Edwards Est. 1997

An Ellie Memory

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

I was going to just post a picture of Ellie but I had to show off my amazing kids in their Easter outfits! But this post is really about Ellie.

I always want my kids to feel like they can come and tell me anything. Tyler and I try to be very open and patient with them (tyler being the better one). I always ask Philip who he likes, who he thinks is cute, and everything I can think of about his friends. He, however, does not want to share ANYTHING with me, which makes me a little sad. I am still working on changing that. He just gets embarrassed and turns red, and says he won't tell me because he does not want me to tease him. I always tell him that I am just interested and want to know what is going on in his life. Well aparently Ellie has been listening in on our conversations, and she is not so shy to share. Which I LOVE!!!

Here is a conversation we had the other day...........

Ellie: mom, you know that kid that I told you about who likes me?
me: yes, what about him?
Ellie: Well, he likes me ALOT!!!
me: Oh really?? How do you know this?
Ellie: Well today at school he gave me a note that asked me to meet him behind the hill at recess.
me: Oh really?? Did you?
Ellie: Yes
me: And......What did he say?
Ellie: He said He really likes me alot!
me: Oh...well...what did you say?
Ellie: I just said OK and ran away.

I love it! I absolutely love that she told me. I remeber being that age and the little crushes that I had. I just hope that she will continue to tell me about these little secret meetings behind the hill as she gets older.

October fun and picture overload!

2010-10-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

It has been forever since I last posted so brace yourself for a ton of pictures. I actually wanted to post more but I guess I will save them for other posts. As many of you know I LOVE Halloween. I love dressing the kids up, I love scary movies, and I LOVE candy!! Every year I stress about what the kids are going to be. I know...stupid. but.. I do. So.....without further ado....Here they are!!

Lucy was determined to me madussa!! I wasn't quite sure how I was going to pull this off and at one point I had her talked out of it and talked into just a scary witch. Then I was in st. George with the girls and came across this awsome head piece!! Problem solved! She was so excited to wear this and it fits her perfectly cause we all know how much Lucy loves to hiss at people. Thank you avatar.

Ellie really wanted to be ballywood dancer but the costume she had her heart set on got sold out so she settled for this gogo witch. But I think it turned out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!

Tyler.....well, tyler. I really have no words for this costume. But he did have just as much fun dressing up as the kids did.

At the ward trunk or treat all the little kids had a blast coming up and kicking Tyler all night long!

Maggee inhereted Ellie's costume from last year but she was thrilled to wear it. Add some pink hair and pink eyelashes and it is a whole new costume.

Philip had issues with costumes this year. I think he is feeling too old to dress up. What??? You are NEVER too old to dress up for halloween. He was originally supposed to be the football but tyler took such a liking to the costume he couldn't breake his dad's heart. So we came up with this punk rocker costume. Lucy lately is very fascinated with real tattoos so I was a little worried about putting philip in this. Lucy looks up to philip sooo much.

Pumpkin carving fun!!! The kids all started out with ONE pumpkin. Well....Maggee accidently knocked Lucy's off the counter and it splattered everywhere!! Lucy started crying, then maggee started crying, so everyone got a second pumpkin to carve. You can't just let two of them carve two pumpkins. Philip didn't like his first one but the second one did the trick.

Everyone exhausted after the carving. But...very excited that they got to stay up past bedtime..again!!

Just had to include this one of Maggee. This is seriously the face Maggee always has on her face. She is alway sooo happy!! I love it!

Lucy carving her First pumpkin.

Everyone having fun.

Pumpkin marshmellows. Just a fun family night treat. Actually we forgot about getting a family night treat and I just happened to have t he marshmellows and candy in the cupboard. Worked out great.

yes I did dress up also but I didn't get a picture of it. But that is ok. Well here come the Holidays!! Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Maggee is 8

2010-07-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

This post is way over due. I am way behind in blogging. The summer is almost gone and I haven't documented one thing. Hopefuly I will get around to catching up but for right now this is one event I couldn't let go by unnoticed. I mean turning 8 is a HUGE deal!!!

Maggee had been anticipating this day for months. We let her chose what she wanted to do and she chose to go to our friends, Jayne and Robert's house for a cookout along with the rest of the charleston ward young women (karol is the young womens president). Unfortunately I don't have pics of that. She also got to have her very first friend party! (yes I know I am a mean mom. you are thinking "8years old and this is her first friend party?)

Of course turning 8 she was also baptized but I will do a different post for that. I just thought I would write down a few things about our Maggee Moo. She is by far our child with the most energy!! She NEVER stops. She no longer has her BIG tooth, which actually makes me sad cause only Maggee could pull that off. She now has braces. She LOVES her braces. She loves them a little too much. I have been taking her in at least 3 times inbetween checkups because she keeps breaking her wires. She cannot keep her fingers out of her mouth. She will come up to me and say, "mom, I DIDN'T put my fingers in my mouth, but look," and there will be a broken wire.

I usually have to tell her to do things on an average of 5 times before it registers what needs to get done. She will usually go in her room and do something else and when I ask her why she hasn't done what I've asked she says, "oh I forgot." That is her famous line. But don't get me worng, this is why we love her so much. She keeps us on our toes and keeps things very interesting. You can't help but love this girl. She is the second mom around here. Even though I may have to ask her more than one time to do something, she is always more than willing to do it. She LOVES her little cousins and gets soo excited when she knows they are coming to visit. She thinks it is her duty to make sure they are taken care of. She always tells me that she can't wait to be a mom.

As I said before Maggee has lots of energy. She is the one that is usually standing on her chair during dinner or running around the kitchen instead of just sitting down and eating. I will never forget a few years back when I came home and Maggee was crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said "Dad tied me to the chair!" I could not believe (well yes I could) that tyler would do something like this and I looked at him for an explanation and he said "well I told her that if she got up one more time instead of eating, I was going to take her jump rope and tie her to her chair. She didn't listen, so I did it." Maggee still brings up that story. Tyler will always respond, "In my defense, at least she remembers". Sadly though, maggee still can't sit still through dinner time. Dinner time actually would not be the same if she did sit through it.

Maggee will be in third grade this school year. She is very excited for school. She is also going to start taking gymnastic lessons, cause lets face it, she needs something to get all that energy out! I always worry that maggee doesn't get as much attention being the middle child. She was born with the right personality to stick out and get attention.

We love you Maggee!!

2010-02-26T07:15:00.000-08:00

This little man....................

Is now 12!!!

Yes 12... I can't believe it either! I know this post is a few days old but I couldn't let this huge milestone go by unnoticed. I don't want to get too cheesy because he is now gets embarrassed when I am cheesy about him. I rember the day I had him and the drs. kept telling me what a small baby he was going to be and then out popped an 8lb 4oz 22 1/2inch long baby. I looked at him and thought "He does not look like a new born! and where did that BIG head come from?" Needless to say that I still loved him even though at that momment I said I was NOT going to have anymore babies if they were all going to be as hard as he was.

Ok so now I am going to get a little sentimental. A few days after Philip was born we wound up in primary childrens hospital because he was having seizures. These seizures were very seviere and me being a first time mother, who was only 19, was scared to even touch him. The first year or so of Philip's life we spent at primary childrens hospital. We had a lot of family prayers and fasts for him. I wont go into every detail but that is one moment in my life where my testimony was strengthened. His neurologist said that he had never seen a baby have such seveire siezures and not have any brain damage. I knew it was an answere to prayers. Grandma karol and Grandpa Lee were in Hawaii and they put his name in the temple and karol called us and said that she knew he would be ok. Midway 2nd ward had a fast for him. My mom told me (a few years later) that she had also had an experience that philip was ment to come to this earth to accomplish something very special......but that was all she would tell me from her experience. I am mainly writing all this because I want Philip to know how special he really is and how much we fought to have him in our family.

Being the oldest isn't always the easiest and many nights tyler and I talk and wonder if we are too hard on Philip because we correct him more than the other kids. We always use the "your little sisters are watching every move you make" talk. I guess I shouldn't forget to say that all my other actual births were a bit easier because of the babies being smaller but we always say to philip that he "paved the way" for all the other kids to come to our family. And.....he still is doing just that.

We love you Philip even though I know we are mean and won't let you have a cell phone...yet!

Best Snuggie Family Ever!

2010-02-18T08:16:00.000-08:00

What more can I say other then... I LOVE THESE GUYS! I couldn't ask for a better family to put with me. Yes, we all got snuggies for Christmas....I know you are all secretly jealous cause who wouldn't want one of these awsome backwards robes?? I think maybe our chrismas card next year will be us all wearing our snuggies. That is if I get around to actually doing a Christmas card. I never have before but maybe, just mabye next year I will.

Creative or What!

2010-02-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to show everyone what a creative family I have. My kids were a little upset that I didn't get out all of the christmas decorations this year. I just didn't know how much energy I would have with having surgery during the holidays so all that got put up was the tree. So we had the great idea to make it snow in our living room. The kids LOVE it!! It was a fun family home evening activity that did take longer then we planned and the kids loved it even more when it ment they got to stay up way too long past their bedtime in order to see the final look. Grandma Karol even came over and cut some snowflakes out. Fun, fun, fun.

Just a small confession. The snow flakes are STILL up. I love that when you drive past the house you can see them through the window.

I just had to slip this picture in. Maggee has had this ONE big tooth for forever! IT wasn't so bad until she lost the one on the other side of it. Now when she smiles all you see is this ONE BIG tooth!! Only Maggee can pull this look off.

Another fun thing to do with paper. Hair bows. This little creation was Ellies. The girls had a blast with it and especially Lucy thinks she looks Oh so pretty!! Ellie had fun being the big sister and teaching them how to make it. They spent a whole afternoon not moving from the dining table making tons of bows. Good little activity for all you moms out there who may need a few minutes to yourself. This activity consumes them. Not to mention I know Ellie was pretty proud of herself for showing her sisters how to make them.

This is Lucy's photo smile. I don't think I have seen a more fake smile!

Ok this smile isn't too bad.

Camera Bandit

2010-01-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

So our camera was lost for a few days and we could not figure out where it had gone to. We always keep it in the kitchen drawer next to the stove or tyler has it on his computer desk. We asked all of the kids if they had seen it and every one of them said they had no idea where it was. I know that Lucy takes things and hides them and when we are looking for them she always says "I think I might know where it is.....let me see." Then she ALWAYS can muraculously find it! Because of her history I continued to ask her where it was and she PROMISED me she had no idea.....then one day it was all of a sudden back in the drawer where it is supposed to be. I took the camera out and this is what I found on it...

These were only a few (the camera was completly full) of the pics that I found. I called Lucy to the kitchen and here is our conversation.....

me: Lucy, are you sure you had no idea where the camera was?

Lucy: Positive

Me: Then how did pics of you get on here?

Lucy was quiet for a moment and then said....

Lucy: Mom, Santa isn't watching us anymore right? Cause Christmas is over.

Me: Lucy, Santa is always watching. All year long he watches.

Lucy quietly says "dang it" and then....

Lucy: Look at me in these pictures mom, I am almost grown up!

She never fessed up to playing with the camera, and this isn't the first time it has happened. I think our whole house has been photographed clear down to the smallest crumb on the floor. I showed Tyler the camera when he got home and all he could say was how proud he was of her taking such a good picture of the BYU cup. Really?

The Good Old Days

2009-12-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

I was just browsing through our picture file trying to find the most recent pictures that tyler downloaded last night thinking maybe I should update this blog when I came across this picture. I don't think I have ever seen this picture! I just couldn't resist. They look so YOUNG! Where has the time gone? I can't help but remeber this time when I was at home 24/7 with three little ones and NO CAR. I thought my life would NEVER change. I thought I was always going to live in a 2 bedroom townhouse and never have a car and always be what seemed like a single parent. Tyler would leave at 6 am and not come home till 10pm. He worked full time and went to school full time. I had to make my schedule around everyone elses schedule if I needed to take the kids to the dr.(which was quite often) or just run errands. I thought life was so difficult and hard. And yes it was. Just a different kind of hard than what we are living today. Even though I delt with the struggles of never having a break and being surrounded by children 24/7, I really do wish at times that I could go back to then. I hadn't gotten sick yet, my kids still adored only me, no talking back, no setting preteen rules, etc.... I hadn't started to really worry what my kids were going to face in the social world yet. This was when the most expensive christmas gift was a blue ball with white stars, or a huge candy bar. Now it's ipods and cell phones. It is weird to think that I am at a stage in my life when I want the same things for christmas that my kids do. I remeber when we bought ellie her ipod shuffle for her 8th birthday thinking " I am buying my 8 year old an ipod when I don't even have one!"

Oh my life was so simple back then.....only if I had realized it. Yes I have the days to myself mostly now. I can go as I please now. No more being tugged in all different ways. No more washing dirty little hand prints off of the walls. Now it is, "Mom so and so hurt my feelings at school today." and " So and so doesn't want to be my friend anymore." and "Why can't I have a cell phone.....all my friends do." and "Why can't I stay out till midnight and have a late night. All my friends do." (what the heck! My curfue was midnight when I was in highschool...not junior high. Oh how the times have changed. I am thinking right now that I wish I could turn back time and relive those tiring young motherhood days. I hate to say I took them for granted. Don't get me wrong I am enjoying having a whole different kind of relationship with my kids now but I really hate worrying about the real world stuff now.

Mom or a Doctor?

2009-11-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

Tyler and I always try to encourage the kids to do thier best in school and other activities that they are doing. I always ask them what they want to be and Ellie always says "artist, of course." Maggee wants to be a mom (yes the best job in the world). Philip actually talks alot about being a marine biologist. My sister heather keeps begging me to let him come to florida in the summer and do some camps down there. Now on to Lucy. The other day we had this conversation.........

me: So what do you want to be when you grow up Lucy?
Lucy: I want to be a dr.
me: You will be a good Dr. but do you want to be a mom too? Even though you have kids you can still be anything you want to be!
Lucy: mmmm no. No kids. Just want to be a dr.

So there you have it. No kids for Lucy. Ellie and maggee always talk about how they can't wait to be moms. Lucy likes her dolls and imaginary friends but when ever I bring up having kids she always tells me " I already told you I am not having kids!"

I really just wanted to record this so that when she is grown up and a mom and maybe even a dr. I can show her how she said she would NEVER have kids and have a good laugh with her.

Freedom!

2009-09-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Ok so I guess I shouldn't say FREEDOM. I am a little sad for summer to be over but I am ready for some of the chaos to calm down. I do hate being tied to a schedule for the morings but I am ready for the craziness that summer brings to settle down.

I thought it would be fun to show a picture of the kids a few years ago to show how big my babies are getting (Philip would be embarrassed to know I was calling him my baby). Not sure why Maggee wasn't in this picture. Probably because she wasn't going to school yet. This was when we were living with Karol. I think Ellie was only going to kindergarten and Philip was going to second grade.

(philip's looks never really change)

And now my babies are BIG. I love this picture because it shows all of them. All three kids excited to go and Lucy in the back ground pouting as usual. In Lucy's mind she should ALWAYS be able to do what the other kids are doing.

I thought Tyler was going to start crying when he came home from back to school night last night and said he couldn't believe that Philip was done with elementry school. It is a weird thought to think I have a sixth grader, a fourth grader, and a second grader. Philip was nervous and we told him it is ok to be nervous but that he will be alright.

Philip's bus actually doesn't come till 8:31 (tyler is very annoyed if you say 8:30). The girls get on the bus at 8:04. I must admit that I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders as soon as Philip's bus drove away. It has been a very QUIET day and......my house is STILL clean! Don't get me wrong, I am very sad my kiddos are growing up but I am also excited for them to go to school and be with their friends and for the adventures they will have this year. I think my breakdown will really happen next year when the last one leaves the nest! Until then, I am enjoying my ME time and LUCY time!

Yummmmmm....

2009-08-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

The best thing about this surgery has been all of the great food my ward has brought into my home. These were soooo good. I was soo sad when they were all gone. Definitely one of my new favorites!

Thanks to EVERYONE who has been helping us out. You will never know how much it has ment!

Just my thoughts

2009-08-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

So here it is the end of August and I am STILL down from the surgery. I thought I would give a quick update as to our happenings lately. Sorry no pics so I hope this isn't too boring. Life has been TOUGH this last little while but I am hoping that I am turning a corner. This surgery has been VERY PAINFUL and a lot HARDER than I expected to recover from. Don't get me wrong I am still glad I did it. I think I have learned more about this disease I have since the surgery then I did before the surgery. I have found a website called dailystrength.org. I joined the pseudo tumor cerebri chat group and it has been sooo therapeutic for me. I log on everyday and read people's posts and love realizing that I am NOT crazy. There are other people out there that understand what I am going through. This group introduced me to another website, ihrfoundation.org. This website answers every question I have almost ever had. I am sure I bore Tyler to death cause I always have to tell him some exciting thing I have just read and he does listen but not with quite as much excitement as I have. My dr. at the moran eye center has also sent me a flyer about a group of people (from here in utah) that get together every year and are able to meet and talk about their experiences with this disease. It is a hard life dealing with chronic pain. It takes such a toll on your body.

The kids are all getting ready to start school. I FINALLY convinced tyler that I could handle going to provo with him so I could help out with school shopping. I wasn't quite sure about letting tyler pick all of Ellie's and Maggee's school things out. They probably would have come home with football and basketball clothes. We also went to dinner and a movie with some friends that night and for the first time in over a month I almost felt like a normal person. The kids are sooo excited for school to start. It has been a LONG summer. I have loved having them home but it will be nice to get back into the schedule of things.

My body is TIRED . I am ready for this whole thing to be OVER!! The walls of my bedroom are getting quite lonely. It is also very frustrating to wake up with extreme pain in my side and every little movement makes me want to cry. I am reassured by my neurosurgeon that this is normal. Apparently they don't suture the tube and drain into place so it is floating around in there. So at time it hits nerves and organs that causes a lot of pain and discomfort. My dr. says that my body should build up scar tissue to hold it in place. How long does scar tissue take to form anyways? I feel like I have given it plenty of time. I also get worn out ALL THE TIME. Who knew walking around Costco would be SOOO much work! I am also getting very horrible heat flashes since the surgery. I am also told that that is normal. My body needs to adjust to a foreign object inside of it. Good news is that I have not had one fever since the surgery which is a good sign that my body won't reject the shunt...knock on wood. It is very frustrating to feel really good one moment and then the very next..VERY HORRIBLE!

One last thing I need to write down before I forget. Tyler and the girls and I were watching So You Think You Can Dance. I LOVE this show. Anyway, Lucy always dances around the tv room while we are watching. During one of the routines Lucy is doing her usually moves and then stops right infront of the tv and pulls a Michael Jackson move. Yes the crotch grabbing one. AND she did it PERFECTLY! I turned to tyler and said, "Did she just do what I think she did?" We were laughing sooo hard. Tyler has been showing the kids a lot of Michael Jackson moves and videos. Gotta love this girl. Hopefully I can get her into some dance classes this year. She is also starting preschool. Yes my BABY is going to preschool! Life is moving on even though I am STILL stuck in this bed of mine.

Pseudotumor Cerebri

2009-08-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

This is a post that I have been wanting to do for quite some time. Mainly because this is supposed to be a journal about my family. I want my kids to read this sometime and be able to understand why thier mom was the way she was. Also, alot of people that I run into always have the question "what is it you really have?" So I thought maybe I should do a post all about Pseudotumor Cerebri (PTC) or Benign Intracranial Hypertension (BIH). I completely understand if this post sounds way boring to some of you so feel free to skip. I mainly just want of record of what I have been dealing with for the past five years now.

My battle with this disease began when I was four months pregnant with Lucy. I was diagnosed with a viral meningitis. It was really scary and was hospitalized for it. The pregnancy was very difficult. The dr.s all assured me that Lucy would be ok and life would go back to normal as soon as I would give birth to her, but that I would be alot more susceptible to headaches. After I delivered Lucy I still suffered from extreme headaches but I thought it to be normal and didn't check back with my neurologist like I was supposed to.

Our life moved on and we sold our Hamlet townhome and we moved in with Karol. A few weeks after living with her I had a horrible headache and could not function. I was scared that I had gotten meningitis again. Tyler took me to the hospital and they did a spinal tap. Good news was that it was not meningitis but that I had Pseudotumor Cerebri. By the name of it it makes it sound like I have a tumor in my brain. There is actually no tumor. A phantom tumor is what a lot of dr.s call it. The minengies in my brain were not functioning properly. Your body is constantly procuding spinal fluid and the minengies around your brain secrete it. Mine were not secreting it properly so therefore fluid would build up around my brain and put pressure on it making my brain think that it had a tumor. So my body would act as if I had a tumor. Mainly I had alot of nausea and a lot of swishing sounds in my ears. The only way to relieve it fast was to have a spinal tap. Spinal taps, oddly enough, became my best friend. It was the only thing that kept my head from hurting. The hard thing about spinal taps is you have to be flat after them. As of today I have had around 13 or more spinal taps. The blessing in disguise was us moving in with Karol. Not really a blessing for her though. She had to take care of my family because I couldn't. To this day, I really believe that one of the reasons I was ment to marry tyler was because I needed to have the mother-in-law that I have. She kept our little family together.

I worked with a neurologist for quite some time and was started on medication. After a while he decided he could not help me and referred me to Dr. Digre up at the Moran Eye Center at the U of U. To this day she is still treating me along with a neurosurgeon Dr. Richard Schmidt. Dr. Digre tried me on every medication possible to treat this disease. All the while I am dealing with headaches every single day. Waking up with a headache and going to bed with a headache becomes a very hard life to deal with. I mainly felt bad for my kids. I just didn't have it in me to take them and do the fun stuff a mom should do. Luckily I was blessed with wonderful kids who are very understanding and patient. And with wonderful family and friends who help me with my kids. I am truely a product of family and friends helping me raise my kids. I honestly have not raised my kids.

Here I am five years later and still dealing with all the same issues. It has been a very frustrating last few years. Tyler and I decided to have a surgery to try and help me out. There are two different shunts that they can use to try and relieve this pressure in my head. The first is a VP shunt that is actually placed in the head with a tube that goes down the neck and end in either the heart area or the stomach area. Which ever the surgeon decides is best. The second shunt is an LP shunt. This shunt is placed in the spine with a tube that wraps around the waiste and end with a drain in the stomach are. Tyler and I decided to start with the LP shunt.

This is as close as a picture I could find to show what it looks like. I had the surgerly done on July 27. Today is August 14. and I am still down because of the surgery. I have had some headache relief. The last few days I have been feeling some tightness in my head and so I am to stay down hoping that the shunt will unclog itself. There are many things that can go wrong with this shunt. It can cause Chiari (where the brain is sucked down the spine), it can cause many infections, or it can just simply malfunction or pop out of the vertibret that it is in. We are hoping that none of this happens to me. This surgery has been a lot more difficult to heal from than I had expected but I am hoping that it will all be worth it. If I do have to many problems with this shunt, then we will try the one in my head. Strangely enough, I almost wonder if I would rather have the one in my head. I don't think I would feel it as much as I feel this one. It is very uncomfortabel moving with it. I can feel the tube around my waist, which makes it difficult to get in a comfortable position to sleep in at night. But then I always think, "Would I rather be uncomfortable or would I rather have part of my head shaved?" Tyler thinks I am crazy that I am most worried about getting my head shaved with the other shunt, but a girl needs to worry about her hair!

I am very glad I got the shunt because it has given me headache free days, and I forgot what that was like. It is very frustrating to still be down but I know it won't be forever. So far I think the shunt is a success. Anyone out there that has this disease.....I highly recomment this procedure.

Poor Ellie.....It is her 9th bday today and I am down. Tyler is having to be quite the Mr. Mom. He is making her birthday dinner tonight and is doing her friend bday party tomorrow. I feel like I have missed out on so much with my kids. All Lucy knows is me being this way. Ellie and Philip keep asking me if I am ever going to get better and that really breaks my heart. They remember before I got pregnant with Lucy and all the things I would do with them. The kids today think Tyler is the only one who can have fun with them. I am soooo greatful to have such a wonderful husband who will take over the whole household. I am not trying to be cheesy by saying this about tyler. I honestly don't know who else I could have married who would have taken over this family the way he has. He literally works his more than full time job and takes care of the household and kids. He is teaching Philip quite the cooking skills. I am proud to be apart of this family!

The birds and the bees :)

2009-07-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

WARNING the content of this post contains "the birds and the bees" information. Please be advised ( I will try to keep the language at rated G level) as you read on........

The fourth of July this year will definitely be one that I will always remember. This is the year that my little boy "officially" grew up! Tyler and I have been debating lately whether or not it was time to have THE talk with him. Last year was the year they held the maturation (sp?) class for the fifth graders. Philip was gladly relieved when we were on our way to Olivia's graduation down in Cedar City on the day it was held. In fact, Philip never told us or gave us the letter about the class. We found out later from someone else that it had taken place.

Tyler and I kind of came up with an agreement that he would talk to Philip about things and I would talk to the girls. Which I did think was a little unfair since he only had to do the talk once and I will have to do it THREE times. However......I helped out this time so I think Tyler should return the favor when it comes time.

Now let me say that this was not something that we had planned on doing this holiday....something that just happened. AND I must say that I was very pleased to see how clueless philip actually was. I thought for sure that him and his friends had had talks about what they think IT really is. Which they have, but really didn't know.

My sister Darci came up with her boys on friday to spend the day, do a little boating on my dad's new boat, eat, play games, and just spend time as a family. My parents went up to The Sound of Music play in Miday (my dad was being honored as an artist and the architect of the legacy bridge in Miday......love ya dad!) so Tyler, Darci, Philip, and Colton and I were sitting at the table talking about random things (alone...no grandparents around). To be honest I am actually not sure how the subject even came up. But at some point, Colton stated that he knew what IT was. I asked him what he thinks it is (honstestly thinking that he would say kissing and laying in bed together) and he point blankley told me. I looked over at Philip and his mouth dropped to the table. Tyler and I looked at each other and thought "well......now we have some explaining to do!" So the next half hour to forty five minutes were full of explanations and questions from both boys.

I will admit that the conversation went over a lot more smoothly than I had imagined it to. I was terrified to have this kind of a talk with my child. I watched Oprah one day and it was on what was an appropriate age to talk to your kids about the birds and the bees was and how to have the conversation. There was a little girl on there at about the age of 10 and her mom and Oprah told her all about it. She took it so well and so maturly. I remember talking to tyler about it and saying how Philip is 11 so...according to Oprah we were a year behind. Both of us just kept putting it off. Now that the conversation is over , I am glad we had it. Philip was embarrassed while we were talking and got very red during some of the conversation.....but I know that he will come to us now when he has questions. I also think he was more comfortable having the conversation with Colton. I am so glad that Philip learned it from us. I always want my kids to feel comfortable to come and ask us questions and now I think Philip is.

So....one down, now three more to go. That shouldln't be awhile cause according to Tyler our girls won't be allowed to say hi to a boy till they are 21!!!

Happy Father's day to the two best dads in my life!

2009-06-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

I couldn't let this Father's Day go by without honoring one of the best dads in my life. I could never ask for a better dad for my kids than this guy. Even when he is torturing and doing this to the kids.......................

Tyler is the one who knows how to have fun in this house.........even though someone always ends up crying in the end.

Just kidding hon...you are the best. I would be nowhere without you. You are the best Mr. Mom any wife could ask for :)

The other best dad ever that is in my life is my dad.....eventhough he is almost eighty (love you dad) he always has the energy for all of his kids and grandkids! Isn't he just the cuttest papa smurf guy out there?

One thing I would not have right now is my house if it wasn't for this man.

Isn't he the most talented architect you know? I remember when I was a senior in high school and he had a heart attack, I told him he couldn't die yet cause he wasn't finished raising me. He always says that I am catching up to his age but just remember dad....you will hit 80yrs way before I hit your age!!

This man can sleep anywhere!

Happy Father's Day to all you great dads out there!!

Daddy Daughter Dates!!

2009-06-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

Last week I went on a trip to Seattle with some girlfriends. Tyler took the time off and stayed home with the kids. What a guy!! Everything seemed to be in control when I would call and check in accept for when Maggee told me Lucy feel asleep totally naked in her bed and dad didn't see the point in waking her up to dress her , so he let her sleep that way. The house was even picked up and everybody was alive when I got home! I asked him how things went while I was gone and he said that he had quite the daddy daughter date with the girls. Philip stayed home and Tyler thought it would be nice to take the girls to lunch at a nice restaraunt (olive garden, which is where tyler always has to go) and spend some time with them. He said that they were seated in a booth that was in a closed area with a lot of other people. Lucy said she had to go to the bathroom and Ellie said she would take her. After awhile, Ellie came back alone and said that Lucy was still in the stall sitting on the toilet singing, and grunting at the same time. Ellie was embarrassed so she left Lucy in there. Tyler said a few minutes later Lucy came running to their table just as excited as can be and said VERY LOUD, "Dad, my poop, it just slipped right out!" Tyler said everyone in the booths around them heard and started laughing. Now anyone who knows Lucy, knows that bathroom time is very serious stuff. She takes her time. And if you walk in on her she always says, "Don't come in here, it stincks!!" Or she is very polite and warns you not to go in the bathroom when she comes out because it may stinck for a while. What can I say.....Lucy is Lucy!!!

Posts from the past

2009-05-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Tyler finally got all of our pictures in just one place. I was looking at them today and thought it would be fun to do some posts about my kids from their earlier years since blogs didn't exist back then. These have been alot of fun to look at. I didn't realize how much my girls resemble each other as babies. But I must admit that some of my favorites are of Philip when he was little. So here are some past photos in no particular order. ( I'm too lazy to arrange them how I really should :) !)

Maggee Jane. My most mellow baby!

All of my girls have broken a bone. Here is Ellie right before I had Maggee.

This is Ellie sitting by grandpa Phil's grave. I forgot how bald she was as a baby.

Philip and Ellie. Wow!!! Not potty trained yet!! I remember the days with two in diapers.

I know I am biased but I really think that Philip was such a handsome little guy!

Like most little boys, Philip was obssessed with trains. When he was born Thomas the Train was very hard to find and very expensive. So he loved the movies but really didn't have the toys.

I love this picture. It was taken on Mother's Day 2002.

Phililp is like his mom and is very allergic to any kind of insect bytes or sting. He got stung by a bee right inbetween the eyes here. My mom always had this magic mud that she made that worked miracles. The poor kid!

Good old Lucy. I really do miss her baby stage.

Maggee Jane.

Maggee and Philip. I must say that Philip's looks really don't change as he gets older.

Philip annoyed that we were taking pics.

Lucy again.

I love this picture of Maggee. She is my little sport guru. She loves any kind of sport and is quite good at them.

Sweet Ellie. She has always been the quiet and shy one.

My kids aren't soo little anymore. It is hard to believe that phililp is eleven now and will no longer be in grade school. Not to mention that he is almost in young mens. Next year is Ellie's last year in grade school. Maggee will be baptized on her next birthday. And Lucy is four. Only one more year and school officially starts for her.

Dancing With The Stars

2009-04-23T08:26:00.001-07:00

So I was getting Lucy ready this morning to head out the door. Got her dressed, brushed her teeth, put her shoes on, and she ran to my full length mirror to check herself out. After a minute or two of smiling really big at herself and modeling she turned to me and said..."Mom, I look like I should be on Danicng With the Stars!" Not quite sure why she thought that. Really people, I don't dress my 4 year old in skimpy (but in Lucy's opinion very beautiful) outfits.

When we watch Daning with the Stars in our house our conversations are usually about the outfits not the dancers. I rate the dances but my girls always sit and talk about the outfits. Right when they come on the floor all three girls usually give their opinion on whether they let the girls costumes or not. Yes my dream of having dancing girls is being smashed a little. Ellie would rather do anything to do with art, and Maggee loves all the sports and is begging for gymmnastic lessons. I do have a little hope with Lucy. She dances all morning long and loves to have people watch her. She does sing a ton too. So I think the singing may win out....let's hope she has a good voice. Of course I think it is beautiful right now, but what little 4 year old doesn't sound cute when they sing?

So back to Lucy and her outfit. Really all she had on was some camo (yes, camo) capris and light blue shirt and hoodie. She had on her favorite red butterfly shoes. I will post a pic tonight. I used to be very picky about what my kids look like, but I am afraid I've lost the passion. I can do that on my last child.......Right??

Lucy Belle

2009-04-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

I found this cute video of Lucy as a baby while we were living with Karol. Just thought it was so cute, I wanted to share it. (Yes...Lucy had horrible hair as a baby. It always looked like a rats nest but we still loved her!) She pushes this toy around for a little while....but keep watching to see how cute her laugh was.

Did you notice how long my hair is? I was thinkin about cutting my hair because of all the hair I have been loosing lately.......but I think I am going to tough it out and keep growing it.

21, 24.......or 30 years old???

2009-03-24T07:53:00.001-07:00

Ok so I thought I would get to the bottom of this age thing with me. A lot of times I go out in public and people will ask how old I am. Never does anyone guess above 24!! And then when they ask how many kids I have and my response is 4 they always assume I must have been a teenage pregnancy. I guess in reality I was....since I was nineteen when I had Philip, but I am THIRTY now almost 31, not 21 or 24!

Now I found this old picture of me, granted it is my junior year picture.....and this picture of me is just a few months ago. Enough said, I have aged and I don't look like a 21 or 24 year old....right!?!

I mean my face has aged and is of course, fatter and I even use better moisturizer on my skin now....you know the moisturizers that women should use in their thirties so that I don't start getting wrinkles......or cover up the ones I am starting to get. Good thing I have friends that inform me of stuff like this! Thanks Lesa :)

Unexpected Trip!

2009-03-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would write a quick little notes as to our happenings lately. I am writing this from my sister's house in Florida. Yes, I said Florida! The trip was very unexpected and no time to plan for. I have been really struggling these last few months with my health. I had the spinal tap which only gave my head relief for a few short hours and then I was back to the same old aching every day. Just when I thought it really couldn't get any worse, I got a kidney stone. I literally thought I was going to die. In the mean time my sister was here in Floriday having a hysterectomy done. She has been wanting me to come out but my health was preventing me from going anywhere. After a long painful week of trying to pass the stone, heather called me sunday morning and said they had a ticket for me to fly out the very next morning. I hung up the phone, had a complete melt down with hours of tears, and then packed my bags and got on the plane. I am terrified of traveling because of what it does to my head. Tyler gave me a blessing of comfort and here I am. This was a much needed trip. More so than I knew. Lucy came with me and we have been here taking care of my poor sister and her throwing up every day that we have been here. I feel horrible for her. I know how hard hysterectomies are to recover from, since I have had one myself.

I also have benefited being her by being able to get into contact with some other neurologists that my sisters friend, Michelle knows. My head has felt absolutely wonderful here. I have only had to take my medication once so far. This is mainly because of us being a sea level here. It has been nice to have a break from my head throbbing, and every day nausea and the break not being from a spinal tap. So I think Tyler and I are finally facing the fact that a shunt placement in my head is our next step. The thought terrifies me, but if I can be head ache free for more than a few days it will be worth it. Now that my head medication is causing kidney stones and I am being forced to face reality here.

I come home on monday and back to the struggles. And back to a full couple of months of dr. appointments. I am so thankful for tyler and all he has had to put up with me and for sending me here while he stayed home and took care of kids. I definitely would not make it if I were not married to him.

3 Brides!!

2009-02-26T10:14:00.000-08:00

Doesn't every girl dream about their wedding from the time they can walk and talk? I know my girls do. Lucy marries someone new every day. Lately her husband is Derek. I have caught her in the shower pretending to shower and when I ask her what she is doing, she says she is showering with her husband, Derek! Don't worry we had a talk with her.

Ellie, Maggee, and Lucy love to play dress up at Grandma Karol's house. This particular day, the three of them came out humming the tune Here comes the Bride. Of course, I thought it was cute and laughed. Tyler, on the other hand, didn't think it was soo cute. He told them they are too young to even think about these kinds of things. Tyler is going to have stress heart attack with how much he always worries about these girls and how protective he already is!

Valentine Blues

2009-02-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

I have to give all credit for Valentine's Day this year to Tyler. I do usually try to plan something fun and out of the ordinary for us but I just didn't have it in me this year. One year a group of my friends and I planned a scavanger hunt for our hubbys. We sent ransome notes to their work saying their wives had been kidnapped and to follow the clues if they wanted their wives safely returned to them. That year , by far, has been one of my most memorable valentines with Tyler. They had to go to various places around town and perform dances and songs in order to receive their next clue. In the end they found all of us wives tied up together. We went to dinner and played games. That year we were living with Karol so Tyler and I got a room to stay in down in Provo. This year, I am ashamed to admit, I did absolutely nothing! Usually it's the wife complaining that the husband didn't do anything. I have felt soo crappy these last few months and these last few weeks inparticular. I really wanted to plan a fun date wich would include maybe an afternoon movie and then an earlier dinner.

Philip had a bball game saturday morning and tyler told me to stay home and rest. After they had left for the game, I got out of bed to go down stairs to take my meds and low and behold there was a box full of roses for me! Tyler said that he only ordered a dozen but 17 came. They were different colors. They also came with a small hear box of chocolates. I felt horrible because I didn't even get him a card. Boy did I blow it this year! When they got home I told Tyler that I had wanted to take him out but I just didn't think I would make it. He was soooo understanding. We stayed in all day with the kids and watched movies. That night Tyler made a candle light dinner for me and the kids. What a sweetheart! So I guess I can't say anything the next time Tyler forgets to give me a card or take me out for a special occassion,or.....gives me a can opener!

Tyler didn't just stop at Valentine's Day. I just kept feeling worse and worse so early sunday morning (3:30am) I woke Tyler up and told him I couldn't stand it anymore. We headed down to St. Mark's and I had a spinal tap done. Boy does my head feel better now. Tyler was so patient with me and held me down so my body would stop shacking, and held my hand during the whole procedure. So today is Tuesday and I have been in bed since sunday morning and Tyler has taken over the house and the kids. Thanks to Karol who came and did some cleaning and all of the kids's laundry. I must confess that tyler has put up with poor housework and no laundry really being done for quite some time now. Philip's birthday is today and Tyler made his birthday dinner. What a man!!! and...........he is MINE!!!

Passing Notes

2009-02-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

Passing notes happens on a weekly basis at our house. A lot of times Tyler and I will wake up to whispering and laughing and then footsteps running down stairs. I will get out of bed and there will be notes that they have slipped under our door. This first one is from Ellie.

Dear Mom, I cleaned my room when I got up because I thought you would be happy. And that you wouldn't have to tell me over and over again. And one important thing about you is that you are a SPECIAL girl. And you are the best mom EVER! Love Ellie

P.S. Please write back.

This next note is from Maggee.

To Dad From Maggee. We want to have fun today. from Maggee. Phililp wrote for me (Maggee)

This last note is from Philip

Dear mom and dad

Will you please slide it under Maggee's door and when we mean "it" we mean the paper to write back on. Thank you

Love Phil and Ellie

There is one note missing that is an important one and Iam not sure what happened to it. I thought I had kept all of them, but like I said this happens very frquently so I have lots of notes laying around from the kids. Anyway, the note that I can't find was talking about how the kids wanted to do something fun that day (a saturday). We would write back to the kids and run down stairs slip it under Maggee's door and we could hear them laughing and getting excited that we had written them back. Tyler and I would run back upstairs and shut our door and wait for them to write us back. The last note that was passed asked if we should keep writing notes back and forth to discuss what fun activity we would do that day as a family or if we should just have a family meeting. We wrote back and said a family meeting would be fine.

Notes are left all over the house to different members of the family. The kids will write notes to each other or Tyler and I will wake up to notes on our bed from the kids just saying that they love us. I always try and put a note in their sack lunches. One morning, as I was writing their notes telling them to have a good day and that I loved them, I started wondering if they even noticed them because they never mention them. Just as I was thinking this thought, Maggee came into the kitchen to check on her sack lunch and said, "oh mom, don't forget my note!" I just smiled to myself.

My kids are growing up which makes me very sad, but I am glad that they are still young enough to think it is "cool" to write notes to their mom and dad!

My baby is 4!!!!

2009-02-03T09:20:00.000-08:00

This post is about a week late, partly because I think I am in denial. Lucy turned 4 on January 25. My life with babies and toddlers is gone. Hard to believe and hard to accept. Lucy has always been very very different then the rest of my children. Tyler used to always joke that we needed to stop because Philip and Ellie were always so mellow, then Maggee was a little bit more.....I guess I should say, Energetic!! Then Lucy is, at times, undescribeable. We often wondered what the next one would be like. There is no denying that we all give in to Lucy and she steals your heart once she decides that she likes you. There is no other way to describe Lucy other than she is just Lucy!!

The only thing Lucy really wanted for her birthday was a sleeping beauty dress. This exact specific one. There was no fooling her into a different one. Believe me, I tried. I took her shopping with me the day I bought her this dress. We went into the disney store and she walked right up to this dress. Well I will say that this dress was not cheap. I told her we should go to other stores and look. We left and she was not happy. After shopping around for a while, I discovered that the price wasn't as bad as I thought. So karol drove me back to the mall. She stayed in the car with Lucy while I ran back into the disney store. Mind you this whole time Lucy has had a dirty look on her face because she didn't want to leave this store in the first place. I told her I just had to run in really fast and I would be back. I didn't think she would know where I was going since we were at the mall. I came back to the car and Lucy had the biggest smile on her face. I asked her why she was so happy all of a sudden and she said because she knew I had gone in and bought her her dress. I told her I didn't, and that I did recheck the store but they had sold all of them. She just laughed and told me she knew I had her dress in my bag.

Lucy with some of her cousins who helped her celebrate. Lauren, Ellie, kyla, Maggee, lucy, Philip, and Rachel.

Lucy with all of her presents. She was not soo happy right when she woke up that morning. I thought she would be because she had been counting the days down to this day. She woke up with a scowl on her face. Some family members called first thing in the morning to wish her a happy birthday but she refused to talk to them. In fact, she cried all morning long while we were trying to get her ready for church. After she got out of the shower and she was all dressed, Tyler made her call everyone back and apologize to them for not being nice. Once she did that and she got to church her birthday mood was in tact.

Grandma Karol made Lucy this cute blanket for her birthday. So the party would not have been complete with out a slumber party. Aunt Olivia, Maggee, and Jayne enjoyed this the most out of the party. Jayne is holding a microphone that Lucy got for her birthday. Lucy sings at the top of her lungs. If you call our house around 9am every morning you can hear her singing all the mama mia songs! She knows them all.

We couldn't end the party without Grandpa George's birthday spankings. Lucy laughed through the whole thing.

Lucy, at the moment, is obssesed with Sleeping Beauty. She marries Prince Phillip every day. Her favorite characters in the past have been, the black spiderman, darth vador, and Iron Man. I tried to convince her to be a princess or something really girly for Halloween but she just had to be spiderman. So I was pleasantly surprised when she finally wanted something girly for her birthday.

Dentist Fun

2009-01-30T08:12:00.000-08:00

This week has been pretty eventful. Actually, no it hasn't. Just the same old same old usual every day mom stuff, which is great! The kids all went to the dentist this week and that was a little adventure. All four had to have some work done. Philip had some teeth come in in the worng places so he had to have some teeth pulled to prepare for braces. Ellie's mouth is too small for her teeth so she had to have two teeth pulled so that the permanent ones waiting to come in actually could. That is a total of six teeth pulled for her because of this problem. My poor kids just don't lose teeth. The roots on those teeth are so dang long! Maggee had an absessed tooth that had infection. She never really complained about it so i didn't realize it was as bad as it was. Lucy had a few little cavities. Now, I know you are all thinking that I am probably not teaching my kids, or making my kids brush regularly. That is not the case. My kids LOVE brushing their teeth. I was a little embarrassed sitting in the dentist office with them and hearing everything that had to be done.

This is one of Ellie's teeth and tyler is holding onto the root of the tooth. Now that is one long root!!

So Ellie and Philip go first. Well with pulling their teeth they had to have guaze pads in their mouth and for the first little while a lot of blood is coming out of their mouth. Poor Lucy took one look at this and had a look of terror on her face. I assured her that that would not be done to her. Luckily we gave her the sedation medication before we left so that mixed with the gas she did pretty well. They had two chairs open that were being used on my kids. The one chair had a really nice lady that was pregnant helping the dentist, and the other chair had a really nice bald man that was helping the dentist. Now you would think that Lucy would automaticaly want to go to the lady's chair. No, she wanted to be with the bald man. She kept telling me "mom, that man has no hair. Just like my dad!!" I guess she felt connected with him. The problem was, Lucy was assigned to the pregnant lady's chair. Finally I convinced her to go to her chair but it took a blues clues blanket and she had to take her shoes off. I guess she needed to feel tucked in and safe before her work began.

So the day was long and not to mention the weather was horrible!!! I must admit I was a little scared driving. The kids did not look too good after the apt. was done so we took them home and grandma karol came over and stayed with them while Tyler and I went to their parent teacher conferences without them. I must say that I really liked not taking the kids. We were able to talk with the teachers about things that we probably wouldn't have with the kids there. I found out a lot of secrets about my kids that may be good blackmale material later on. We did get good reports from all three teachers and good grades were achieved by all of them.

Maggee's parent teacher conference was probably my favorite visit. Her teacher is great. Now anyone who knows maggee knows she is a wiggle worm. Her teacher has always told me that her students never sit for more than ten minutes at a time at their desks. It is still a little hard for first graders. In this visit, her teacher told us that she has had to have the kids at their desks a little more. I said that was probably torture for Maggee and she said it was at first but then she decided to give her a BIG chair. That way she can kick her leggs and swing them around as much as she wants while she is sitting. That way she is still getting her energy out of her body. Amazing. I never would have thought to do that.

So today Ellie and Maggee are home from school because of their mouths still being pretty sore. I thought I would be a good mom and make them their favorite, blue berry muffins. Lucy sat on the island to watch me make them. She asked if she could have some batter and before I could even answere her, she had gotten her own fork out and stuck it in the batter for a taste. Well it got to the point that she was taking way too much. I told her that if she did that again I would take the fork away so fast. She replied with, " I will just hold on to it soo tight mom!" I admite I didn't say anything back cause I didn't expect that responce from her. I did expect a dirty look, or stomping off. She said it soo nicely too! At least she is learning to control the tone of her voice, right?

Sisterly Fun

2009-01-28T06:09:00.000-08:00

So there only remains three more weeks of nursery and Lucy still won't go. So I bought her a little makeup kit and stuck it at the top of the fridge. I told her that it would stay there where she could see it until she would go to nursery. She did it even if she only went for three weeks. The only thing that works with this child is reasoning.....and when that doesn't work...BRIBERY!We got the makeup down and the girls had a blast and wanted to pose for the camera. (Lucy was in a good mood that day so she was willing to share.)

The makeup doesn't show up that great but believe me it was everywhere. Of course they have their arguements but for the most part my kids get along pretty well. I love that all three of these girls are so close in age. I know I probably won't be saying this when the teenage years roll around so I will enjoy it for now.

Some More Catching Up

2009-01-28T05:50:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas breake my kids were all lucky enough to get fifths disease. Poor Lucy got the worst of it out of everyone. To this day she still has blotches of it in random places on her skin. Philip and Ellie just got the rosie cheecks and Maggee later broke out with the rash also. I even wound up with the wonderful rosie cheecks for a few days and caused great headaches for me. The kids loved that they got almost an extra week of christmas break with no school.

Right before the christmas break Ellie had a class program. They all took apples to school and let them dry out and made an indian head out of the apple. Put a stick in the bottom of the apple for the body. The body had paper rolled around it that you would unroll and it had and indian story written on it. I was not able to go because of my head but that was ok because it was even better to have dad there all to herself.

Ellie and her apple Indian man. She was soo proud. She said that no one elses in the class looked like hers.

Ellie and Maggee had the opportunity to do an after school activity and participate in a sleeping beauty play. For a whole week they stayed at school until 5:30. They loved every minute of it, even though it may not look that way on their faces in this picture. They were soo nervous but they did a great job! They were sooo sad when it was all over with.

Long lost post about Lucy's cast!

2009-01-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

I finally got Tyler to download a ton of pictures from our camera because yes I am lame and do not know how to do it. Just to give me a little credit, it is because our cord to use on the camera is lost so Tyler has to do something else to download them. Anyway, I never posted any pictures of Lucy and her lovely pink cast!

The girls are just goofing off right here. Lucy's cast went from her toes right up to the top of her thigh. This cast was a pain. Especially when it came to bathing her. She was a good sport about it though.

This picture is right as we were walking out the door to take her to the dr. to have the cast removed. She was not too happy about about the saw.

Lucy asked to keep her cast. It is still laying around the house. I went to throw it away the other day and Tyler couldn't believe that I wanted to throw it away.

After Lucy got her cast off she would not walk on it. So we went back to her scooting everywhere. The dr. said this was normal and to even expect her to limp for a while. It was a little over a week without the cast and we were at my parents house on Christmas day. My mom was having a small problem with some ants. Tyler told lucy that if she kept scooting around the ants would eat her bum. Well that did the trick. She stood up and has walked ever since.

Snowmobiling Fun!

2009-01-15T13:28:00.001-08:00

Over the Christmas breake our friends, Robert and Jayne, brought over their snow mobiles and we took the kids out to have some fun. The kids had a blast. They lasted much longer than I thought they would. Of course we didn't go too far. Just out our back door. My kids love Robert and Jayne. There are many nights when I am fixing dinner and Philip will come up to me and say, "Mom, I was thinking and I think we should call Robert and Jayne and see what they are doing for dinner. We should invite them over."

This is Tyler, and..........yes me!, and Lucy. I even drove for a little bit. I let tyler take over driving again after I dumped him off the snowmobile. Poor Lucy. Maggee left her snow pants at school so she put on Lucy's snowpants. I was looking for lucy's and couldn't figure out where they were until I saw maggee and how short the snowpants were on her that she was wearing. So we just put multiple pairs of pants on Lucy. You would think she was the coldedst since she was the only child without snow pats on, but she out lasted all the kids.

At first Lucy would ride with me and Tyler, but that didn't last too long. The whole rest of the time she wanted to be with either Jayne or Robert.

Philip even got to drive!! He thought that was neat.

This is me and Maggee being pulled in the sled behind the snow mobile. I too am shocked that I was able to do this. It has been at least four winters since I have ventured out doors to do stuff like this.

Robert pulled the kids all afternoon. Ellie and Philip loved it.

Thanks Robert and Jayne for a very fun day!

The Grandkids!

2009-01-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

These are pictures from Grandma Karol's birthday party. These are all the grandkids on Tyler's side of the fam.

Imaginary friends

2009-01-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

We have some new members in our family. Lucy introduced me to Sleeping Beauty, Wickey, Peter Pan, and her new cat Saraphina. Lately these new friends go every where with us! A setting has to be set at the table when we eat and they have to be involved with everything the family does. Tyler was in a lot of trouble the other day because he didn't see Saraphina, the cat, and stepped on her. Lucy could not look at Tyler all day without giving him a dirty look! Lucy has not been sleeping in her bed agian lately. She says this is because her friends are sleeping in her bed and so she can't. If there is a mess left behind where Lucy has been playing, conveniently it was peter pan, or wickey, or sleeping beauty that left the mess. She says that she should not have to clean it up because they need to learn to clean up their own messes!! She gets really upset if we interupt her frineds talking to her. Where does she come up with these things?

I remeber my sister's kids having imaginary friends. Shelby always had girlfriend and boyfriend. I remember them having to eat with the whole family. Riley had Goo Goo. They had these friends for a long time and then one day they were gone. I always thought it was so funny. Non of my other kids have had the imaginary friend syndrome. But, of course, it would be Lucy who has them. She talks to them all day long and it is quite interesting to listen to these conversations. She gets mad at them one minute and then the next she says they are friends again! She does seem to be fully entertained with these friends and likes her privacy with them also. So I wonder how long these new friends will stick around. I look in her eyes and see that little mind spining a mile a minute and I wonder what she will come up with next. I really need to find a preschool for her next year. Any suggestions?

Do I live in a house or a home?

2009-01-01T17:06:00.000-08:00

I guess you could say that I am a clean person and I prefer cleanliness, but I wouldn't say I am a perfectionist or a "clean freak". I will admit that it is hard for me to relax when the house is a mess and things are out of place and I absolutely hate waking up to a dirty kitchen. But you can always walk into my house and see a mess in one room or another. I have always wanted my house to be a home that people would feel welcome to come in and relax and feel "at home." I don't want people to feel like they can't touch anything for fear of messing it up.

I went to our relief society Christmas breakfast and one talk in particular has had me thinking quite a bit. This lady was talking about family traditions and different things that have created memories for her. She talked specificaly about her dining room table and how she loves every dent and scratch on it. Each dent and scratch represented some sort of memory about a different child. Durying this holiday season, as you all know, Lucy has had a broken leg. Let's just say her cast has done a little more than make scratches on some of my furniture. I will fully admit that I was not too happy about this, especially on my dining table that was bought brand new when we moved into this house. Everytime I walk down the stairs and I feel new carpet crunching under my feet , I am reminded of the 5 gallons of paint that philip spilt down the stairs going to the basement. That is a painful story. On the wall to the left side of the stairs as you go up stairs you can see the faint stamp marks from where Lucy had fun stamping where ever she wanted. Yes I did scrub the wall and Mr. Clean's magic eraser didn't fuly take it off. But now everytime I walk upstairs I glance at the marks and kind of laugh to myself.

When we moved into this house I was very strict with the kids on what they could and couldn't do. Rules galore! I kept thinking this is a brand new house and I don't want marks on it!! My view is quite different now. I want a home, not a house. I was creating a house feel not a warm homey feeling. Ok, so yes I do still have rules. I just think about my restrictions differently. It is the spilt paint, Lucy's stamp marks, Lucy's casts markings on furniture, and even Tyler cutting Ellie's door to her room upside down that makes this a home not a house. I am so greatful that I live in a home and not a house.

My kids are young and I know I still have many years of scrapes, and dents, and scratches that will be made in different places. We built this home as a forever not ever moving home. I will have to remind myself many times not to sweat the little things, and that they are only little once! Tyler and I worked really hard on this house so it is only fitting for us to build it, and the kids to mark it! There will be times in years to come that I will have to continuously look back and reread this post to remind me to not get so uptight. I look around me as I am sitting here and I am glad that we are here in this home and will be in this home for many years to come so bring on the scratches and dents and markings!

Just a small confession

2008-12-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

So ever since we moved into our house, Lucy has been sleeping with us. Or I guess I should say that ever since she was born she has been sleeping with us. Her bed has been set up in her room but she refuses to sleep in it. She always tells us it is too scary for her to sleep in her own bed even though she shares a room with Maggee. We have even told her that she could sleep in Maggee's bed with her but she would not agree to that. Most of our kids have slept with us and Tyler and I do not mind this. Non of them have had a problem moving into their own beds. I was a little worried about them sleeping in their own rooms when we moved in here because of the fact that they have all always slept together in one bed. The problem with Lucy is she is all over the place or has to be right up next to you all night long making it so that you can't move. So we started bribing her with EVERYTHING! Nothing was working until one morning she saw a My Little Pony castle commercial. Well she begged and begged for this. We told her that if she slept in her own bed we would buy it for her, and guess what? She did it!!! Yeah for Lucy!!

Ok, so now for the small confession, and it really is small...............Her bed is in our room. But...She sleeps in it. We had to try and positin the bed so that she could still watch her barbie movies in our room and be able to see it.

I will admit that she doesn't sleep in her bed every single night, and after we bought her the pony castle she had a set back. Grandma Karol was asking her if she slept in her bed by herself and Lucy would tell her no because her bed isn't comfortable. So Karol gave her an egg foam matress that we folded over to make her bed extra comfy and now she really does sleep in her bed EVERY NIGHT!!!

small side note.........Now Lucy tells everyone that Maggee has her own room and Lucy's room is upstairs. Even though all of Lucy's clothes and things are in Maggee's room. This child is one of a kind, but we love her!

The Grinch

2008-12-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Lucy is absolutely obssessed with The Grinch right now. Mainly the cartoon version. She started having nightmares about the grinch when she watched the movie. Her favorite character is Cindy Lou Hoo. Whenever she reads the story (which is about a hundred times a day) she has to pretend that she is Cindy Lou Hoo speaking.

Sunday dinner was GREAT!

2008-12-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

Teach The Children

2008-12-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

I have always loved this story. It is a story we will always read with our kids every year during the holiday seasons. Enjoy!

The Meaning of Christmas

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room, and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. "What are you doing?" I started to ask him.
The words choked in my throat, as I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement, TEACH THE CHILDREN!
I was puzzled: What did he mean? He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree.
As I stood there bewildered, Santa said, Teach the Children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that a now-a-day Christmas has forgotten!
Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it on the mantle. Teach the Children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind. All the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven.
He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. Teach the Children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of that promise.
He then reached into the bag and pulled out a CANDLE. Teach the Children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness.
Once again he reached into his bag and then removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree.
Teach the Children that the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection.
He then pulled out from his bag an ornament of HIMSELF. Teach the Children that Santa Claus symbolizes the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December.
He reached in again and pulled out a HOLLY LEAF. Teach the Children the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent blood shed by Him.
Next he pulled out a GIFT from the bag and said, "Teach the Children that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift. Teach the Children that the wise men bowed before the holy babe and presented Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We should give gifts in the same spirit as the wise men."
Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. Teach the Children that the candy cane represents the shepherd's crook. The crook on the shepherd's staff helps bring back strayed sheep from the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper.
He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. Teach the Children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang 'Glory to God in the highest, on earth, peace and good will.'
Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulledout a BELL. Teach the Children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of a bell, it should bring people to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.
Santa looked at the tree and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, "Remember, teach the Children the true meaning of Christmas, and not to put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One who is, and I bow down and worship Him, our Lord, our God."

Hope for my kids!

2008-12-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

I guess maybe Tyler and I (actually more Tyler) are doing something right when I hear conversations like this between my kids...........................

Ellie: Lucy, I love You!

Lucy: I love you too!

A long pause and then.................

Lucy: Ellie, I love you more!

Ellie: No Lucy, I love you more!

Who says you can't jump on a broken leg?

2008-12-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

Poor Lucy sits inside at Grandma Karol's house staring out the sliding glass door watching all the kids jumping on the trampoline. She asks to go out and we tell her no because of her broken leg. On sunday I looked out the kitchen window and saw this.........

Nothing stops this little girl once her mind is made up!

It is nice that she is finally walking. The dr. told us not to push her. She would do it on her own. We were beginning to think it was hopeless to get her to walk and then on Thanksgiving she just took off. I think she even surprised herself.

The Real Christmas Tree Dilema Continues

2008-12-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

I had the most relaxing day on monday. Had to take Ellie to the doctor because of a rash that spread all over her body. Found out it is a food allergy (green beans we think. lucky for her since she HATES them) and had to be put on a steroid. Debit card wouldn't work because it expired so called to activate new card and my cell wouldn't work. Went to Tyler's grandma's house to activate my card and it only took a few long minutes to realize that my card was under tyler's social and not mine. Finaly make it back to the store to find out her perscription was only $2. What!?! I had that much change on me. Dropped Ellie and Lucy off at Karols to go home and find this..............................................

I really am trying to have a good attitude about real trees. I do know that this could have happened with a fake tree also. But...with it being real, water was spilt everywhere including down into my plug in the floor. This picture does not do true justice. I have big lights that were shattered and half of my little lights no longer work. The star on top was broken along with other ornaments. I just couldn't deal with it after the kind of morning I had already been having so I went to Salt Lake and decided to leave it for Tyler to deal with it.

I left the girls with Karol because the doctor had said that the steroid could make Ellie a little sick to her stomach so I thought I would save tyler the trouble of having a throwing up child left with him at work. I swear I told him the kids would be left with Karol but aparently I didn't. A few hours later I got a phone call from a not so happy husband who had been waiting for an hour in the parking lot at work for me to drop the kids off to him. Boy did I get an earful and all I could think of was "oh, no! He is in a bad mood and now he is going to go home and find the Christmas tree the way I left it." Needless to say I was not too excited to get home. Ellie was supposed to take her second steroid pill around 4 because it can keep them awake. Well I look in my purse and low and behold there the pills are. Crap! I forgot to take them out of my purse before I left for Salt Lake. I got home around 7:30 and despite the Dr.'s warnings I gave her the second pill cause I didn't want her to miss it. I really didn't think it would be that bad. I thought she would be awake till around 9 maybe 10. Nope. 4am I finally heard her deep breathing and knew she was asleep!! So sorry ellie, I really wasn't trying to torture you.

Don't worry Tyler and I are on speaking terms and all worked out. The tree was standing when I got home, but a lot of the lights don't work and I am going to do absolutely nothing about it!

The Real Magic of Santa!

2008-11-30T12:34:00.001-08:00

So yesterday Tyler and I decided it was time to tell Philip the truth about Santa. We debated on whether or not to tell him this year since he is going to be 11 in February and I guess in a way I just don't want him to grow up. The experience actually turned out to be great and we were able to have a very good talk with Philip on a whole new level.

I know people feel very differently about Santa Clause and how to really relate who he is to their kids. As for me and Tyler, We love to see the excitement in their eyes during the holiday seasons and we love what kind of magic being a kid brings to Christmas. We love the excitement it fills our home with on Christmas Eve and during other activities. We always allow the kids to write a letter to Santa and leave it in the mailbox. The kids watch that mailbox like a hawk but surprisingly the elves are always able to sneak those letters away to Santa without them knowing. Santa always writes back answering each and everyone of their questions and leaves a small little gift for the whole family that has some sort of meaning to it. I guess I feel that how can something that brings so much happiness can be bad for a person. Even talks given in the church from general authorities talk about the magic of Santa. We don't make our Christmases all about Santa either. But I do feel that it is not bad for Children to believe in a person who is giving to people.

So after Tyler and I talked about how we really feel about Santa Clause and our children, we basicly told Philip that Santa is real. The magic of Santa is very real! He is real in many different ways. When we are kids we believe in a man who slides down our chimney to leave children toys. Which we did tell him that that santa is mom and dad. We are giving to our children but doing it secretly to make them happy. When we grow up, there are also santa's all around us. Anyone who does service for someone in need, or buys gifts for sub for santa are all santas. We told him about years when we lived in the Hamlet and we were struggling and someone left us Christmas on our door step. Tyler and I will never forget the feeling when the door bell rang at 6 am in the morning and we opened our door to see our front step filled with gifts, food and money. Whoever left that was a secret Santa to us. Another example of a secret Santa was when someone did the twelve days of Christmas to us when we were also living in the Hamlet. Everynight the kids knew something would be left for us and they looked forward to the sound of the door bell every night. They were just as excited to see what would be left for them that night, as they were on Christmas Eve for Santa to come.

So, Yes I do believe the magic of Santa is very real. Jesus has taught us to love each other and do service and I believe that is what Christmas is all about. Christmas is about remembering the the birth of our Saviour. When I think of Jesus, I think of giving to the poor and doing service and loving one another. As we talked to Philip you could see the excitement in his eyes as he began to realize the different things he can start to do for other people, including being santa to his little sisters. No disappointment came from him. We did ask him if he was disappointed, and he said no. He loved that we made Santa so much fun for him. He also said he would never tell any other kid that Santa is not real.

I am sad that Phililp is growing up, but then after talking to him, I don't think I realized how much he has already grown up. He is a very good kid. Tyler and I will continue the other version of Santa with our girls until it is time to tell them. Heck, I miss being a kid and waking up in the middle of the night and looking out the window and swearing that I could see his sleigh in the sky! I miss feeling the butterflies in my stomach on Christmas Eve. I miss trying to sneak out of my bedroom at 2 am to look at the tree and see what Santa left. Sometimes he had already been there and sometimes he hadn't. Then all of a sudden the presents were there. When did that happen? To me, believeing in Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, The Great Pumpkin, Fairies, and all other mystical being is the fun of being a child. Why make our kids grow up too fast! At least I know I want them to stay young and have a magical immagination for as long as they can.

This is the year!

2008-11-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is over and so officially starts the christmas season. Even though Tyler and I have been married for almost 12 years now, we really haven't started too many of our own family traditions. The kids are growing up so fast and it seems that we have been floating through christmases past on extended family traditions. There are a few things that I have been wanting to start, but every year it flies by and we don't get around to it. The past four Christmases have been difficult ones for me, where I haven't been able to participate in alot of the family fun because of spinal taps and other health issues. So............This is the year!!

The first thing I want to do is make my family our Christmas stockings. We had some that Tyler's mom made for us when we were first married but thanks to a lovely flood in our crawl space at the Hamlet, they were ruined. Since then I have been using some that my mom had bought and just had on hand. Now I know that most people who know me know that I know NOTHING about sewing or anything to do with sewing. But I have been looking on ebay and found a knitting book and thought "Why don't I just knit my own? How hard can it be, right?" Realisticly I know this is not something that I will have completed for this christmas so we will use the borrowed ones one last time this year. I am sure it will take me allllllll year to make the ones I want.

Tyler and I have an arguement every year about whether or not to have a real Christmas tree. After getting a bug infested tree one year I swore I would never do it again. My mom bought me a fake tree that I absolutely loved. Sadly I was only able to use it one year before we moved out and moved in with Karol. Now that we live here, the arguement continues. My fake tree was left at my parents house and when I went to get it last year Tyler was very very excited when it was no where to be found. A few days ago we were talking about the tree issue again and Tyler reminded me that we couldn't find my tree. Right then the phone rang and it was my sister saying she found my tree!!!!! Well, I thought I won until Tyler brain washed the kids into real Christmas trees. So...... we compromised. Downstairs we will have a real christmas tree and my fake one will be set up upstairs in the loft. That way both trees will be seen. The first family home evening in December we will sit and make homemade ornaments and just fun stuff to put on my fake one in the loft. Now I just need to get Tyler to bring it in from outside. It is sitting there very sad and lonely outside our french doors.

Since I have been very generous and allow the real trees into my house after being infested by bugs, Tyler started something with me last year that does make me very happy. Last year while buying our tree, Tyler bought me the biggest real poinsetta plants I have ever seen. I loved them. This year I got a big real wreath. The guy selling the trees says he will look into selling real garland. So as long as I agree to the real tree, Tyler throws in something special that he knows I will love.

My friend Rachel has a tradition that I actually want to steal from her. They always spend one night during the holidays with the kids by the Christmas tree. I know my kids would love this and enjoy that family time together.

Elf on the Shelf will also be started this year. My dear friend Lesa told me about this when she started this fun story with her kids a few years ago. I wanted to start this last year but it was another one of those things that I didn't get around to doing.

Of course we will carry on a lot of other traditions like pj's on Christmas Eve, going to the cemetary and singing Christmas carols on Grandpa Phil's (Tyler's dad's) grave, driving around drinking hot chocolate while looking at Christmas lights, and coockies for Santa. I know that there are traditions that I must be missing out on. How about you? What are your favorite family traditions?

November, BIG birthday month!

2008-11-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

This last week has been such a whirlwind with so much happening. All fun and exciting stuff I must say. It all actually started at the beginning of last week on friday when my girlfriends from high school got together for a big birthday dinner. 8 of us were able to show up and we ate the night away at Tucanos. We then had play group at my house with all of our little ones. There were a total of 10 kids running around and we even had a few that weren't able to show up. It is fun to get together with people that you have been friends with for so long and then get to see our kids together.

The next day it was my friend, Rachel Labrums bday. We, of course, went shopping and to lunch but made the whole day of it. It was fun to have a stress free day with nowhere to be. It is always fun shopping when you have friends and family coupon for 30% off. The factory outlets were CRAZY! I am happy to say that I did get her her favorite barbeque sauce, that should hold her over for a little while. I know she loved the cd I made of all of my favorite songs so she can always remember me where ever she may be. We even had fun grocery shopping towards the end of the day. Thank you Rachel, for such a fun saturday afternoon.

My next exciting adventure was the Carrie Underwood concert. It was a blast. My friend, Jayne, and my sister danni and I got tickets to go. We decided to make a whole day of it. We went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Tried to go bowling, but my sweet sister picked a bowling alley that was out of business. We were trying to be creative and do something that we don't usually do. When that plan failed................we went shopping!! We later met my other sister, Darci at Chili's for appetizer and desert. Next, we were off to the dollar show to see The Dark Knight. Then came..............................................................

Her concert was sooo much fun. I got to see a whole new wild side of Jayne. I think I like going to events like this more to watch people. Jayne was probably the most fun to watch, especially after the concert and her yelling back at people in their cars.

The next night was a very big night. Jayne, Danni, and I had all been really wanting to go the midnight showing of twilight but we were procastinators and the tickets all sold out. So we thought we would just make plans and go on friday in the mornig and do lunch afterwords. While we were at chilis with our appetizers and desert, we got a phonecall with some news.................

yes we scored midnight tickets. I kept thinking I was crazy for doing this with my head issues and it had already been such a big week. Needless to say, I gave into the peer pressure around me and I went. I am glad I did, cause it was definitely a memory making night. Before the show I went on the polar express with my family (post later about that). Right when we got home, Jayne and Danni were already in the driveway waiting for me so I jumped from one car to the other and we were off. When we got there, there were already mega loads of people everywhere!!! They let us sit down in the theater two hours prior to the show. The people were CRAZY!! Even grandmas with t-shirts saying "Edwards Team." I forgot my camera so I didn't get any fun pictures. Confession.........I did fall asleep off and on during the first half of the movie but made it through the end with flying colors. So I do need to see it again.

The next night the girls (Ellie, and Maggee) were in a Sleeping Beauty play. They did a great job and I will also do another post with pictures of that. I need to learn to not try and squeeze so many different outings into one post. Thanks to everyone who made these last few weeks such great ones!! Friends and family are what keep me going!

A quick Lucy update

2008-11-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

Lucy got her new cast today and it is PINK! She slept through the whole dr. apt. which was a blessing. She slept through the x-rays as well as putting the cast on. She was very shocked to wake up to a hard pink leg. The dr. told me that was the first for him to have a child completly sleep though it. I wish I had had my camera with me. My sister had her cell phone, so we took a picture and sent it out to various people. Karol thought , from the picture we had taken, we had to put her out to have the cast put on, which wouldn't be a surprising thing with Lucy. I have been very vocal about my frustrations with Lucy the past week. I know she has been hurting and I feel bad for her, but there were definitely momments I thought I was going to go out of my mind. This cast will be on for about 4 weeks and then we will go from there. Hopefuly no cast for Christmas!

Hey, a thought just occured to me. I should go and attempt my bubble bath again because guess who can't climb the stairs very well to get to me?............. Yes, I think I will.

Boys Weekend Out

2008-11-17T07:21:00.000-08:00

So I thought that I would take a weekend (last weekend) and maybe not be so selfish and let Philip, and Tyler have a weekend to themselves and do what they want. Yes, I know you are all thinking what a great mom and wife I am to give up my "free" time. ok, ok, so this weekend wasn't my idea, but I am very glad that tyler and philip got to enjoy such a fun weekend.

They started the night off by going to a Jazz game. This was actually a last minute thing. Philip's friend Mitch called and wanted him to go. We were struggling with whether to let him go or not because Philip was actually supposed to be grounded. A few minutes later the phone range again, and low and behold an extra ticket became available for Tyler. So no more discussion was needed, 15 min. later they were off to the game.

This is Mitch and Philip. These two are such goofballs, but they have fun together!

They got home from the game arouond midnight and then they were off fishing and hunting at 4:30 am for the day with a great friend of ours, Robert. This trip has been discussed for quite some time but has never happend until now. I have to admit that I was surprised that Tyler actually made time to go. He NEVER does fun activities like this. I will admit that I take more time for myself then tyler does for him so I am sooo glad that he went. He deserved this more than anyone I know.

This is Philip and his great catch.

Man Tyler sure is a handsome rugged man.

The man who made it all happen. Robert. Thanks a ton!!!! Philip still talks nonstop about this weekend.

They were quite tired when they got home, but not too tired to finish their saturday out with some football watching. That was when I escaped and went and watched the Oklahoma play with my sister-in-law, Olivia. All in all, it was a fun weekend. I got time with my girls, which Karol and I took them to see Madagascar 2, and Tyler got to spend time with his friend and his favorite son.

Just our luck!!

2008-11-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

She may look happy here, but this was not the picture until about a half hour ago. Crying all day long!!!

Yes, it is true, Lucy broke her leg! It happened aroun 9am this morning. I was in checking my e-mail and in the background I could hear the tip tap of those fun dress up shoes on my brick floor. The noise kept getting closer to me until all of a sudden the dreadful scream occured. So being the great mom that I am, I kept saying, "ok, come on Lucy. It is ok. Now walk!" She would not walk all morning long. I kept debaiting, should I take her in , or should I not take her in? I kept bribing Lucy with EVERYTHING. We all know Lucy can be quite the drama queen sometimes. Nothing would convince her to walk! Tyler came home from work and we took her in. For the momment she is in a splinter that was formed to her leg. She will be in this splinter until next monday and then a different cast will be put on. Now I know you are all thinking how happy she looks in this picture. It is amazing how giving her leg some support , nice pain medicine, and a big bowl of candy (tyler's doing) can make her smile.

Now this smile didn't last too long. It was all great unitl Ellie came up to her and told her she had a fake cast on. We assured her that her cast is real, well kind of. At this very momment I can hear her in the living room singing twinkle twinkle little star and is in the exact same position as in the picture above. It is a good thing that Lucy is very good at entertaining herself. I am sure going to get my exersize carrying her everywhere!!

Mia got a heart!!

2008-11-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

Little Mia went into surgeory at 6am this morning to receive her new heart!! Congrats Mia. We are all praying for you.

Sorry, another very long post!!

2008-11-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about my kids ALOT lately and what kind of parents Tyler, and I are. The world today absolultely scares me, and the challenges that our kids are going to have to face. I can't believe that next year Philip will be in middle school and one more year after that Ellie is right behind him. I talk to my neices about their social lives and the struggles they are having during this phase in their lives and I can't help but wonder if my kids will be strong enough to handle the challenges that they will be facing.

Philip always has to be a leader in our home not only because he is the oldest but he is the only boy. Tyler is always telling him that the girls watch everything he does, so he needs to think about his actions. Wow, what pressure it is to be the oldest! I love to sit back and watch him with his sisters and see how protective he is. Lucy is usually glued to his hip. If I can't find her I know she is either over at Karols, or she is down in Philips room hanging out. Whenever a problem arrises and Tyler and I need to discuss things with Philip, we will notice him giving "the look" to Ellie telling her she better not say anything and let him do the talking. A lot of times, Tyler and I have to talk to the girls privately to find out what Philip is keeping from us, and it is usually stuff that Philip doesn't want us to worry about. He thinks he is old enough to handle his own problems. One the other hand, Philip is also very very sensitive. I feel bad just because of the fact that Philip is the oldest, he is the child that everything gets tested out on, but he handles it well. I have heard from my kids's friends, or other parents that are at the school in the mornings, that Philip hugs both Ellie and Maggee before they head off to their different classes. Maybe I am just worried that Philip isn't going to be in the same school as them next year to protect them.

Lucy.......um......Lucy is just stubborn and strong willed. We will find out if that is good or bad in the near future. She is definitely our "different" child, but every family has to have one and we love her for that. She has to find out things on her own. For example, the whole time I have been typing this Lucy has been playing. All of a sudden she starts screaming hysterically. I ask her what is wrong and she says, "I stuck the key in the plug and now I hurt!!!" I ask her if I have told her numerous times not to stick her fingers in the plugs and she says yes. So I ask her why she did it and she says,"Because I just wanted to!" oh yeah for the teenage years with this one.

I can't tell you how many pictures I have of this same pose with Ellie and Maggee, just in different settings. But of course, like any normal siblings, they can be at each other's throats for the tinniest things. Ellie is the shy one of the fam. Last year we had a major breakthrough with her shyness , but this year we seem to have taken a step backwards. Ellie is very frightened to talk to her teacher at school. We keep telling her that that is what her teacher is there for. She gets soo upset she winds up in tears. Many days she will come home and say she didn't play at lunch because she sat in the sky room making lists of things she needs to get done for the day or week or whatever. Tyler gets mad at me because I tell Ellie that she needs to play. Tyler says to let her do what she wants, but of course being a mom, I don't want her to be left out. Ellie will tell me that she plays when she wants, and she sits and makes lists wen she wants. I think that is the hardest part about being a mom is having to sit back and let your kids be kids. It is just Ellies nature to be quiet. She is also very very organized. She better be with all the lists she makes.

Maggee is my "not so shy" one. I was worried that her teacher would be able to handle her energy this year. Come to find out, her teacher has had ADD her whole life, so her classroom is filled with fun and excitement and they don't sit at their desks for more than ten min. at a time. Wow! we sure lucked out with the perfect teacher for our Maggee. Maggee collects EVERYTHING!! Weekly I fill up a garbage bag full of stuff from her room that gets thrown away. Everything is a "special treasure." Every rock she owns is a "special" rock. She has already gotten in trouble for kissing boys on the bus. She literally cannot sit still for more than five minutes. She is what fills our family with energy!!

In the end my family is just that, MY Family!! I am so greatful for each and everyone of them and the different personality each one adds to us. I am greatful for what I believe the family unit is and hope that my kids will always stay strong and true to the gospel. Now I guess I better go and see if the smell has gone away from Lucy's hand from being shocked by the light plug. Life is definitely never boring around here.

Help Baby Mia !!

2008-11-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

For several months now I have been checking on this blog daily (mimi and john on my sidebare under blogging buddies). This story absolutely breaks my heart. I knew Mimi back in high school and I am also very good friends with her older sister, Susan. Little Mia was born with needing a new heart. She has been on the donor list for almost four months now. She is quite the little fighter. They have been thinking about listing her on other donor lists but it would require $450,000 dollars upfront. This family has been through so many challenges. Anyone who is reading this please click on her blog or on the blinki I have added and read her story. Any money that is donated is appreciated but most of all prayers!! I have a very strong testimony of prayer and the power it has. Prayer has worked many miracles in my life, especially with my oldest son, Philip. He was born with seviere seizures and we weren't sure what his future held. I know it was the prayers and fasting of our loved ones and ward family members that pulled us through that time. I pray daily for Mimi and her family that little Mia will receive a new heart and begin her healing process. I am amazed at what a strong woman Mimi is with the trials she is facing with not only Mia but her other two children at home and making sure that her family is taken care of. Please, please read her blog and pray for Mia and her new heart!!

Rough Day!

2008-11-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

Today has been a very long day. Mondays are always a big cleaning day for me. After the weekend with everyone being home from work and school, there is alot of catching up to do on housework and laundry. My head hasn't been doing too well lately either. I have been spending a lot of days in my bedroom trying to sleep through headaches along with missing the last two sundays of church. I also slack on the house cleaning when I have these episodes with my head. I started the morning off by getting the kids ready for school, and Lucy whinning, and then started into my cleaning routine. I didn't reaize how much I was behind on laundry. Hard to catch up when you are doing laundry for six people. I mopped, dusted, vaccuumed, and every other usual tasks around the house. All the while, Lucy is whinning. I ran to provo to run errands and made it back intime for "early out" day at school. Took girls to piano, philip went to piano, did homework with all three kids, made dinner, and got things ready for family home evening. Mean while, Lucy is running all around the house whinning about EVERYTHING! I have already done the dishes twice since the kids got home from school. Then Tyler thought he would be a fun dad and make milkshakes for the kids for the family home evening treat (which means more dishes to do). And did I mention, Lucy is STILL whining about EVERYTHING! I got a bright idea that maybe I could go up to my bathroom, light my candle chandelier, put my favorite music on, pour in some bubbles, and RELAX!!! I will tell anyone that my bathroom is my favorite room in my house. I am a big time bath person. So I thought I was being pretty sneaky by doing this while the milk shakes were being made and the kids's attention ( I guess I really mean Lucy's attention) is on Tyler, and ice cream. But guess what????????????????????

NO, my bright idea did not work. But hey, life would be boring without kids RIGHT?? And of course, it had to be Lucy to brighten up my relaxing momment. I did get a few minutes of relaxing. I guess I will leave Lucy to her bubble bath and candles and head down stairs to clean up the milkshake mess so I don't have to wake up to dirty dishes.

I tried to catch my relaxing feel in the bathroom, but our camera is horrible, so here is one with the lights on.

A lesson learned that I should already know is, lock my bathroom door!!

Our last halloween memories.

2008-11-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

Just had to do one last post about halloween and show the costumes and and final results of candy!
Maggee was Supergirl, Philip was a warewolf, Ellies was a vampire, and Lucy was spiderman...tapshoes and all.
Look at all of our candy. I do mean "our" candy. I am lucky to have such sweet kids that share. Even though this is tooooooooo much candy. My sister Danni took my kids trick or treating halloween night. As you can see, they went everywhere!! Thanks Danni for taking them, and letting Tyler and I enjoy a halloween night ALONE!
We LOOOOOVVVVEEE our candy!!!! Yes, I am stuck with this candy in my house all day long with just me and Lucy. I have got to get rid of this before I eat it all myself.

Pumpkin Carving Fun

2008-10-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

We had a big crew over to carve pumpkins. The kids had soo much fun. Danni came over with her girls and also brought Shelby (who had a friend with her).This picture was after all the pumpkin carving was done. Tyler and Philip didn't want to be in the picture. They didn't want to be mixed in with all the girls.

This picture, in my opinion, speaks for itself. Yes, Lucy was spiderman for Halloween and wore the costume for about three days before halloween and slept in it every night.Philip does love carving pumpkins. He usually does a scary face every year. He said he wanted something different this year.
Magge was her usual happy self the whole night long. She was also very proud of her pumpkin.

Ellie wanted her pumpkin to have spaces between its teeth just like her!

Danni was very proud of her pumpkin. Can't you see it in her face?

OHHH sisterly love. I must really love Danni to pose for a camera with her. I hate my picture taken.

Shelby is all smiles.

Whether Tyler will admit it or not, I know he thoroughly enjoyed the night.

Lauren was sooo excited to carve pumpkins. Her drawing was a little too technical to cut out all the lines, but it still turned out GREAT!

I don't have a pictue of Kyla's "finished product." She wanted her pumpkin to look perfect. So she had to take hers home to finish. 8:30, which is bedtime at our house, came around very quickly.

October fun

2008-10-28T07:10:00.001-07:00

Just to warn everyone, this is a very long post. I just have lots of things that I need to record for this month, so feel free to skip because of length, or Enjoy!

So much has been happening this month. My life is usually pretty boring with not much action other than usual every day "mom" stuff. This month has been quite different. I think that this is the first week that I don't have ANYTHING planned. I was laying in bed this morning thinking about all that has gone on this month and couldn't help but feel greatful and happy for my life. I have been able to do a lot of fun outings with just grownups, but also my kids. I absolutely love Halloween. I love everything about it. I love dressing my kids up. I love all scary shows, even the ones for kids on the disney channel. I love staying up late with tyler once the kids have gone to bed to watch "our shows." Who doesnt love Candy? Tyler and I love to take our kids trick-or- treating to all the family members, but we have to return home early cause we also love to hand out candy. Which I do love trunk-or-treats, but it does take away the good "old" fun out of trick-or-treating.

Earlier this month my sisters and I, along with our husbands, went to a haunted house. I haven't been to one of those since high school. It was soooo much fun!! I do have to say that I think I laughed more at my sister Darci and her laughing followed by snorting more than any of the scary stuff we walked through. I fell twice going through the mazes. Who wouldn't fall when it is pitch black and stairs come out of no where? It was nice to have a nice strong husband that would guard me and I could push him into anybody that came up to or near me. This haunted house had a zip line, live bands, ghost stories for kids, and fortune tellers. The music was pretty fun. People were dancing and I almost felt like tyler and I were in back in high school on a date. It is always nice to feel young again. It was way fun. IT's called the Dreaded Grove in American Fork if anyone one of you dare to go. (sorry no pics. I took the camera, I just never got it out.)

My friends from high school usually have a girls trip every year. This year we decided to stay around here because of all the babies that have been born. I , unfortunately, was unable to go but I have gone to previous trips in the past and I am soo greatful for the friends I have and that we are just as close now as we were in high school. Maybe even more. OH and I can't forget the evening I was able to sneak away to Lesa's house and watch The Strangers with her after the kids were put to bed. Thanks Steve for letting me steal your wife in your own house for a few hours. Yes, Lesa walked me to my car and made sure all was safe before I got in to drive home. I mean, what are friends for. Right!

Tyler and I had some friends over for a dinner and games. I don't think I have laughed so hard in all my life. My stomach was seriously hurting. Tyler was the man of the hour with all the great food him and his mom came up with to serve. OK , I know you are all thinking, why didn't I cook. Right? Well, I cleaned the house, made all the phone calls, and gave assignments to other couples as to what to bring. I think it was definitely a 50/50 effort. AND I did this with a major head ache. I really am not trying to take the lime light away from Tyler. He did do the work that made the night a hit. Thanks hon. You are the best. OH and for those of you who were there, I took the mirror down. Just couldn't go into my girls's bathroom and have a certain vision in my mind. Thanks Danny for that one! I really did like that mirror. Rachel, you will be getting chocolate for Christmas, and every other holiday after that! Mark, all I can say is, You Are Funny! We really do all love you. Josh and Tiffany, I didn't know you had so many hidden secrets. to Kam, all I can say is "Oh Mannn!!" Jenny, I am soo sorry. I don't know how you handle that husband of yours. I know I am looking forward to our next get-together.

My favorite thing that was accomplished this month was the planting of all our 20 trees. Yes, I said 20!!! So we have trees now. We may be doing our yard backwards in the planting area but we have had these trees for two winters now and just had to get them into the ground. We originally had 22 trees, but two died. I was upset about that until we started planting and I was sooo greatful for the two dead ones. I loved seeing all my kids working together so hard, and so anxious to work! I have to admit. I am pretty good with a shovel. I think I even surprised Tyler.

Last saturday, Karol had a halloween party for all the grandkids. They loved it! They got to go trick-or-treating to grandma's house, have food, and lots and lots of candy. They also played games. She also gave them fun prizes. Whistles!! um, not so fun for the parents. Especially me.

Last but certainly not least, Tyler surprised the kids last night and came home at 2:30 to take them to a matine to see High School Musical 3. Cause you know it is like half the price if you go before 5pm. The girls were so excited. On the way to Provo every five minutes Maggee would ask, "Are we there yet?" When we got into the theater and the movie started, Lucy (I will remind you she is 3) turned to Tyler and said, "Dad, Troy likes, me and I like him." She was soo good through the whole movie. So I will admit, Tyler and I also enjoyed it.

I could go on and on about other stuff that has also happened this month but this post is long enough, and probably boring to most of you. I do have pictures of a few things but haven't downloaded them yet. I will add them later. Wow ,we still haven't hit Halloween yet, so I still have pumpkin carving, and trunck-or-treating left to make more memories.

It's growing!!!

2008-10-21T16:44:00.001-07:00

You all remember Lucy's famous haircut that she gave herself. I thought I would post a quick progress report on the length of her hair..............

This is before the hair cut

THE hair cut!!!

Starting to fill in. I thought I had a more recent picture than this one, but this is only a month old and with how slow her hair grows it still looks pretty much the same. Although her bangs are more even across the front now. Thankfuly.
A nice back view.

Not such a great closeup picture but good enough to see the length.
Everyday I ask Lucy if she is ever going to cut her hair again and she says "No, just grandma cuts my hair!" Good job Lucy, you better never forget that.

I do have to look at a more positive side of this experience. Before this dramatic scissor episode, Lucy's hair was quite stringy and thin. It is coming in a lot thicker and much more course. It actually looks really nice when I blowdry it with a round brush and it has body to it. Unfortunately, I don't take too much time on her hair right now, so she only gets the cute round brush hairdue on sundays.

Family Fun

2008-10-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

I really should have done this post a few weeks ago, but I just kept forgetting. Tyler, the kids and I went to my parent's house for conference weekend. It was a lot of fun. My sister, Danni, and her two girls were there along with my other sister, Darci, and her two boys. Danni also brought DJ, Shelby, and Riley with her. So, of course, Philip was in boy heaven.

We bought the boys these glow in the dark shirts. They loved them. One moring, early in the morning, I woke up to these three trouble makers dancing around my bed. They thought I was asleep. I, of course, pretended to be asleep. After my bed, they continued on to all the other beds where people were still asleep. Of course, DJ and Shelby were still asleep cause isn't that all teenagers do is sleep? When I went down for breakfast they were whispering to each other and laughing. When I asked them what they were talking about they kept saying, "nothing!" So I asked them if it had anything to do with them dancing aroun my bed. All three gave looks of shock. I reminded them that moms know all. You can never trick us. They wore these shirts the full three days we were there and never took them off. I told Philip that he needed to take his off so I could wash it and Tyler informed me that I needed to let him be a boy.

During the two sessions on saturday, me, Danni, Darci, my mom, DJ, and Shelby all went out to lunch. These have to be the biggest brownie sundays I have ever seen! And, of course, every bit of them were eaten.

You gotta love confrence packets. Nothing keeps the kids more into watching confrence.

This weekend was a lot of fun. When my family is all together it is pretty big, but to get everyone together usually never happens. This weekend was no different. No, not everyone was there, but a lot more than usual were there. My Lucy, and Darci's Treyvon are the youngest grandkids. So many of them are getting a lot older. It was fun to have DJ and Shelby come with the women for lunch and a few more graduated to the adult dinner table and were thrilled not have to eat with the littler ones. It is also becoming a "new" fun to hang out with some of the older grandkids. Wow, I can't believe that in reality my parents could become great grandparents in the next few years. Time sure flies.

These are just some last few random pictures that were taken. I just realized that I didn't take any of tyler that weekend, or at any time. I will work on that. Sorry hon.

Purple Potatoes?

2008-10-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

Yummmm my family eats purple potatoes!! How about your family?

Karol plants potatoes in her garden every year. One sunday afternoon she came over to our house to see if she could borrow some potatoes from us because this was what she found in her garden when she dug her potatoes up. She decided to go ahead and cook them anyway since our potatoes were all pretty old. They taste just like regular old potatoes and the kids think it's fun to eat purple potatoes.

Frozen Pumpkin Brains

2008-10-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

We did a fun activity with the kids tonight for family night. But in all honesty, I think Tyler had the most fun. We always try to do some fun halloween treat throughout the month of October. In the eleven years that we have been married I am really surprised that Tyler hasn't shown me this one before. I will give Tyler credit for it being a good idea (even though I know the idea most likely came from Karol)

These are organges with the insides taken out and replaced with orange sherbet. The kids just wanted the corn candies on top to add some extra sugar. Be careful when removing the inside of the orange. It squirts everywhere! ok, ok, so I was the only one that got squirted by my orange. The kids are never going to let me live it down.

Now if you are counting these orange/pumpkin faces you will notice that there are only five and there are six members in our family. This is what Lucy was doing.........

She didn't get a nap today.

Autumn Time

2008-10-13T20:05:00.001-07:00

Lucy will be four in January and we are still having an issue with her going to the nursery by herself. On sunday I went in with her. She sat as close as she could to me the whole time. She would not repond to the teacher at all during the two hour period we were there, accept for her comment to the teacher that she could not eat during snack time because her leg was hurting and she didn't want food in her leg while it was hurting. Lucy has the nicest teacher alive. If anyone of you know who Manogn Probst (sp?) is, knows you cannot ask for anyone nicer. During singing time Sister Probst asked all the kids to stand up and pretend their arms were trees and sing, It's Autumn Time. Lucy, of course, would not do it. She sat on my lap with a sour look on her face and stared down at the carpet. I just kept thinking, "this is a waste of my time." I kept trying to get Lucy to sing the song but she played the ignoring game quite well. The whole two hours were pretty much this way. When we got home from church, I came downstairs from changing my clothes and Tyler was videoing Lucy singing, It's Autumn Time. What? Was she really listening that whole entire time? I swear I don't know where she gets her stubornness from.

My memory for today

2008-10-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

Not much has been happening around here accept for the usual every day mom stuff. I swear I am back in school again with three kids in elementary school. When 4 o'clock rolls around and I hear that bus engine outside I think, "Oh no, here comes homework time, piano lessons, homework, scouts, homework and more homework." It is sad when you have a fifth grader and I have to polish up on my math skills. Some may say "fifth grade, not so bad," but I swear it's harder now then when I was in school. oh and did I mention? I am philip's scout leader. Me, who grew up in a family with six girls. Thirteen grandchildren on my side, and only three are boys. Tyler loves that this is my calling. He says it is good for me and Philip to bond. He probably is right, but I am so clueless to the scout thing.

So my days at home with Lucy are usualy pretty quiet. That is unless Lucy is in one of her singing moods. Then the whole house is filled with "ahhhhhhhhhhahhhhhahhhhh." Lucy has had a cold lately and we had a funny conversation. One that I just needed to record for my own sake so that one day I can tell her the funny things she would say when she was little.

mom: "Lucy, are you feeling sick?"
Lucy: "No, mom, I am not sick. Just my mouth is sick and my nose is sick."
mom: "Did you sleep good last night?"
Lucy: "No mom, I had to pick my bugars all night long!"

Lucy has been very upset with her "bugars" lately. I am very pleased to say though, that even though I do catch her picking her nose, she always brings it to me to show me and then goes and gets a tissue. She is very clean about the whole situation. I mean as clean as a three year old can be.

2008-10-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

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My lost checkbook has been found!?!?!

2008-09-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Who taught Ellie how to fill out checks? And why does Midway Elementry get all the money?

I knew I had a check book somewhere and it wasn't time to order a new box of checks, but where that last check book was, I couldn't figure out. Tyler came in the house today with these in his hands. We laughed at first, of course, but then Tyler was a little upset that his 8 year old daughter is already learning how to write checks. I promised Tyler that I am not the one behind Ellie discovering this talent at such an early age. He should know that girls should naturally know how to spend money. Now hopefuly these are all the checks. We had a talk with her and I had to make sure that she hadn't written out any checks to any of her friends. To the mothers of Ellie's friends, if you see your child with a check similar to these above, please kindly rip them up.

Beware of the youngest!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-27T19:38:00.001-07:00

What Lucy wants, Lucy gets!

Do not let this sweet little face fool you

So you would think that since we now have an 11 year old (well few months shy of eleven) at home, that it would be easy for Tyler and I to slip away for a quiet dinner or movie. Wrong!! Lucy absolutely falls apart when we say we are leaving, not to mention that she knows how to work dad! On friday Tyler came home from work and told the kids that he was going to take me out on a date and Philip was in charge. The minute Lucy heard this she ran to me and wrapped herself around my leg crying, "Don't go. Just stay home. Don't go! Pleeeeaaase don't go!" Well, I will guiltily admit that I was willing to put her in another room and let her cry it out while we left. Tyler, on the other hand, couldn't stand to see his little girl in such turmoil and despair. After a minute Lucy knew there was no working me over, so she laid it all on Tyler. Need I say more? Lucy came with us.

Morning Routine

2008-09-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned on an earlier post about Lucy and how she sends the kids to school. Every morning she eats breakfast with them (which usually is marshmellow cereal....I know, I know not healthy) and then gets her shoes to walk out to the bus with them. She stands in line with them. She then waves to the bus driver as she opens the door for the kids and Lucy watches each child climb onto the bus. She then stands there and waves as the buss drives past her. Then she turns around and walks back into the house............what am I going to do when she starts school?

Family Time

2008-09-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is Danni and her girls, Lauren, Alyssa, and Kyla

My sister, Danni and her three kids stayed with Tyler and me for a little over a month. This is a sister that I don't see much because of her living in Florida. My kids had a blast spending time with her and cousins that they don't get to see very often. Of course when you have seven kids running around, there is bound to be arguements and fits thrown, but for the most part I think the kids meshed pretty well. Ellie and Alyssa are now long lost best friend cousins. Not to mention that I think Lucy would have traded me in for Danni. Danni had to sneak out the morning she went back to Florida. When she called to check in while on the road, Lucy got on the phone and said, "I promise I won't cry again if you come back." She did some moping around the house for a few days also. My parents came to stay that weekend and Lucy went up to my dad and said, "I guess you can stay in Danni's room, Grandpa!" Lucy doesn't need to be sad much longer though, cause they are moving back this week.

Boy am I a softy

2008-09-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

So....Ellie has a little bit of a sleeping issue. If she is not in bed by no later than 8:30 every night, school is almost impossible the next day. School has only been in for a few weeks and she has already fallen asleep on the bus TWICE coming home. The bus driver has to wake her up to tell her that they are at her stop. The past couple of days Ellie has been coughing...alot. Then last night she didn't get to bed til 10pm, which I will admit was partly my fault. I wasn't feeling well with my usual head issues so Tyler took the kids outside and had a bonfire with them and roasted hot dogs, and marshmellows. Dang it! No pictures. I'll have to check with Karol and see if she took any. Well, by the time they came in they had to shower off the campfire smell, it was already 9pm. So Ellie didn't get her homework done. We stayed up and did it. Morning came and it was like waking up the dead and she really has been coughing....alot. So.....I gave in and let her stay home from school. I really didn't want a phone call from the teacher saying she had fallen asleep in class. Her teacher last year was really good about it. She told me that as long as Ellie had her work done for the day, she would just let her sleep. I don't know how her new teacher will be. So me, Lucy, and Ellie are all home to day and I can't help but think....This is nice! With four kids it isn't always easy to spend one on one time with each kid. Today....I have that time with Ellie.

Here's to the next phase of Life!

2008-09-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

I was just having one of "those" days. But first I have to start off be saying that I will admit I do alot of reading on other peoples blogs. Usually I love it, but the past couple of days it had me thinking. Everyone's blogs are so cute and everyone is sooo active with their little ones. I got thinking about my past few years with my kiddos and couldn't help but think that my kids were majorly missing out on stuff that I should be doing with them. Most people who are close to me know of the health issues that I have been dealing with since my last pregnancy. All my pregnancies have been tough and mainly on bedrest, but the last one with Lucy really did me in. I feel as though I have missed out on so much. Especially Lucy. Things were so tough when she was a new born. Having spinal taps every two weeks made it impossible for me to hold her and take care of her and that is when Tyler's mom had to play "mom" to my kids. I basicly missed out on her newborn months and she is my last. I guess I have always felt a little jipped on my last experience of having a baby. Anyway, due to my health, my kids have had to learn to play quietly, and that mom can't always take them out to play. Well reading these blogs, I was starting to feel like a bad mom..........

So now back to "that" day. The kids weren't in school yet, so everyone was home. I was expecting a visit from my visiting teachers. I asked Philip to please keep the kids upstairs and play quietly so I could enjoy a quiet visit. I wasn't feeling well, and my nerves were already on edge. Waking up with head aches everyday sometimes makes me more edgy then I should be. Well to make an already long story short, the kids were horrible. Sadly to say that my oldest caused the most problems. He threw a fit when I wouldn't let him play the xbox and stomped off like a three year old, while the girls yelled at each other the whole time. I kept thinking, "these are not my kids!!" I was really trying to patient. The visiting teachers left and I lost it! I called Tyler practicaly in tears and told him I couldn't handle things anymore. Which I know everyone feels this form time to time. Later that day Tyler came home with flowers and told me to go out with some friends. When I came home I went up to my bathroom and a big sign layed across the floor saying "YOU ARE THE BEST MOM EVER!" Then sitting in my jewelry box were two letters.............

Dear mom,

I'm sorry about that time today. I didn't know that you're head hearting. Now I understand. And I don't think that you are a bad mom. I love you very much.

you're dauter

Ellie Kae Edwards (I love how they spell when they are first learning)

Dear Mom,

Thank you for being the BEST MOM EVER. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

I know that my kids have missed out on a lot and I have always wished that they had had a mom who physically could be a mom to them. I really took the hysterectomy hard because I always wanted that last chance to do it the right way. But after that night I realized.......my kids are ok! I am so lucky to have kids that try to understand things. Tyler always says to me, "It is time for our next phase of life with our kids. It is time for you to have that chance to be that kind of mom that you want to be." I feel like all I had to do was blink and those toddler years were gone. So here's to that "next phase".

Wiped Out

2008-08-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

Maggee and Lucy were sooo exhausted from our long day at Seven Peaks. They didn't make it five minutes in the care before I turned around and found them asleep.

Ellie is 8!!!!

2008-08-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I know have to children that have turned 8. We treat this birthday as an extra special one in our family. Which mainly means that we just let them pick something out of the ordinary to go and do as a family. Ellie wanted to go to Seven Peaks this year. The kids loved it. Lucy was very content in the kiddie pools all day long

First Day of School

2008-08-27T19:20:00.001-07:00

This post is a little late. But better late than never. I cannot believe that the school year is already starting again. This year will be quite different. I am very used to always having at least two of my kids at home with me. This year the three oldest will be in school all day long. Lucy will gets a lot of one on one time with me. I was a little worried at how Maggee would handle the all day schedule but she loves it!!!! I hope her teacher is ready for her high spirited personality. Lucy loves to send the kids out the door in the morning and put them on the bus. She stands to the side as they all load the bus and then waves as the bus passes her by. That's where I come in and have to run out to get her or she tries to sneak over to Karols (grandma's) house. Wow!!! I am down to my last child at home. I am not quite sure how I feel about that.

Maggee

2008-08-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

There was no other name to name this post but "Maggee". Here's a short story to say why.

I have a very good friend whose name is Jayne Muir. My kids absolutely love her!! One weekend Jayne, and her husband, Robert had Maggee and Ellie spend the night at their house. That night they went to Dairy Keen for dinner. While they were waiting for their food they went and loaded up on fry sauce. Maggee, Ellie, and Jayne all brought the little cups of fry sauce back to the table. Maggee put them all in the middle of the table and said, "There, now we can all share the fry sauce." Well aparently Robert likes to have his own fry sauce, not to mention that he is a little shy as it is when it comes to kids. He reached to the middle of the table and put his share of fry sauce infront of him. This seemed to bother Maggee. She turned to Robert and said, "so, you don't like to share" Anyone who knows Maggee knows that this is just like her to say something like this. On the other hand, kids are always our best teachers. Our family would not be the same without our little Maggee!

Crazziness

2008-08-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

So it has been a while since I last blogged. I do have quite a few things to put on my blog, but at this momment I still don't have much time. So I thought I would just take a quick sec and just list a few things that have been keeping me buisy. Hopefuly in a few days I will have more time.

-Kick out the lady living in my parents house
-clean their house anticipating their homecoming from their mission
-sister with three children move in with me
-trying to adjust to a house full of seven kids running everywhere!
-going to spring city the last three weekends to help my parents
-Last and worst of all....lice infection in the Edwards home
I never thought my kids would get lice. My sister's oldest child got it and it all spread from there, but we do still love them! I thought my sister was going to have a heart attack. What a Nightmare!!!!

Funcky Hair

2008-07-25T17:20:00.001-07:00

Lucy finally said to Tyler yesterday, "Dad, my hair is funcky." She is finally out of the "My hair is so beautiful" phase. As you can see how nice and cute her hair was before she found the scissors. She is soo proud of her hiar cut, and up till yesterday, always told everybody how beautiful her hair is.

Learning lessons are hard when you are little

2008-07-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

I went out walking this morning and when I came home I found the girls, not very happily, sitting upstairs on the couch holding hands. I asked Tyler what was going on and he said that he walked in to see what all the yelling and crying was about and Lucy had ahold of Maggee's hair and shaking Maggee's head back and forth. Maggee had a lot to say to Lucy in return. Punishment was to sit on the couch and holds hands for about ten minutes and then look at each other and say they are sorry and that they love each other. It was great.

My little farmers

2008-07-25T16:59:00.003-07:00

Our summer consists alot of Tyler and the kids changing sprinklers in the morning and evening times. Last time I looked out to watch them change the sprinklers the girls were playing hide and seek in the field. It was pretty funny cause all you could see was the tip of Lucy's head running around. Maggee and Ellie would lay down and hide from each other and you couldn't see them at all. Philip will usually run outside the second he hears the tractor and flags down Farmer Brown. Philip loves to cut the hay with Alan Brown.

24th Family Reunion

2008-07-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Tyler's family has a reunion every 23rd and 24th of July. Usually it is at his mom's house, but due to his uncle Dennis's health they had it in provo this year. My kids mostly want to go for the snow cones and cotton candy. It is always fun to get together and see other relatives. Which on Tyler's side of the family, it isn't too hard to see a relative on an everyday basis since he is related to most of the valley.

Gotta Love Makeup

2008-07-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Lucy (Before her famous haircut)

I was looking through some old (well not so old) photos and found these wonderful pictures of lucy after she found my sister's makeup. Couldn't let this memory go by unnoticed.

Fun Summer Fotos

2008-07-17T19:32:00.001-07:00

All of these pictures are of our family trip. So far this has been the highlight of our summer. We will be going to 7Peaks for Ellie's 8th birthday ,and of course, we will be having her baptism. So we will have one last chance to end the summer with some more good memories.

Summer routines

2008-07-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

We become very lazy with bedtimes during the summer. Most nights the kids fall asleep upstairs watching a movie. We love having family movie nights.

Lucy found Ellie's (first they were Philip's and Maggee is soon waiting for them to be hers) roller skates. Lucy thinks she can do anything the older kids can do.

Spots or Snarls?

2008-07-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

Lucy has had this very unusual rash that we thought for sure were chicken pox. We took her to the doctor and he said it wasn't chicken pox but a similar virus. Tyler and I keep asking her if her spots are bothering her and she says, "Not so much." Well, on sunday morning I was brushing her hair after she took a shower. She kept whinning saying, "owie, owie." I told her that her hair isn't long enough to have snarls, so I know it isn't hurting her and she said, " I know I don't have snarls, I have spots." ..........Please tell me her hair is going to grow back faster than it is.

My Hubby

2008-07-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since Tyler's birthday (april 6) but I wasn't blogging back then, and I also missed father's day, so I thought I would take a minute and just write a quick note about how the kids and I feel about Tyler. He is definitely one of a kind. We love that! Of course, the kids love it when dad is home with them rather than mom, since dinner time usually isn't till 10 p.m., and who doesn't love brownies and cake for breakfast? I can't complain about that since it usually happens when I am out having a girls night out, which Tyler strongly encourages me to do. Not to mention that I always win the worst gift given to your wife, when talking to other women. I don't think anyone can top the story of Tyler taking me to the grocery to pick out my own flowers (he thought that that way I could get the ones that I wanted), and also the electric can opener. But it is those instances that make me love him soo much. Anyone who knows Tyler, knows how much he absolutely loves kitchen appliances and he wanted to spread the love to me. He really was working sooo hard and was very buisy when he didn't have time to get me flowers on our anniversary. He is always working so hard to make sure that the kids and I have what we need. My last birthday was on mother's day. Tyler wanted it to be exatra special since it was my 30th birthday and mother's day. I came down stairs that morning and the kitchen was decorated with ballooons and streamers and two bouquets of flowers. The kids yelled "surprise!"to me when I walked in. I know tyler was up to something since he didn't come to bed till after midnight the night before, and I kept hearing him telling the kids to whisper. He is always going the extra mile for me and the kids. I couldn't ask for a better father for my children or a better husband for me. Thoughout all of my medical problems and difficult pregnancies, Tyler has always been right by my side. I never knew that I could love someone so much and the love just keeps getting stronger and stronger as the years go by. It is hard to believe that we have been married for 11 1/2 years. I can't remember my life without him, nor do I want to. I have to say that I know what people mean when they say, "If your marriage can survive building a house, it can survive anything." We have had a lot of struggles these past three years starting with me getting meningitis during my pregnancy with Lucy, the after damage of the pregnancy that I still deal with, building a house, living with his mom for two years, building a house, having a hysterectomy, and of course building a house. I am happy to say that our marriage made it. A big part of that is because of Tyler and the kind of person he is. When Tyler and I first started dating, I actually told him to leave me alone and kept trying to get away from him but everything I would say to him always went in one ear and out the other. He would call and ask if he could bring me lunch and I would say no. Ten minutes later he was at my door with lunch. He would call and ask if he could come over and I would so no. Ten minutes later he was pulling up infront of my house. Thank you Tyler for not listening to me and being so persistant. Little did you know, I only would say no cause I knew how much I really did have feelings for you and it scared me. Thank you for not giving up. I l ove you!

Temple

2008-07-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

Last night Tyler and I went to the timpanogous temle with our friends Jayne and Robert Muir. It has been such a long time since we have gone and done a session. I really have no excuse other than kids, and everyday life. I am definitely one that takes for granted all the beautiful temlples that I live around. It is such a calm and peaceful feeling sitting in there and forgeting about the outside world. I was able to sit behind tyler on the very back row. Throughout the session I kept looking over at him and I couldn't help but sit there and think about how awsome it is to know that we are sealed together forever. I have been talking to my sister, Danni a lot lately about her two little boys who died. We always talk about how she is so greatful for the knowledge of knowing that she will be with them again someday. We have also been watching some old home videos of Tyler and his family with their dad before he passed away. I will never forget the feeling in our sealing room of knowing his dad was there with us the day we got married. I also didn't realize how much I did take temples for granted until I went to visit my parents on their mission and not seeing a temple every thirty minutes or so when we were driving around. Mine and Tyler's new goal (I guess I shouldn't say new goal cause we have made this goal before) to make an extra effort to go once a month........Thanks dad for all your beautiful drawings of the temples.

Danni, this is for you

2008-07-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

Danni, here are some pictures of the house. You never got to see it finished when you were here for mom and dad's farewell. I would really love it if you would come and visit. I know Florida is a long ways a way but we really need to let our kids get to know each other since they are cousins!

4th of July

2008-07-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

I am soo mad at myself. Here I start a blog because I think it will make me take pictures of the kids, and then I don't take any pictures of the 4th. My only excuse is that we really didn't do much. Philip went to Stadium of Fire with his friend, Mitch. So it was just Me, Tyler and the girls. To be honest, it was really nice to have just a quiet evening at home. We went next door to Grandma Karol's to do fireworks (we were afraid to do them here with all the dead weeds. We didn't want to risk burning the house down.) Karol and Lee were also at Satdium of Fire. The girls had a blast with Tyler. Maggee, Ellie, and Lucy used Karol's long watering spray as a microphone and sang a concert for me and Tyler while we were lighting fireworks. We had our own little barbeque with hot dogs and corn on the cob. We came back home and watched the fireworks at memorial hill from our balkony off of our bedroom. Tyler laid a blanket on the ground and we all laid together. The highlight of the night was definitely when Maggee all of a sudden saw the big dipper and said., "Dad, look, the big dicker." Tyler and I could not stop laughing, but our laughing broke Maggee's heart. Tyler kept telling her that we were laughing at how cute she is. Gotta love kids.

Ellie and Grandpa George

2008-07-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before on this blog, Grandma and Grandpa Olson are on a mission in West Virginia right now. We spent our family vacation out there this summer. We had a great time. Grandpa George hasn't been feeling to well with some heart problems. Ever since we got home, Ellie has been begging me to put this picture up of her and Grandpa George. Grandpa George is an artist and Ellie's dream is to become an artist like him. Here they are together.....

The New and Improved Olson Clan

2008-07-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

Everybody was together agian ( accept for Heather, who was in florida in rehab) for the first time in seven years!!!!!

Just some of my favorite pictures of my favorite people

2008-07-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

Maggie with her very first pet.

Ellie and Magge at the 24th reunion

Dad being bad and letting Lucy have a coke on our vacation to S. Carolina

Philip loves living near Deer Creek, so him and dad can go fishing

The family just having fun

The Kids

2008-07-04T16:49:00.001-07:00

I thought it would be fun to post a few fun pictures of the kids..........This is Maggee, and Philip at Philip's fourth grade class program. It was also cowboy day at school, so Maggee went to grandma Karol's house and found whatever she could to make her look like a cowgirl. Grandma Karol often gets unexpected visits before school for various things. Even if I have what they want, what grandma has is always better!

This picture has always been my favorite of my kids. This is the day that we first started digging to build our house.........right next door to gramdma Karol.

What to even say about Lucy.....She is one of a kind. Definitely runs our whole household. Just if anyone is wondering, No I did not give her that hair cut. She decided to make her hair more beautiful all by herself. Her hair had grown down past her shoulders, which took a very long time to happen. She cut it all off accept for one long strand in the back. What could I do, but cut that off too. We couldn't have a mullit growing.

Lauren (Danni's little gir), Ellie, and Maggee love playing at my moms and dads house. This picture was taken on the day of my parents farewell. Funny thing happend. We went to church that morning and in walked Sara and Tom Hansen. Who would have thought that I would see them that day in church in little old Spring City.

Trip with the grandparents

2008-07-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

We recently just got back from West Virginia to visit my mom and dad on their mission. Unfortunately my dad's health wasn't very good so we were limited to doing things in cold places. These were some caves that we visited. The kids loved it. Water drips alot from the ceiling and they actually call them cave kisses, but Lucy didn't like them at all.

Finally, something Tyler doesn't know

2008-07-03T08:56:00.001-07:00

So I am sitting here still trying to figure things out on this blog, and I send it to Tyler . He instant messages me back and says that he doesn't know much about blogging. Wow!!! I finally know something that he doesn't. Although, it won't be long now and he will know more than me. I thought this would also be a good way to show my friends that I do use the computer. Even though you send me emails and I never respond, I really am reading them. I promise, Sara. This will be a great way for my sisters, and parents to see how my little family is doing. I guess I shouldn't say little, since I do have four kids. How scary is this? One is just right around the corner from entering his preteen years. I don't know if I am too excited about that. Hopefuly later today I will get pictures up.

Finally Blogging

2008-07-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

After much convincing from friends, I finally decided to start a blog about my family. I am not quite sure how all of this still works, so I am sure this won't be much fun to look at till I get the hang of it. Help Lesa!!!

Where to even start. I have been married for a little over eleven years and have four kids. Philip Tyler (10), Ellie Kae (8), Maggee Jane (7), and Lucy Belle (3). So my life is all but calm and quiet. I am married to Tyler Edwards and we just built a house in Charleston. I am a stay at home mom, and love every minute of it. As soon as I figure out how to post pictures, I will get pictures up of the whole fam.