Dave and Corey Johnson

Brian Head

2011-07-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

We just got home from a family reunion up at Brian Head Resort. It was such a great time, and the weather was perfect. We did a couple of hikes. One of the hikes was to a waterfall. When I got there Parker was right underneath it singing. It looked like he was singing in the shower. There was still some snow up there so we were having a snowball fight while hiking. It was pretty crazy to be doing that in July. They have some cool caves that you can go in, kind of like the nutty putty caves, that Dave took Parker and Jack to. I had to stay home since Shane couldn't go but everybody who went send they were really cool. There was tons of just hanging out with cousins and eating. One night our niece Swaezy told Dave she would give him $100 if she could crack 2 eggs on his head. Dave agreed so we went out on the back patio and she cracked 1 and rubbed it all over his back and hair and then she said never mind I don't want to spend the money. We all had a good laugh about that especially since it was Dave. Parker one night decided to toliet paper Sadie and Saylor while they were asleep. He told us he used a whole roll. I was a bit scared to see the mess he made. When I saw what he did I cracked up. See the picture above to see what I mean. On the 4th they had face painting and balloon animals, along with bounce houses. Later that night they had a big firework show which was so awesome to hear the echo in the canyon. It was such a great time. I love the mountains and playing in them. All the kids got along great and Shane was so great as well. Dave's mom always does such an amazing job with the food. We ate like kings.

Our Best Bites

2011-05-10T15:12:00.001-07:00

My sisters asked me for these recipes today so I thought I would just share them on my blog. These are from Ourbestbites.com. This is my new favorite cooking blog. They also have a cookbook which I am hoping to get soon. Every recipe I have tried on this blog is fantastic. These are 2 of my new favorites. Both quick and easy.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (and actually, flour ones are really good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

The ones pictured below are actually flour tortillas- which I found out I like just as well (maybe even better!) than corn ones.

Dip ‘em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or this dressing.

Makes 12-16

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
SALAD:

4 c. chopped Romaine Lettuce
2 c. chopped grilled chicken (you could use Taco Chicken if you want)
1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, washed
1/3 c. vertically-sliced red onions
1 avocado, cubed
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8 3/4 oz. can corn, rinsed and drained Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

DRESSING:

DRESSING:
1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 c. light sour cream
1 1/2 + tsp. adobo sauce from canned chipotle chilies
1 tsp. chili powder
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
¼ tsp. salt

OPTIONAL:

Tortilla Strips

Make sure all salad ingredients that need to be washed or rinsed have been. Combine lettuce, chicken, beans, corn, onion, and tomatoes in a large bowl and gently mix with your hands (which you have obviously and thoroughly washed, of course! :) ). Set aside.

Mix dressing ingredients. I say to start with 1 1/2 tsp. of adobo sauce and then go from there, probably 1/4-1/2 tsp. at a time. If you're serving this for a crowd, it's probably better to err on the side of not spicy enough rather than too spicy, but if you're just making it for your family and you have taste buds of steel, have at it. You could even chop up one of the chilies and toss it in there if you're feeling super-brave. Then taste the dressing and you'll know what heaven tastes like. Set dressing aside.

If you're making tortilla strips, fry those puppies up now. I didn't make them here because I'm trying my darndest not to be naughty nutritionally, but if I make this salad for some kind of festivity, I always make the tortilla strips. Allow them to cool.

When you're ready to serve, add avocado, tortilla strips, and dressing. Gently combine with your hands and serve.

New Family Picture

2011-05-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

We just got new family pictures a few weeks ago and I was so relived that a bunch of them turned out. Family pictures stress me out to no end. Trying to get 3 little boys to hold still is quite a challenge but our photographer Emily did great.

Easter

2011-04-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Here are my boys on Easter Sunday. I love that Jack had to hold his new water gun in the picture. Shane was taking a nap so we had to get some pictures of him later at Grandma's. We had an Easter Egg hunt and my mom's house, and then a great dinner.

Arizona/St. George

2011-04-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break we had the opportunity to go to both Arizona and St. George. My sister in law and her husband got sealed in the Mesa Temple. It was such a great experience and it was so darling to see their little 18 month old sealed to them. That was the 1st sealing I have been to where a child is sealed to their parents and it just made me cry with how amazing it was. St. George was so much fun as well. The weather was perfect which was great. Camie, Tara and I got up early every morning and went to Crossfit Dixie. It was so much fun. A common bond we have always had with Tara was working out so it was fun to all go together. Tara was great to keep the kids 2 mornings so Camie, Kiah, Kesli and I could go shopping and get lunch. I love having nieces to go shopping with since I don't have any girls of my own. We took the kids swimming at Sand Hallow pool, and then to Nielsen's frozen custard one afternoon, which is one of my favorite places. We went and saw the movie Hop, which I have to say is one of the dumbest kid movies I have ever seen. But the kids loved it so I guess that is what matters. They have a fun Park right by a river we went to one night and got Taco Bell for dinner. It just wouldn't be a trip with my brother if we didn't get Taco bell. The kids had so much fun together. It was a perfect trip.

Jack;s 4th Birthday

2011-04-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

Jack turned 4 this month and after celebrating Parker's birthday he was so excited for it to be his turn. We had a birthday party for him on his birthday at our house. We just played a few games and had cake. Of course the morning of his birthday Dad had to give him his birthday spankings as well. Jack woke up at 6:00 on his birthday and was ready for us to get out of bed so he could open his presents. Dave said "since when is a birthday like Christmas where you have to get up super early?" It was worth it to see the smile on his face. Jack is so excited to be old enough to do some of the things the big kids do. He gets to play t-ball this spring and soccer in the fall. Jack is our little athlete. He loves sports and he gets the same little face as Dave does when he is playing sports which is darling. We love our little Jack.

Freezer meals

2011-04-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I realizes how much food we were wasting because we never would finish what I had made for dinner and both Dave and I don't really love leftovers. So I decided that from now on I was going to make the same dinners but split it into 2 pans and cook one and freeze one. This has been such a great option for our family. We save so much money on food and I always have 3-4 meals in the freezer, which is great for those days that are crazy, or if you aren't feeling well but you still need to be a mom. It obviously doesn't work with every meal but I have found it works great with any casserole, lasagna, enchiladas, chicken cordon blue, BBQ beef for sandwiches that you make in the crock pot, cafe rio pork, etc. If you have a bigger family you could double the recipe. It has worked so well I thought I would pass the idea on.

Parker turns 6

2011-04-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

On April 3rd Parker turned 6. We had so much fun celebrating his birthday this year. We had a Scooter Birthday Party for him at Classic skating and he had a blast. He got to go in the money Machine and catch money to get tickets and also spin a wheel to win a prize. We had donuts instead of cake because Parker doesn't like cake. (I know crazy huh!) Classic always plays such fun games and all of the kids had a blast. On Friday we took him to build a bear workshop for 1 of his birthday presents. Parker loves stuffed animals. All of his stuffed animals have a name and he carries them with him all over the house. He was so excited to be able to build his own bear. He chose the Karate outfit for him and named him Drey (which is the name of the new Karate Kid). He loves Karate and was able to take a class at the rec center this winter. On Sunday he was given a Ginny pig with all the supplies. He was in Heaven. He never wants to go anywhere because he always wants to be home with it. He pick our the name Jimmer for him. Jimmer is even having pets named after him now too. I cant believe my little boy is 6. The day I found out I was Pregnant with him was truly one of the happiest days of my life. I am so lucky to have been able to spend the last 6 years with him.

Our little baby Shane

2011-04-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Shane has truly been an absolute joy. People ask me how it is having 3 kids now and I have to tell them that 2 kids was harder for me then 3 has been. Shane is so easy going and happy all the time. He only fusses when he is tired or hungry. He has been such a blessing in our home.

St Patricks Day

2011-04-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

We have a tradition in our family of having Green Eggs and Ham for breakfast on St. Patricks day. You can see that Jack was less then thrilled to try it.

Work Out

2011-03-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite workout video. I love Jillian on the biggest loser so when I saw this workout on sale the 1st of January I bought it. It is a great overall body toning workout but especially great for the abs, which mine have needed some TLC after having Shane. I highly recommend this video if you like to workout at home.

Holy Snow

2011-03-13T12:50:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago my family rented a cabin up at Sundance for the weekend. It was such a great time with lots of eating, talking and playing. My mom of course made matching PJ's for all the kids. Parker went skiing again for the 2ND time but he didn't love it so much since it was snowing and the wind was blowing. On Saturday night the adults played a game of battle of the sexes. Surprisingly the guys won, but only because the girls picked the card to go back to the start twice. It turned out to be quite the experience. On Saturday night we went to bed and then at 1:00 in the morning I woke up and realized the power was out. I didn't think much of it I just made sure all the kids had a blanket on them so nobody got cold and went back to bed. Well when we woke up the next morning the power was still out and we realized it had snowed 3 feet. It was so crazy. The guys spent a lot of the day digging out our cars and trying to get the attention of the snow plow to come plow the driveway since we were suppose to leave that day. Well as the day went on the snow plow hadn't come. We called the owner of the cabin a few times and he had to finally drive up from Orem and get the snow plows attention to get us out. It was kind of a crazy feeling to know that you literally couldn't go anywhere until you were dug out. When we got home Sunday night there was literally an inch of snow at our house. I couldn't believe that only 15 mins away they got almost no snow and we were snowed in. Fun times!

New Family Picture

2011-03-10T09:23:00.001-08:00

Yes I know that the family picture above is pretty out of date and doesn't include Shane. My mother in law actually gave us a gift certificate for family pictures for Christmas I am just waiting for it to warm up a bit so we can do them outside. So hopefully we will have an updated family picture soon.

Brian Head

2011-03-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

Back in January we had a chance to go to Brian Head resort. My nephew was getting ordained a deacon and my sister-in-law manages a bunch of properties there so she put us up in a ski in ski out condo. It was a blast!!!!! I was even able to ski for a bit and leave Shane since I literally just went out the back door and could ski to the lift. I truly love skiing and look forward to the day when I can go all the time again. Parker skied for the 1st time there and he like it OK. He was a bit nervous but he wanted to go again so that is a good sign. The kids played in the snow all day, building snow forts and sledding hills. They have a great pizza place we went to one night as well. On Sunday we drove down to Parawon for Ryland's ordination and then we had a lunch at their house which Chef Ryland prepared himself. Which is pretty impressive for a 12 year old. It was fun and relaxing. We are going again over the 4th of July for a Johnson Family reunion. I am excited to see what Brian head has to offer in the summer.

Recipes

2011-03-08T17:27:00.000-08:00

Lately I have become obsessed with recipe blogs. Whenever I find a new one I seriously spend like 2 hours looking through and finding some good recipes. I think it is partly because I am home so much with a newborn and it is something I can do here. It has been fun trying new foods, and I have found that I really do love to cook. Some girls in my ward started a recipe group as well. We get together once every few months and share recipes. It has been a lot of fun. This is the latest one I found that Dave and I both loved so I thought I would pass it along. If you know of any other great cooking blogs please let me know.

Chicken Vegetable Chow Mein

1 pkg spaghetti (or udon noodles if you want to get fancy)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into really thin strips
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs oil
1 small onion, cut in half, then sliced (half moon shaped)
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3/4 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded
1 1/2 c frozen Chinese snow peas (or any vegetable you want)
1 carrot, peeled, and sliced into matchstick size
2 1/2 tbs soy sauce
2 1/2 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper

Cook spaghetti according to package directions, making sure to add plenty of salt to the boiling water to flavor the noodles. While noodles are cooking season chicken with salt and pepper, and toss with cornstarch. Heat 2 tbs oil in wok or large skillet on high. Cook chicken until brown and crispy, (this takes about 10 minutes). Remove chicken onto a plate with slotted spoon. Add onion, carrot and garlic and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, then add cabbage, stir fry for 3 minutes or until tender. Add chicken, frozen vegetables, cooked, drained noodles, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce. Toss until noodles and vegetables are warmed through, about 3 minutes. Serve!

highlights of 2010

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

2010 has been an interesting year. There has been many blessings, but also a lot of sad things too. We will start with the good.
1. The greatest part of 2010 was the birth of our healthy baby boy Shane. He has been such a blessing. I truly thought I would be done having kids after him but he has changed my mind. I think I am going to have to beg Dave for 1 more. Even if it is another boy I will take him.

2. Finishing our basement. It is so nice to have the extra space and the boys have loved having it to play in

3. Dave changing jobs. Even though this was scary and we have had to cut back financially it has been such a blessing. He actually gets home around 5:30 now so we get to see him. He was able to coach Parker's T-ball team which he would have never been able to do before. He is around to help me with the kids which I feel has bonded us as a family even tighter.
4. Parker starting Kindergarten and Jack starting preschool.

5. Jack being potty trained and me not having to change diapers for 8 months until Shane was born.

This year I have had so many hard things happen to people I love as well. I attended 3 funerals this year of people who went too early. 1st was the funeral of my friend Stacy's husband, the 2ND was the funeral of my cousins little 2 1/2 year old boy Beck. It was so hard to watch my cousin have to face the death of her little boy, and to continue to watch her morn the loss of such an angel. The 3rd funeral was my Uncle Rex. Seeing his wife have to go on with life without him in it truly has broken my heart. I have had people I love in my life experience marriage trouble, health problems, pregnancy difficulty, family issues, financial difficulty, and loss of jobs. I have just felt like all around me people have been suffering. It has truly made me appreciate all that I have been blessed with and what is truly important in this life. I hope that 2011 is a much better year for those around me that are suffering.

Christmas

2011-01-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year has been a blast as usual. On the 23rd we got to go with my moms ward to a thing called Come to Bethlehem where they basically rein act what happened that night. They serve food from that time period, have a real donkey and sheep. They asked last minute if Shane could be the baby Jesus as they didn't have a real baby for it yet that night. So he was the star of the show and he cried the entire time. It was a great experience.

We spent Christmas eve with just our little family. We took a tradition that Camie's family has done for a few years and we went to the store on Christmas eve and split into teams and each team has to buy presents for the other team. Then you go home and wrap them and open them that night. We made cookies for Santa, ordered pizza and just watched Christmas movies together. It was nice and relaxing.

My brothers family came into town on Christmas day so we gathered at Camie's house that night. We had a gift exchange between cousins and a little talent show. We spent the next few days together, my mom always makes breakfast for everybody when my brothers family is here and then we make plans for the rest of the day. We went and saw Mega mind together, did a Christmas pageant, shopping bowling, sleepovers and lots and lots of yummy food. We always have so much fun when we are all together. After my brothers family went home we took a day off to just veg and actually get my house clean and then came New Years with a party with my cousins at Camie's house, and today a prime rib dinner at Dave's parents house. I am so grateful to be surrounded by so much family. It truly makes the holidays so great.

Temple Square

2010-12-21T21:38:00.001-08:00

A few weekends ago Dave was out of town so the boys and I decided to go to Temple Square with Jen's family. We rode the trax up, which the kids thought was pretty neat. The kids had a great time. I haven't been to Temple Square in years to see the lights and I didn't realize how crowded it is now. I was a little stressed the whole time that I was going to loose one of my boys, especially since Dave was not there to help me. I think I might wait a few years to go back when my kids are a little older and I don't have to keep such a close eye on them. I just love this time of year and doing all these fun things with my kids. Both Parker and Jack get so into the Holidays which makes them even more fun for me. As you can see my boys are total goof balls so we rarely get a normal picture of them, but at least you get to see what they are really like.

Lovin our Baby Shane

2010-12-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

Shane just turned 2 months old and we are just loving having him around. He is such a sweet baby which has made being a mom of 3 a lot easier for me. He is smiling all the time now and has the cutest little dimple. He is pretty chubby. I went in for his 2 month check up and the doctor thought it was his 4 month because of his size. He is in the 80th percentile for his weight. I think it is great. I always wanted a little chubby baby but my other boys were always so skinny. Parker is such a great helper and always holds him for me in the morning while I get some cleaning done. They watch cartoons together and I think it is so precious. I love my 3 boys and love being a mom to them.

Do You Have Room (for the Savior)?

2010-11-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

A lady in my ward wrote this song and I absolutely love it. It has such a great message.

Shane David Johnson

2010-10-06T15:51:00.001-07:00

Shane was born on Thursday Sept 30. He weight 8 lbs and was 20in long. He was born at 10:51 a.m. The delivery went very fast so I wasn't all the way numb yet from the Epidural but it was enough to take the edge off. It was just a little more pain then I was expecting. I went from a 5 to a 10 in 11 minutes. It was a little crazy and the nurse ran out of the room to get the doctor. He made it in time and after 2 pushes he was here. He has been perfectly healthy which we are so grateful for. He has been an angel which has been great to make this whole transition a little easier. He has Jack's mouth but other then that he looks a lot like Parker to me. He has darker hair but their is a bit a red in there too. We just love him to death and are so grateful he is here and healthy. The boys are adjusting pretty well. Parker has been my little helper and whenever he crys he goes over and puts his arm around his tummy and he usually calms down. Jack gives him lots of kisses and does not like it when he crys. He always says "Mom, baby Shane needs you." It is pretty cute how protective they are of him. Dave has been such an amazing help. When I came home from the hospital he had the whole house clean. Every bed was made all of the garbages empty the dishwasher unloaded. He is such a great guy and I am so lucky to have him. I am feeling pretty good and love to just sit and snuggle the little guy all day long.

Lion King

2010-09-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

My mother in law got all us daughter in laws and the older girl cousins tickets to Lion King. It was tons of fun to go with just the girls. Afterwards we ate at Cheesecake factory which is always so good. We got 4 different kinds of Cheesecake and all shared them.

Nursery

2010-08-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

I think one of the funnest parts of having a new baby is getting to do a new bedroom for them. I have spent the last week getting everything all done and I have to say that I loved the way it turned out. I wasn't going to do another surf themed nursery but when you already have the stuff for it it is hard to resist. It was so fun hanging up all of the babies clothes and putting diapers in the basket. I am so excited for him to be sleeping in here. I just need to get a brown changing pad cover and it will be complete.

Basement

2010-08-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

The basement is finally done and everything has been moved down. It took Dave 4 months and he basically did most of it himself. His Dad was such a great help when Dave wasn't quite sure how to do something and we are so grateful for him. His Dad even did our painting for us last min which saved us some money and he did such a great job. We hired out the plumbing and Sheetrock but other then that Dave did it all himself. He did such a amazing job and I am so grateful for such a talented husband. I feel bad he missed most of the summer but I think he actually had a good time down there. He has missed the construction business. I think everybody at Home Depot knows me as the crazy pregnant women but that is a different story. I think I could tell you what is on every isle there and I have learned more about products there then I ever wanted too. I was the errand girl and some Saturdays I was there 4 times. The 1st day we moved the toys down the boys played down there for 3 hours straight. It was great. It is so great to have this done before the baby gets here and have the extra space. We have a playroom, family room, bathroom and a room for our exercise stuff. Hopefully we can move our family room furniture down soon and get some new furniture upstairs but 1st we are going to wait and see how much this baby is going to cost us.

Cooking Blog

2010-08-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love finding good cooking blogs and I just found this one kukikookbook.blogspot.com. This is a darling girl in my wards and I have tried 6 or 7 of the recipe's and they have all been fabulous. I just thought I would pass it along for anybody else that loves to find new ideas.

Summer fun

2010-06-16T06:35:00.000-07:00

Well we have started summer off by doing some fun stuff as a family. We got a pass to the Lindon Pool which has been tons of fun and I just love being able to sit out in the sun all day. We took the boys camping for the 1st time which is kind of sad that they have never been. Since we bought the house we have had project after project from building the patio, putting in the yard, putting in the fence, landscaping, and now this year finishing the basement(yes I am starting to realize that I am a slave driver). We decided to make Dave take a brake and take the boys up to Hope Camp ground. We went with Dave's brother Curtis and his wife Jess. They brought Hazely which the boys were so excited about. The boys loved it.
On memorial Day we took the boys to This is the place monument with my parents. We went and visited my Grandpa Bob's grave on the way up and then went and ate at Ruth's Dinner. My dad saw it on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives so he wanted to check it out. It was pretty darn good. My favorite was the atmosphere. It was fun to eat outside in the canyon. It was baby animal day at This is the place monument so the boys loved holding some of them and of course their favorite was riding horses. It was a great day with perfect weather.
We had to do our annual trip to the Orem summerfest. It was a bit cold and rainy but the boys had fun. They both won a fish at the fishing bowl game which had to be the highlight but of course the fish died a few days later but they loved having them for those few days. That same weekend Dave's sister came from Arizona and took out her temple endowments. It was such a special day and we felt lucky to be a part of it. My niece Kenzie was also baptised that weekend since she was in town so it was a fun weekend with Dave's family. We got together at my house Saturday night and watched the summerfest fireworks since you can see them from my drive way.
Parker got to start T-ball this year and I have to say that Dave is glowing. Dave is helping coach the team and both him and Parker are loving it. It is so fun to watch all the kids figure out running the bases and fielding the ball. Sadie and Saylor are on Parker's team too which has been fun to have them all together.
The kids play with the neighbors all day long which makes me love living on a flag lot more and more. I am trying to keep as busy as possible this summer so hopefully this pregnancy goes fast. I guess I need to be grateful for the weather not getting too hot yet as I hear that is one of the hardest parts of being pregnant in the summer. I am 24 weeks along now and getting more and more excited to have a new little baby around. I truly miss it. My boys have gotten so much easier the past little while as they get older and more independent. I have to say that life is great and I couldn't be happier.

What is hotter then a man in a tool belt?

2010-05-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

Nothing is hotter! I don't know if I was most excited to start this project to have a basement or to see Dave in a tool belt again Wowzaz! We are done with framing our basement and tomorrow Dave starts the electrical work. We have the plumber lined up for Tuesday and then next Saturday Dave can do the duct work which means sheet rock in about a week and a half. I am so excited to have a basement. The boys have been so helpful. We have had to go get more 2x4's a few times and they love Dad to make them a fort.

It's another baby boy!

2010-05-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

We found out yesterday that we will be having another little boy! When I found out I was literally just so sad for Parker. He wanted a little girl so bad. He told me a few weeks ago that "Mom, if you don't have a girl I will kick you in the stomach." When I told him he looked at me like I was kidding. I just had to explain that now he would have more brothers to play baseball with. He seemed OK with that, I was guarding my stomach a little when I told him. (haha) He truly has been such a little sweetheart to me through this pregnancy. Every night when he prays he says "Thank you for mom's stomach." I am pretty sure the babies name will be Shane David, but we will see if that sticks all the way until he arrives. I am so excited. I know that I was hoping for a little girl, but I will take a healthy little boy any day. Dave somehow thinks he is more of a man now because he has produced 3 boys. His chest was a little more puffed out yesterday, but he is a great dad to his boys so I guess that is OK. 4 1/2 more months until our little man gets here.

Aloha

2010-05-13T08:21:00.001-07:00

My mom and dad just got home from Hawaii and they always bring the grand kids home fun presents. Parker was most excited about getting a star fish. He has let everybody in the neighborhood pet it, I am sure they were all thrilled. The best part was the goggles they brought to all the boys. All the boys ran around my house on Sunday with goggles on. Dom had his on and got hurt and started crying and they got all fogged up. It was super funny. It is always great to have grandma and grandpa home. Parker loves his grandpa so much and loves hearing about Hawaii. He says to Dave all the time that he needs to go to work and make lots of money so we can go. Hopefully someday soon we can take him there. Last time I took my parents to the airport Parker came with me and he didn't realized we weren't going with them on the airplane. He cried the whole way home. He is the biggest Hawaii fan I know who has never been there. It is just because his grandpa thinks it is the greatest and whatever grandpa says is gospel to him.

Thank heaven for sisters

2010-05-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after my nieces dance performance Parker and I went to Brick oven with everybody who came to the show. I had been looking forward to going out all day and then for some reason when we got there I didn't have an appetite which is very strange for me. I just ordered some food for Parker, a salad for me and then some pasta to take home to Dave. I was up getting pasta for Dave and Parker and I started getting a hot flash and light headed and seriously thought I was going to pass out. Luckily my sister Camie was right next to me in line so I asked her to get my pasta and I started to walk to the bathroom. Well half way there I all the sudden had to throw up and I tried as hard as I could to wait until I got to the bathroom but without any luck. Right there in the middle of the restaurant I lost my cookies, and as some of you know that you have zero bladder control when you are pregnant, it also made me wet my pants. The poor brick oven employee that witnessed the whole thing was very sweet and asked it I was OK and then told me where the bathroom was. I ran to the bathroom and finished throwing up in the stall and sat there and looked at myself and thought how am I going to walk back to the table and get my purse and Parker so we could leave when I had throw up on my shoes and jacket. I seriously didn't know what to do, so I come out of the stall and their is Jen and Kesli making sure I was OK. I was so happy to see them. Kesli went and got my purse and Jen said she would take care of Parker for me and bring him home. I was seriously so grateful. Kesli brought me my purse and I was able to leave. This had to be one of my most embarrassing moments. I was so grateful to have sisters there to take care of me in that embarrassing situation. This was so weird especially since I didn't throw up my entire morning sickness. Sorry for the gross story but it just shows that sisters love you even in your worst situations, and another example that pregnancy takes all your dignity away.

Jack's Birthday

2010-05-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Look at those big brown eyes, they melt me.

Holding hands with G-ma, Dom and Zac at the Zoo
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Little Cheese Ball

My baby Jack turned 3 on April 20Th. It was actually harder then I thought to have him turn 3, I am just not ready for him to be a little boy yet and not my baby. We went to the zoo on a truly perfect spring day. My mom and Dad came, and Jen and her kids. We rode the train, carousel and saw all the animals. He got a power wheels 4wheeler for his birthday which he loves and rides every second he can. He is my little sweetheart, and those 20 weeks of morning sickness were all worth it when he runs in every morning and snuggles me.

I love Conference Weekend

2010-04-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

I love Conference and here is why:

#1 The most obvious one is because we get to hear the prophets and apostles speak
#2 PJ's all day long
#3 Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast
#4 Don't have to prepare a lesson(yes I love teaching my primary kids, but it always nice to have a week of no preparation
#5 A week off of wrestling kids through sacarament meeting, they can just go play in their rooms.

It always ends up being such a relaxing weekend. Can't wait!

Parkers Birthday Party

2010-03-30T17:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had Parker's 5th Birthday Party since it was actually going to be nice weather and we could do some of it outside. It turned out so fun, and I have to say how impressed I am of how well behaved all of the kids were at the Party. We did a Carnival Party so we had a fishing pond, a bounce house, knocked down water bottles with water guns, pin the tail on the donkey, decorated cupcakes, ate popcorn and decorated clown balloons. Thanks to oriental trading for having a whole kit I could buy with all the necessities. He turns 5 on Saturday the 3rd. I love this little boy more then words can say.

My hard working boy

2010-03-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks Dave has been working on finishing the basement, and Parker has been so excited about every step. He loves working with his Dad, and he is so excited to have a new room down there. We ordered the wood and had it delivered. Parker was so excited to watch the Forklift pick it up and drop it off on our driveway. As soon as the Forklift left Parker said "Mom I got to go and check to make sure it is good wood." He spent the day checking on the wood and making sure every neighbor that went by saw the wood. That night when Dave got home they had to move the wood into the basement. Parker was so excited to help. He said "Dad I got to go get my fireman's hat on in case something drops on my head I will be OK." I thought that was so random, but so stinking cute. He then spent the night helping his Dad. He hauled wood 1 piece at a time until all of it was done. He has loved being involved and I just love Dave so much for taking the time to involve him even though I know it slows him down a bit. Parker is so much like his Daddy, I think we might have another builder in the Johnson Family.

Love the face

2010-03-30T17:23:00.001-07:00

For St. Patricks Day I made Green eggs and Ham for my kids for breakfast. Parker was so scared to try it. This was his 1st bite, I was laughing so hard. He did realized he liked it and ate them all gone. Jack wouldn't even try it.

Crossfit

2010-03-24T08:59:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I will be 12 weeks along in my pregnancy. I am so happy to be at this point because usually the chance of miscarriage goes way down and usually I start feeling better at 12 weeks. I have been so lucky this pregnancy to be able to continue working out which I believe has made the morning sickness not as bad as before. I usually have been too sick with past pregnancy to workout so I am so grateful. I workout at Viking Crossfit and the trainers have been so great to work with me. I am so excited because Crossfit has a program called Crossfit Mom which is specifically for women who are pregnant. I love working with trainers that help me know what I can continue to do and not be harmful to me or the baby. I am hoping that my entire pregnancy will be better as I plan on working out the rest of the time. Crossfit is so addicting and I have loved doing it. I get to workout with my sister Camie most of the time which is always tons of fun.

Easy Easter Treats

2010-03-20T20:54:00.001-07:00

I found these online and thought they were a fun and most important easy Easter treat to make with my kids. Also my kids will actually eat these. Every holiday we decorate cookies which my kids love but, my kids won't eat cookies only frosting. So I am stuck eating all the decorated cookies myself. However my kids love rice krispy treats so I am going to try these out.

St Patricks Day

2010-03-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

I love getting on people's blogs that post fun family things like FHE ideas, great Holiday ideas, good recipes, kids crafts etc. I am not at all creative so I love using other peoples creativity. So I want to hopefully do more of that on my blog with fun ideas I have done in my life or heard of from a friend. For St. Patricks Day a couple of fun things my mom would do is she would make green eggs and ham for breakfast or we have a heart shaped waffle iron so she would make us clover waffles by separating the hearts and serve with green syrup. We always loved it as kids. The other fun idea that my cousin did last year and I thought was such a great idea is she had her kids go around the house and find things that the leprechaun had left. She did things like turned the milk green, hide some chocolate coins. I thought these were some fun ways to make St. Patricks Day more festive.

Cute Cupcakes

2010-03-12T09:52:00.001-08:00

OK I have to admit that I copied these from my cousins blog. She just posted them and I thought they were so cute. Such a fun idea for St. Patricks Day.

Sunday

2010-03-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

1st of all I have to say that my husband is the best dad ever. On Sunday the boys wanted to ride their bikes to grandmas and of course I wasn't going to take them it was way too cold for me. So they went and asked their dad and of course he said yes. So here they are. I couldn't resist taking a picture, especially since they are both dressed as superman too. I couldn't have asked for a better man!

Parker loves music. He sings all day long and whenever a song comes on the TV he seriously can't help but get up and dance. When we went to the Cabin this winter and my dad brought his guitar Parker fell in love with it. When Grandpa plays his guitar Parker just eats up every minute of it. My mom decided since Parker and Kali love music so much she would buy them a guitar. Parker has been in heaven. For show and tell at Preschool he was suppose to bring his favorite toy and he choose his guitar. I bet his teacher was so excited to see that lol. Hopefully when he is just a bit older he will still love it and we can sign him up for lessons.

Winter Fun

2010-03-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

Holy Cow we got dumped on

This is Jack about to throw a snowball at me

With the recent snow storm my boys woke up 1st thing and wanted to go outside and play in the snow. I went out to check on them and I see them both shoveling the walks. How cute is that? Hopefully they will still want to work like that when they are teenagers

The next Day I took the kids sledding with their cousins. The snow was almost gone but the kids still had tons of fun together.

Gotta Love Insurance

2010-03-03T15:53:00.001-08:00

I went to the doctor last week and got all my blood work done and took about 45 mins and gave them all my information and thought everything was great. So I get a call saying that they don't take my insurance a few days later, so I would have to switch doctors. So I called my previous doctors and they wanted me to come in right away since they usually like to see their patients by 8 weeks and I am 9 weeks. So I had another doctors appointment today. It was all worth it though because today I got to hear the babies heartbeat. I guess my uterus was tilled forward so he was able to hear it. What a relief it was a strong heartbeat. I asked him if he would be able to hear 2 heartbeats yet if there are 2, and he wants to get an ultrasound done since twins run in my family to check. So I am off to the doctors again next week to get an ultrasound and hopefully there is only 1 baby, but if there is 2, well we will be so happy too. (But terrified)

How blessed am I

2010-02-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

Can I just say how blessed I have been this pregnancy. I am almost 7 weeks and still feeling pretty good. I have moments of sickness and then I feel great. When I found out I was pregnant I just prayed that I would feel at least well enough to take care of my boys and not have to use my family and friends to much for help. I have been more then blessed. I am still able to cook, keep my house clean, keep my laundry done, exercise, and take care of my boys. I keep waiting for the terrible morning sickness that I am use to to set in but it just hasn't and I am grateful for everyday that I get without it.

Sundance Cabin

2010-02-11T20:17:00.000-08:00

This happened about a month ago but my family had the opportunity to go stay at a cabin up at Sundance for the weekend. It was such an amazing time. The kids played in the snow all day long. I got to go skiing with Dave which is truly one of my most favorite things, but I rarely get to go since having kids. We had tons of junk food, and my dad brought his guitar and he played and sang with the kids. It was truly such a memorable time. My mom of course made matching PJ's for all the kids which they were all so excited about.

Blogging again

2010-02-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

OK, so I decided I probably should start blogging again since when I am pregnant I kind of go into hiding. Now people will know that I am alive and that I am still moving. Why do I go into hiding well 2 reasons really #1 I get so tired and hauling 2boys around can overwhelm me too much so I would rather stay home. #2 I truly get so enormous when I am pregnant that the less people see me maybe the less they will remember how huge I am. haha

Feeling so blessed

2009-07-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

We have had a bit of a scary week in our family. My mom told us last Friday that she had found a lump close to where she found her 1st lump 6 years ago that was breast cancer. She actually noticed it awhile ago but she didn't want to ruin the family reunion that she had worked so hard on in Wyoming so she waited until after to tell us. She had a appointment on Monday with her doctor and her doctor told her that she had reason to be concerned and that he needed to run some tests. So Tuesday Morning she went in and had some test done and they told us that we would know within 24 hours. Needless to say the last 24 hours I have had a lump in my stomach just waiting for news. My mom called me today after talking to the doctor and they said that it is not cancer and they also ran a test to see if their was anything in her lungs as well and again they found no cancer. I am just feeling so blessed. My mom is truly a rock in my life and I don't know what my life would be like without her. The Lord has truly blessed our family.

4th of July

2009-07-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

This year we had the best time in Wyoming for the 4Th of July. My mom made pioneer dresses for all of us and spent literally a whole year finding pioneer stories to share with us in Wyoming. We went to Martin's cove which was truly an amazing experience. My boys loved riding in the handcart and then hiking part of the way to the cove. There is such an amazing spirit there and it truly help me appreciate just a little bit more what those people went through. Dave and I talked about packing up everything we could fit into a handcart and getting the boys and just leaving. It is truly so hard to comprehend. While we were in Wyoming we also went to a Rodeo which the boys loved, watch truly one of the greatest firework shows I have ever been too, went to the Lander Wy parade which Parker loved getting soaked by the fire trucks, which is something I remember loving as a little kids, and had a BBQ with some of my cousins. It was an action filled weekend that I will truly never forget. We also had a run in with a rattle snake witch about scared Dave and I half to death since the boys were so close to it. I don't think my heart stopped beating a mile a minute for about an hour afterward. I love the 4Th of July and it was fun to spend it in the town where my mom grew up.

Soccer Camp

2009-07-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

Last week Parker did his 1st soccer camp ever and loved it. I was the obnoxious mom on the sideline just glowing watching her little boy. It was so darling that on Friday Dave took off work to come watch Parker play. Any of you who know Dave know what a big deal this is because Dave never takes off work. Anyway Parker was so excited that he just kept smiling and looking at Dave. He had a hard time focusing on the ball sometimes because he was too busy showing off for Dad. I think Dave and I were both so excited for Parker to finally be old enough to start playing sports. It is something I have always wanted was to watch my boys play ball. I don't even care what sport it is I just love watching them play. Parker loved it so much that we signed him up for Fall soccer. I love being a mom!

Parker's 1st Date

2009-06-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

OK so not really, but my mom took all of us girls and the older cousins to see Beauty and the Beast at the Screa Shell last week. Well Lexi (Parker's cousin who he thinks he is going to marry) decided she needed to get on makeup and jewelery since Parker was going to be there. During the play she would say to Parker, "Parker I am going to put on more lipstick," and then she would put about a gallon of lipstick on her cute little lips. I have to say that even though their little relationship will never work out it is so darn cute.

Poor Parker

2009-06-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

Parker has been having a hard time adjusting to Sadie and Saylor not being next door anymore so we had Patterson come visit to cheer him up. Ever since we watched Patterson for a week Parker has been in love with him. Whenever he prays he always says "Thank you for Patterson." Anyway Todd (Patterson's owner) went hunting this weekend so we offered to watch Patterson again for him. Parker has been in Heaven. When we put Patterson in his kennel for the night Parker goes out there and tells him a story. It's pretty darn cute. Parker's nickname for Patterson is Big Fat Pat. Whose kid is this?

Life is going to be alot different around here

2009-06-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

This is a bitter sweet week for me. My sister Camie who has lived next door to me for the past 2+ years is moving on Saturday. I am so excited for her and for her beautiful new home she bought but I am also sad that she is leaving me. When Erick got sent to Iraq more then 2 years ago it was a dream come true when the house right next to me was for rent. I truly thought it was too good to be true. She had lived out of state for a few years which was so hard for me, and then to have her move back to Utah and right next door to me, it has been the perfect situation. When Erick was in Iraq I was suppose to be helping her out but I think she ended up helping me more then I helped her. She has been so great to my kids and has watched them for me so many times. Jack adores her. I had Jack 1 week after she moved in and she help me get over the baby blues I always seem to get after having my 2 kids. We have spent the last 2 years running all of our errands together, sitting outside watching the kids play, taking turns having dinner at each others houses, and doing fun things with the kids. It will be so weird not having her right next door when I need somebody to talk too. She truly has been so great. I am happy she is only moving 5 minutes from me and not to another state at least this time. Our kids have truly become more like siblings then cousins. They spend every minute together which will be hard for my kids to adjust too. I am worried for whoever moves next door because they might have 2 kids coming into their house all the time until they get used to the fact that Cam and Erick don't live there anymore. I have been so lucky to have my sister next to me for these last 2 years.

Jack with Patterson

2009-05-27T20:30:00.001-07:00

OK so I haven't posted forever so here are a ton of new posts. We are watching our friend Todd's dog Patterson for the next few days. The boys are obsessed with him. Parker wants to be doing something with him at all times but doesn't want the dog to touch him at all. Jack on the other hand likes to play right there with him. It is so darn cute to see the boys with him. Jack today wanted to hold his leash in the back yard and it was darling. Patterson laid down so Jack laid down right by him. Patterson ended up pulling Jack around by the end of it. Jack would just sit down right next to Patterson when he was sleeping and just poke him. By the end of the night Parker was doing better not being so scared of him touching him. Our hope by the end of this is to have Parker not so scared of dogs anymore. I was a little nervous about taking the dog since I have never had a dog before but today went great. He is such a cute well behaved puppy. It gives me hope that one day I could own a dog which is truly something I never thought I could do.

My Parents fun gift to us

2009-05-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad decided to spoil us a little bit this summer and they bought all the Grand kids this fun new water slide. We set it up in my back yard today and the kids had so much fun on it. My nephew's are here from St. George this week staying with Camie and so it was fun to have an activity that all ages of Grand kids could do together. It is going to be so fun to have this summer. They played king of the hill on it and of course all the boys had to torture all the girls by pouring water all over then.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We had such a blast Memorial Day Weekend. Our plan was to camp out in the back yard with the boys but since that got rained out we decided last minute to take a trip to Park city with the boys. We had tons of fun. We went to the Olympic Park and then to Park City resort where they had a small carnival going on. We let the boys ride a few rides and then we went and got some dinner at Cafe Rio one of my favorites. The swimming pool at the Hotel was great. It had a kids area which the boys loved. We had to pull Jack away screaming. We got Ice Cream at cold stone again another favorite and then spent the night watching movies in the Hotel. Our room had a hot tub on the balcony so the boys went swimming in the hot tub the next morning. They loved it. On the way home we went to cascade springs and the boys took the little hike around the fish ponds. That night we went and say my Grandpa Kocherhans grave with all of my family and then had a great dinner. We had all the 4 year old cousin sleep at our house that night and they had tons of fun together. On Monday morning I got to get up early with my beehives and put the flags up all over our ward. The Deacon leaders provided a great breakfast for us and we had a great time putting up the flags. That night we had a BBQ with Dave's family and of course a game of kick ball where Dave and his brothers basically end up beating each other up. It was an action packed weekend but tons of fun. I love when we have a 3 day weekend so we can spend some extra time with Dave. Life is so much more fun when he is around.

Take me out to the Ball Game

2009-05-27T19:28:00.001-07:00

We have had tons on fun watching Dave play softball the past few weeks. The boys love it. They just run around and play and cheer on Dad. They of course love the snack bar and have to get some sort of treat every time we go. It is such a fun way to spend summer night plus we get to see Dave more since he gets off work early to play. Dave loves having his boys at the ball park as that is where he spent so much of his life when he was younger. My favorite part is at the end of every game Dave plays he gets both boys and they run all around the bases. I am not sure why he started doing it but he is so cute to see my 3 boys running the bases together. Dave is such a great Dad.

FHE Fun

2009-05-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

Dave got me my own fire pit for mothers day(well actually I bought it and told him it was my mothers day present.) since Camie and Erick are moving we can't use theirs anymore :( Anyway so we had a campfire last night with Camie and Erick's family. It was tons of fun. I have to say this is one of my favorite summer activities. We made smores and roasted tons of marshmallow's. Parker last year wouldn't eat roasted marshmallow's, he would just eat them out of the bag, but last night he probably ate like 10 roasted marshmallow's. He said "your right mom these are good" It is always fun to do it with Camie and Erick's family. We will be sad when they are not next door anymore and can't just come over every night. It made me so excited for summer nights.

Dinosaur Museum

2009-05-05T09:04:00.001-07:00

We had tons of fun at the dinosaur museum with the kids.

6 Years Married

2009-04-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

This Sunday is Me and Dave's 6 Year Anniversary. I can't believe we have been married that long. Time goes by so fast. We have been together for 15 years. I can't believe I found the love of my life at age 15, but I truly have been madly in love with Dave since then. I can't imagine a more perfect man for me. We truly compliment each other so well. He puts up with all of my quirks, and I think I love him more for his. He makes me laugh everyday which I love. He is the best Dad my kids could have asked for. We have been through so much together that has only brought us closer. I am so lucky to have him as my husband. I love you Babe!!!!

Jack's Birthday

2009-04-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun day for Jack on Monday. We went to the zoo and he loved it. When he 1st saw the elephants he jumped out of the stroller and went running to see them. He had so much fun. A lot of his cousin came to help him celebrate. We love our Jack. I am so happy he is my little boy. He brings me so much joy and has always been my little angel. He loves to snuggle right now which I don't mind at all. He is a little mommas boy which I hope it stays that way until he is home from his mission.

St George

2009-04-17T11:18:00.001-07:00

We had a fabulous time in St George the past few days. It is always so much fun to hang out with my brothers family. We got there on Tuesday afternoon and just hung out and talked until dinner time. We went to pirate island pizza down there and it was such a blast. I am so excited to get the one here in Orem now. The kids had so much fun. They had a fun little playground for little kids and tons of fun arcade type games for the older kids. Inside it would sound like a rain storm every now and then and have cannons shooting. Jack spent alot of the time just watching Cameron play the basketball game. Jack loves sports and love to watch them. It truly was great, and the food was fantastic. I ate so much in fact that that night I threw up. I have this problem that when I get together with my family or friends I always over eat and this is the 2ND time at my brothers house that I have done this. I wake up in the middle of the night and throw up. But did that stop me the rest of the trip I think not.

Anyway so the next day my sister in law Tara watched a bunch of the kids for us and we went down to the outlets. I love shopping. It was so much fun. I didn't go too crazy but found some cute new stuff. Parker found these lovely red shoes and came out to show me. He thought he was so dang funny. We went to in and out burger for lunch which was delicious. Later that day we went to the sand hallow swim pool and it was so great. I would highly recommend it. The kids had so much fun. Jack was running and jumping in the water even when I wasn't ready for him and would go under, but he would come up smiling. Parker took a big step and actually jumped in all by himself. He went under the water last year and it freaked him out so he has been so scared lately so I was proud of him.
Later that night Camie, Tara and I went to a Zumba class which if you haven't been to one before it is a blast. It is kind-of a salsa dancing workout class. We all promised not to laugh at each other. It was truly such a good time.

We spent much of the other time just eating and hanging out together. Jack kept wanting to have the Friend magazine read to him so Camie and Kiah kept taking turns. He is such a righteous boy. lol. We have such a good time together as a family. I was sad to come home, but I did miss Dave a ton.

The Living Planet Aquarium

2009-04-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Dave and I took the kids to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. It was tons of fun. There were sharks, spiders, snakes, an octopus, fish and sting rays you could touch, and so much more. The kids loved it. Their favorite part was just he big coral they had that they could crawl through, they thought they were tiger caves. It was such a fun family outing. I love Saturday when Dave is home and we can actually hang out as a family. Nothing is better.

Happy 60th to my Dad

2009-04-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

Can you tell we have a lot of Birthday's in April, but today is my Dad's 60th. I can't believe he is that old. He is such a great dad. He has truly given me so much. On Sunday we did a party for him with the kids and tonight we are going to take him to dinner with just the adults. My siblings and I got him tickets to the Eagles concert which he is going to be so excited about. He is off to Hawaii in just a few weeks which is his real present. Thanks Dad for everything, you are the greatest!

Parker's Birthday

2009-04-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

Parker at age 1, I miss those little chubby feet!

Parker at age 2

Yesterday was Parker's 4th Birthday, and we had a fun eventful day. He woke up first thing and we opened presents, he was in heaven. He had preschool and got a special hat that he thought was pretty neat. We had his Birthday Party last night and it was fun and crazy. We had all of his cousin's that live around here come so we had 15 kids and 10 adults. We played pin the tail on the donkey and had a treasure hunt. He got lots of fun presents. I can't believe my little boy is 4 years old. Time flys. Next year kindergarten which I have to say will be bitter/sweet.

Happy 30th to me

2009-04-02T14:15:00.001-07:00

Ok so it was 6 months ago but my friend Meg just gave me the pictures she took. Meg threw me an awesome birthday party and all of my best friends were there. Thanks Meg. It was a fun night. I have to say that my favorite picture is the one with Kaleb. He always has to act like he hates getting his picture taken but secretly he loves it. But there is a picture where he is actually smiling, which proves the whole tuff guy thing is all an act. What would we do without Kaleb.

Snow Snow Snow

2009-04-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

What are we going to do with this weather. I keep putting the snow clothes away thinking that we are done for the season, but then I just keep getting them back out. The boys were having fun with the new snow today so I guess their is a silver lining. I just hopes this means we get a long spring and it doesn't get too hot too quick.

1st Time Out

2009-03-31T08:39:00.001-07:00

Jack turns 2 in a few weeks and this past week he has been showing signs of the terrible 2's. Yesterday he wasn't listening to me at all so I had to put him in time out for the 1st time. He has always been my little angel so I was hoping we wouldn't have the terrible 2's. I guess will see. It was pretty funny though because I put him in there and he stayed. I think he has seen Parker in there so much he knew what to do. I pulled out the camera to take a picture and he was saying cheese and smiling. At this age when they get in trouble you can't help but just laugh. The other day he was standing on his chair so Dave got him down and he got back up as quick as he could and folded his arms and stuck out his lips and gave us the dirtiest look. Dave and I had to turn around and try not to laugh. Good thing we think he is so darn cute.

Scrapbooks

2009-03-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

Can I just tell you that I am worn out. Let just say that I haven't kept up on our scrapbooks since Jack was born. So I was 2 years behind on all 3 of our scrapbooks. So I have been working on getting my personal progress done since I didn't get it when I was in Young Womens so I decided to take on my scrapbooks as one of my 10 hour projects. I spent so much money getting all of my pictures developed, then organized them all and then started to put them in the books. It took me over 20 hours. This is no small thing for me because honestly I hate scrapbooking, but I know it is so important to have all of your pictures organized in a book. I finally finished. Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!

My little Jack

2009-03-21T08:11:00.001-07:00

We set up a tent the other day in the house and Jack found a book and decided the best place in the house to read it was in the tent.

We have horses right by our Church and Jack loves them. We can't go into Church each Sunday without Jack freaking out that he can't go see the horses so we usually take him after Church. The other day we went for a walk over there and he was in heaven.

And then with this Beautiful weather the boys have been outside non-stop. They both love riding powerwheels. Jack the loves 4-wheeler the most but her still can't steer it very well. He just rides it until he runs into something and then I turn him around. I think by the end of summer he will be able to steer it. It has been so nice to be outside again.

Date Night

2009-03-07T20:17:00.001-08:00

You always hear from people that you should go on dates with your spouse which sounds easier they it is, especially when kids come along. It seems like Dave and I never got time together without the kids there. So now every we have one night every week that is date night. Dave and I have a scheduled babysitter, he comes the same day and same time and we go out. Sometimes we go with people, but other times it is just the 2 of us. It is such a great thing for any relationship and I highly recommend it. You just get to remember what it was like before you got married, when you would go have fun together. It seems like when things get crazy during the week I just see myself looking forward to Date night. Dave works so much right now so when I do see him we are both so tired and we just sit and watch TV. I also feel like the only time Dave sees me is in the morning when I look scary, and then at night when I am either in my PJ's or in my clothes that are dirty from taking care of kids all day. It is fun to get a little dolled up for him, like again I used to when we were dating.

Favorite Products

2009-02-25T07:39:00.000-08:00

I have seen a bunch of people post some of their favorite products on their blog which has been great tips, so I though I would post some of my favorites. First is Airborne. If you haven't tried it I swear by it. Both Dave and I take it when our kids get sick and we rarely catch what they have. Every once in a while I don't take it in time and it seems those are the times I get sick. 2ND is Jergens natural Glow. This stuff is a life saver for me. Lets just say I wasn't bless with dark skin tones and this makes me look a little less pasty white. I used to go tanning all the time, but with the scare of skin cancer this has been a better option for me. It is the least streaky of any other product I have used. Finally Mary Kay sunless tanner. I have used this on my face for about 13 years and I am scared to see what my face would look like without it. I just put in on after I wash my face at night and wear it all night and wash it off in the morning. I think it is a miracle cream if you ask me. Everybody else post your favorite products and maybe we can all help each other with the aging process.

Weekend Recap

2009-02-22T07:50:00.000-08:00

This weekend was tons of fun for our family. My brother came into town which is a highlight for me and the kids. Every morning my mom makes breakfast and we all come and hang out with each other. The kids all run around together and have a blast. On Friday night Dave and I went to the Throwdown fight with Dave's work. His boss always buys a few tables and gives us tickets which is so nice of him. Jenn and Derek came too which always makes it more fun for me. Jenn and I basically just talk the whole time. It was a lot less stressful this time though since Derek was not fighting. We could just enjoy the night. The boys slept over with Grandma and Grandpa J. They had a blast and didn't go to bed until 11:00, which is always a treat for me the next day. On Saturday all of the adults went to dinner at Brick Oven. We always have so much fun together as a family. There is always tons of laughs.

2009-02-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

My niece Kiah discovered the most delicious treat while you are dieting. If you put Fat Free or Sugar Free French Vanilla Coffee mate on your favorite fruit with 1 packet of splenda it is so good. You feel like you are getting a real treat while you are dieting and it is so low in calories. It has become a family favorite. My personal favorite is strawberries. But I know other in my family have tried banana's, blueberries, and Mango's. Happy Dieting.

Dieting again

2009-02-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

Ok the time has come again that I need to jump on the diet wagon again. It seems like it never stops. I told Dave the other day that I would love to have just 1 day of my life where I wasn't worried about weight. Sometimes it sucks being a women. Anyway so I am starting Making the cut again. I did it during Nov/Dec and loved it. Jillian claims you can loose 10-20 lbs in 30 days so hopefully that is the case for me. I have 15 to loose and the 1st 5 should come off quick since I put them all on last week. I put the wieght ticker on my blog to keep me on track. My 30 days should finish on March 17th. Wish me luck. I am sure I am going to need it with Easter candy out now.

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T08:20:00.000-08:00

This is what I got for Valentines day from my hubby. I know for most of you girls you are saying big deal, but this is the 1st dozen roses I have ever gotten. I know that is a little sad but both Dave and I are a little too practical. But this year my honey went all out and I love them. Thanks Babe! I am so lucky to have Dave in my life. He has truly been the love of my life since I was 15. We have been through so much together but I wouldn't change any of that. I know that we belong together. Happy Valentines Day everybody.

Cooking with the kids

2009-02-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

I made peanut butter bars the other day when Sadie and Saylor were over, and before I knew it I had 4 kids up on the counter helping me. It was quite the experience. They all took turns helping me dump in the ingredients. Jack spent most of the time eating everything. It was a lot of fun and no one got hurt. Which is saying alot when Parker is around.

Parker putting on his war paint

2009-02-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

Parker got a valentine card with stickers from his preschool class and so he used the stickers as war paint. He has been doing this alot getting ready to fight the bad guys.

Hopefully a sign of things to come

2009-02-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

I came downstairs the other day and saw the boys watching a movie together. Parker had his arm around Jack. I am hoping that this becomes a trend. Parker and Jack fight all day long right now and I am praying that the day will come when they are best friends. It was a breakthrough to have at least of moment of friendship.

Thankful for my Dryer

2009-02-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

Today I just have to express how grateful I am for my dryer. It broke this week and I didn't have use of it for about 36 hours. I was behind on laundry since Florida and I was out of towels and G's, two necessities. I had towels hung all over my house trying to dry them. It is funny that you don't realize how important something is until it is gone. Luckily the repair man had that part in his truck so it was fixed fast. I don't know how women did it in the old days.

Hottie

2009-02-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Another show I am hooked on in True Beauty. I think the biggest reason is because of this guy. Holy Cow he is hot. I think he might be on the list(those of you who are Friends fans know what I mean.) Of course he's got nothing on Dave. Dave is still hotter.

The Bachelor

2009-02-11T10:32:00.000-08:00

Is there any other Bachelor fans out there? I love this show. Monday night TV is the best. I always make sure the kids are in bed on time so I can watch the Bachelor and True Beauty. This is the 1st season that no matter who he chooses I think they are great but I really like Melissa. Every season I get so envovled in this show and I always end up mad at the finally, then Dave asked me why I keep watching the new season when I just end up mad. But this season they finally got a guy with some character and the 3 girls left are all great.

Always a superhero

2009-02-11T07:47:00.000-08:00

Parker like I am sure every 3 year old boy loves being a superhero. He spends his days talking about how he is going to knock people out, or his new one which is a little embarrassing is he is going to kick the bad guys in the tenders. If any of you have seen Madagascar 2 you know the scene where Alex fights Titsi and has to put war paint all over his face and body. So yesterday Parker put stickers all over his face and body and said he was ready to fight the wolf. I think he loves being surrounded by 3 girl cousins because then he can be their superhero.

Flordia

2009-02-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun weekend in Florida. We flew out their to watch my brother in law in his first UFC fight. Even though he didn't win it was so amazing to just watch him in the event. How many people get to watch a family member be a professional athlete? We know that this was his 1st and only loss in the UFC. He is an amazing athlete and fighter. Anyway we got there Friday night and went to pick up our rental car, which we thought was going to be this little Ford Escort, but when we picked it up it was a Ford Mustang. We just died laughing, especially when Camie turned it on and you could just hear the exhaust roar. Here we are 3 moms driving around in a Ford Mustang. We had so much fun eating, shopping and seeing a movie, Twilight which was so amazing. Just being together as sisters with no kids again was a blast. Thanks to my wonderful husband who stayed home with the kids so I could go on this fun adventure. Sorry if you been on Jen's blog. Most of the pictures are a repeat since we had people take pictures with her camera.

Superbowl

2009-02-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the Superbowl and it was great! Dave loves the Superbowl. To his family it is a bigger day then Chirstmas. I love the superbowl because his mom makes the best food, and it means no football til August and I get my husband back. Yesterday I challenged Dave and told him that I wanted him to prove his love to me and not watch the superbowl. He looked at me and said "Some things are not possible." He told me he wouldn't watch the pregame, but he still did. I guess I should be flattered that he at least offered not to watch the pregame.

Goodbye January!!!!

2009-02-02T14:24:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I survived another January. I don't know why, but I hate January. To me it is the most depressing month. Chirstmas is over and it is cold. Plus we usually get a couple weeks of the inversion. I tell ya if Dave could get a job in St George I would move there in a second.

My husband is amazing

2009-01-27T13:16:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to tell my husband how much I love him. He has been working so hard lately. Last night he didn't get home from work until 11:00 pm, and then he studied all night to go take a licencing test which he had to leave the house at 7:00am the next morning to get to Northern Salt Lake on time to take it. Which he past thank heavens. Not to mention on Saturday he spent the morning doing his "honey do list" which I made for him. He works so hard for our family and lets me stay home with the kids. He is amazing!!!!!!

Issac's party at Kangaroo Zoo

2009-01-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

My nephew Issac had quite the Birthday Party yesterday at Kangaroo Zoo. All of the kids had a blast. Jack has become afraid of everything so he just found some places to get comfortable. Uncle Erick tried to get him to go on some of the bounce houses but he wasn't too excited about it so instead Uncle Erick chased him and Parker around most of the time. Thank heavens for Uncle Erick who can be there when Dad can't. He is such a great uncle.

Parker the Ladies Man

2009-01-27T13:05:00.000-08:00

Some of you might know that Parker is in love with his cousin Lexi. They really think they are going to get married some day. The other day I was at Roberts and he saw the flowers so he picked one out and asked me if we could buy it so he could give it to Lexi. Here is a picture of him before he gave it to Lexi, and then there is a picture of Lexi's reaction. I guess she carried around the flower the rest of the night and kept telling Kali that she was getting married. It will be a sad day when they realize that they can't marry each other.

The Ocean

2009-01-12T19:48:00.000-08:00

The 1st day of our Trip at Newport beach was awesome. It was 72 degrees and no one was there. I love this picture of my Dad and Parker. I have to say that while I was taking it I was a little bit emotional. My dad has such a love for the ocean, which he has instilled in all of us kids, and to have him introduce Parker to it for the 1st time meant a lot to me.

Disneyland

2009-01-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We had such a blast in Disneyland this past week. The kids were great and had so much fun. We spent the 1st day at Newport Beach and it was so amazing. Then we spent 3 days at Disneyland. Parker even went on Space Mountain, the Manderhorn, and Thunder Mountain Railroad. He loved it. I think I was more scare for him then he was. We stayed with my brothers family in St. George on the way to and from to break up the trip a little bit. Disneyland truly is a magical place. Jack was sick the whole time but was an angel. As long as he had Tylonol in him he was happy. I even took him to the Doctor today and he has had a double ear infection which makes him such a trooper. My kids were throwing up the 5 days before we left so I was a little nervous on how the trip would go but again it was so awesome. I can't wait to take the kids again. My parents went with us and were such a help. My mom would watch Jack so we could go on some of the rides. Our hotel had a hot tub and my mom watched the boys so Dave and I could go to it. On the way home Dave said, "I will never go to Disneyland without your parents." They are truly so good to us.

New Years Eve

2009-01-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

We had a blast this New Years Eve at my friend Meg's house. We had tons of yummy food and we had a Rock Band tournament. I think it unleashed something in my husband that was a little crazy. Dave started out by playing the drums then he became the lead singer. By the end of the night he was doing it all. He was rocking out. He was very entertaining to watch. At the first of the night I thought we should get this game. By the end of the night I think I was reconsidering because I am afraid if we did Dave would become a neglectful father. j/k. It was tons of fun. Jack had fun dancing to all the songs. We have the best group of friends.

Christmas

2009-01-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

I have to say that Christmas this year was a little stressful. I think we tried to pack to much into Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas morning was perfect though. It was so fun to just see the boys so excited about Santa and they just played with their new toys all morning. Parker woke up at 12:30 and was ready to go open presents. I had to tell him that Santa hadn't come yet and that he needed to go back to sleep. He was so concerned that we didn't have a chimney. I told him that Dad would let him in the front door. He was up until 4:30. He kept saying I just heard Santa we need to go open the front door. After he finally went back to sleep he woke up again at 7:30. He was so excited that Santa ate the cookies. Santa left some fun toys, but the thing we are most excited about is Santa left tickets to Disneyland. We leave next week. Parker has a count down calender (thanks to Robyn's idea) and he gets so excited everyday when he gets to take off one Mickey Mouse. A few days after Christmas we had my mom's family Christmas party and we did the nativity. Parker was a Shepherd and sat on stage the whole time and picked his nose. I was so proud. lol.

I'm going to Mexico

2008-12-19T06:46:00.000-08:00

OK, so I am freaking out. Last night was Dave's company party and at the end they did a drawing for some awesome prizes. The grand prize was a 5 day 4 night trip to Mexico to an all inclusive resort(I think that is what you call it?). Dave and I never win anything, but Dave's ticket won. I seriously was freaking out. After the party was over a girl came up to me and said that my reaction was soooo awesome. So I think that means I made a fool out of myself. I am so excited. If any of you know Dave taking time off work and going on vacation is a hard thing for him to do. He is a workaholic. So afterward I thanked his boss and told him that this was the only way I was going to get to go on vacation with Dave. We have to wait until rates go back up til we can go because Dave is going to be so busy for the next little while. But heck if it means things are good at work I think I can be a little patient. I am hoping to meet this man in the picture above as well.

Biggest Loser

2008-12-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

I absolutly love the show the Biggest Loser. Those that know me well know that I am constantly on a diet and love to work out. I had fallen off the wagon lately and then I heard about Jillian's book from the biggest loser so I thought I would give it a try and I love it. It is a 30 day challenge called making the cut, anyway so me and my sister started it the week of Thanksgiving and it has been great. I have lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks. Not bad. The workouts are pretty hard but a good challenge. Anybody that is looking for something new I highly recommend it. It is fun to watch the show while you are undertaking this challenge and see how hard she works out those people. It makes me greatful I don't have her in the room when I do her workouts because I think I would end up hitting her. Camie and I have been getting up at 6:30 every morning so we can workout with no kids. I know we were crazy to start right during the Holidays, but for once I would like to end Christmas not having 10 lbs as a extra present.

Crazy Week

2008-12-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

Last week was so much fun. I am so thankful to everybody that has a camera right now because I still have not replaced the one that Jack ruined so I always have to borrow other peoples cameras right now. So thanks to my friend Meg for having hers last week. I am hoping that I get a camera for Christmas and that should help me keep up on my blog a little better. Anyway last week we had our monthly Bunco night and as always it was a blast. We have such a fun group of girls who play. The next night we went to the Jazz Game with Meg and Kaleb who we always have tons of fun with no matter what we do. Then on Saturday we had our Girls Night out Christmas Party which is a highlight of the Holiday season for me. We have so many great people that surround us which make our lives so much fun. I had so much fun that on Sunday I ended up with a cold. For some reason if I don't get enough sleep I almost always get sick. But it was worth it.

New Family Pictures

2008-11-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

We just got back our family pictures which I am really excited about. Jen's sister- in-law Danille took them and I think she did a great job. My only complaint is that I gained a few lbs that I was trying to hide but I have to say I didn't do such a good job. But I think it gave me some motivation to start dieting again. I got so burnt out having to loose all of my baby weight from Jack that I have fallen off the wagon. So don't be surprised if you see one of those weight tracker things on my blog to help me stay motivated. Anyway here is a few of my favorites. If anybody needs a family photo I highly recommend Danielle.

My husband is crazy

2008-11-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

Another ski season is upon us where I have to worry every time if my husband will come home alive. He likes to ski out of bounce which terrifies me especially when I watch the news and see how people get caught in avalanches for doing it. So last night I threaten him that if he was to die for doing something stupid on his skis that I would get remarried right away just to spite him. So he drew up what he calls an official Will and had me sign it. It says that all of his money from the life insurance would go to Parker and Jack and not to a freeloading dirt bag(those are his exact words). Some how I don't think it will hold up in court.

Playing in the leaves

2008-11-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

I love living in Utah. On Wednesday we woke up to snow, and Parker was outside playing in it all bundled up until it all melted. Then today it is nice and warm outside so Dave raked up the leaves with the boys. Only in Utah can you go from Fall to Winter back to Fall in a matter of days.

Halloween

2008-11-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

I got Jack's costume in the mail and it ended up being to short for him so last minute we decided to make him Tom Cruise from Risky Business. I think he pulls it off. Look out Hollywood!!!!!!

Dave's 30th Birthday

2008-11-03T12:05:00.000-08:00

So today is my wonderful husbands 30th Birthday so I thought I would list 30 things that I love about him.

1. He is a great Dad
2. He supports our family and lets me stay home with our kids
3. He has the best personality
4. He can always make me laugh
5. He loves his lawn and takes great care of it.
6. He can fix anything. We never have to hire somebody
7. He always acts like he is so tuff
8. He cares about my opionion
9. He is super hot when he skis
10.He is a tight wad
11.He always smells good
12.He is loyal
13.He wrestles with the kids
14.He will pitch the ball to Oti for hours
15.He is always talking about his kids to his friends.
16.He lets me have my hobbies and watches the kids for me
17.He is always supportive of me
18.He is the hardest worker I know
19.If something is important to me he does everything he can to make it happen
20.He like to hang out with me. He always wants me to come with him everywhere
21.He put in my fence and my yard for me and the kids
22.He gets into the Holidays with me
23.He puts up with all of my annoying habits
24.He lets me buy "cute" things for my house
25.He lets me drive the nice car
26.He is the most amazing man I know.
27.He is so patient with the kids. He always lets them help him mow even thought it takes him longer.
28.He is super hot
29.He is the love of my life
30.He is not scared of anything.

Happy Birthday Babe!!!!!!!!!!

No rest for a great Dad

2008-10-29T14:54:00.001-07:00

I loved this picture. Dave got home from another long day at work and here he is sharing his dinner with son. What a great dad!!!!!!!!