HaPpY VaLeNtInE's DaY!

2011-02-15T06:45:00.000-08:00

We started our day with heart shaped french toast. That was followed by numerous parties at the school. Andrew's class did such a fun thing. Instead of buying/making valentine's they each wrote something nice about every person in the class. Andrew loved sharing with us what his classmates wrote at FHE.

We had heart-shaped meatloaf and pink mashed potatoes for dinner. Then of course cupid came and ding-dong ditch us tons of treats and gifts. The balloons and candy were a treat from mom and dad. I hope everyone had a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Look what Zach found!

2011-02-15T06:40:00.000-08:00

You can't leave anything out with Zach in the house. I'm always going around calling his name only to find him shoving 10 pieces of gum in his mouth, breaking a well designed lego set, or playing the DS that was left on the ground. He knows how to find trouble!

4 going on 14

2011-01-29T20:03:00.001-08:00

Emma bought some "real makeup" with some Christmas money she received. She loves to sit in front of the bathroom mirror and put it on. I'm not real girly so I don't give her advice. I just let her go for it and do whatever she wants.

Putting on her lipstick!

Oh I love that eyeshadow.

That blush looks great!

And there you have it. All dressed up and ready to go. She wore that makeup all day long. It didn't come off until bathtime.

Warning...He's 2!!!

2011-01-29T19:46:00.001-08:00

Zach is definitely 2! He has these awesome tantrums over nothing. I have no idea what this one was about. All I did was take him out of his bed after his nap.

First he was sad.

Then he was angry.

Leave me alone!!!

I'm going to roll around on the floor and scream!

Okay that's fine. I get it. You're a two-year-old.

This was a fit he threw one morning. I asked him what he wanted for breakfast. He said oatmeal. So I made him oatmeal. He started crying and said he wanted a waffle. I made him a waffle. In the end he didn't want either one. He cried and screamed and tried to throw both the plate and the bowl on the floor.
All I can say is it's a good thing he does this a lot because it makes up for his terrible twos! We love this little guy!

BYU! Go Cougars!

2010-09-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

The other day I told Steve that I thought half of our laundry was BYU apparel. Well...half might of been an exaggeration. Maybe a third. Okay...probably not. Not even a quarter of our laundry is devoted to BYU. But I will tell you that we have A LOT of BYU clothing. Here is the proof. You can add to that 11 more shirts, 5 more baseball hats and 3 winter hats. Now I have to go put it all back in closets and drawers. UGGHH!

I couldn't post about BYU and not put up a photo of our beloved flag that we fly anytime there is a BYU football game. We're serious Cougar fans and we're proud of it!!!

Soccer and preschool (again) :)

2010-09-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

Emma started soccer last month. She is one tough little cookie. I think it has to do with the fact that she has older brothers. She isn't afraid to run up and knock kids out of the way if she wants the ball. She's scored a few goals. I love the way her brothers yell at her to get the ball and score. What a cutie!

Here she is going for the ball. (Notice she is the only girl in that group of boys.)

Here is the post of her first day at her other preschool. She loves Miss Jodi and all her preschool friends. We'll have football pictures of Jake soon. WARNING - SPOILER: Jacob scored all 4 of the touchdowns for his team in their first game. Way to go Jake!!!

Emma starts preschool #1!

2010-08-30T10:27:00.001-07:00

Emma starts one of her two preschools today. She gets to go meet her teacher (Miss Kim, Love her!) and drop off her supplies. She wanted me to take some pictures of her. Have I ever mentioned how much I love having a daughter!

1st day of school! Classic post.

2010-08-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

The boys started school last week. Here's what they looked like on the first day. Can you tell how excited Andrew was? Andrew is in 4th grade. Jake started 1st grade. Here's what I have to say about school starting:

Getting back into a routine/schedules. - YEAH!

The boys not asking me every 5 minutes if they can play video games. -YEAH!

Homework. - BOO!

Getting back on track with the budget. - BOO!

Getting back into the groove of cooking real dinners. - BOO!

Good luck boys! Love you!

I've got the runs! (That was Steve's title idea!)

2010-08-30T07:48:00.001-07:00

I have been a runnin' fool this year. I enjoy running. I'm not fast or great at it, but I can do it. Anyway, I ran in quite a few races this year. Here's a recap:

Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab, Utah. March 2010

Time: 2 hours 35 minutes

This is a nice run. It was very scenic. It started off freezing cold but warmed up quickly and is definitely one I would do again. It was organized. Only complaint is that you have to travel kind of far to run it. Not real fond of the fluorescent green shirt and you don't get a medal.

Thanksgiving Point Half. April 2010

Time: 2 hours 35 minutes

This was it's first year. It was organized. The best part is that it is right here. You get up in the morning, go run your half marathon and still make it to soccer/baseball games. It is a beautiful run around the grounds at Thanksgiving Point and then along the Jordan River. I will do this one again. Plus you get BLING!!! They give out medals.

Wasatch Back/RAGNAR. June 2010

Time: 34 hours 53 minutes

If you can run at all you should do this race! It is relay with 12 people, 2 vans, and lasts 2 days. It is 188 mile relay run from Logan, Utah to Park City, Utah.It is So much fun. I can't recommend this one enough. It helps that I did it with 11 awesome women from our neighborhood. We named ourselves 30's Rock since most of us were in our 30's. Plus check out the BLING on this one. DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!!! That's all I can say!

Hobble Creek Half Marathon. August 2010

Time: 2 hours 12 minutes

This marathon brags about being the fastest course in Utah. It was for me! I liked the course, but the organization was lacking. This race started an hour late on a day when temperatures hit 97 degrees. If you want a fast time I would recommend it, but just know that it will start late and be unorganized. Plus it is a bit of a drive and no medal.

I said I was done running this year, but does anyone want to run the Provo, Halloween Half Marathon?:)

Just because...

2010-08-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

Bear Lake 2010

2010-08-15T20:30:00.001-07:00

Every summer we go to Bear Lake for a week with the Bargeron side of the family. We always have such a great time and look forward to this vacation. This year we were up there for the 24th of July. The resort we stay at had all sorts of fun things to celebrate Pioneer Day! First off was the chalk art contest. The boys got bored quickly, but our girl Emma sat there coloring for awhile.

The finished product. Don't you just LOVE the Spongebob Squarepants Emma made! Needless to say...we didn't win the contest. I was amazed at some of the art. Next was a sand castle building contest. The kids decided to build a sea turtle. I had to head back to the room for Zach to take a nap but I put Andrew in charge of taking a picture. This was the best shot. I mean he is only 9. We didn't win this contest either. Again I was amazed at what people were able to do with sand. They had a rock wall you could climb. So of course ALL the kids had to take a turn.

Emma

Jacob

Andrew

Steve

We spent hours at the pool. The kids love swimming and aren't afraid of the water at all.

Zach

Emma coming down the slide.

I just liked this picture of Jake so I put it on here.

Andrew and Steve playing in the pool.

We did the annual pinata. This year it was a superman pinata. All the kids took turns hitting it.

Andrew had already hit the head off but I didn't get a picture of it so I made him do it again. He wasn't happy about that.

Here goes Zach...

and Emma...

and Jacob...

Oh and here is Andrew with the head he knocked off!

We spent multiple days at the beach. I had a lot of pictures of this but just put up a few.

Jacob is so skinny. His swimsuit was tied as tight as it would go and it still kept falling off.
Steve and the older boys went horseback riding. That is something we do every year.

Giddy up!!!

We rented a boat one of the days. We all went out on the water. The kids got pulled in a tube. They had a great time.

Zach helping dad drive the boat.

Out on the boat.

Emma was brave enough to jump into the freezing water with her dad!

After about 20 tries, Steve finally made it up on the water skis! He was very excited and had a great time.

One of the nights we had dinner at the Pickleville Playhouse and then stayed and watched a play. We saw "Juanito Bandito Rides Again!" It was really funny! The older boys went one night and they even enjoyed it.

All in all, we were gone for 8 days. It was long and we were ready to come home at the end. We're already counting down until next summer. Thanks to the G'ma and G'pa Bargeron for another awesome family vacation!

What to do with all that zucchini?

2010-08-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not a great cook. I just wanted to share this recipe that I got from my neighbor. My kids LOVE these. This recipe will help you use up all that zucchini that you don't know what to do with. I put a little less cheese in when I make them. I also form them into little patties rather than balls. Just a tip...grate your zucchini and freeze it so you can make these later. Andrew ate four of them tonight.

Zucchini Patties

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes

2 cups grated zucchini 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped onion salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients except the oil. Stir well enough to distribute ingredients evenly.

2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden.

*Serve with tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce or a dab of sour cream on top.

Enjoy! We did.

Bye, Bye Binkie!!!

2010-08-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

Some of you will have sympathy for me. We got rid of Zach's binkie last Friday. He's going to be 2 soon and it was time. Well a few things I've noticed...

1. He is SO loud!

2. He didn't bite his siblings as much with that binkie in his mouth. (What a horrible habit!)

3. He loves to walk around and make clucking noises.

4. He really can talk! :)

5. He still won't let me hold him and soothe him.

6. He is growing up. :(

Farewell our good friend! We had some good, quiet times with you. May you rest in peace in a landfill somewhere.;)

Toy Story 3 and summer movies

2010-07-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

I copied this idea from someone else. We were excited to see "Toy Story 3" since our kids are fans of the other two. We had a preview party where we watched "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" and then we went and saw "Toy Story 3". It was a good movie the kids loved it. We go to a summer movie once a week because it is only a dollar. Zach has really figured this whole movie thing out. If you sit next to mom quietly she will shove your face with popcorn, soda and candy! He gets a little better each week! Here are a couple of pictures.

These are the goodies from the preview party!

Nice bandaids Emma! She took a hard fall last night!

MORE SuMmEr FuN!!!

2010-07-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

We have a group of moms that get together every Wednesday during the summer break and go to different places. We've already been to the Sweet's Candy Factory for a tour and some treats, to a splashpark in Herriman and up to Tibble Fork in AF Canyon (no pictures of any of those). A couple of weeks ago we went to Wheeler Farm. The kids spent a few hours playing at this little stream that runs through the farm. It was a lot of fun.

They all enjoyed feeding the ducks.

Here are all the kids!

We also went to Midway one day to swim at the Zermatt Resort. The kids always have a good time up there. We swam, rode the carousel, fed the goats (they eat dog biscuits) and of course stopped to get gelato at the bakery. It is so nice to go up there. It always seems like a mini-vacation...a FREE mini-vacation. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us use the resort so much!

Oh and I had to post this picture of the lizard that Andrew found one afternoon. It was on it's deathbed when we found it and I'm sad to say that despite our best efforts it ended buried in the flower bed next to one of Jacob's crabs. Andrew gave him a beautiful funeral and made him a lovely R.I.P. headstone. Thank you for touching our lives for two hours...you'll be missed!

SuMmEr FuN!!!

2010-07-14T16:46:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday we went to the Gateway to cool off in their splahpark and visit the planetarium.

I love this picture of Andrew!

Zach LOVED the water. What a cutie.

Here's Jacob waiting for some water to shoot up.

Emma said it was too cold to get wet and wrapped herself up in her towel. (Such a girl!)

Sitting in the shade.

The planetarium has so many fun hands-on things for the kids to do.

Standing in space.

Sitting on a planet.

Andrew - PLEASE stop growing up so fast! It makes me sad.

I love how focused Zach is on climbing this rock. Nice tongue concentration happening.

After all of that fun we stopped at Build-A-Bear. Emma had some birthday money from her grandparents and this is what she chose to spend it on. She wanted an ice-cream bear. Emma put a voicebox in her bear so she giggles everytime Emma hugs her. Emma picked out a sparkly purple outfit for her bear. Emma named her bear Fluffy.

Emma with Fluffy!

got laundry?

2010-07-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

I DO!!!

Happy Monday to me!

4th of July FUN!!!

2010-07-11T08:17:00.001-07:00

We love our country and we love the 4th of July. This year we had a fun and busy holiday. Since the 4th of July was on a Sunday we did all of our celebrating on Monday. Here's how we spent our day.

Doing some of this...

(The kids patiently waiting for the 4-wheelers to be loaded so they can go for a ride to Cascade Springs in American Fork Canyon.)

They made it all the way to Cascade Springs. There are some very beautiful places in Utah!

Here they are getting ready to start the trip!

Eating some of this...

This was the pork shoulder that Steve smoked for 22 hours in his new electric smoker. It was very tender and we all enjoyed it.

Doing a lot of this...

We spent some time swimming at the pool.

And finally, watching some of these...

Some of the kids watching the fireworks.

What a show! Thanks Uncle Robert for providing the entertainment.

It was a great day! We had all of Steve's family over and enjoyed good food, good friends and family and good times.

2010 Pinewood Derby Champion

2010-05-28T20:32:00.001-07:00

Steve and Andrew (mainly Steve) wanted me to post this. Andrew was the 2010 Pinewood Derby Champion. This was his first year competing and he had a great time.

Here are the cars all lined up. Andrew's car is in lane 5. The BYU blue one with the Lego man at the wheel.

Here's a picture of one of the races. Another first place finish for Andrew! Way to go Buddy!

When Mother Nature gives you snow...

2010-05-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

MAKE A SNOWMAN!!! And of course some big snowballs so you'll have snow for the next few days. This is what we woke up to on May 24th! It was awesome! (I hope you could hear the sarcasm coming through the computer when you read that last sentence!)

Boys, boys, boys...

2010-01-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

This is the best way to play the Wii.

Pinky Promise

2010-01-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

So Emma does this new thing where she makes you "pinky promise" everything. She doesn't understand how a pinky promise works but I think it so cute the way she uses it. Here's an example from today. "Mom, can I watch Sleeping Beauty?" "Sure. I think it is downstairs with the other movies." "Pinky promise, mom?" and then she sits there with her pinky finger waiting for me to hook and shake on it. I get a big grin every time we have to "pinky promise". So funny.

Zach is 1!

2009-11-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

Our baby is 1! It went by so fast! We love Zachary. His brothers and sister will do anything for him. They love to play with him and make him laugh. It really is joyous.

Pictures from the pumpkin patch

2009-11-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

We went to the pumpkin patch with our cousins. The kids had a great time.

Zach

2009-01-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

Zach is two months old.

14 lbs.
24 1/4 inches

LIKES: being held all the time, spitting up, crying, his brothers and sister to talk to him, smiling
HATES: his carseat, his bumbo, being on his stomach, the cold weather, being ignored
NEEDS: a haircut, a nanny that can hold him all the time, a pacifier

Here are some pictures.

Sledding!

2009-01-02T21:30:00.001-08:00

Steve and the boys (Andrew and Jacob) went sledding. I don't mean regular sledding. On Thursday they went to the outlets in Park City and did some returning/shopping. Then they went to stay overnight at my parent's room at the Zermott Resort in Heber. They went swimming and played in the hottub on Thursday afternoon. On Friday they headed back to Park City to this place where you can pay to go sledding. I know you're thinking..."why pay to go sledding when every hill around us is covered in snow?" Well, they did it A)because the hill was steep and long, B)because they would just hook your tube up to a line that pulled you up to the top of the hill, and C)you had all the amenities that you might need such as bathrooms, hot chocolate, places to go warm-up etc. They had a great time. Jacob got sick from all the fun but said he wanted to go again. Here are the only pictures Steve could get. They are pictures of the boys being pulled up the hill.

Thanks Buddy!

2008-12-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

So here's a conversation from this morning.

Andrew: Here mom you can have some of my M&M's.
Mom: No thanks Andrew, mom is on a diet.
Andrew: Why? You aren't THAT fat.

Wow, thanks buddy. Maybe I will take those M&M's since I'm not that fat! He meant it as a compliment I think. I love that kid! Had anybody else said that I would have been depressed and offended and eaten the whole bag of M&M's while having a pity party with myself. I guess it's a good thing it was Andrew.

Pictures

2008-10-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Zachary. Now I just need a picture of this kid's hair. He has a head full of thick, dark hair just like all his siblings.

Zachary Ryan Bargeron

2008-10-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to quickly update everyone and let you know that Zachary Ryan Bargeron is here. He was born on his due date, October 17th at 4:13 pm. He weighed 10 lbs. and was 21 1/2 inches long. Life with 4 kids is an adjustment. I can't even find my camera or I would post a picture. I think it is in Steve's car. Anyway.

I'll also update on our family. Steve started a new job a few weeks ago. He now works at Novell in their tax department. He likes working there. We also got another addition to our family. A dog from our neighbors the Smiths who moved. Her name is Phoebe and she is a schnauzer. She is a good dog and I feel bad that she gets so loved by our kids. Sometimes she runs away when they come after her. Especially when Emma comes running. I need to post a picture of her too. She is cute. We are also in the middle of converting our loft to a fourth bedroom so we have somewhere for Zachary to sleep. I get tired of hammering and drywall dust everywhere. I hope it is done soon. You know how contractors work at their own pace so some things seem to take longer than I think they should. We can't wait for Halloween. The kids are so excited. We just have to make it until Friday. I have to say that all of these things combined is a little overwhelming. That's all from us for now. I'll do my best to get some pictures posted.

Don't judge me!

2008-09-17T12:28:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I LOVE taking care of Andrew's webkinz. Andrew remembers him every now and then, but I check on him everyday and make sure he is fed and happy. I think it might have to do with the fact that everytime I log in to check on him he says how happy he is that I'm there and how I do such a great job of taking care of him. Maybe secretly this is what I hope my kids and husband think but just don't always say. :) For those of you who don't know, a webkinz is a little stuffed animal pet that you have to take care of online. Andrew has a little tiger named "Tigerpaws". He is thriving thanks to me and the care I give him. I know I'm crazy and like I said...don't judge me.

We aren't dead!

2008-09-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Steve put this new filter on our computer that makes it impossible to read any blogs (including my own)! I've been waiting for him to fix it so I could at least see what I was posting but decided to just give a quick update. Summer is gone. We went swimming. Steve and the boys went to a couple of Owlz and Bees baseball games. We had a last hurrah at Bear Lake at the end of July. Can you believe I don't have even one picture of that vacation? Lindsay can :)! Andrew and Jake started fall soccer. Steve is Jake's coach. The boys started school. Andrew is in second grade. Jacob is in preschool. I love having 2 1/2 hours a day with just Emma even though it will only last for 7 more weeks until this baby comes. We went shopping today and Emma tried on at least 10 pairs of shoes. It was so fun! On Labor Day Steve and the boys hiked to Timpanogos cave. They had a great time eating crickets, getting hailed on, it was all good. Andrew and Jake didn't complain at all. We are getting ready for Jacob's 5th birthday and getting this baby born. That's all from the Bargeron's.

Potty Training

2008-07-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning and decided it was time to potty train Emma. I only have three months until this baby comes and I just don't want to have two kids in diapers. I have pull-ups and I've done this before. I'm probably counting my chickens LONG before they hatch but Emma has already successfully "pooped" in the big potty today (she has peed in the toilet before but that was her first time pooping in it) and her pull up has remained dry. I told her we would all go to get her princess underwear for FHE. The boys will be so excited I'm sure! I had to promise them a stop at the library and Arctic Circle to get them even remotely interested in the whole potty training Emma gig. Like I said it has only been 3 or 4 hours but we seem to be starting out pretty well. I'm sure I just cursed myself!

Happy 7th Birthday Andrew!

2008-07-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late posting this, but in all fairness I did have a funeral and some other things going on this day. I wanted to give a Happy 7th Birthday shout-out to my first born Andrew. He turned 7 on June 23rd! I can't believe how much he's grown in the last 7 years. Because I had a funeral that I needed to attend Steve stepped up and did the whole birthday thing. He took Andrew, Jacob and two of Andrew's friends (Dallas and Braxton) to Chuck E. Cheese. I despise that place and was happy to let all the boys go. Andrew got a webkinz, a tomagotchi, a cool bicycle/skateboard ramp (perfect for scraping and breaking numerous parts of your body when you wreck) and three new gamecube games. We love you buddy! I'll post the pictures soon.

My Princess is 2!

2008-06-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today was Emma's birthday. I can't believe my baby girl is 2! When Emma woke up we sang her "Happy Birthday!" That was the first of about 30 times that we sang it. Every time we sang it Emma laughed and it was so entertaining that the boys and I did it all day long. Emma had two candles on her waffle. ALL DAY she carried around a balloon that my friend Rebecca gave me for my birthday (which was the day before. Thanks Rebecca!) Emma's best friend Ayden came over for a few hours to play. When Steve got home Emma opened her presents. We got her a chest full of dress-up clothes and a box full of dress-up shoes! Then we took Emma out for her favorite meal..chicken nuggets! When we got back we had cupcakes and ice cream with our good friends/neighbors the Smith's. It was a good day and Emma LOVED being spoiled. Here are some pictures. They're out of order. Emma blowing out her candles on her cupcake.
Emma with her gifts from her best friend Ayden. He got her more dress-up clothes and this Disney princess purse set with a phone, sunglasses and play make-up!
See what a diva she is!
Emma with the balloon that she didn't put down ALL DAY!
That's what a box of shoes will do to this girl!
All dressed up and ready to go!
Notice the shirt...WARNING I am two!
Emma's cupcakes. We stole this idea from Kahlia. (Kahlia's cupcakes were much cuter!)

It's a.........nother BOY!

2008-06-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's a bouncing baby boy! (That's for Rebecca!) When I was in the ultrasound room I asked the doctor not to tell me what the sex was because I wanted to try to figure it out on my own. The doctor wasn't even trying to show me the sex but I saw something sticking out and immediately said, "It's a boy." I've seen ultrasounds like that enough to know FOR SURE that it was a boy. So there you have it!

Here's Emma!

2008-06-01T20:46:00.001-07:00

That's our girl! Emma is at such a fun age. She'll be 2 in a few weeks. I really wanted a girl and I am so happy to have Emma.

Here are some pictures

2008-06-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Andrew at his "Parents" Day. Steve and I were both able to go. The kids had a cute program prepared with some songs, poems and then a story that allowed each child to have a reading part. We realy enjoyed it. Andrew "passed" 1st grade. He had all Y's on his report card (this means - Yes, mastery) except for three P's ( this means - Partial mastery). Way to go Buddy!
This a picture of Andrew and his teacher Miss Winward. She was the perfect teacher for Andrew. The other day he asked me why he couldn't just go to Miss Winward's class next year and do 2nd grade work.
Jacob had his big "See ya later Alligator" graduation party. Jacob also had a great teacher. She is a woman who lives in the ward next to ours. Jacob graduated from pre-school and is ready to go to kindergarten, except for the fact that he won't be five until September and misses the district cut-off. So he gets to do pre-school AGAIN next year. Not just one, but TWO pre-schools! He'll be gone every morning from 9:30 -12:00. Steve sees it as me paying for Jacob to go to kindergarten. I see it is a great chance for Jacob to meet children his age and reinforce all the things he has already been taught this year. He better be ready for kindergartn by 2009!
We are really blessed to have such wonderful boys! We love them (when thay aren't fighting , teasing, burping, yelling, passing gas, or doing any of those things little boys LOVE to do.) Just kidding we love them all the time!:)

Lindsay is making me do this!

2008-05-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not the sort of person who posts things like this on a blog, but at this point most people already know. We are having another baby. I'm due at the beginning of October. (What a bummer...another kid that misses that school cut-off.) Like I said, I'm only posting this because Lindsay said she would if I didn't.

My new diaper friend!

2008-04-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

I was changing a poopie diaper this morning and thought to myself, "wow, this smells somewhat minty and refreshing." Then I realized that Emma ate 4 pieces of gum at church yesterday. (We do what we have to keep her quiet and content during sacrament meeting.) So try using gum to help with those diapers. That is an old wives tell that swallowed gum takes years to digest. :)

We have some good news!

2008-04-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

No we aren't having a baby! We (I mean all 5 of us at the same time. What was I thinking?) went to the dentist and we have no cavities. Okay so that really isn't that exciting but i didn't have anything else to blog about. I just want to add that the reason I did all of our appointments at the same time was because I hate going to the dentist office 4 or 5 separate times. It took a little over two hours but at least Steve was there to suffer through the whole experience with me. A family that suffers together, stays together right?

Easter

2008-03-27T12:01:00.001-07:00

I want to be a blogger, but I'm really not good at it! Here is a picture of Emma that Lindsay sent me. I actually do have Easter pictures of the rest of my kids but I don't know how to get them on the computer. I'm one of those people who won't learn how to do something because then I would actually HAVE to do it. Steve will tell you that this drives him CRAZY! Anyway, we did the ward egg hunt on Saturday, followed by a big hunt at my parents. On Sunday the kids got their baskets and then we had dinner with Steve's family. All of the cousins found eggs and we did the Easter story. It was fun. I'm thankful for holidays that turn our thoughts to the things that are most important to us. Okay, so stop telling me to update my blog...this post buys me at least another 6 weeks!:)

I've been tagged!

2008-02-28T21:34:00.000-08:00

This is all becuase of Lindsay!

How long have you and your significant other been together?
11.5 years

Who eats more?
Steve eats more than me, but our 6 year old eats more than both of us. Example: Tonight for dinner he ate 4 pieces of french toast, eggs, hashbrowns, 4 big strawberries and 2 glasses of milk. I'm not sure how we'll be able to afford feeding this kid when he turns 7!

Who said "I love you" first?
I think Steve did

Who is taller?
Steve, by almost a foot

Who sings better?
I only sing in private. Steve will sing anywhere, so he wins that one.

Who is smarter?
Steve is smarter, but I'm more creative. So we excel in different things.

Who does the laundry?
I wash it and dry it, but NOBODY folds it or puts it away. We live out of laundry baskets. "Where are my socks?" "Go check one of the 7 laundry baskets to find some." True conversation!

Who does the dishes?
I do 6 days a week. Steve does it the other day.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Steve

Who pays the bills?
I do. This actually only started recently. For 10 years Steve paid every bill we got.

Who mows the lawn?
Steve. That's his job and I think he enjoys it.

Who cooks dinner?
I do or some restaurant does. =)

Who drives when you are together?

Steve drives but I nag and complain the whole time about how he does it!

Who is more stubborn?
I am so much more stubborn!

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong?
Because I'm so stubborn it would have to be Steve.

Whose parents do you see the most?
We see my parents once week if not more. We see Steve's parents 2-4 times a month

Who kissed who first?
It was a mutual thing.

Who proposed?
Steve

Who is more sensitive?
Are you kidding? I can cry over just about anything.

Who has more siblings?
Steve has 4 sisters.
I have 2 biological brothers, 2 adopted brothers and 3 adopted sisters. That makes 7all together.

Big Girl Bed

2008-02-26T20:24:00.000-08:00

So a week ago Emma got out of her crib during her nap time. At first I thought it was a fluke thing. I went in and sat in the rocker and pretended that I was asleep so I could watch how she did it. After two seconds she was out of that darn crib AGAIN! I really didn't want her to be in a big girl bed. I thought for sure she wouldn't stay in it. Finally, after a week of no naps I gave up and put our trundle bed in her room. She takes her naps just fine so far. (knock on wood) She won't get out of her crib when it is dark, so I left her crib in the room. She sometimes wake up at night but we just let her cry herself back to sleep and I'm afraid if she can get out of her bed she'll stay awake. So she sleeps in her big girl bed for naps and her crib at night. Here is the problem. The trundle bed is up against the wall that the closet is on so we can't use the closet. I moved her rocker over in front of her dresser which means I have to move the rocker anytime I need to get clothes out of it. There is a tiny little walking space in the middle of the crib and bed so she can still get her books from the bookcase. I'll have to post a picture just so you can see the madness that is Emma's room. By the way...Lindsay you were right.

The FAT cyle

2008-02-06T19:41:00.001-08:00

In the scriptures we learn about the pride cycle. When I liken the scriptures to myself I realize that I have my own cycle...The Fat/Skinny cycle! So I'm going to share it with you.

This is me when I was 10 or eleven. I told you I was overweight my whole life! p.s. Troy you were really short! Love Ya!
Here I am at the beginning of my junior year in high school. Still fat!
This is when I was engaged to Steve. Skinny AND young!
This is what happened after I had andrew. Fat.
I wish I could get this picture to go the right way. Click on it to make it bigger. This was after I had Andrew and lived in Guam. Skinny and cute hair!
This is when I was pregnant with Jacob. Fat.
Can't figure out how to flip the picture, anyway...you can't really tell, but I'm pretty skinny in this picture. Look at my tiny neck and arms and of course no chest!

Apparently I didn't take any pictures of myself after this. I couldn't find any. I'll just tell you that I gained weight with Emma and then lost it. So now you can see me going through my Fat/Skinny cycle. I am happy to say that right now is a fairly skinny time (i could always stand to lose a few pounds and flab). Enjoy! Sorry, I wasn't brave enough to open myself up to ENDLESS mocking by posting my infamous "Glamour Shot". Lindz you're the only one who gets to see that one!

There's a reason people!!!

2008-01-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a little while. But, now I have a beef to settle with my dad. There are reasons that I am not fashionable and loathe shopping. The worst part is that I actually feel like I have to defend myself and give these reasons.

1)I was raised by the world's biggest tightwad. My dad NEVER bought anything for himself even if he REALLY needed it. He sacrificed everything for the good of his family. He was all about saving money and we actually went over our family finances every Monday night at FHE. (I wouldn't recommend doing that.) We had money but we weren't spoiled. Before we bought anything we had to ask ourselves if this item we were purchasing was a "need" or a "want". When you stop and think about it most things are just wants. So I have this "I don't really NEED much" mentality. I have a few shirts, some pants and skirts. I am actually proud to say that I only own 5 pairs of shoes. What is wrong with me? I blame it on my dad...he made me a TIGHTWAD!!!

2)I was overweight when I was growing up. I HATE shopping! I never fit into cute clothes and even if I did my parents never would have bought them for me. I am all about comfort over style.

All that being said, the other day when I was at my parents house my dad told me that I needed to dress more appropriately. More appropriately for what? I explained to him the above mention reasons why I don't dress appropriately and he said that he would give me money to go shopping. I'm an adult and I don't need my dad's money, but if all his sacrificing and saving all those years has given him all of this dispensable income...then that's fine, he can dispense of it to me! So I might pop up some time with a new shirt, pants, skirt or pair of shoes. Who knows? One thing that I do know is that I'll hate every minute I spend looking for it, trying it on, and buying it. The only good thing is it's not my money, which satisfies the tightwad in me!

p.s. Don't worry I'll post the token "fat pictures" of me growing up soon!:)

My Sweet Kids!

2007-12-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

I just had some pictures taken of my babies. I understand that thet aren't really babies anymore...but I'm not willing to let them grow up yet. I hope you enjoy them. Thanks Lindz for scanning them in for me. Emma!!! What a sweet girl!

Jacob

Andrew
How cute!
I have good looking kids!

Lights at Temple Square

2007-12-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

So we had this this REALLY original idea to go to temple square for FHE to see the Christmas lights on Monday. I am not kidding when I say that half of the state of Utah had the same idea! We went and had dinner at the Gateway and then took the TRAX to temple square. It was freezing. I have to say that the lights were beautiful and I had a good time. Jacob fell off of a bench and hit his head on the concrete. Emma froze her chunky legs off. Andrew was only concerned that he didn't win a prize out of the crane game at the Gateway. When we got back in the car we asked Andrew if he liked the lights and his answer was, "What lights?" All-in-all it was a nice family experience. It only lasted about 4 hours! That is the longest FHE we've ever had. I hope you all get to do it sometime. I mean that!

More Snow

2007-12-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

We got some more snow. Notice the enthusiasm in my writing! This was good "snowman building" snow so we let the boys give it a try. The boys decided to call their snowman "Frosty".
It was cold and there was no sun so this was the best picture we could get. I'm hopeful that we've been good this year and that Santa brings a better ditigal camera!

Emma Lynn

2007-12-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

Here is Emma eating a chocolate cookie. She LOVES chocolate...so therefore we know that she is my daughter.

Here she is taking a bath to clean off all the chocolate.

Snow!

2007-12-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

We had our first big snowfall of the year. I know I say I hate the snow, but I have to admit that I love watching how excited my children get about snow.

Here is our sweet Emma!

Here Jake is practicing his snowball throwing skills! He did get our neighbor in the face a few times.

Andrew is making snow balls to throw at all of us.

This is Emma and her boyfriend Ayden. Ayden is our neighbor. He and Emma were born one week apart from each other. Aren't they cute! So there you have our first blog. It can only get better from here right? Thanks Lindsay for helping us get started...You're the best!!!