New Christmas Tradition

One of the huge benefits of living where we do is being able to see Temple Square this time of year.  We wanted to take the kids there for Family Home Evening last week but for some reason we didn't go and put it off and said we would go the next week.  Thank goodness we waited so we could go in 20 degree weather right?  It wouldn't be that same chilly feeling you get when you go there that leaves you craving some hot chocolate.  

But - this year we started a new family tradition.  My brother called us and asked if we wanted to go to the Christmas Sing-Along at the Energy Solutions Arena that is sponsored by Larry Miller and his family.  Can I just say what a special treat we had last night.  Larry Miller has contributed so much to our community and state.  I can't believe how much planning went into this event.  It was beautiful.  

We were able to ride Trax downtown for free and when you got to the door (free admission) they gave each person a voucher for a free hot dog and drink, a free popcorn at any MegaPlex theater, a voucher for a free ticket to a Bee's game and a voucher for a free ticket to see the NASCAR at the Motorsports Park in August.  So we enjoyed our hot dogs and drinks then we went in and got seats for the sing-along.  They give you a program with all of the words in it so you don't have any excuse not to sing.  Am I the only one that didn't know there were 2 verses to Jingle Bells?  Anyway, there was an orchestra and a conductor and it was so much fun.  

Larry Miller was able to attend (his health is failing him fast) and talked for just a few minutes.  He brought a spiritual side to it without making it feel like church (I am sure the majority of people were LDS but not 100%) and it set the tone for a perfect evening.  He looked terrible and I really don't think that he has much longer to live.  He was very emotional and he said that his wish before he dies was to see the arena full.  The lower bowl was full and the entire floor was as well.  They had an entire section reserved for the families of Soldiers and it was broadcast live to them in Iraq.  Just seeing them gave me chills.  I can't imagine having Aaron away from our family and especially at this time of year.  I had to fight off the tears at times.  There was little kids holding signs that said Dad we Love you!  Thanks to those men and women who are protecting our freedom.  Santa even made it there!  It sure brought the Christmas spirit into our lives and it is something that we will be doing every year now.

Next we went to see the lights at Temple Square.  I have not been there in years so it was nice to go back this time of year.  It was cold but we bundled up and we were just fine.
As we were leaving Temple Square we saw Santa and Mrs. Claus come out of a back door at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and we were the only ones on that back part so called them and they came over to say hi to the kids.  Austin was just fine looking at him from a distance and then Santa went to shake his hand and you can tell by the look on his face he wasn't pleased at all with that gesture.  I love it!  Those are the best pictures . . . . Braden was quick to tell Austin that Santa is not scary.

It was a delightful evening and it is now our new Christmas tradition!

Long time - no write

Okay, 5 weeks since my last update?  Come on.  I can do better than that.  

A special visitor came to our ward party last week and Austin didn't want anything to do with him.  But I had to have a picture of him screaming on his lap because I have one when Braden was this age doing the same thing.  I actually think that Santa was more afraid of Austin.  When we ask him what Santa says he will say mooooo and then start laughing cause he thinks it is so funny to tease us.  He is such a tease these days - I don't know where he gets that from unless he picks it up from Grandpa Smith!



Braden talked about seeing Santa all week long and of course when it came right down to it he got a little nervous and the cat got his tongue but he managed to do fine.  This time he asked Santa for new Nike shoes.  I think it changes daily what he is asking for but Santa had his (let's be honest it should read HER) shopping done 2 months ago and he will get what he asked for the very first time.  

We have a Christmas Party to go to tonight with some friends and we are supposed to bring a white elephant gift.  If anyone reads this before 7 pm tonight, why don't you throw me an idea or 2.  I always seem to have a brain cramp when it comes to these types of gifts.  I guess I could go see what is in the storage room - I bet I could find a slew of them in there. 

Is Santa a rookie?

I think so.  Either that or he doesn't know a 3 year old can go everywhere in the house that we go.  I decided that I am going to get ALL my Christmas shopping done BEFORE Thanksgiving.  I was running a few errands yesterday and was fortunate to have Aaron home with the kids while it was snowing so I took full advantage of that and hit the toy store by myself.  I don't like to take the kids or Aaron to that store.  The kids want everything and Aaron wants to buy them everything.  So it was a great trip without them.  Okay, so anyway, I bought each of the kids their "Santa" gift.  I knew what to get them and they had it so it was easy. (A large dump truck for Austin to ride on and a airport thing for Geo Trax for Braden) I brought them home and left them in the car overnight.  Today I was getting Braden ready for school and I asked Aaron to take those gifts out and put them in the cold storage where they couldn't see them.  Aright - safe to take Braden to school.  After I got home I was cleaning up all the Halloween stuff and getting ready to put it all away.  Wow did time fly because it was now time to go pick him up from school.  When I got home I left off where I was.  Braden likes to help me do everything so he was being a great help and taking stuff in the cold storage to put away for the year when all of a sudden I hear him run out screaming, "Mom, I want to play with the airplane that goes to my Geo Trax, please mom, it is in the back room, come here and I will show you!"  WHAT?  Are you kidding me?  How could he have possibly found it?  I walk back there and it is sitting out in PLAIN sight right at his eye level.  He would have to be blind not to see it.  Ugh, Aaron.  We will have to have a talk tonight about this.  I was really caught off guard and quite frankly I didn't know what to tell him.  I quickly ushered him out of that room and tried my hardest to distract him.  But anyone who knows him knows that he will NOT forget about it.  I can't believe I did this but I told him it was from Grandma and Grandpa and said he can't play with it until Christmas.  Now what?  I am only getting the kids 1 toy this year (well Santa) because we have plenty so it is not like I can give it to him from us and then get him something else from Santa.  Ummmm . . . . Santa needs some training.  Any suggestions from all you wise experienced Santa's?  I did go hide them myself, very well.  In fact I had to write down where I hid them so I don't forget.  I don't want him to put 2 and 2 together at this sweet young age of 3.  He is smart so I worry about that.  Dang!

Oh, yeah! It worked (I hope)

Finally!  I hope this works.  This is the video from the post about the Halloween scare I mentioned earlier.

Trick-or-treat

What little kid does not want to get in a costume?  Yep, Braden.  I had the hardest time getting him to put on his costume.  Good thing I didn't spend much money on it.  He finally put it on and we had a good night.  I think the favorite part of trick-or-treating for the kids was ringing the doorbell.  Weird.  I know.  They would have been just fine ringing our doorbell and having us answer it and give them candy.  I bet they did that for 15 minutes before the mean mom had to put an end to it.  

Austin was "Woody" and Braden was a pirate.  I had a hard time getting Austin to keep his hat on so to get a picture of him was out of the question but here are a few.

You gotta love Halloween

Don't you just love Halloween?  I love it!  It's never complete without a good scare . . . so this year me and Brooke did some last minute thinking and came up with something great.  We had Brooke dress up in this mask and wear all black and sit on the porch while the little piano was playing.  People thought it was one of those automated things you know.  This first video is of her sitting on the porch so you can get the idea (because it is kind of dark) and the second video is our second victim(s).  We had so much fun scaring kids (not the little ones of course)  But some of the teenagers and parents were more frightened than the little kids anyway.  Good times. I must tell you that when in action you could not see her hands so it just looked like a dummy!  I am proud to say that we scared the green and white striped socks right off of Strawberry Shortcake! 

Well dang it.  I have tried to upload my videos 5 times now and it keeps telling me there was an error and to contact something or other.  Lame!  So I guess I will give you a picture for now and when I get the video errors worked out I will post them later.  

Halloween Party

We were invited to a fun Halloween party last week with some friends from the ward.  We went on a serious scavenger hunt type thing.  It was very creative and you really had to think about the clues.  Beware you red team . . . . . next year we will win that dang golden broom (even if we have to cheat)  These are a few of the couples - I didn't get pictures of all of them.

Picture Tag (for Kaelene)

This is a picture tag.  You are supposed to put the picture from your 3rd file, 3rd picture on your blog.  I only did this for Kaelene (so she wouldn't pester me!!!)  This is a picture of me the day after I had Braden.  I showed Brooke which picture that was and she couldn't believe that I would put this on with such a swollen face (nose especially).  But lets get this straight.  Okay so I was in labor ALL DAY and I had the epidural from the second I got to the hospital so I had to have the IV in me pumping me full of liquid and then I had to end up having a C-section and so I couldn't walk for awhile after the surgery.  So needless to say I was a swollen mess.  I am just glad that I never have to see my feet that puffy again.  And while I am writing about this I might as well add some more from that day.  Right?!  Okay so I woke Aaron up at 3 am on Saturday and we made it to the hospital by 4 am (I was having BAD contractions, but I insisted that I shower before we went)  Once there they monitored me for about an hour.  That was the worst hour ever.  I was in so much pain and I was getting mad at Aaron and I think that must have stressed him out because he was not sympathetic at all and just kept getting mad back at me.  So finally the nurse said they were going to admit me and put me in a room and asked when I would like the epidural.  I remember saying something like 2 hours ago would have been nice but I will be happy if I could have it right now.  Well, she said she would page the anesthesiologist and send him in when he got there.  Meantime I could have a popsicle.  What???  Cruel . . . . . anyway he comes in and finally I get the epidural at 7 am, apologize to Aaron and enjoy the pain free contractions.  They broke my water right after that and continued to check me every hour.  When I still wasn't progressing as they would have liked I got put on that pit to speed things up and when that didn't help and I had been in labor for 10 hours and Braden's heart rate kept dropping because he was in stress which was putting me in stress they gave it 2 more hours and then they decided that a c-section was necessary.  So off to the OR we go and the doctor was poking me with a needle on my stomach to see if I was all numb and I kept telling him I could feel it but I could see all the doctors and the anesthesiologist look at each other like I was crazy and then he started to cut and I yelled out "Ouch!  I can feel that"  they immediately stopped and rolled me over and sure enough my epidural had come out.  So all the medicine they had given me for the c-section was a big puddle on the operating table.  So now they knew I wasn't just being a wimp and they put the epidural back in and numbed me so good that I couldn't feel my tongue and my eyes were all fuzzy.  Then 10 minutes and 20 staples later we had cute little Braden.  Wow that was long . . sorry.  See what you caused Kaelene??!!  But I am happy to tell you that because Austin was breech it was a planned c-section and it was a million times better!!! 

Scarecrow Festival

We went to Thanksgiving Point to the Scarecrow Festival last week.  It was very crowded but we had lots of fun.  Aunt Brooke and me and the boys went.  I think every one's favorite part of it was the big blow up slides.  I do have to admit that even me and Brooke enjoyed ourselves on them.  We had to take the boys on the slides because some were so steep that they could not climb them alone so we got the workout climbing up and enjoyed the ride down.  I even managed to skin up my elbow really well and somehow get that same arm all bruised.  Maybe it was all the air we would catch on the way down or maybe I am just too old for the kid stuff now.  Oh well, we sure lived it up while we were there.  It is always a good time when Brooke goes with us.  She is more hyper than the kids sometimes, but she is also a big help when they want to go in different directions.  Here is a little clip of Braden and Brooke going down the slide ~ you will see what I mean with Brooke!!!  (I am sure there were signs that said Feet First Only)

PS - Hey Mom . . . if you ever read our blogs (which you probably don't) - now you can see who the trouble maker was growing up.  Maybe now she will believe the "older" sister for once!  Why is it that the youngest gets away with everything???  I am sure Braden would like this answered too!!!

  

Witch Hunt!

We took a little detour on an errand we had to run and stopped at Gardner Village for the "witch hunt" today.  I decided we better do it while the weather is still nice.  There were several people there, but it was fun for the kids.  They really deck that place out and it is so cute!  There was a list of 14 different witches you had to find and then the kids could go to the Bakery and get a delicious cookie for 25 cents.
Here is Aunt Brooke (wishing she could cast a spell on them) with the greatest picture takers in the world.  Maybe she could cast a spell on them to just at least look at the camera - forget the smile I know that won't happen, but just to look forward would be nice.

Growing up . . . .

I love the stage that Austin is at.  He understands directions (ie: go get your shoes on so we can go - and he will go get them and bring them to me), is starting to use more words,  enjoys being social with others, can feed himself (when I allow it),  and plays well by himself.  He loves to get the phone and talk to people, sing in the microphone, play outside and he has one volume all of the time . . . . . .LOUD!!!!!  

Here are some of the things that he says on a regular basis:

Mommy, Dadda, milk, water, eat, cracker, cookie, more, up, ball, NO, Braden, Brooke, Grandpa (sorry Grandma - he just won't say it), yum-yum, kitty, dog, kick, choo-choo, peek-a-boo, night-night, baby (my favorite because he says it so cute!).  

I guess the list isn't that long, but I hope he is on track for a 14 month old.  But you can ask him what different animals say and he knows most of them.  He has big shoes to fill if he is going to keep up with Braden.  He is a joy and every time he smiles and I see his big dimples it just melts my heart.  It is unfortunate that he won't hold still long enough to get a good picture of his cute smile!  But as you can see from up above, dirt does not bother him one bit!

Girls "Block party"

Last night my mom, sister and me had a fabulous time in the craft room making a few block letter words.  My mom and sister are very crafty and I lack in that area so it was nice for a change to be able to "craft" with them and actually be able to do something instead of just admire their work.  They seriously have EVERYTHING that a scrapbook store has.  It is amazing.  They are so much fun!  They were still buzzing at midnight, but I was about to crash so I had to call it a night. (we didn't start until 10 pm)  Brooke made the sMiLe letters, I made the Happy Harvest, and my mom made the Boo.  We will for sure do that again one night, it was so much fun.  I am certainly blessed with a good mom and sister to be able to do this with.  

Before I forget

I have to hurry and post this before I forget it.  Braden is always thinking and saying things that sometimes you just have to laugh at.  I could write one per day, but I usually forget and now I am sad because I can't remember them.  

#1     We were at Target and I usually get the boys a slurpee and popcorn to keep them occupied for 2 minutes (or at least that is all it seems like) and the lady went to fill up the popcorn and brought it back and gave it to Braden.  He looked at me and happily asked me, "Mom, did she get this off the apricot tree?"

#2  He LOVES the hose.  He LOVES the hose.  He LOVES the hose.  I hope I made that clear just how much he LOVES the hose.  We were at my parents home last Sunday and Braden was out in the backyard with my dad.  I went out there and he asked me if he could turn on the hose.  I explained to him that it is Sunday and we shouldn't play in the hose.  We then went off to the garden my dad has.  It is an awesome garden by the way.  We were looking at all the vegetables and he started to go off to the other side of the tomatoes.  Then about 2 seconds later he says, "would it be alright if I just give them a little drink?"  In my mind I am thinking of course he can't let the hose thing go . . . . . but I look over to see my dad smirking and turn to look at Braden and he pulled out his own "hose" and gave the garden a nice little drink.  He then pulls up his pants and tells me, "see mom they are not thirsty any more!"  Anyone want some well fertilized tomatoes???!!!!!   

Labor Day Weekend

Oh how I love Swiss Days!!!!  We go to Midway each year over Labor Day with my family.  We always have such a good time.  This year was the best!  We rented a house so we all stayed together.  Aunt Brooke is loved by all the kids (she has the most engergy) and they played in the rain on Sunday and got drenched.  Austin is so blonde as it is and when his hair gets wet he looks bald . . . . . but he couldn't get enough of the rain and puddles to jump in!

FHE outing

We went to Mulligans the other night for FHE.  The boys had a great time.  I didn't think we would ever get them to leave that place.  Braden was actually a pretty good little golfer.  After we finished mini golf Aaron went to hit a bucket of balls so I let the boys play on the putting green.  Leave it up to Austin to find a frog and try to squash it and beat it with the flag pole stick.  He had a good time chasing the frog and Braden loved laughing at him.  They are all boys!!!  

Aaron's Birthday!

Aaron got a Jazz jersey from Braden for his birthday.  Braden has one also, so they both put them on and I tried to take a picture of all of the boys.  I managed to take the picture, but either Braden or Austin wasn't looking, not smiling or cheesy smile.  Or in this case, Braden trying hard not to smile for me.

We had a great night without the boys that night.  We went to Tucano's at Gateway to eat.  It was a ton of food (meat).  I don't think I needed to eat meat for a month after that night.

About time!

I know it has been forever since I have updated.  Things got a littlel crazy around our house this summer.   Now it is almost over - I can't believe that.  Braden will start pre school in less than a month.  I have mixed emotions about him going.  But that can be a story for another day.  Let's move on to the fun stuff.  I will start with our little overnight trip to our friends cabin in Oakley.  We had such a good time.  It is so peaceful up there and we got to experience several things.  We went fishing that evening and it was slow fishing, but Braden caught a fish all by himself.  Honestly, we were sitting there and Braden was having a great time reeling in the line by himslef then we would just cast it out there for him.  Then one of our friends says I think Braden has a fish on there.  I thought to myself - um, no he is just having fun and for sure I could catch a fish before him, right?  And it didn't really look like he had one, but then he just kept reeling it in and sure enough as it got close to us it started flopping around.  By golly, he did catch a fish.  It was a small little guy, but he was sure proud.  And he doesn't tell fish stories because when he tells people he caught a fish he will tell them it was small.  Maybe someday that will change!  It might be kind of hard to see his fish, but if you look close it is by Aaron's knee.

The next morning we went on a 4 wheel ride.  It was so beautiful.  We saw several deer and we even saw a huge moose!  I always love seeing those animals.  They are so big up close.  The kids love riding the 4 wheelers.  Austin even fell asleep while we were riding one time.  It was a fun mini vacation for us!

Serious Business

I am positive most of you are dying right now . . . . . . allow me to explain.  I usually keep the doors shut to the bathrooms all of the time because it is one of Austin's favorite places to play.  I had just cleaned all of the bathrooms and I was sure I shut the doors.  I was in the kitchen and the boys were playing in their bedroom and a few minutes later I hear Braden laughing and water splashing.  I knew it was trouble.  Of course it was to late by the time I got there and so why not just grab a little video and a few pictures of it so he can have it when he gets older!!  He really thought this was his job or something - he was so serious.   I didn't feel terrible about it because I had just barley cleaned them.  But he still ended up in the bathtub after this amusing splash episode.  Here is proof . . . . . . 

Father's Day Special

I was lisetning to the radio and heard of a contest that they were doing for Father's Day. It was so simple to enter, I just couldn't resist. A few days later I got a phone call saying that they had selected my name (or Aaron's rather). The contest was for 25 guys to play musical chairs for a Bullfrog Spa. Nice! Can't go wrong there. It was held at Boondocks and they would give us 4 passes for the day so if anything it would be a nice Saturday with the family! It was actually very entertaining. Kind of funny to see all these grown men playing musical chairs. There were men of all ages. Aaron didn't win unfortunatley but he was a good sport to do this! The guy that actually ended up winning (darn guy) was the man in the orange shirt.
So we had the day to stay and play with the unlimited pass they gave us. My mom and dad and Brooke came with us and my parents were so kind to watch the kids while we played. This is us on the bumper boats. I got drenched by Aaron and Braden. Don't worry - I'll get them back one day when they least expect it!
Then we had a few races around the track. I think I had a headache for 3 days because of all the fumes I was breathing in. (Even though in this picture Brooke is ahead of me, it doesn't mean that she beat me.) Then we played a game of laser tag and OF COURSE, Aaron got the highest score. Go figure! Though I have beat him at laser tag before!!

Braden was busy with grandpa playing all the games he could with the 50 tokens he had. So grandma had her hands full with Austin who was very busy himself crawling everywhere and trying to climb in the play zone. He honestly thinks he is 5 and can climb where everyone else is. We had a fun day. Thanks to Aaron for being a good sport and grandma and grandpa Smith for playing with the kids so we could be kids at heart for a few hours. Too bad we didn't come home with a new spa . . . . . . maybe next year, Aaron!

Second Trip!

This trip out we went for 4 days. First off we went to Manti to see the Pageant there. Besides the mosquitos, we had a really enjoyable time. We camped at a place just on the other side of the temple so we were able to walk to the pageant that night and avoid the traffic.

Then we headed out the next day to Yuba Lake. We had fun on the boat and the wave runner. Austin really gets around. We played on the beach and the second I set him down on the sand/dirt he would crawl right toward the lake. Water does not frighten him, not even when it's cold. And the best part about the boat was that when the kids were tired, it lulled them right to sleep!

First trip!

We finally took the trailer out for the first time a few weeks ago.  We had a great time!  This is Braden on a pretty sweet tree swing.  He lives for taking the trailer out.  He was so excited.  We always have a good time as a family when we go camping.  As you can see, even Austin loves it!

Happy Birthday Braden!

Braden turned 3!!!  It made me sad that he turned 3 already.  Time really does go by fast when you have kids.  We had a great day though.  Grandpa Smith took Braden to Petsmart and a few other places in the morning while I went and picked up the cake and ice cream, the balloons and the pizza.  This is the teeter twirl that he saw in catalog and wanted for his birthday.  We had family over that evening and it was a good celebration for him.  He doesn't ever like when all the attention is on him (he tends to be very shy) but he did just fine.  Aaron decided that we are going to start a birthday tradition by having a pinata at each birthday so we had a football for his.  We have some very tall trees in the back yard and Aaron rigged up the pinata in the trees and we all had a great time doing that.  Thanks to the Smith boys for tearing it up with the bat.  They really know how to swing the bat (and throw it at me too!) Carson, Jacob and Braden were the only cousins so we needed a little extra help.  It was fun!    Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!

                                          

Rainy day off

May is almost over and I haven't even had a new post since the middle of April.  So I guess it is about time for a quick update.  Today was so nice . . . it rained all day long!  It was wonderful.  Aaron has been working some long hours lately and he stayed home today and we spent lots of time together as a family.  I love those days!  We started off by deep cleaning the trailer.  Braden loves the trailer.  I think he might know more about it than me.  We were cleaning it and he was asking all sorts of questions and figuring out how everything worked.  He even asked how to turn the hot water on.  I was surprised that he even knew there was a switch to turn the hot water on.  He is really excited to take it out camping. We have a trip planned in a few weeks to go to the Manti Pageant and then spend a few days at Yuba Lake.  It should be a great trip. We got it all cleaned and then I had Aaron do some things on the "honey-do" list, which required a quick trip to Lowes.  Another exciting trip that Braden loves!  (It was his lucky day)  Then after lunch Braden and Aaron watched the movie Cars and Austin took a nap and I did more cleaning in the house.  We then killed some time just playing together with the boys and then we had a little BBQ for Memorial Day.  After dinner we had scripture reading, Family Home Evening and of course cookies for dessert.  Then the boys all showered and to bed they went.  They were both asleep by 7:45.  What a great day!

Doctor Visits

I can't believe that Austin is already 9 months.  I took both boys to the pediatrician today for the well child check ups.  It makes me so sad that Braden is going to be 3 soon.  He is looking so grown up.  I love his age though.  He asks far more questions than any attorney can even think of and he LOVES to learn.  He knows all of his colors and shapes and can count to 20 by himself.  I don't know if that is where he is supposed to be but he sure makes us proud!  He is a little peanut.  He weighs 28 pounds and he is 35 1/2 tall.  So, small for his age but the doctor said he is growing fine and his vocabulary is outstanding!!   Austin did not like the doctor this time.  He cried when the doctor was looking at him and he didn't even have to get shots this time.  He weighed in at 19.3 pounds and was 28.2 inches long.  He is doing just fine.  I think he is pretty average for his age.  It sure makes me sad to see him grow up.  He is crawling all over now and is pulling himself up to stand on things and there is nowhere in this house that he hasn't explored.  He loves to be on the move and always has something he is after.  He also likes to climb on Braden.  He thinks that is the best!  It is so cute to watch.  I think Braden also gets a kick out of it.  He tells me that he is Austins obstacle course.  Braden sure is excited for him to be able to walk.  Me too!  I can't wait to have him off the floor - yuck!!!

Serious?

Just a little update on the dent in the car incident.  I took it to the body shop yesterday and the total cost of the repair will be $800.  Can you believe that?  Yikes!  Now I am really glad that I spent the extra time to get their info.  They said it is going to be a 3-4 day job.  So I guess I will see what sweet rental car I get next!

Wrong Place, Wrong time?

So last Friday I decided to make a quick trip to Jordan Landing to see if any of the stores out there were having any "great" deals on spring clothes for the kids. I packed the kids up, which always seems to take way longer than it should, and headed out. I knew in about an hour that the kids would be hungry and tired so I would ONLY look at kids clothes and very quickly. So we start at Old Navy and they had nothing but a bouncy ball for a quarter that kept Braden happy. Next we go to Kohl's. Bingo! They had some great deals on some cute things. We check out, load up again and then go to Sears. I have never found much there in the past, but while I was right there I thought we could hurry and check. I park the car, unload the kids, haul them in yet another store and sure enough . . .nothing! So back to the car we go. I start heading to the car and it looks like a dent in the door. No, couldn't be - I was only in the store 10 minutes top and there is no car parked there. As I get closer the mystery is over. Some mean person (that is not what I called them when I saw it) put a big old ding in my door. And it was a deep ding too. Oh the frustration. I was so ticked off. I looked for a note on my windshield and of course there wasn't one. So at this point I start loading the kids in the car when I had an idea to go into the store to see if they have surveillance cameras. But, oh the kids are tired and hungry is it really worth it to just check? So I decide that it is and haul my poor kids back inside the store. I head right to the customer service and ask them if they have cameras and they call security and as luck would have it they do!! So they have me talk to them and tell them where my car is parked and how long I have been there and they tell me they will go back through the tape to see what they can. After waiting for about 15 minutes a guy approached me and asked me to come with him. He informs me that the video shows an SUV that pulled up next to me and threw the door open, everyone but the driver gets out and the driver puts it in reverse and goes and parks somewhere else. Then he tells me that the people who did it are still in the store and they parked just two rows from me. So they called the police and said they would take care of this for me and to just wait in the store up front until they come get me. They were so so so so nice! They would check with me like every 10 minutes or so to give me the update. They had two undercover people in the parking lot to detain them incase they tried to leave before the police got there. Then one of them was in the store trying to locate the people. Then after buying cheese and crackers to keep the kids happy and about 40 minutes of wandering back and forth in the front of the store and a trip to the bathroom on of the men told me that the police had arrived and wanted to talk to me outside. As I go outside I see the police parked directly behind this vehicle. I walk over there and the cop is still in his car and after waiting for another 5 minutes (these people must have been doing a lot of shopping or something) I hear the undercover security from Sears Grand say that he thinks he sees the people walking out of the store. In my mind I am thinking oh great! Here I am standing outside with my 2 kids with a police car parked behind theirs. This should be good. Sure enough here they come right towards us. I knew immediately which one was the driver by the look on her face. I just smiled at them as they approached and all of them continued to get in their car. This ornery grandma gets in the front passenger seat and 2 kids and a lady probably in her 40's get in the back. Then the driver, still wondering what the heck is going on loads her purchases in her car and then goes to get in her car. The cop was sill in his car and I was standing there looking strange I am sure because I was thinking - what the heck is the cop going to let them drive away? But just as she went to get in her car the cop said so you are the driver of this car? BUSTED!!!!!!! If you could just see the look on her face. So the cop got all of her information and then passed it on to me and that was the happy ending. So you tell me who was in the wrong place at the wrong time!!!?? I talked to her insurance company today and my car should be fixed shortly. YEAH!!! It was worth going back in the store even if my kids were tired and hungry.

But what really ticks me off about this whole thing is that they had 2 kids (probably 8 and 10 or so) who were the ones that actually opened the door that the wind caught and hit my door. What in the heck are parents teaching their kids??? Are you kidding me? The kids see the mom go park the care somewhere else after that happens. It's no wonder kids are turning out like they are these days. But now the mom can explain that one to the kids!!!! Oops, maybe you should be honest kids. DUH!!!! This was a tough lesson for this lady to learn. If she would have just left a note she could have been a good example to her kids and probably saved a claim on her insurance because I don't think this will cost more than a couple hundred dollars to repair (but then again, what do I know about repairs).

It is a headache though to have to take my car in and have a rental while they fix it, but at least I am not the one paying for it right?!!!

Here is a picture of the damage.

Don't ever do this!!!

Let me just say that again. Don't EVER do this. This is what my brand new dryer looks like now. Aaron left a pen in the pocket of his sweatshirt and it didn't come out in the washer so unfortunately it went through the dryer and exploded! Didn't make me real happy to say the least.

And to top off the situation I had just purchased a new spring wardrobe for Braden and I took all the tags off the clothes and wanted to wash them before he wears them. You guessed it! That just happens to be the load that was in the dryer at that time. What timing?? So now I have brand new clothes that are ink spotted so I guess he can wear them when he digs in the dirt and mud! Here is a picture of some of the clothes that were in there.

Ahhh, I've been tagged!

Okay so I am supposed to share 7 things that people don't know about me. This is going to be tough. I will see what I can do . . ..

1. I was engaged 2 times before I met Aaron and was engaged/married to him. (3rd times the charm they say, and he is charming!! Glad that I waited it out!)
2. I had a terrible rollerblading accident and ended up with stitches in my chin and lots of gravel in my. . . . . . well, let's just say I am lucky to be able to nurse my babies if you know what I mean. Yeah, it hurt when the doctors were picking the gravel out. (and extremely embarrassing too.)
3. I knew NOTHING about football before I married Aaron. Now that is my life - not totally by
choice but I enjoy it. It took me a while to understand 1st and 10. That was difficult for me!
4. I LOVE anything chewy/gummy. (Maybe that explains the jaw problem I have)
5. I don't like to lay out in the sun. Like the sun, but I can't stand to be hot and sweaty.
6. I never missed a day of elementary school (it's getting hard to think of things okay)
7. I get car sick every time I get in the car, unless I am the one driving. It makes me so sick to
even turn around in the car to help the kids. I am actually getting sick just talking about it.

Who knew?

I am always on the hunt for some type of cleaner that will remove those annoying marks from pans in my kitchen sink. I have tried dozens of different cleaners and none have been promising. For some reason I decided to try yet another cleaner that said it would take those marks off. I mean really ~ one product out there has to do what it says, right? It is called Bar Keepers Friend.

If anyone else is like me and those marks seem to stare at you every time you are at your kitchen sink and you hate hand washing pans because you know that will just add to the nice design in there . . . . wait no longer! It is the BEST! Really, it works like magic. I haven't seen my sink shine like that since we moved in. No more annoying pan marks! Yeah!!! Maybe everyone already knew of this great product because when I purchsed it, there were only 2 cans on the shelf. So maybe I am telling everyone old news. But it made my day. I was so excited. And for anyone who wants to try it out (who doesn't already know about it . . and if you did know about it, why didn't you share?!) you can just pick one up for only $1.67 at Wal-Mart. Yeah, not the greatest place to go buy it, but it gets rid of the marks so it's worth making the dreaded trip there.

I draw it up . . .

he builds it for me! It's that easy;) This is a picture of a shelf that Aaron made for me.

It is a little hard to tell from the picture just how much detail he put into it, but he always does a great job for me when I am in need of something to fill up wall space. I just found the hooks a couple of days ago that he still needs put on but he is so handy, don't you think? The only thing I did was buy the paint and draw (well, more like explain to him) what type of shelf I wanted and he did everything else. He does a fine job and I appreciate his efforts. I think it was more of a task to hang the shelf (and the picture frames) than to actually make it. And not to worry, it is hanging on the wall nice and straight. I guess I just took the picture crooked. Now I just need to find 2 more pictures to put in the empty frames. (NO! It doesn't mean we are going to have 2 more kids ~ not anytime soon at least!)

President Hinckley's Viewing

Aaron and I wanted to go say a final farewell to the beloved prophet. His viewing was going to be held on Thursday and Friday. We decided to go on Friday morning after hearing that the wait was no longer than 30 minutes and nobody had to wait outside on Thursday. We left our house at 11:00 am and headed for the trax station, which is only a few minutes away. We arrived in the parking lot and by the time we actually parked the car and got the kids out we were pressed for time. So here we are in our church clothes each holding one of the boys running through the parking lot to go buy tickets for the train. Well, needless to say our running efforts did not pay off (hey, it's been a long timesince those high school track days) and we missed the train by 30 seconds. No problem! It is only 15 degrees and the next train will arrive in a short 15 minutes. So here we are waiting so patiently. (Little did we know that this was only the beginning of the waiting we had to do that day.)

We arrived at the stop downtown and got off and started walking. We were just about there and I was looking forward to being in the warm conference center and getting the kids out of the cold when we look across the street and see the tremendously long line of people. What were they all doing? It couldn't possibly be the line to see the Prophet, could it? We cross the street and hear a gentleman greet us, "If you have a purse or any bags please go to this line, and if not feel free to go to this line." What was the difference you ask . . . . . oh, just an hour longer wait is all. I was willing to give the diaper bag away when I saw that line he was pointing us to. But, we are already into this outing an hour so let's just stick to it. Keep in mind that I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old (who has 3 top teeth coming in) in the freezing cold and NO food or water and the 2 year old is going on day 6 of wearing underwear. I was a bit skeptical. But thanks to aunt Brooke, some cheez-its and conversation hearts kept Braden satisfied. Braden didn't seem to mind the cold and loved looking across the street at the temple with the gold statue on top. He kept us entertained with all of his comments and his anxiety to see President Hinckley.

After only an hour and a half we made it inside the Conference Center where we were seated inside and again waited another hour and a half. It was amazing to see all of the people pouring in. We watched the Celebration of Life video celebrating President Hinckley's 95th birthday. Our section was next to be allowed to go up to the Hall of the Prophets and I had butterflies in my stomach. I was anxious, nervous, sad and happy all at the same time. We had one more escalator ride up before we reached the hall. They instructed us not to talk and stay in single file line until we exited. I can not even describe the feeling that I had at that moment. The tears started to flow as I reached the top and saw many beautiful flowers with a banner on them that said Grandpa and family portraits. Braden kept asking me when we would see him. I wasn't sure what he would think even though we had tried to explain to him the circumstances on which he would be able to be so close to the Prophet. The spirit was so strong. It was a feeling that I have never experienced before. I always knew that he was called of God and was a true prophet in our days, but it was a moment that the sweet spirit touched me and testified to me that he was a prophet called by God. He looked wonderful. It is an experience that I will never forget. I would have waited another 4 hours to be able to experience that precious moment again. I will always cherish that day. And to top it all off, Aaron was reading the paper this morning and turned the page and saw a picure of us in line. I got this picture of the Deseret News website.

Family ~ how great they are!

I am so very thankful for such a wonderful family. We are so blessed to have the majority of our family living so close. I just have to give a big THANK YOU to my dad. He is the best dad! Today he took Braden with him to run some errands. Braden loves to spend time with his grandparents! It is amazing how much I got accomplished this morning with out him. I love him dearly, but he wants me to constantly play catch or trucks with him. I can only play with trucks so many hours per day you know ~ it's a tough job! So after I put Austin down for a nap I got the whole house picked up and dinner started and even a long, hot shower! It was fabulous. Then to top it off, my dad just called and Braden wanted to eat lunch and take a nap at Grandpa's house! I don' t know how my dad felt about that, but that is fine with me. I am so very thankful that Braden can grow up with both sets of grandparents and have a relationship with them. We are certainly lucky that we can visit them every Sunday. Braden sure has a special bond with them. We or should I say "I" am spoiled too, because Aaron's mom comes to my house to watch the kids while I go get my nails done every other week. He looks forward to that day as well and it is not unusual for him to ask me when I am going to go have them done. He likes to play with anyone who will be bossed around by him. But just wanted to share my thoughts quickly about how grateful I am for such wonderful parents and in-laws.

Our Little Musician!

Braden LOVES music and he is always singing. He actually carries a tune quite well. I was doing laundry today and he was singing the BYU fight song at the top of his lungs. It was so cute! I tried to get it on video but he freezes up when he sees any type of camera. So I had to bribe him to sing it for me on camera and it is a little hard to understand because he was being "forced" but it is the best I could do. Aaron would sing this song to him at night during their male bonding time (Braden would always invite me to leave the room) and there were some nights that all of a sudden I would hear Braden yelling at the top of his lungs, "Go cougars, come on cougars, touchdown!" So anyone who knows Aaron knows that Braden is following in his daddy's footsteps.