Highlights of my Life

Incredible Inedible

2012-01-23T20:42:00.001-08:00

So - I just started this other new business, and it has it's own blog! www.incredibleinedible.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

Eyelashes

2010-11-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I've had enough people ask me about the change in my eyelashes lately that I'm just going to do a post on it - even if it's silly! About 4 months ago I started using RevitaLash that I got from my laser place. It was on sale - $100 for a 6 months supply. I about choked before I researched Latisse (the prescription one endorsed by Brooke Shields) and found out that it was $96 per MONTH! So after that, the $100 for 6 months sounded pretty good. Anyway, it works the same way - just without the Rx. You brush a little bit on your lash line at night after you take off your make up - and results show up in 4-6 weeks. Right about the 4 week mark I started noticing that it looked like I actually had eyelashes AFTER taking off my mascara. My eyelashes were VERY light and now they were darkening up. Also, they were getting so long and curly, they were actually curling sideways at the top- like it would turn into an eventual ringlet! I asked my laser girl about that and she said she had heard that some girls stop using it every night, and go to 2-3 times per week, and some even trim the tops! Crazy! Well, they were getting super long, but weren't as thick as I wanted them, so I started to also use Lancome's "Definicils Precious Cells" mascara about a month ago, which is also a lash conditioning mascara. I really, really like my eyelashes. I get asked at least once a week if they are my own, or who my lash extension girl is! Below are some pics. I never took "before" pics of my eyelashes and last night when I decided to do this I really wish I had - but all I could do was look through old photo's. Some are bare lashes, some are with mascara. They'll be labeled above the pics.

This pic was taken in April of this year. Bare lashes are quite light, short and sparse.

This pic was taken last night, November. Bare lashes. Darker, longer, thicker.

This was also taken in April, but I had mascara on.

This was taken last week - mascara on. Look at the lashes on the left - they are beginning to curl sideways because they bump into my brow bone!

This was taken last night - after 4 months of treatment. I wish I had a "before" pic. Oh well. My skin also looks dead. Must've been a funky flash thing. Gross.

This was taken last night before I took off my mascara. I LOVE Lancome' mascara!

Taken last night, sans mascara. I love that it actually looks like I have eyelashes, without make up on. They are definitely darker, longer, thicker. Again, wish I had a front view "before" shot.

Taken last night before I took my mascara off. The mascara I use curls the lashes up. They are almost touching my eyebrows!! I had my makeup on for 13 hours at this point - so it doesn't look very fresh. Oh well.

Left - April, 2010 w/mascara. Right - September, 2010 - w/mascara.

I've been very happy with the results and will continue to use it as long as I can afford it!

Yes. We have chickens.

2010-08-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

We have chickens. Well, chicks anyway. Jared petitioned the city of Wood Cross for an "Urban Chicken Permit". It cost $5.00. The chickens cost $20 (for 4). He wants them for several reasons. One - they eat bug. Mosquitoes - which we have in abundance, so that's good. Also - they provide free fertilizer. Plus - the eggs. Each one will lay 1 a day. That's 28 eggs a week. Does anyone want some eggs? Jared wants to sell them to our neighbors! One of our chickens lays "easter eggs" which are blue and green and pretty colors. Supposedly they all taste the same. We'll see.

When we got them (yesterday) Birdie kept whining and licking her chops. He thought -"geez, do they smell like chicken"? We didn't know if she wanted to eat them (she kept trying to lick them) or mother them.
The answer is: mother them. She is treating them like her puppies!

Sweet kisses from "mama".

No, she's not trying to eat it. Just sniff it and makes sure it's ok!

Keeping a watchful eye on "Sunshine" - the smallest one. She falls asleep standing up all the time. It's funny.

She even sniffs their bums like they are her puppies!!!

Anyway- that's about all going on here. Oh yeah - and I had double jaw surgery last week. I have a new blog discussing it in detail: tamarasdoublejawsurgery.blogspot.com. It's not pretty! But I'm excited for the end result.

5th Sealing Anniversary

2010-07-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

5 years ago today Jared and I were sealed in the Bountiful temple. We were originally married in the Bountiful temple as well, but for Time only (back when they did that - we're old) and I remember such a feeling of sadness when the sealer kept saying "for Time" instead of "for Time and All Eternity". Jared and I started the paperwork process with our exes, and really struggled with them. Finally, 3 1/2 year after we got married, we were sealed for Eternity along with Ethan, who was 10 months old at the time. Here are a bunch of pictures (http://lifeshighlights.blogspot.com/2009/07/sealing-anniversary.html) that I posted last year on our 4th sealing anniversary. I am so grateful for the revelation that we had to get married on our 3rd date. I cannot picture a life more perfect then the one I am living. I'm so grateful that Jared works hard and provides well for our family, and that he's a great dad. I'm just grateful.
Love you, Jare.

Thanks for being so HOT too. You're the best! :)

Pinewood Derby 2010

2010-04-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

So, Jared is the Assistant Cub Master in our ward and this year it was decided that we would hold the cub scouts Pinewood Derby as well as open it up to the ward. Jared got out 3 of his old championship cars so that he, Ethan and Xander could all race. It was so fun! They all raced four times, and Jared got 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd. Ethan got 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd. Xander got 1st, 1st, 1st and 4th (? - must've been something wrong with the track!). Ethan received a 4th place trophy (picture to come) and everyone got a certificate. Here are a few pics and video's from the big event. Ethan and Xander would do victory dances after they won - it was so funny!

Diaper Cakes

2010-04-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

My extended family knows that I will bring a Diaper Cake to their baby shower. Each is unique and so fun to make! I am going to my first baby shower in my new ward tomorrow - and of course they don't know my "normal" baby gift, so I'm excited to debut this diaper cake!

It is for my visiting teaching companion who is adopting the most beautiful boy from Ethiopia in a couple of weeks. He is 10 months old, which is why the cake is so tall! Those are size 3 diapers!

That was my creative moment today. The End.

Happy Third Birthday Xander!

2009-12-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it. Three years ago today I gave birth to my sweet baby. Who remained sweet until he was 8 months old and we moved. After that, he changed somewhat. Now I would describe him as energetic, charismatic and so, so loving. Often he throws his arms around my neck to give me hugs and kisses. He recently drew (scribbled) a picture and wanted to take it to preschool to show his teacher. I asked him to explain his picture and he said "It says I Love Mommy". I thought that was sweet and put it on the counter. The next day after preschool I was going through his folder to take out his papers and there was his sweet "note" that he drew. He had taken it off the counter and put it in his backpack to show Miss Rachel. What an angel! To celebrate his birthday, here are a few pictures of him over the past year.

Our Time-Out spot knows him well.

We brought back fun costumes from Mexico.

Riding his big brother's bike at 2 1/2 years old!

He loves all things musical!

A Knight in Shining Goggles.

First day of preschool!

Youngest in his class.

Playing with Bendaroo's on Thanksgiving.

Being silly!

Taken today, December 5th. That's his new train set. He's obsessed with all things trains, and wants to be a train conductor when he grows up! Notice his Thomas the Tank Engine shirt...he is also wearing train underwear and has a train whistle in his pocket!!

My little rambunctious angel...I love you!

The Cruise

2009-11-01T16:49:00.001-08:00

I have so many things to post, but I'm just going to start with the one that has the most pictures, then I'll update from there.

To celebrate selling our West Valley house after 2 1/2 years and 8 contracts...we decided to go on a cruise. I found a 6 day 5 night cruise to Mexico on a 5 star ship (Radiance of the Seas - Royal Caribbean) for $199/person. Yeah there are just 3 digits there. We upgraded from the 3rd deck to the 9th for $20 more per person. The deal was so amazing that my parents and grandparents decided to join us (after just returning from an Alaskan Cruise!) and so that was SO fun to go with people we knew...especially family! I think we should make it an annual thing (as long as the prices stay that good) and anyone come who can!

So as not to bore you with too many pictures or details, I'll just post the hightlights. Ok, who am I kidding...the whole thing was a highlight!

Before I do that, though...a HUGE THANK YOU to my mother in law, father in law, Aunt Chrissy, Uncle Wes, Uncle Rich and Aunt Dani for taking such good care of my kids while we were gone. I never once worried (and that's saying something) because I knew they were in the absolute best care possible. I even survived with only sending 2 emails (at .55/minute, that was enough!) and not working at all!

Ok, here we go...

On the shuttle from the San Diego airport to the ship. My parents are behind us.
First 10 minutes on the ship. We're FREEeeee!

Checking out the ship before setting sail. San Diego behind us.

Didn't take us long to head to the buffet in the Windjammer Cafe. The Watermelons say "Welcome Aboard Radiance of the Seas"!

A sample of one of them menu's. You could order every single thing on there. Every night. For free.

The Lobster and Shrimp dinner. Jared had two of them.

One of the scrumptious desserts.

Ensenada, Mexico. We went to La Bufadora and passed through the flea market on the way. This was our favorite sign.

La Bufadora is one of the only 3 natural blowholes in the world. Every few seconds it would suck water down and then shoot it out. Sometimes it was a small spray (below) but sometimes it was huge! Jared was close enough that he got pretty wet.

Still at La Bufadora. It was such a gorgeous day! I'll take 80 degree weather in Oct. any day!

Having drinks (yes, virgin) in the Schooner Lounge. One of our fav places to hang.

Miniature golfing (9 holes) on deck 12. Those are my parents waiting their turn.

The rock climbing wall. It's 200 feet above sea level. Jared and my dad were 2 of the only guys that climbed the hardest level all the way to the top to ring the bell!

We only got in our bathing suits ONCE! When we went up to swim, we saw that there was a belly flop contest going on, and 1,000 people were watching! (FYI, there were 2100 passengers and 1500 crew members on the ship, for a total of 3600 people!!!)
Enjoying our favorite drink a virgin Mango Colada.

Jared took this picture in Cabo San Lucas.

We went on a glass bottom boat and I got seasick...Oh yes, there is a story behind that.

A picture of Cabo as we were leaving.

Our waiter and assistant waiter who made the cruise SO WORTH IT! Talat (left, from Turkey) and John (right, from India).

There were 8 glass elevators. Very cool looking. We usually took the stairs though, unless we were going from deck 4 to deck 13! We had to do SOMETHING in the form of excersize!

My water glass with a straw in it. I asked for one on the 3rd day at dinner, and ever after I didn't have to ask. It just magically appeared!

Last dinner in the dining room!

The last show in the theatre. Sitting with my grandparents and parents (dad's taking the pic)

SO SAD TO LEAVE (but happy to see our boys!)

There are many, many details I've left out (24 hour room service! Seeing whales and dolphins during breakfast! Gaining 8 lbs!) but we can tell those in person some time!

So...we're ready to go again...anyone coming?

THE BIG BAG!!

2009-09-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have SO much to update, but this is going to be fast and I'll do other posts later. Just wanted to let those of you who care know that the Miche BIG BAG will be here in 2 weeks. Here are pictures. I'm not allowed to post pricing, so contact me...but it's not that much more then the classic bag, surprisingly! For all you chic mom's that want a gorgeous diaper bag...this could be it!!!

Busy

2009-08-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a very busy few weeks. I've been made the Business Manager over Miche Bag of Utah. I'm really excited! I've turned our formal dining room (that we've used maybe 5 times in 2 years) into my main floor office. After I painted it the bright red, it didn't go with the other color red from the adjoining livingroom accessories, so I just "had" to re-do that room too! Here are some pictures starting in the "new" livingroom. I went from red/brown/gold to completely soft and neutral.

After the calm and serenity of this room, I wanted something energetic and fun for my office...thus the red...

Here is looking at it from my office. I haven't taken the tape off yet (from painting) so that's why the lines don't look very good.

Looking into my office from the livingroom. Since there is no door, the kids know that if those drapes are closed, to ASK DADDY!

Can I just say how much I love IKEA?

I tried my hand at being an artist. I'm not finished with the paintings yet, but that's the basic idea.

The ugliest part of the room...the walmart storage shelves.

I love being on the main floor instead of all the way upstairs. Now if my kids need a drink I can walk 10 feet into the kitchen instead of running up and down 16 stairs...however, since that was my only form of excersize, maybe I should run up and down the stairs anyway....and seriously...how did I ever survive without a laptap? :)

Lagoon

2009-08-06T22:56:00.000-07:00

Today was stake Lagoon day. Our kids have never been and since we live 10 minutes away now, we decided to take them and do the free stuff. We got to go on the Carousel, Train Ride, Musik Express and Tilt-a-Whirl (I did NOT do the last one - I would have puked).
Here are some fun pics.

WAITING IN LINE IS SOOOO HARD!

Definiately time to head home.

It was a fun outing!

Friends

2009-07-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've known my good friend Lani for a long time. Almost 20 years ago I moved to Fremont and she and I became fast friends. She was an only child (which I envied) and I had 7 siblings (which she envied) so no matter who's home we were hanging out at, we both loved it. She was shy, I wasn't. She was sweet, I was sassy. She got a brand new Hundai Elantra when she turned 16. I paid $400 for a 1969 Superbeetle. We came from different worlds, but we were the best of friends. We drifted a little in high school and then she got married a couple years after we graduated (GASP!) which was unheard of in our circle of friends in California. I went on a mission, yadda yadda...we haven't seen much of each other in the last 15 years. She came over with her FIVE yes 5 children on Friday and it was so fun to reconnect. Her children are the sweetest, best behaved group of kids I've seen. Probably due to their mom's sweet, calm nature. I have a lot to learn from her. I felt like I could be transported back 20 years to girl's camp...talking and giggling in a tent. Or our "deep" talks about life and love in one of our rooms at the very mature age of 16. Here are some pictures of us through the years. Love you Lani...keep in touch! We may be seperated by a 13 hour drive, but it's only 13 miliseconds through email!

Universal Studios with Tracy Flowerday. We were soooo cool at 15!!

Girl's Camp. Why are we dancing?

Girl's camp a different year with Kathleen.

Our cruise to Mexico. 16 years old. (This was "formal night".)

Also on the cruise. We felt so grown up!

Our joint 16th birthday party (I'm a day older)

I've never gotten so many present in my life!!

Juniors in high school.

Junior Prom. 1993.

Seminary Graduation 1994 (with Becky and Kathleen)

Fast Forward 15 years to 2009. Now we really are grown up!

Miss you Lamburt!!

No more diaper pails and other stuff

2009-07-16T19:50:00.001-07:00

It's true. I put the diaper pails away today for the first time in FIVE YEARS! Oh how sweet it is. Xander is potty trained fully for the day time (including naps) and we're almost there for the nighttime. When Ethan was fully trained at 2 years 5 months, I thought we'd never be that lucky again, but Xander is only a couple months behind him, at 2 years 7 months. Still early! I used the same technique with both and it worked exactly the same! Maybe I should write a book. Just kidding. With my "baby" all grown up, I've turned his nursery into a playroom. Here are a few pictures of it. Still needs some work, but that's the gist of it. I want to put a big Spiderman on the wall above the little TV.

In other news...Our West Valley House is again on the market. We're asking $227,000 WITHOUT a realtor ($237,000 with), but we do have a realtor and it's on the MLS. It appraised for $288,000 a year ago. That makes me sick. I've staged it again, using lots of stuff from our own house (our entire dining room and master bedroom - so that'll look real good for Emily's baby shower - grrrr) and other things I've purchased. Here are a few pictures of that house now. There will be an open house this Saturday, the 18th. Come and buy it.

Grand Opening of Striking Image Salon!

2009-07-10T08:09:00.001-07:00

Jared's brother and his wife Trisha have opened a second Striking Image Salon in Ogden. Here is her blog post about it. http://dtsimonsmiles.blogspot.com/2009/07/wow-what-ride.html
You've got to see the pictures! It looks amazing. My favorite color combo has always been red, black and white, so of course I LOVE it! I hope you'll be able to drum up some business for her. Darrin lost his job over a year ago and they've been trying to "make things work" for a long time. I'm hoping things will finally start falling in to place for them. Good luck guys..love you!

Independence Day and other stuff

2009-07-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

This was their "Campout" that day.

Ethan got to do the Pledge of Allegiance in front of the whole extended family.

And there are a lot of us! My grandma Wilkey (I think she's 85?) has over 200 decendants. I'm glad Ethan's not shy!

Sparklers! Fascinating!Grandma "K" helping Xander be fearless!

The cutest pregnant girl EVER!

The only time I'll EVER be skinnier then the cutest pregnant girl ever!!

I think this picture is so funny. I named it "ready for take-off". This was after a volley ball shot.

My handsome hubby.

This is the first time he tried dressing himself, a couple days ago. Those are knit pj shorts arount his waist.

Ethan tried taking our picture.Take two!

Getting ready to watch fireworks!

The whole fam. It was such a fun day!

Sealing Anniversary

2009-07-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today, Jared, Ethan and I were sealed for Time and All Eternity in the Bountiful Temple. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from that day.

I feel so blessed to understand the Plan of Salvation, and to know that my family will remain intact after this life, as long as we're following that plan and are being righteous and obedient. Love you babe!

Wilkey Reunion

2009-06-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

Every year we go to Payson Lakes for the Wilkey Reunion. It's a 3 day, 2 night camping trip. One that we've never done with kids. Last year Jared stayed the night with Ethan and this year we were going to camp as a family. I was so excited! Well, it rained. Then it hailed. Then it rained some more. Our tent that has 2 rooms and a front porch/sun room (it has only been used 3 times) leaked. Badly. I threw all our gear into the middle of the tent and put our rain poncho's over it so the drips would hit the poncho and roll off onto the floor. There were puddles everywhere. So, my mom graciously gave up her hotel room (she and my sis Lorayne were going to sleep in it the last night) to us, and so Lorayne, her son Josh, me and both my boys went to the hotel. With 2 queen beds and 3 sleeping bags, it worked. Jared used Lorayne's camping cot to be up off the wet ground, and he was ok too. Here are some fun pictures from the trip.

Since it was pouring rain, I took out all the seats in our van and shoved them in the back, then turned a movie on with poptarts for snacks. It kept them occupied (and dry) for 1 1/2 hours!

This is when we were at the hotel room. I swiped some hot chocolat packets from my mom and used the coffee pot to boil water, then we enjoyed some hot chocolate!

Alexander woke up at 6:10am, so everyone was up by 6:30! They played with the phone and had a great time together.

We went back up the canyon to spend Saturday with everyone. There were 5 teams that put together boats using a cardboard box, parchment paper and duct tape. Our team had a raft that was so watertight it only sunk into the water about 3 inches...with 2 people on it! Here are the proud designers.

This is our captain (who wasn't afraid to get wet) my lil' bro Joe.

So, all 5 teams had to man their boats with 2 people and 1 paddle. Whoever made it to the other side first and put their arms in the air was the winner. We half expected them to all sink part way accross the Lake, but were surprised when they not only made it, but were able to come back as well!

And they're off!

Joe and cousin Erin were way out in front (for a while).

But the boat/raft ended up being so bouyant, he couldn't keep up and finished a close second.

Coming back, still water-tight!

Everyone was eventually "swamped" and REALLY got wet, but Joe was a good sport about it.

There were bike races for different ages. Ethan started last, but came in 2nd to last, and he said, as he passed me, "Mom! I passed one person!"

There was a REAL mountain biking race for the adults. Jared got a little lost at one point so didn't win.

But he's still a winner to me! (Awww)

Here are some pictures I took on the way home by holding my camera out the window and snapping what I hoped were good shots!

All tuckered out from a fun weekend! Till next year...!

wedding

2009-06-25T19:17:00.001-07:00

The wedding was a great success last night. The bride and groom felt loved and grateful for all that was done. Thank you to all who helped and contribued in some way...it would not have turned out the same without you. The groom is on his way to baptism (July 4th) and is so happy that his WIFE will be there to support and love him. Wedding pictures coming soon. Here are a couple bridal pictures that I took. GREAT THANKS to my sis in law Trisha for dying/highlighting/cutting/styling her hair for her bridals and also for letting us use her backyard as the background. http://www.strikingimagesalon.com/. Check her out, she does amazing work! (the last picture just shows Amber's hair).

Calling all family and friends

2009-06-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. If you are in need of a project (or just some blessings) please read on.

The sister missionaries in our ward are teaching a young man and woman who are living together. They are 20. She's less active, he's not a member. He wants to get baptized. They told him "move out or get married" and they are getting married. They've asked for my help so I met her on Monday. Five days ago. I'm now in charge of:

Engagement photo's

Wedding Photography

Slide Show for reception

Hair and makeup for wedding party

Decorating/table centerpieces

Invitations

Dress, shoes, jewelry

I think there is more, but my brain is fried and I can't remember it all right now. Engagement photo's are done, invitations are done, my sweet sister in law, Trisha, is dying/highlighting her hair so she doesn't have 3" roots, and my mom is going to help me take pictures. However, my mother, nor I are professional photographers. We have decent digital cameras, but if any of you have taken photography classes, or know of someone who is willing to take on a charity case, that would be very helpful. I can do all the developing/photo-shopping, I just need someone who knows the best angles and the "normal" wedding shots, then to just save it to a disc and give it to me. If you know of ANYONE, please help! Also, I have no idea how I'm supposed fit in doing hair/makeup for the whole wedding party, and yet be at the chapel to decorate at the exact same time. It's outside in the back of the chapel (under an awning/gazebo thing), and I can't exactly set the flowers out 5 hours ahead of time because they'll wilt. If any of you reading this are professional hair dressers, and can do an "up-do" quickly, that would also be a huge help. I can do the make up but doing several women's hair will get tricky. I can do some, but I'm not sure I'll have time for all of them. Anyone willing to donate time and talent to this? Also...this is a big one...does anyone have a size 8-10 "poofy" (princess-y) wedding dress that you'd be willing to let her borrow for a few hours? I've already given her shoes and jewelry, she's supposed to be borrowing a tiarra and veil from a friend (but not sure if that'll actually happen) so a "back up" tiarra and veil would be great too. I know this is a lot to ask, but I could really use the help. The wedding is next Wed., June 24th at 6pm. In 5 more days. Here are some engagement photo's that I took. They are a sweet couple and I hope everything works out for them. They are getting married this quick so that he can keep his baptismal date of July 4th.

Please contact me concerning helping. Thank you so much. Also, they are absolutely destitute. There will be no compensation except for the Lord blessing you, and me being eternally grateful. They will not be able to dry clean the wedding dress because they have no money. I'll just tell her if they smash cake I'll kill her. But in a nice way.

WILDTREE PARTY

2009-06-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

Reminder that the tasting party is tonight. At 7-9, openhouse. I'm making 5 different things from Wildtree using the follow blends/mixes/rubs:

Strawberry Cheesecake Blend (with crackers/Nilla wafers for dipping)
Red Bell Pepper and Garlic Blend (with crackers/chips for dipping)
Ranchers Steak Rub (the steak has been marinating in this since yesterday!)
Alfredo Extraordinaire (with noddles)
Guacamole Mix (with crackers/chips for dipping)

Also on the tasting table will be different flavored oils to dip french bread in.
Let me know if you can come so I know if I need to make more of the above menu. To see their products and pricing, go here: www.wildtree.com.

See you tonight.

Red Cast

2009-06-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of Ethan's cool new red cast. It was put on by his doctor Sheri.

When he had to put his hand in the cotton sleeve it hurt and he was saying "ow, ow!"

The reason he's in church clothes is because we had just come from his cousin's baptism.

THE BOYS ROOM

2009-06-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

It has happened. The crib has been taken down and put away for the first time since April, 2004. It had been up for more than 5 years! Ethan and Xander are now sharing a room. So I finally decided to decorate it! We've lived here almost 2 years, and for those who know me know that it's an absolute miracle that I haven't attacked the kids rooms with paint and pictures prior to now. Since Ethan likes race cars and Xanders like trains, I just went with a red and blue theme since you can find cars and trains in red and blue. We're lucky enough that they have a huge room (18 X 13 1/2) so they can be in twin beds instead of a bunk bed. Here is the tour of their room:

The entrance now features a lovely portrait of Ethan and Xander, courtesy of Ethan. They are also able to hang their bath towels and jackets.

Main photo of room. I was able to get matching log beds for $20 each! I love KSL.

This is Xanders bed area. He loves trains. He has a white, 4' rail that comes up when he's sleeping so he won't fall off the bed.

This is Ethan's bed area. He loves race cars!

Here is the old changing table! I've changed my last diaper on there, hooray! We're potty training too, so hopefully soon I can say I've changed my last diaper!

Close up of saying above the dresser. I need to buy that book.

This is the wall that the window is on. These are a few of my favorite photo's of my boys. I want them to be surrounded by pictures that have happy memories attached. I want them to feel loved.

This is the huge 16 1/2 foot chalk board wall. We filled it with wallies of trains and race cars. But it still kinda looks pathetic.

Another photo of the chalk board wall. It cost about $18 in paint to do two coats and it works perfectly! Ethan likes to draw different race tracks extending the length of it, then running his cars in a race.

Their little book case under the window.

I hope you've enjoyed the tour! Come see it in person some time

THANK YOU to my sis in law Patti for doing all the vinyl and giving me the family discount! She does excellent work (as you can see) and has really good prices, so if you're thinking of vinyl-ing your home, let me know and I'll give you her contact info!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

2009-06-05T08:52:00.001-07:00

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NO MORE TRAINING WHEELS! (and broken bones...)

2009-06-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

(click on pics for larger images)

We took off Ethan's training wheels last night. He did really well, with both Jared and I letting go for a few seconds at a time. We were teaching him how to start by pushing off from the curb. All too soon it was time for bed. Today he wanted to practice before Jared or I were able to help him, so we told him he could practice on the grass. Well, apparently, he liked the whole "curb start" idea, so he tried to duplicate that by pushing off from the lip of the window well. He lost his balance and both he and the bike fell in. I was to him within 3 seconds and pulled him out, looking for bleeding or obvious signs of distress. I am so grateful that we had hoses and other "padding" down there, but it was pretty obvious that he hurt his arm and I told Jared I was going to take him to the hospital. We ended up going to the pediatrician's because they have all the capabilities to set his arm (and they are cheaper then the ER!) and so Jared took the shirt off his back and turned it into a sling. After it was immobilized and I gave him some Motrin, it started feeling better. This picture is when we gave him the Motrin, he was crying so some dripped out of his mouth and Jared was wiping it up. He did NOT want me to take a picture of him. So, it turns out he has broken both bones in his lower arm, just above his wrist.

They are both "buckle" fractures, which is apparently a good thing. It's in a splint and sling now, but he's excited to get a waterproof, red cast on Saturday. Now he can still go in the pool, so he's happy about that. Pictures of the red cast to come.

Ethan was a very brave boy, and was told by the doctor not to do any more "Evin Kinevil" stunts til he was AT LEAST 7 years old! Great!

Happy 33rd Jared!

2009-05-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

Thirty Three Things I Love About You!

(In no particular order)

1) Your hands (not too smooth, not too rough, "piano fingers"...perfect)

2) Your eyes (truly the windows to your soul...when are we going to get a blue-eyed child?)

3) You still have your hair (almost ALL of it!)

4) Your calves (sooo yummy)

5) You continually strive to be successful at your career (no apathy)

6) You provide well for our family (still wish we could sell one of our houses!)

7) You honor your priesthood (you're willing to give blessings whenever asked/needed and you served an honorable mission in Puerto Rico)

8) You are a fantastic nursery leader! (Just ask your 2 year old biggest fan, Maddie)

9) You're willing to talk to Shannon (you know what I mean)

10) You think I can cook and actually make yummy noises when I try something new. (BLT on a Kaiser Roll..ug! But I'm glad you liked it!)

11) You have great business sense and encourage me in my business endeavors BUT....

12) You ultimately let me make my own business decisions

13) You think I'm a good mom (even when I stay in bed til 9am and let the kids eat dry cereal while watching movies)

14) You are faithful (in every way)

15) You are Temple Worthy (we should actually take a trip up the hill)

16) Your interests include fishing and gardening (not Xbox and Wi)

17) Speaking of gardening...you have a neon green thumb. (I've never seen anything like it!)

18) You are honest. (which is probably why you still have a job and "he" doesn't)

19) You are an amazing kisser!

20) You comliment my weight/body often (even when I don't think it's so great)

21) You spoon me every night (don't ever stop!)

22) You are frugal...ok, CHEAP (which sometimes drives me crazy, but is why we aren't in debt)

23) You can do ANYTHING and look good (ANY sport!)

24) You rock at high jumping (again...those calves!!) and STILL hold the high school record 15 years later!!!!

25) You savor Kara's Mint Chocolate Truffles the same way I do (and don't just pop it in your mouth and crunch it up!)

26) You are a Cold Cereal kind of guy (which means I don't have to get up early to make you big breakfasts on your birthday or Father's Day!)

27) You love our sons

28) You are a wonderful dad

29) You teach them to respect me and don't allow them to back talk

30) You are a way better (kinder) diciplinarian then me

31) You actually PLAY with them

32) You aren't lazy and always get done what needs to be done, from one project to the next.

33) You love me.

Happy Birthday Babe.

And just for kicks....you KNOW you still look this good!

Last day of preschool

2009-05-19T12:59:00.001-07:00

Today was Ethan's last day of preschool. He has had such a fun journey in these last 9 months. He is starting to read, which is amazing since he's only 4 1/2! He made lots of friends and has devolped wonderful social skills. He is the youngest in his class, with some that are close to 6 years old and going to Kindergarten next year. Ethan will be doing another year of Preschool since he'll turn 5 about 10 days after the cutoff for school. Here is his "First Day" picture and his "Last Day" picture. I think he actually looks older in his "first day" picture. Must be the hair! :) He's grown at least an inch and gained 4 lbs (probalby all in his brain). I'm so proud of you Ethan!

Mother's Day and Hives

2009-05-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mother's Day! I got to sleep in, then all my boys presented me with a Mountain bike! For mine and Jared's birthday's (in a couple weeks) we're going to get a bicycle trailer that hooks on the back for the boys to ride in, then our family can go on bike rides on the cool trail behind our house! I can't wait. Here is a picture of my extremely awesome powder blue mountain bike and my new dress! Quite the nod to the 1950's, huh? I love it! And the shoes...love the shoes! (And I also love self-tanner!)

Next is a picture of Ethan's gift's to me from preschool! It included a loaf of bread, a hand print flower and a cookie/gumdrop bouquet. Thank you Ethan! Also, in his primary class, he gave me a hand print, a pink rose, and the cutest questionnaire about his mom! This is the gist of it:

My mom is: 22 years old

She is: 5' 10" tall.

She weighs: 60 pounds. (whoo hoo!)

Her favorite food is: pasta

She likes: cleaning up to see a pretty house.

She doesn't like: the house dirty

When I'm not home she: goes to Costco

I like it when my mom: played video games with me

Love, Ethan

Also, Ethan got hives. :( He had an allergic reaction to my bubble bath and said to me "Mom! I'm really itchy!" So I got him rinsed off in the shower and he had hives upon hives on his bum! So I made him lay on his tummy in the guest room and I put a baking powder paste on his bum to take away the itching, and I gave him some Benedryl. After the paste dried I removed it and everything looked a lot better. By morning, he just had little cuts all over from where he was scratching so hard.

Here are a couple of picture's my sister in law Patti took of our family in my inlaw's backyard. Also one that Jared took of my and my boys.

I am such a lucky mother to have such wonderful sons! They are polite and kind, smart and reverent, and I'm going to do my darndest to make sure they continue on that path until they teach their own sons. Thank you to Jared, Ethan and Alexander for a wonderful Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

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Family pics

2009-05-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

We hardly ever get a family pic taken because we have to do it on the timer, and then there is nothing to make the kids smile. So. My cousin Shauna got married on May 1st, and while we were all actually dressed up, my mom and BIL Paul took some pics. Thanks so much! Here are a few of my fav's. My mom also took some cute pictures of us when she was out here for a week. Thanks for the memories mom!

No more "Ewok" and other updates

2009-05-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

So...Birdie got a haircut. Finally. Her first in a loooooong time. We always let her hair grow out in the winter to keep her warm, but this year we started early...like July. It got to be so ridiculously shabby/poofy that we called her "Ewok". Here is a before picture: Birdie is a silver 10 lb. toy poodle. Bet you couldn't have guessed that, huh? Everyone commented on how fat she was. Guess what? It was just hair. Here is the process of changing her back into a skinny girl...First her face...then her body......doesn't she look embarrassed that so much hair came off her?Ah, the finished product. After several hours, she has shed 100 lbs. Ok, maybe just 2, but still. Here is the SECOND pile of hair that I had to clean up. Do you see that SoBe bottle? It's 10" high. And you wonder why we don't do this more often? It's GROSS!!

In other news.....this is what my kids got for breakfast the other day. Ethan showed me the recipe in his Highlight's magazine (for kids) and I surprized him with it the next day.

I made it a couple nights later when we had the sister missionaries over for dinner. It was a big hit!

With the construction "big trucks" are up and down our street any time of day. This is often how I'll find my children:

And lastly, we planted a couple trees and stuff. Well, Jared did. I requested Quaker Aspens because I love the sound they make as the leaves rustle in the wind. We have millions of them up at our cabin, and I just love them. I love the white bark and black eyes on their trunks. I think they are about 10 feet right now.... but I'm hoping that they'll grow to their 60 feet promised! Ok, maybe not that high, but higher then the house! I know they are tall and skinny, so will hopefully be perfect in that spot. They'll also eventually cover the nursery on the 2nd floor, so that darn street lamp won't flood it with light every night. The end.

It's spring, spring, spring again, the flowers are telling me!

2009-04-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

It's Spring, and we've got our first flowers to show off! Jared planted hundreds of tulips and daffodils last fall, and they are starting to bloom! Here are a few pictures. We have yet to see some good leaves on the tree's that Ivory planted in front of our house. With out luck..they're dead! But Jared can revive anything, so I have faith. I'm so lucky and blessed to have a husband that no only loves to work in the yard, (well, he loves the RESULTS of said work) but he is really, really good at it! I've often said he has a neon green thumb. I'm so grateful that I'll never have to mow the lawn or pull a weed! Thank you Jared!! As for the other pictures...Ethan, being a little daredevil on his four-wheeler and Xander "helping" Jared mow the lawn. As for the other pictures, umm...I just felt like playing around with them. The original picture doesn't have any kids in them, but that was too boring, so I put Ethan in both of them. In the one where he's wearing green, he's only 6 months old. It was taken in April 2005. The next one was when he turned 4 years old, and was taken in Sept. 2008. And this layout isn't working well at all, so sorry for posting it a million times! Grrr!

Random acts of kindness

2009-04-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Two strangers have shown kindness to me in the last few days, and I am just so grateful. Both of my boys have had double ear infections this last week. Each of their doctor visits (less then 24 hours apart) cost $120 a piece. Ethan's medication cost $17. When I went to fill Xander's Rx, I was told it was $76...for the generic. The brand name was over $100. When the pharmacist told me the price my breath caught in my throat and I almost got emotional, but said I was going to call the doctor and see if she could prescribe something cheaper. As I was on the phone with the nurse, the pharmacist's assistant came over and said, "The pharmacist said she'll bill it as a patient-pay, and it will only be $25...will that work for you?" I was so relieved and grateful that this perfect stranger was willing to do that for me! But it's still hard to believe that in 24 hours time, I spent $282 on ear infections...and that's with insurance!

The other act of kindness is small...but still important to me! Our family doesn't go out to eat hardly ever. We probably have fast food (all 4 of us together, as a family) 3 times per year (not including Little Caesar's!) So, I found some old coupons for Carl's Jr. but they expired more then a month ago. I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask if they'd honor them, so I went in the drive through and asked if I could just use one of my expired coupons, and the girl was so nice...saying I could use any of them that I wanted! So I was able to get Carl's Jr. for our family of 4 for $6.00! Awesome. It just warms my heart to see people helping each other out. This "recession" has made it almost like Christmas, every day. Everyone seems to be more generous, more giving, and more forgiving, and it's a good reminder for me to do the same.

Do any of you have a "Random act of kindness" story? I'd love to hear it. It's so inspirational!!

Breadball Goodies by Ethan

2009-04-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

Update:

Here are some pictures of Ethan making his breadball goodies. It has become a favorite with Alexander as well, and Ethan has informed me that he wants to make his own recipe book!

This is a recipe Ethan made up yesterday, and we decided to try it today. The only part I came up with was dipping them in butter so the cinnamon and sugar would stick.

4 pieces of bread - remove the crust
divide each piece into 4 equal sections
Put 3 raisins in the middle of each section and squish the bread around them to form a ball
dip in butter (just the top half, not the whole thing so your fingers won't get buttery)
dip in cinnamon and sugar mixture
put all of them in the toaster oven on a low setting until the top is golden-brown and toasted.

Enjoy! What you get is a little goody that tastes like a cinnamon roll, but without all the work!
We also used all the crust to make a giant crust bread ball, but we rolled the whole thing in butter and cinnamon/sugar and he LOVED that the best, and nothing was wasted! Good job Ethan, you are a smart boy! (And hopefully my future chef!) I forgot to take a picture before we demolished them all. Will do it next time!

blue milk

2009-04-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot to post the April Fool's trick I played on Ethan. He's finally old enough to go downstairs in the morning and pour a cup of milk (prepared the night before) from the fridge to his bowl of cereal and turn on the cartoons. So, since I always have his cereal already poured in his bowl the night before, I thought it'd be funny to turn his milk blue. I put food coloring drops under his cereal, and when he poured the milk on in the morning it turned blue. I'm not really into the effort of elaborate pranks or jokes, but at least he thought this was funny! :)

earplug train

2009-04-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

I took my sleeping pill really late last night, and Xander was up 12 times. Yes, twelve. As a result I was non-functional until 9:30 this morning. Until then, the kids would jump on me, snuggle with me and ask me questions. Apparently one of them was about borrowing my earplugs. This is the result:
And yes, although it looks like 2 deformed fingers taped together, rest assured, THIS is an earplug train. I think I'll just let him keep these.....

who said it was only for girls

2009-04-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

So, my boys played beauty shop today. Or maybe I should say Barber shop. They wanted to put curlers in my hair. This is the end result. Please excuse what I look like. After I got home from church I took off my make up and put my excersize pants on with my church top. Doesn't everyone do that? :)

sick

2009-04-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

The boys are sick. I went to church alone today. On Easter Sunday. It was depressing. Xander has a fever of 102.5 and Ethan is coughing up a lung. Last night Xander was watching a movie in my bed and asked for warm milk. I gave him some and left the room for 5 minutes. When I came back, he was totally asleep with his milk still in his hand. Hopefully they'll get better SOON!

Here is Xander modeling my new 5" heels. No, we don't regularly cross-dress in this home.

I think I need a daughter.

Easter

2009-04-11T19:47:00.001-07:00

We celebrate the Easter Bunny Saturday morning. We celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour on Easter Sunday. So, the Easter Bunny came last night and the kids got to find their easter baskets and eggs this morning. We got them a Jumpoline. Google it. Xander was up at 7, but was playing in his crib and Ethan woke up at 7:30. We had the Jumpoline all blown up but hidden in our bathroom (I didn't think our bathroom was that big!) and so I took the kids downstairs but said we had to wait for daddy cuz he had to go to the bathroom, then we'd start looking for the eggs and baskets. Jared was really rolling the Jumpoline into Ethan's bedroom during this time, and knocked it into Ethan's bulletin board, knocked down a tack, and rolled the Jumpoline over it and punctured it! Before it was even used! Luckily, it's in the very top chamber and doesn't affect the bounce at all, but there is now a bandaid on the brand new thing! Darn it! Anyway, the kids found their eggs and baskets, then I told them to run upstairs and get dressed. Jared went first and had the camera so he could take pics and I followed. Ethan was surprised and delighted about how the Easter Bunny snuck it into his room while he was finding his eggs! Oh, the innocence of a 4 year old! He and Xander had great fun jumping on it, even though because they are both sick they got tired pretty quick. Ethan has a horrible cough and Xander has a 102.5 fever. Here are a few pictures from last night (dying eggs) and this morning. Happy Easter!

Here are Alexander's 3 eggs. It was Easter Bunny magic that made words appear when he was dying them!

Ethan's 3 eggs. He was very proud of the 118 stickers he put on them. Ok, maybe just 18.

Mom and Dad's 3 eggs. I used an oil based dye kit and it was HORRIBLE! I threw it away after these 3 eggs. It was sticky and messy, but these turned out pretty!

Alexander's Easter basket was hidden in our shoe basket under our entry bench.

Ethan's basket was hidden behind the guitar in our living room. We don't get too crazy with their baskets. Xander got a train movie and Ethan got a V-Smile game, and they each got about 10 pieces of candy...but they were happy!

nice "brudder"

2009-04-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Conversation between Ethan (4 1/2) and Xander (2) that happened 5 minutes ago.

Ethan: Alex, will you help me clean my room?
Xander: Yes! Sure I will!
Ethan: My room will take a few whiles, but if we do it together it will take shorter!
Xander: Ok!
Ethan: What a nice brudder! (brother).
I love it when my boys get along. Fingers are crossed it'll stay this way, at least for the rest of the day...

I guess it's been a while

2009-04-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Time for an update. Where to begin? Ok, Ethan wrote a letter Santa asking for a model car for Christmas (one of those that you can put together). We sent it to the North Pole, aka Ft. Collins, CO. Santa (my mom) sent him a letter about a month later. I wish I had the camera in the car when we went to the mailbox that day. He was in utter disbelief! His mouth fell open and his eyes got a glassy-far-away expression. It was precious! Here are a few pictures of when he actually opened it. Ethan made his very first "all by myself" snowman and was determined to get it taller then himself! Good job buddy!

My friend Karen has a company where she does jewelry parties. She has pre-made jewelry and do it yourself parties. I'm hosting a joint Way To Bead and Miche Bag show this Saturday. And no, I didn't send any invitations to any of my Wilkey cousin's because you all never come to my parties! :) But if you want to come, please do! Bring your kids too, my kids will be here. Here is a picture of the "official" invite with all the exciting and enticing news (I'll email you the large version if you'd like) and also here are pictures of some of the jewelry I made ahead of time to show off and get people to come to the party! The wooden earrings only cost about $6.00. You can make things cheap or pricey depending on what beads you choose. I'm in love with the watches with interchangeable bands. I'll be making more bands at the party! There will be 8 door prizes (4 for Miche and 4 for Way To Bead) and 4 huge drawings and lots of food and fun, so please come!

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Holiday's are so much more fun when you've got kids! We made a "trap" for our leprechaun and put 4 gold dollars in it as bait, and our leprechaun came and left green footprints and took our gold coins but left chocolate golden eggs in it's place (because he couldn't find the chocolate gold coins anywhere!!) and even took a bite out of one of our green cookies we made, but then he played a trick on us and made all of our toilets' water green! The kids were in awe. Ethan is such a believer! It was really fun to see their reaction! Here are a few pics.

Mom! He was here!

Footprints and golden eggs dropped by the Leprechaun on his rush out!

Mom! He left us golden eggs! (I'm glad he didn't think that was weird. Darn every store that didn't have the chocolate gold coins!)

Mom! He took one of our green cookies and was eating it!

Showing the loot.

A few days ago, the Bountiful Library had a St. Patrick's Day party. The kids got their faces painted and made leprechaun's. There was a relay race and a wishing well and they had a great time! Their faces are so messy...an accumulation of chocolate cookies and red punch!

Ethan got a pot of gold painted on his face and was hoping it would never come off!

Xander got a Shamrock.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Life Lately

2009-03-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I updated so here are a few things we've been doing lately:

My mom planned a huge 80th birthday party for my G'pa in California. As a surprise, 6 of her kids flew in and suprised them. These pictures were taken when Emily (the 6th and last to surprise her) announced her arrival. My grandmother was so suprised and grateful.

I love this picture of my mom and her mom.

This is a picture of 3 generations. My grandmother, me and all my sisters, and my mother.

My sisters are in age order starting with Lorayne, through Camille.

These pictures proove I'm the coolest mom ever. Just kidding! This is the benefit of having old, crappy furniture. I turned our kitchen benches into slides.

Xander being crazy before bedtime.

My sis in law Patti is going to start making these for all of Miche. I love it! Thanks Patti!

This is now what we see out our front windows. Since they start at 6:30 am EACH AND EVERY MORNING, when Xander gets woken up by them, I just put up his blinds and let him watch for an hour. That part is nice!!

Phase 4 is going in which will be mostly townhomes which will be lovely, I'm sure, but as the only outlet to the main street is in front of our house, we're going from a dead end with no traffic, to higher traffic then anywhere else in the neighborhood because they're townhomes, not single family homes. If the economy weren't so bad, I'd say it was time to move again!

ideas

2009-02-14T17:28:00.001-08:00

I really want to change my background, but the last time I did it, half of my blog got erased. Does anyone know of a good site to use, where NOTHING will get erased? Ashley...what is the one you use? Thanks everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I remember when I got my class valentine's...I knew I'd get approx. 30. These days, I'm happy with one from Jared, so I got extra lucky to also get one from Ethan and one from my mom in the mail (thanks mom!) Today's been mellow (I'm still in my pj's) and relaxing, but it snowed and snowed so when it let up, all my boys had a good time together! Ethan learned Snowman Making 101 from his daddy and made our whole snowman family! Here are some fun pictures.

Xander fell down, but the soft snow caught him. He couldn't get back up! It was just like in "A Christmas Story" when the youngest brother was so bundled up all he could do was roll around in the snow. Pretty funny, actually.

Helping Daddy.

Doing it himself!!

It got too heavy and he started getting frustrated.

Half way done!

The boys! Their snowmans were just the right height!

This was our first picture, then we realized who was missing..Birdie!
Jared got to work making a snowdog. (Yes, I'm in my pj's at 4pm).

Snowman family of 5

This was taken out our bedroom window. They look so small!

Savings Bonds

2009-02-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, first of all, a HUGE THANK YOU to my Grandma and Grandpa Danielson for the Savings Bonds they've given me over the last 10 years! Each Christmas they give each of their grandkids a $50 Savings Bond. Mine goes promptly in my hopechest, gathering interest. My oldest one, from 1999 has gained $11 in interest so far. Before they started giving us the savings bonds, they used to give us huge (from Costco) boxes of our favorite treat. I usually got gum...and there were like 20 big packs of it! Although I was always thrilled with my fun treats, they didn't last long. The savings bonds...they are made to last a long time. For me, it's a lesson in patience. Perhaps once they've all matured I can finally convince Jared to go on a cruise! Since my grandparents will undoubtedly live to see 100 and beyond, we've got DECADES more of these wonderful bonds to come, and I'm excited and so appreciative of them! G'ma and G'pa, I love you both so much! I'm sad we no longer live in the same state. Hugs and kisses from all of us Simons!

P.S. Here's my question of the day...I've had 3 last names since the beginning of the bonds...I know 2 of them are on my social security card, but what about my last name from my first marriage....will I be able to cash that one in someday?

Happy 7th, Jared!

2009-02-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Our first date, Jan. 6, 2002

First time meeting my family...

First time meeting yours...

Our engagement...

Our wedding on Feb. 12, 2002

Our first pet:

And our second...

Our first home:

And our second...

Our first son...

...and our second...

The first time I knew I loved you...

And the 67,408,922nd.....

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always

Forever and ever

My honey you'll be.

I love you, I love you and I love you.

Eyelash Extensions?

2009-02-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I saw an ad for eyelash extensions...what??? With 20% off, they were still $249.00!!! Ok, fake eyelashes cost $3.00. With my hyperthyroidism, I go through surges of hair loss, including eyelashes and eyebrows. I know, it's weird. So when that happens, I usually wear "falsies" when I'm going out. Tonight is girl's night so I'm actually getting out of my pj's and getting ready. I cut up my "falsies" and put them on a few strands at a time, like eyelash extensions would be put on. My question is...has anyone had this done or known of anyone who's had this done? Does it really last for up to 3 months? How would you wash your face in the shower without ruining them? Not that I'd EVER do it because of the cost, but it's an intriguing idea...and it'd be nice not to need any mascara! Second question...do they look too fake? The place I was looking at had a couple of examples. http://www.gotlashes.net/. Comments....? Below is the result of me attempting them myself.

(Please pay no attention to the fine lines around my eyes...after all, I'm almost 33!)

(This is my best "come hither" look. Sad, I know.)

They are only on the top, not the bottom. I'm willing to pay $3 for this look, but $250???

P.S. My sis in law (and hair dresser) Trisha owns her own salon (www.strikingimagesalon.com) and does permanent makeup. I'll have to ask about eyelash extensions. If you are interested in hair extensions or permanent makeup or anything else that has to do with beautifying yourself (including awesome hair products) definitely make an appt!!

sick

2009-02-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

Ethan has some kind of yucky bug running through him. He is quarantined in our "sick room" aka the guest room (I promise we wash the sheets and sterilize everything before people come to visit!) because there is a TV in there, and it's easier to jump up and run to the bathroom from there then the top bunk in his room. He requested to work on some workbooks (that's my boy!) :) and so I have some Brite Music Sing, Read and Write books that he's been working on. Today he's doing the consonants. It's nice because he can listen to the lesson (on CD) and then do it himself. When he finishes a workbook, he gets a treat (today's will be soda crackers and sprite). I love that he's old enough to work on these things himself, and love that he actually requested to do it! He's learning "sight words" and today asked if "I - F spells if" to which he was correct. He can spell mom, no, if and Ethan so far but seems to be learning to spell new words each week. He's the youngest in his preschool class, but is the only one getting the "sight reader books" sent home in his book bag to work on (as per his request). We're so proud of him. Way to go Smartie!

(I love his facial expressions as he's working on his book- notice him twirling his pencil)

Soap Petals

2009-01-31T18:09:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to show off some "Soap Petals" that I made. I'm really excited about them!! We'll be making these for girls night in March, along with lip balm and lotion bars. I made these Petals in 3 different scents: Black Raspberry, Spearmint/Eucalyptus and Mango. You use different silk flowers/petals, then dip them in melted glycerine soap that has your favorite scents added to it (and color) and then let them dry on wax paper. The result are individual petal soaps that are usually 1-2 uses each. You just rub the petal/flower between your hands under water, and when the soap wears off the petal, you throw the petal away. It's really great for guest bathrooms, because then you aren't getting out a whole bar of soap for a guest who's not going to use the whole thing!

Happy Birthday Chandra!

2009-01-28T00:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Chandra!!!

A few things I love and admire about my sister:

You're only 21 months younger then me, so you're old too. :)

You are brave. You not only tried out for sports in high school (making it to varsity), but you also continued your education after getting married and having kids. No small task. Congrats on your degree!

You have a great memory. You always remember to send funny cards for my birthday, and I look forward to them each year.

(How do you scare a bee......?)

You are an optimist. The glass is always at least half-full with you.

You are compassionate and kind. Throwing Max (wasn't that your cats name?) down the stairs doesn't count. You're still going to heaven.

You remember things that may be important to people, i.e. when you accidentally broke my teacup from great grandma when we were kids, then brought one back to me from England 16 years later.

You are stunningly beautiful. You have looked the same since you turned 16...15 years ago! Or maybe you keep getting MORE beautiful...

You stay in shape during your pregnancies...continually working out. I don't even work out when I'm NOT pregnant. Of course, the result of that...

is this:

(don't get mad, you look amazing)

You are a fabulous mother. You're loving and firm without being over-indulgent or tyrranical. And you stay calm when your kids cut their own hair. Each time. :)

You called home from your mission to tell me not to marry my first husband. I guess I had to learn the hard way, but I appreciated you trying! You're a wonderful sister. Even though we couldn't share a room growing up or we'd kill each other, even though you WHIPPED me for bugging you 25 years ago, even though I called you fat when you were 7 years old and weighed about twelve pounds (what was I thinking?), through it all, we've been sisters and friends. Someone to giggle with about our dreams from the night before, someone to share clothes with (well, not pants, shorty!), someone to sing with and talk about boys with (and to share boys with...KEVIN! SEAN!) and now that we're older (gulp) someone to talk with about our children (and husbands), how we're raising them (husbands too), what we're doing wrong or right...I've always looked up (well, down-hee hee) to you, and I'm so glad we're sisters!

LOVE YOU!

Ethan learns to sew!

2009-01-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the other day, Ethan tried making me a "jacket" out of two pieces of construction paper, taped together. Sweet. I asked if he wanted me to teach him how to sew two pieces of material together and he said yes. I got out the big plastic needles and colored yarn and old fabric and he proceeded to make me a purse. Not bad for a 4 year old Pirate.

In other news...I went to the Salvation Army today. I got some good stuff. For the cost going to dinner, this is the look I got:

The lamp was $10 and the table was $20. I had everything else.

Something on his shirt was fascinating.

Here is the bench my in-laws gave me for Christmas. It used to be under the mirror. We like it in this nook, almost like a chaise. I'm going to put vinyl lettering above it that says " This life is made of rules...remove your shoes or scrub the floor". I saw it on a plaque. I think it's funny. I got some baskets for shoes that go underneath. Reg. price $40 each. Got them for $5.00!

I love the width of the entry!

The trunk is Jared's. He's had it for years and years. All it needed was a little cleaning and a sharpie and it's good as new! (And now we can stop storing it in the basement!)

I moved the existing glass topped table-thingy that I originally had in the entry, to the diningroom. I don't think I'll ever have a matching Hutch to my dining room table, so this'll have to do. I'm not real fond of the color of the pillars, but at least it matches the drapes and the color of the coffered ceiling, so it's ok.

I love finding unbeatable bargains and turning it to something nice! The End.

Potty Training my BABY

2009-01-06T20:03:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I know he's not really a baby, since he officially became 2 last month, but still...my 25 month old BABY is potty training! I was so lucky with Ethan training early that I didn't think it'd happen again, but alas...it has! I've done the same thing with both boys so maybe I should write a book! We introduce the potty to them between 12-16 months old and never pressure them but try to make it fun, and it just kind of evolves. Alexander is actually doing it earlier then Ethan because he watches Ethan then wants to try (and gets an M&M for actually peeing). For the last 3 weeks he's been peeing in the potty once a day (or at least trying) and he's woken up from a couple naps totally dry, plus for 2 out of the last 3 nights he's woken up when he pees in his diaper and calls to me to come change him! Ok, he's ready! So, today just he and I went to Walmart. We picked out the "Cool Alert" pull-ups with super-cool Lightning McQueen on them, then went to the underwear section where he picked out Thomas the Tank Engine underpants. I told him that when he pees in the potty ALL DAY without peeing in his pull up, we'd buy the Thomas underwear. We got home around 12:15 and I put him down for his nap at 12:30. By 4pm when he woke up, he was still dry, and between then and going to bed at 8pm he peed 3 times in the toilet, all the while so proud of his dry pull-up! He went to bed in a pull-up (with less milk in his sippy then usual) and so I'm expecting to go in there and change him at some point tonight, since they are the "cool alert" kind and will really wake him up, but hey, it's worth it! I can NOT believe this is happening so soon! Hallelujah!!! Another plus this time around...we don't even put a training seat on the toilet. He just hangs on and goes! Here is a picture of what we did in the beginning when I couldn't find the potty seat (it's been at my mother in law's house since Ethan was potty training 2 years ago!) But now I LOVE that he can just climb up and hang on without an added step.

This first picture is when he was 16 months old. The second picture is when he was 20 months old. He was supposed to be sitting on the potty, not his horse. No accidents though! Phew!

lazy or smart?

2009-01-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

So, Ethan got into my scrapbooking stickers (you know the small square ones that make pictures pop up off the paper?) and figured out something ingenious to do with them. Look at the picture. (Ignore his hair please.) Look at his shirt. See the ziplock bag of pretzels STUCK to his shirt? Yeah, he used the sticky tabs to stick the bag of pretzels to his shirt. He said it was easier to eat them that way, then he ran upstairs to play a computer game. Lazy or smart.....hmmmmm? Funny, anyway!

Simon Family Christmas

2009-01-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, time for the Simon Family Christmas. We got back from Colorado on Monday, the 29th at 3:30. We unpacked, then repacked (gifts and jammies for the night) and went to my in-laws house for the Simon Christmas party. It was great! HUGE gifts for all of us (Ethan's box was as tall as him and my box was almost as tall as me!) which are always fun to open. Here are a few pictures of that day:

Alex was kinda sick, but still happy!

Alex ALMOST tripped over Ethan, and had a bad attitude after that, because everyone laughed and he was embarrassed!

This is my brand new, gorgeous bench from my in-laws. I love it!

I forgot to blog about my brother in law's Pizza oven that he BUILT. It is absolutely amazing! I can't believe I didn't take pictures of the pizza's! Seriously the best pizza I've ever had. Thanks Ryan!

Wilkey Christmas

2009-01-01T23:04:00.000-08:00

We went to my family's house in Colorado for Christmas. It was the first time in 4 years, since Ethan was 3 1/2 months old that we've been there for Christmas. We were supposed to go 2 years ago, but I had a 3 week old baby at the time and wasn't willing to risk his health for that. It was so wonderful to see all my family except for Michael, currently serving a mission. There was lots of food, fun, laughter, drama, and love...everything that makes a family a family. Here are some pictures.

We met 7 years ago just before Christmas! I had a book made called "Our Love Story" that can be viewed online: http://www.mypublisher.com/bookshelf/index.php?assoc=bksdown

Enter: S2027077 for the Book ID and 2474397 for the password to view it. Yes, we really got married on our 3rd date!

My handsome hubby.

Ethan had a blue silky/fuzzy blanket since he was born. About 6 months ago it disappeared. I think Alex threw it away in his "look-at-me-I-can-open-the-garbage" phase. Ethan really wanted a new one for Christmas. It was in his stocking. I think that picture is priceless!

Alex opening his Santa gift.

Me and my big bro Adam.

The nativity with all the grandkids. Baby Jesus was a girl (Kolea) this year. :)

Joseph with a protective arm around Mary. (Ethan and Gabriella)

Jared was supposed to be entertaining Kolea. :)

My boys with Uncle Joe.

Gorgeous Chandra and her beautiful daughters.

Santa just brought one HUGE stocking for everyone. That was fun!

Emily, me, and Camille. It's the first time EVER that I've had the shortest hair out of all my sisters!! Aren't they all stunning? I can't believe most of us are in our 30's now!!

All five sisters in age order. I couldn't choose my favorite!

Happy Holiday's everyone! Simon Family Christmas to follow in another post, but it's 12:31am and I'm going to bed! :)

Deal of the week

2008-12-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

Everyone who knows me knows I'm always looking for a deal. Today's: Jean's from Kohl's for $2.50!!! Course, I had to get up at 6am for their "Early Bird" special, but it was so worth it! Today was a busy day...I had a double baby shower, a 4 hour Miche Bag Open House, and our Wilkey Cousin Christmas Party, and I wore them all day and they were soooo comfy! Yay for a good deal!

Happy 2nd Birthday Alexander!

2008-12-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

First of all, Alex now wants to be called Xander. Must be because he's so grown up and 2 years old now. When I ask who Xander is, he says "MEEEEEeeee!" Well, ok then.

Happy Birthday Xander! We've made it 2 whole years! You are the funniest person in our family and we love to listen to whatever idea's you come up with. Your favorite movie (the only one you'll watch) is the Polar Express. It lets me cook dinner and get the dishes done. Hallelujah! You have slept through the night about 20 times in your entire existence. You like to call out at 3am "Train movie Train movie!" Mommy is tired. You must have too many exciting things on your mind to sleep for long but you still take a 3 hour nap during the day which I'm grateful for. You are very much a mama's boy and always need to know where I am or be in the same room with me. Babysitters don't last long in our house. Mommy and Daddy are your nursery leaders so you'll actually go to nursery, but we don't mind. It's another chance to see your mind at work. You love to sing and will sing to yourself in the morning before complaining that you want to get out of your crib. You love books, especially ones about butterflies and caterpillars. You love to play with your big brother Ethan most of all. You mostly head-butt, wrestle, and jump on him, but he's patient and loves to play with you too. You recognize any picture of Jesus and love to say prayers. You never wriggle around during prayers, but keep your arms folded til everyone says Amen. Your "Amen" is always the loudest! We sure are lucky you're in our family! You keep us on our toes and keep up laughing and snickering at the cute things you say. Things like "I was wondering about...." (like Ethan says ) or "cool" or "amazing"...things that don't normally come out of a toddler's mouth. It's quite entertaining! Love you Xander!!!!

Gift Wrapped Brownies

2008-12-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Alexander's 2nd birthday early, since all of Jared's family was in town for Thanksgiving. I made "Gift wrapped brownies" and it was my first try with fondant. It was fun to work with, and admittedly, I went a little overboard. But 4 hours and only 14 brownies later, this was the result. Everything you see (except the drum sticks) were edible. And we ate it!

His main gift from us was his four wheeler. As you can tell by the look on his face, he didn't want anyone to touch it or bump into him. He got lots of fun presents and his first new pair of jeans from G'ma and G'pa Simon (he usually wears hand me downs), so that was exciting for me!

Getting ready for Christmas

2008-11-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

Usually I start decorating the day after Thanksgiving. But this year, we'll be in CO for over a week, so I decided to start a week early so I can enjoy it all the same amount of time! Decorating for Christmas is one of my favorite things to do all year. Here are a few pictures. Sorry most of them are fuzzy. I didn't want the flash to ruin the ambiance, and I guess I don't have a steady hand!

The photo above was taken before Jared got home from his business trip. We didn't put ornaments on the tree until he got home and we could do it as a family. That's why it's bare in this picture.

Gotta love the toy corner. Can't wait til that stage is over!!

Kargaroo Zoo

2008-11-19T20:48:00.001-08:00

My kids got invited to our neighbor's daughters 2nd birthday tonight. It was at Kangaroo Zoo...the first time we've ever been there! Holy cow my kids were in heaven!

Here are some pics:

Seriously have you ever seen Ethan look more JOYFUL??

Playing baseball (on a pocket of air)

(As Ethan swung the bat and smacked Alex in the head. Also, he had just gotten a drink of water from the drinking fountain. Still working on that one!)

EVEN FALLING DOWN WAS FUN!!!

Stickers and such

2008-11-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

My kids love stickers. After another quiet moment that was lasting too long, this is what I found, courtesy of big brother Ethan.

The kids got popcorn balls from one of their trick or treating houses, so we sang "Popcorn popping on the apricot tree" and they ate them. LOVED THEM!

This last picture is for Ashley. This is nothing like what Dakota did to your mom's house, but still...for a 10 lb. toy poodle, she causes destruction - and it's our brand new house!!!

16 lbs.of Halloween candy!?!?!

2008-10-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! Yes, you read the title correctly. Our kids brought in 16 lbs. of candy. Well, ok, maybe 14 lbs. because we had some left over that wasn't given out. We're the LAST house on a street, and I guess kids kind of skipped us, I dunno. What I do know, is that we have SIXTEEN POUNDS OF CANDY now in our home. I swear we just went to the homes in our neighborhood! We took the kids around in the wagon for a while, and didn't realize that our neighbors would give out full-sized and KING sized candybars! Alex's bag was so heavy for him, that he was literally dragging it. I'll have to put a little video snippet on here. It was so funny! Anyway, here are some pics:

My mom was in town, so she manned the candy while Jared and I BOTH got to go out with the boys. That was fun!

Our silly little monkey.

Our Knight in Shining Armor and his "War Cry" (?)

Sick and tired of candy! (no I'm not pregnant. That is a bowl under my shirt. Look at Jared's).

Ethan had a preschool Halloween Party on Thursday where they got to go trick or treating to a few neighbors too. Here are some pics of that:

Ethan and his teacher, Miss Wendy.

His whole class, trick or treating.

Alex wanted to tag along too.

He wasn't in costume but still looked cute!

Donkey

2008-10-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Tammy P., I hope you don't mind, but I stole this from your blog. Loved it.

The story of the Donkey:

A farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The animal cried for hours while the farmer tried to figure out what to do. He decided that since the animal was old and the well needed to be covered anyway, it wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. The farmer invited his neighbors to come over and help him shovel dirt into the well. When the donkey realized what was happening, he cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later the farmer looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit the donkey’s back, the donkey did something amazing. He shook the dirt off and took a step up. Pretty soon the donkey stepped over the edge of the well and trotted off.

*MORAL—Life will shovel all kinds of dirt on you. The trick is getting out of the well. Each trouble is a stepping stone. Never give up.

Kenley

2008-10-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

My Idahoan best friend Erin had a baby at 30 weeks...7 weeks ago. She came down from Idaho and I got to see her and her daughter Kenley today. At just under 7 weeks old, she's just over 5 lbs! She was TINY! And soo beautiful. Like a little living doll. Here are a few pictures.

(P.S. Erin's sister in law April makes those Binky clippy thingys- I forget the name- anyway, she's going to start selling them. They are gorgeous! Let me know if you'd like her info.

Here is also a picture of Alex with the stomach flu a couple days ago. It's the only time he's ever sat (laid) on the couch and watch a whole movie.

And here is one of our ward Trunk or Treat tonight. They made out like bandits.

speaking of random....

2008-10-22T08:56:00.001-07:00

You know how when your child is just way too quiet? You know you should probably go check on them, but are enjoying the peace? Well, I finally went to check on Alex,

and this is what I found:

His dinosaur obviously needed a drink...in my good church shoes.

First he would pour the milk, then he would dip his dinsaurs mouth into it:

He repeated is a few times before I decided that, cute or not,

I didn't want any more milk in my shoes!!

He was so proud of himself!

The end result:

random

2008-10-22T08:32:00.003-07:00

So, short hair has been fun, but this is what my poor husband gets to wake up to...hmmmmm....

Ethan has this cool doodle toy that teaches him how to draw certain things. Here is his cat. Not bad for a 4 year old.
Alex decided to "zoom" down the driveway on his bike (this means putting both feet out to the side and letting the momentum take him to the bottom and into the street) and he didn't have a helmet on, because a) he didn't have one and b) he's never tried something like that before! After he took a tumble at the bottom of the driveway, I let him open his first Christmas present...a helmet I had bought for him last week to go with the cute "ride-on" ATV that I got him. I guess while the weather is still nice, he needs the helmet early so he can ride his bike safely!

Goulish Fare

2008-10-17T09:41:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of the desserts that were done for the Murder Mystery Dinner. (To see pictures of the dinner, look at the post below). My sister in law did these fabulous Graveyard cups and then gave me the recipe for "Witch Fingers" which I changed to "Chopped off Witch Fingers". They looked pretty gruesome, and even worse BEFORE they were baked, but they sure tasted yummy!!

All the pics above were before they were baked, and this one below is after.

Murder Mystery Dinner

2008-10-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

My sister in law, Melissa, put together an awesome Murder Mystery Dinner AND provided babysitting by way of her sister, which was awesome! The kids got to dress up too. Here are pictures of the night. First, Ethan was our Knight in Shining Armor:

Then Alex, our silly monkey. (This is the 4th year this costume is being used! Ethan wore it twice and this is Alex's second year.)

I played the character of Pandora, a 58 year old pop diva that has had hit songs since the 70's. I was supposed to be arrogant and snobby and channel my inner Madonna I guess, since she's the only one I could think of that has had hit songs almost that long. For the look, since I have short hair now, I tried to cross Sharon Stone with Meg Ryan. I didn't know what I was doing, but it was fun! I put on TONS of makeup and squeeeezed into some size 4's (hey, Madonna has only adopted her kids, right?) And yes, I know Alex is grabbing my chest in the picture above. He definitely knows anatomy! The other day we were watching TV and a bra commercial comes on, and he looks at the commercial, then pats my chest and says "Bra, mom!" Lovely.

Jared was a music manager, wanting my business. The guy who "died", Charlie, was my previous manager, and I didn't like him much, although I claimed we were BFF's. Jared slicked his hair back and unbuttoned a couple shirt buttons and had even grown a goatee! Perfect! Alex isn't sure what to think about that goatee.

Here are a few more pictures. One of everyone eating dinner, one of my sis in law Dani as Dr. Moira, femenist (but lover of my music and stalker of Charlie) and one of my other BIL and SIL Darrin and Trisha, aka Bobby Joe and Keeley, both musicians.

Many thanks to Melissa who worked so hard to put it all together! We had a blast!!

Pumpkin Pickin' Field Trip

2008-10-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

(Click pictures for a larger view)

Today Ethan's preschool went to a pumpkin farm to pick out their own pumpkins!

First was the pumpkin pickin': (Alex and I tagged along)

There were lots to choose from!

Next came the maze. I took both my boys through it the first time,

then Ethan went by himself again and again.

After that we had to take pictures with the old "farmers".

Ethan is the 2nd youngest kid in his class.

(Which is why he looks so small.

Most of them are 5 years old.)

And last but not least, Alex's Michael Jackson Impersonation. (???)

I have NO idea what he's doing, but it's kinda funny!

Milestones and cookies

2008-10-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ethan started sleeping in a twin "big boy" bed when he was 20 months old. That was because I was already pregnant with Alex and didn't know how he would transition. Well, he transitioned fine. He never got out of bed, even during nap time. He continued to take his regular nap. He was never tempted with the toys in his room or anything. It was a dream. Well, Ethan has a bunkbed. He's in the top and has wanted Alex (22 months) to sleep in the bottom for a while. I've been telling him that when Alex turns 2 we'll try it, but I found a bed rail on KSL for $8 and so I got it and put it on the bed last night. Of course Alex wanted to sleep in the "big boy" bed. I figured, what the heck, we'll try it for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes I snuck in there. Both boys were awake, but both in their beds, and I hadn't heard anything on the monitor so they were being quiet. I decided to give them another 10 minutes. When I went back, Alex was out cold, so after threatening Ethan with putting HIM in the crib unless he went to sleep, I went out, and he went to sleep. Alex woke up at 4am really confused and was sitting up in bed. He wanted milk, so I think he thought it was morning, and started crying when I said no and to go back to sleep. I didn't want to wake up Ethan so I just tooke him in his own room and put him in his crib. Problem was, his crib was cold. So he was awake for a while longer (as was I) but finally went back to sleep until 8:30 this morning! I had a Miche Bag party this morning/afternoon and when I got home, Jared said that Alex was taking his nap in his new bed, and had gone right to sleep! He slept for 3 1/2 hours. Could I be so lucky! I just put them to bed 10 minutes ago and keep waiting for giggling or little pitter-patter of feet, but...nothing! So, now we just have an empty room with a crib in it!

Tonight we made cookies. Here are some pictures of it.

Getting messy and licking the beaters.

Ethan is in to making faces for the camera.

Pretty cookies ready to eat. (Ok, we'll give a few away!)

Crazy 8's

2008-10-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

My cousin Brooke tagged me, so here I go:

8 TV Shows that I love to watch:
1- Smallville
2- The Office
3- Medium
4- Life
5- Lost
6- Any kind of baby show
7- Dr. G Medical Examiner
8- Friends re-runs

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1- P.F. Changs
2- Johnny Carino's
3- Red Lobster
5- Sizzlers
7- The Roof
8- Cafe Rio

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1- Found my old journals and read about old life lessons
2- Tried on 15 pair of jeans but none fit me "right"
3- Shopped for Christmas gifts at Ross. I love Ross.
4- Hurt my knee and limped all day
5- Didn't do the dishes
6- Took Ethan to preschool - he had a substitute because Miss Wendy's mom died. :(
7- Bought my kids mini ATV's for Christmas on JCPenny.com for $39 bucks.
8- Had fun with Jared.

8 Things that I’m looking forward to:
1- Selling our West Valley House
2- Paying back my in-laws
3- Getting pregnant sometime in the next year.
4- Buying a car that will fit 3 carseats.
5- My Miche Bag business being very successful
6- Family time for Thanksgiving (Simon's) and Christmas (Wilkey's)
7- Going to the Wilkey cousin Christmas party
8- Alex's 2nd birthday

8 Things on my wish list:
1- Honda Odessey (Oh, Lorayne, we can't buy yours right now. I'm really sad about that.)
2- In-ground trampoline and swingset in back yard
3- Children's bike trailer for back of my bike
4- To have 2 Miche Bag parties every week.
5- To have a daughter
6- To have a clean basement so my kids can play down there during the winter
7- To get my pre-baby body back..... with a little enhancement up on top!
8- To become a better wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend.

8 People I tag: Tammy, Amanda, Chandra, Erin
and anyone else who wants to!

Uncle Joe

2008-10-09T15:12:00.001-07:00

I saw my little brother Joseph for the first time in over 2 years. He's never even met my youngest son Alex, who will be 2 in 2 more months. He didn't know we had moved (over a year ago) ! He's kinda been doing his thing for the last little while...living in California and renting a house with some roommates. He decided it was time to go home (to Colorado), even though it's not "home" to him. He stopped in Utah on the way from CA to CO and stayed the night with us. Alex was asleep by the time he got here but in the morning, I introduced him to his Uncle Joe. Joseph knelt down and said "Can I have a hug?" and Alex ran to him and hugged him and they were pals after that. My little Alex - who is extremely shy and opposed to change - was instant friends with Joe. Maybe they are kindred spirits. I actually see a lot of Joe in Alex which is good and scary all at the same time. Here is a picture from the trip. Ethan wanted to show Joe his room and so all 3 of them were playing in there. I told Alex that I wanted to take a picture of all of them and he said "ok!" in his sweet little voice and went and plopped down on Joseph's lap. We're looking forward to seeing him again at Christmas time!

(for those that don't know, Joe got in an accident with a BB gun about 10 years ago and lost the sight in his left eye.)

Photo Shoot

2008-10-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I cut Ethan's hair today. It's really cute and we spiked it up and he just looks so grown up! I said I wanted to take a picture of his new haircut, and that started a full-on photo shoot! I never told him to do ANYTHING except "smile" so all these little poses are from his own head. What a good lookin kid though!!

(click on images to see them larger.)

These next ones show the end of the shoot.

He scraped his cheek on the wall, and that was it!

Quirks

2008-10-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged.
Thanks Ashley! I don't know how to link other people,
so if I tag you, just do it!

Rules:

1. Link the person(s) who tagged you

2. Mention the rules on your blog

3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours

4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them

Quirk #1: I hate ants. Can't stand to even look at them and heaven forbid one comes towards me. Ever since my sister Chandra stood on an ant hill and became covered in ants, resulting in her stripping down to her underwear and getting sprayed off by the hose...those things make me feel creepy crawly.

Quirk #2: I take home pregnancy tests. Every month. Even when we're not trying. For "What if?" reasons and "Just in case" reasons. My friends say I should buy stock in HPT's.

Quirk #3: I plan my shopping list so that I save more money then I spend, otherwise I'm dissapointed in myself.

Quirk #4: I clean my ears with Q-tips. Chronically. Like 10 times every day. I have very clean ears.

Quirk #5: I need change. All the time. Whether it's my hair, rearranging furniture, repainting something, whatever...I NEED change. Only my family is a constant.

Quirk #6: I HATE talking on the phone! HATE IT!!! I get off the phone as quickly as I can...and a lot of times I hang up as soon as I say "bye" but before the other person has said it. I feel bad but I can not stop! If I know someone checks their email often enough, I will ALWAYS email them instead of calling them. Maybe it has something to do with when I worked in a call center...I don't know. Just don't call me. Email me instead!

I tag:
Chandra
Tammy
Trisha
Erin
Sara
Kelsey

Yearbook Photo's

2008-09-30T12:47:00.001-07:00

Ok, I saw my cousin Sara's "yearbook" photo's, and I had to do this.
Here are Jared and I in our birth year, 1976: (Hey, look, we have the same hair style!)

And again, in the year we actually graduated high school, 1994. Our real senior photo's aren't too far off of these!

fun with dad

2008-09-28T21:15:00.001-07:00

I forgot to add these 2 pictures to the last post. Jared works really hard, so it's nice to see him let loose and play with the kids...they sure love it! Oh, and in the background you can see the slide that I flew off of...still laughing about it!

Corn Belly Maze

2008-09-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the Simon family went to the cornbelly maze at Thanksgiving Point. If you printed off coupons from a radio station, then it only cost 93 cents to get in! Here are some of the highlights:

Going inside "The Creature" (This huge dinosaur thingy that was dark with scary sounds) - It was a little too much for them. They lasted about 20 seconds.

Then there was the "Jumping Pillow". It was huge! It was incredible! It was bouncy! (Check out Ethan's air!) There were also "big kids" who bounced Ethan right off! Alex didn't like it at all and preferred to hang out with Donkey.

There was a little "chicken coop" (without chickens) but FULL of corn! They kids played in it like a sandbox:

Then there was the actual maze where it took us 18 minutes to go in Phase 1 go up to his microphone (the maze was of David Archuletta), up to his ear, around his head, past his other ear, and out Phase 2, instead of coming out the real exit. Oops!

Then the slides...oh, the slides. There were about 10 of them!

Funny story about this picture. Jared wanted to take a picture of me and Alex going down a big tube slide. TUBE SLIDE equals: Tall mommy has to lay down so as not to hit her head. End result. It was FAST and at the bottom we FLEW at least 5 feet, as in, I had air under my butt for 5 feet before landing on my duff. It was embarrassing, but sooo funny! Jared snapped this pic as I landed...a foot in front of the camera. That's why Alex isn't actually in this shot! Jared wasn't expecting me to land right in front of him!

This last picture is one that Ethan took. He's been all about taking pictures lately! Maybe he needs a cheap digital camera for Christmas. I was flattered that he wanted to take a picture of "mommy with your blonde hair" but he also wanted to take pictures of the tv, so....? Still not used to the blonde...I'll give it a week and see if I'm ready to go dark again!

19 1/2 inches

2008-09-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

From the shortest cut to the longest part of my hair, 19 1/2 inches was cut off! I was ready for a change. It took over 2 years to grow my hair from this:

To this: (this is without my extensions in)

But I was SOOOO sick and tired of putting it in a pony tail everyday, that I went to this:

I'm still not sure about the color (it's actually blonder then that in real life- and absolutely yellow in the sun) so I think next time I'm going to have my sister in law put in some lowlights. I haven't been blonde for about 7 years, so it's a little bit of a shock, but still fun! Thanks Trisha!
Jared had been telling the kids (for the SIX HOURS that I was there - again, thanks Trisha) that mommy was getting her hair cut and changing it to a different color, to which Ethan got a little concerned and said "But daddy, BOYS have short hair!) But he liked it when he saw it and kept giggling. When Alex got up from his nap, I went in there and he was extremely unsure of me until I started smiling and laughing and holding him. At least now I'm blonde and brown eyed like both of my boys!

My talented boys!

2008-09-25T19:11:00.001-07:00

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The Clone Tool

2008-09-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I let my boys take a shower without a lot of supervision. Those tiles are rough, not slick, and they aren't going to drown. I came in and found them trying to take a bath, in the shower. That little blue tupperware thing is what their toys go in. So, I thought it was a funny picture and took it. Then I realized that I needed to photoshop it for Alex's sake. I tried the "clone" tool for the first time and cloned the pink puff that he's holding and placed it strategically over him. Viola! Modest! Oh and might I add...could my boys look any more different? Ethan takes after the Danielson side (my mom), with a little Simon in there, and Alex takes after the Wilkey side. Period. Crazy how different all kids can be!

Funny faces for family night

2008-09-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my fav's:

And this is how I found Ethan sleeping last night. Thank goodness for the upper rails!

Life Misc.

2008-09-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, first of all, Ethan had his first field trip to the Fire Station and then the park afterwards. Here are a couple photo's of that:

And here is the project I'm working on right now:

Believe it or not...that's a 6' picnic table. I got a tip from my brother in law that Lowe's was selling these for $22 (it was actually $21.75), the regular price being almost $100, so I called and they had one left. I went down and got it, and that's what I saw. It's REALLY rough. But I'm determined to make it into a beautiful picnic table (with attached benches) to put on our new back patio, and have a BBQ before it snows! I started sanding today, and there is a marked improvement:

There are a lot of boards not pictured. It's a big project. I need to sand it all, stain it all, varnish it all, then put it together. But hey, I'm always up for a challenge!

Also, here is a cute picture of Alex at our old house swinging from a limb of our globe willow. I took it when Annette and I did the combined yard sale last Saturday. It's hard to believe that we planted that tree 5 years ago, and it was only 10 feet tall and about 4" around the trunk. Now it's huge!

This picture shows how close we are to the Legacy Parkway. See that straight, flat line out there? That's it. I'm amazed there are no cars in the picture...it's been busy! Pretty view from our backyard except for those danged power lines!

Ok, I think that's our life caught up.

President Brown

2008-09-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

I just found out that my Mission President, Wilburn J. Brown passed away 2 weeks ago. He was a very kind, soft spoken and Christ-like man. I was lucky to serve with him.

This is his obituary:

Wilburn James Brown Wilburn James Brown Age 75 Passed away quietly at his home Aug. 27, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Jeannette, two of his three children, Garth Brown (Suzie Crandell), Danae Homer, deceased, (Jeff Homer) and Leisel Nichols (Leon Nichols), 18 of his 19 grandchildren. He gave a lifetime of service to others in the LDS Church as a Bishop, Stake President, and Mission President in Pocatello, Idaho (1997-2000). Civically, he served as Mayor of Gilbert, Arizona; Chairman of the Maricopa Association of Governments, and as the Chairman of the Williams Gateway Airport Authority. He retired from First Interstate Bank of Arizona in 1991 as a Senior Vice President where he also served as Chairman of the Cash Management Council for Western Bancorp. Most notable is the constant unsolicited service he gave to family, friends, and neighbors. Services will be held Sat., August 30, 2008 at 11:30 am in the American Fork Eleventh Ward Chapel, 240 South Center Street, American Fork, where friends may call for a viewing one hour prior to services. Interment will follow the services at the American Fork City Cemetery under the direction of Olpin Family Mortuary, Pleasant Grove

A fish story.

2008-09-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

Jared went fishing tonight and caught his biggest fish ever. It's an ugly carp, but I've found some recipes that I'll try with it. I wonder how much it weighs? It's over 27 inches long. He called me and told me to get Ethan up so he could see it before he cut it all up. Ethan was sleepy but happy to oblige! Nice job Jared!

My new Kirby!!!

2008-09-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here's the story. The Kirby sales guy came to the house. We have no working vacuums and so even though I told him at the door, "I have NO money and 2 houses, so I don't want to waste your time", he said he gets paid $10 for even showing me, plus he gave me a free knife set for letting him in! So I thought "Hmmm, Ethan's party is tomorrow and I don't have a vacuum, so I'll let him vacuum my house!" (Terrible, I know). So, I led him to the dirtiest room in the house...the family room. It's got the highest traffic of any carpeted area. What he pulled up was so disgusting, I would NEVER take pictures of it to blog it! So anyway, I was sold on it (after an HOUR of demonstrations!) so I told him I want it, but I can't afford it (he quoted me $2,120 for it!) So, I about choked and said I thought it was more like a $500 Dyson. He explained why it's so much better then a Dyson blah blah blah. So, he went down to $1650 including a Miche Bag trade for his wife who loves purses. I said no. Then he said $1500 with no payments or interest for 18 months! After that the payments would be $37.50/month! I wanted it sooooo bad. But of course Jared said NO WAY and that he would try to fix one of ours tonight. Then the guy packed up and took everything out to his car and brought back an ugly refurbished one and said he'd sell it for $650, or give me a brand new one with all the attachments for $1,000. Can you believe he went from $2120 to $1000! I said I had to sleep on it because that amount of money is still more then my car is worth! So he left but said he'd give me that price if I called him within 2 days. Anyway, I looked on KSL and saw the EXACT model for $300 from some lady up north. I called her (she had only posted it about an hour before) and she said she bought it last summer and only used it a few times because it was too complicated and she had to look at the manual every time she wanted to use it. So we met in Ogden and I gave her $300 for a practically brand new Kirby. Even Jared said it was a steal and to go get it! It has ALL the attachments including the carpet cleaning system (never used) and even 4 extra bags (their "best" quality bags). Anyway, I'm so excited. It's got this little red button you push and it practically vacuums by itself! It's the self-propelled mode, and it's so easy, that even Alex can do it. I vacuumed the room first, then I let Alex and Ethan use it to their hearts content!

So, the Kirby guy came back today. I was so embarrassed. He asked if I had thought about the $1,000 deal and I had to tell him I just bought one for $300. He was skeptical and asked which model and I told him it was the exact one he was showing me (the newest and best model) so I invited him in and showed it to him. His eyes about bugged out of his head and he confirmed that yes, I got an amazing deal. I felt really bad that he spent an hour of his time with me, but hey, he still gets that $10 bucks from his company for showing me, right?

Fun Day

2008-09-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Ethan's big day.

This was taken at his preschool. Since it was his birthday, he was in charge of the snack, so we brought cupcakes. They were a hit!

This was when he opened his Superman action figure. Loved it!

We got him this stuff for his birthday/Halloween costume. It's a Knight in shining armor. Gotta love the Dollar Tree.

This is a gift he got at his party. It's a huge Monster Truck. I love this shot because it shows all 4 of the little boys trying to look at his cool new toy and Ethan being so patient.

Final picture before going to bed. Ethan wanted a dinosaur party, so we played "Pin the scale on the Stegosaurus", behind me. It was supposed to be a swim party, but it rained all day. That's why the game is hand drawn, 30 minutes before the party started, but it was still a hit.

All in all, a day to remember (his first real birthday party!) but I'm glad it's over!

Happy 4th Birthday Ethan!

2008-09-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

(Click on the pictures to make them larger)

This post is for you Ethan. You have been the joy of my life since we found out I was pregnant with you on January 6th, 2004. When you arrived on Sept. 10th 2004, we couldn't have been happier! You were born after only 3 1/2 hours of labor. You were 7 lbs. 12 oz.and 20.5 inches long. You struggled for the first 3 months with jaundice, thrush and colic, but afterwards were an absolute angel and have remained that way for your entire childhood thus far. You love your dog Birdie, and you've always loved to give kisses and hugs.You've played the piano since you could pull yourself up to it and love all kinds of music. Most recently you want to listen to the "cool" music when you're in the car with me. People have always commented on how handsome you are and they are amazed by your long, curly eyelashes. The only food you've EVER not liked, is squash. You've always been an excellent eater, and love to help daddy in the garden and then eat whatever was ripe, raw. You've loved raw corn on the cob, raw broccoli, romaine lettuce, and especially raspberries and cantelope that we've grown. You LOVE to play outside and especially swing. And you've always needed a sense of order for everything. You were so excited when you found out mommy had "a baby in her tummy" and you would hug and kiss my belly all the time, and have continued to love Alex since he's been born. Alex looks up to you and watches you all the time. Keep being a good example. Keep on sharing and being kind to everyone. You have a tender heart and get your feelings hurt easily. Because of this, you try to never hurt anyone else's feelings. Sometimes you're a little punk rock and sometimes you're silly, sometimes you even scare me! But remember this: you'll always be my superman!

We love you Ethan!

cupcakes

2008-09-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Ethan's family party. I wanted to make cupcakes, but not just the "Betty Crocker from a box" kind. I looked up some recipes, and this is the one I tried.

(That is an actual photo of the ones I made...pretty!)

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes

Filled with Chocolate-Mint Ganache

with Topped with Mint Buttercream

200 gram bar of Valrhona 61% cocao (I used the Ghiradelli 62% cocao bittersweet morsels)

3 sticks butter

2-1/4 cups sugar

8 eggs

1-1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt
1. chop chocolate and transfer into the bowl of a standing mixer.

2. add butter to the chocolate and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. stir until chocolate melts and butter is combined.

3. remove from heat and stir in sugar. let mixture cool for 10 minutes.

4. beat in an electric mixer for 3 minutes.

5. add one egg at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each

6. sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt into the mixture and mix until blended.

7. scoop into cupcake cups and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate-Mint Ganache
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon chopped mint leaves

1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
1. chop chocolate and transfer into a heat proof bowl.

2. heat cream and 1/4 cup mint until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream through strainer, over the chocolate.

3. let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.

4. add butter and the remaining teaspoon of chopped mint and stir until combined.

5. let cool then transfer to the refrigerator to thicken, 30 minutes to 1 hour

Mint Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon all natural peppermint extract

1. beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.

2. add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint extract, beat until combined.

3. add more powdered sugar as needed to get piping consistency.
Note: I tried to keep the mint flavor subtle and not too overpowering. I recommend starting on the light side with 1/8 teaspoon or less and tasting to get the flavor you want.

Assemble

1. stuff the cupcakes with ganache using the cone method (cut out a cone shape from the top, cut off the pointy cone part, stuff the whole with filling, then put the top back on)

2. frost them.

3. top with something green (if you want), like a mint leaf, green candy, or whatever you fancy.

It took 4 hours and 20 minutes to make 2 batches. (Including clean up time). The first batch I followed the directions exactly, and the 2nd batch I made with rice flour instead of wheat flour because my mother in law and sis in law can't have wheat.

They were most certainly the best cupcakes I've ever had, but probably not worth the time! My back still hurts from standing for 4 1/2 hours! However, if anyone wants to attempt the recipe above, you'll have to tell me what you think of it!

Ethan got many fabulous gifts from the Simon family, so thank you to everyone! He'll wear his new outfit from Grammie tomorrow to school when they celebrate his birthday there.

I tried getting more shots of Alex with his new curly hair (Jared just calls it messy, but I think it's cute!) so here they are:

30th Anniversary for Hunter Central Stake

2008-09-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

We got an invite to the above mentioned event, as it was for all Hunter Central Stake members past and present. So we went to our old Stake Park and ate scones and homemade rootbeer while the kids played in the 4 gigantic bounce house/slides that were set up. After standing in a looooooong line for about 25 minutes, our friend (and clown) Jared made Ethan and Alex hats. Ethan had a specific request, a twisty hat with a ball in it. Jared the clown actually snapped off part of the balloon INSIDE the other part to make a little ball, and then did the twisty parts. Alex was happy with anything to put on his head and they loved them!

Then we stood in the cotton candy line. For 45 minutes. And then when we were 8 people from the front, the program began and everyone was commanded to disburse and take their seats! After 45 minutes of waiting, we walked away with nothing. :( I think I'll go buy cotton candy at Walmart on Monday! All in all, it was a fun (and free) evening. I miss that ward and my old friends, but I know now that I'm getting used to my new ward, because at one point, I started looking around for Emily and Debbie, two of my friends in my new ward, before I realized where I was. So that's a good thing right?

<---Here is one of Alex with Ethan's hat on. It was taller then he was!

Alex's hair has some natural wave to it. I tried to take a picture of it today, but he was totally annoyed with mom and the camera!!----->

Ethan went to Diego's birthday party today (he lives in our house in West Valley) and so I wanted to show a picture of the livingroom when we lived there, and of it now, with our renters (and friends) living there. Sooooo different! Annette (the mom) has "Ikeafied" it. It looks amazing! I really hope they buy the house when their lease is up, because the furniture they've bought for it fits perfectly! Here is a picture of when we lived there:

And this is what it looks like now, with all the Ikea shelving, and she painted the burgundy wall the same color as the other walls to open it up. It looks awesome, Annette!

Alex's new hiding spot.

2008-09-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

I came down the stairs because I heard Alex's little voice (sounding far away) saying "Mom!" "Mom!" I went into the kitchen and didn't see him. Then I heard laughing and the cupboard door opens with a "boo"! Silly kid.