That's What I'm Talking About!

Annie-1 1/2

2010-06-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

Annie is 18 months. She is so funny lately. Here are some random pictures to get a little slide show into my daily life with her. She has on lots of jewelry, one of Matts slippers, a flower hair clip, Kate's headband, and a purse. This is usually how she looks and she does it all on her own, if I try to take anything off of her she freaks out. She loves all things girly. She has quite the personality and knows exactly what she wants and usually fights until she gets it. Yesterday she found a pile of hair clips and brought them to me. She handed me one and then tilted her head for me to put it on, then another and another till her whole head was covered, then she walked away and left them on for a while.

Creative writing

2010-05-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

CLEARLY Matt knows MANY things about catching and hitting!

Kate's Black eye

2010-05-06T16:56:00.001-07:00

At practice the other night, Kate got hit in the eye while playing catch with another girl. It was a very painful lesson for her to learn to watch the ball. I forgot to take a picture of her that night and this is the next day, you probably wouldn't know if I didn't tell you. It really only looked bad for one day and then it was gone. She was a brave girl and went back out to finish practice with her team. She is learning so much. Walking update...still has not sung the bat, walked both time she was at bat last game and scored both times. Her team only won 4 to 3. I guess you could say she was the MVP for that game. Also, Kate is loving dance and is getting better at that too. She has her recital coming up soon and she has been working hard at learning her dance. I've even seen her practice in the outfield during a softball game.

Kate's a walker

2010-04-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

Kate is playing softball again this season. She just moved up to the next league and it is much harder than t-ball. She is the youngest on her team and the shortest by at least a head. Everyone loves Kate's personality and get so excited when she is playing because she is so small and does funny things (like practicing her ballet in the out field instead of watching the game). It's girl fast pitch and the first half of the season when the pitcher got 4 balls then the coach came in and got to finish out pitching the strikes. Now, when they get 4 balls you walk. Kate has hit off the pitcher twice this year but both times has hit directly to first base and gotten out, so no base hit yet (we have some bribes for her for when she does). Last week was the first game with this new rule. Kate got up to bat and walked, first time on base. She was so excited, she stole a base and made it home. She got up 4 times that game and never once swung the bat, she walked twice and struck out twice. I talked to her about still needing to judge the pitches and swing when they look good, but she doesn't see any point in that and has already stated her goal in walking every time. She is really enjoying being part of the game now and is having so much more fun, but I'm afraid her batting will not improve now. O well. She like to steal bases too and everyone laughs when she does because she's not that fast and she runs with her hand up. She's never gotten out stealing yet and has scored every time she's on base so she's doing really good. Last night's game she got up 3 times and walked 3 times, they ended with 6 runs and 3 of those were Kate's. Here is a video I took of her stealing 3rd last night. She is so cute.

Say "Say WHAT?" What?

2010-04-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

When Kate was little we tried to get her to say "Say What?", but she would only say WHAT?, not the say. So now in our family we say "Say, Say What? What?". I know sounds lame, but coming from a little toddler Kate it was cute. So here are some funny things the kids said lately. Say Say What? What?

Brandon (to Matt, who just came down stairs to get a drink)-"You kids are being too loud up there."
Matt-"I didn't plan to be."
Brandon-"What?"
Matt- "I didn't plan on being loud."

I was at Target with Kate and we were walking through the Girls clothing department.
Kate (holding up a hot pink ugly mess of a dress)-"Can I get this dress?"
Me-"No, I don't like it."
Kate-"Well they're my clothes, YOU don't have to like them."
(I should of then said something like then YOU can buy your own clothes, but I was too shocked that a comment like that would come out of my sweet baby girls mouth and a little shocked about the dress she was holding up. I got a glimpse into my future with a teenager, yikes).

Again at Target with Kate she wanted to spend her allowance that was burning a hole in her pocket. We were walking down the toy isle.
Me-"You don't need any more Littlest Pet Shop pet"
Kate-"Mommy, it's not about needs it's about wants."

Annie still isn't saying many words, but we can already tell she is going to be bossy. She like to mimic Brandon and I when we are yelling up stairs to the kids. She will stand at the bottom and yells gibberish . Once Brandon was using the laptop on the coffee table and Annie walked up and was about to put her hand on it.
Brandon-"Annie, NO."
Annie-"Don'tdothat."(one word not three)
She now uses that phrase whenever someone is doing something she doesn't like.

I know what you are....

2010-01-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

Say it......

Twilight Fan!

Ok so here are some funny videos. If you like Twilight you will like these.

For the Mormon Twilight fans (not to say all can't enjoy).

Twilight Years from Tom on Vimeo.

Annie-12 months*

2010-01-17T15:49:00.001-08:00

So Annie is 13 1/2 months, but I just got around to taking her to her 12 month doctor appointment. She is 23 pounds and just started saying Mama a couple of weeks ago. (I love it). At the appointment they gave me the worksheet to fill out for 14-16 month babies. It has questions like... can feed self with spoon? can scribble with a crayon? can say 3-6 words clearly? to name a few that I had to say no on. Well when I met with the doctor (she doesn't know that she is seeing a pediatricians daughter and kind of treats me like I don't know what I am doing) she got on me for saying no to those things. I told her that Annie was still young and that we would work on it in the next few months and lets face it she is a third child. Oh yeah and also there was a question about brushing her teeth morning and night. I just said yes to that even though I don't because I didn't want to hear about it, kind of like when they ask how much TV your child watches and you put 1/2 hour knowing full well that it is much more than that. So chances are by her next appointment at 18 months she probably won't be coloring or feeding herself with a spoon, but I'll just say she is because I'm not worried that she will grow up to never use utensils or drawing devices. However, she sure knows how to throw a tanturm, which I think is very age appropriate.

Monster love

2010-01-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

I was at my sis in laws baby shower a few months ago and her friend made her these really cute monsters for her babies. I asked her where she got the pattern and I bought it and made Annie a pink monster just like her cousins. I also bought the doll and monkey pattern from the same artist. My mom made the doll and monkey for her. I made Annie's monster with super furry fabric. She loves it. She hugs it and carries it around with her everywhere. Both Kate and Matt keep asking me to make them one too. Maybe I'll work on that soon.

You should all be jealous...

2010-01-02T10:52:00.000-08:00

of me (for many reasons of course), but especially for what I got to do yesterday. Brandon's brother David and his wife Christy have a beautiful baby boy Carter who was 12 weeks premature and is still in the hospital. He is doing well and is just over 4 pounds now. Christy took me to see him yesterday and I got to hold him. It was such a special experience and I have never felt so much love for a baby that wasn't my own. I wanted to put him in my purse and take him home with me. I enjoyed having this wonderful experience and to share it with Christy (thank you Christy for sharing your sweet baby with me). He will probably be coming home in a few more week and then I will get to see him more often. You have to agree his is a perfectly beautiful little baby.

This is my hand (which is not huge). Look how small he is.

Christmas Cards

2009-12-20T21:38:00.000-08:00

I've had a hard time sending out our Christmas cards this year. They just kept getting pushed back, until finally Brandon took charge and addressed all the envelopes yesterday. I am not doing a card this year, just a picture. I am hoping that you can read my blog to catch up on what's going on with us.

My sweet friend Sarah took our pictures for our cards. I think she did a great job, check out her photography blog for even more of us!

You know Dasher and Dancer.....

2009-12-14T17:01:00.001-08:00

But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?

Matt put on Kate's dance outfit from last year and was running around as Rudolf. Brandon and I were laughing pretty hard. I'm sure this is something he won't be too excited about when he is in high school, but until then, enjoy!

You've heard of pictures with Santa, what about pictures with Rudolf?

Pictures with Santa

2009-12-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

The kids got to sit on Santa's lap and get their pictures taken at our ward Christmas party. Annie didn't seem to mind a bit, we were hoping for a funny picture, but instead we got a happy one as usual.

Annie-1 year

2009-11-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is 1. This past year has gone by too fast. We had a little family party for her on Thanksgiving. She didn't care for opening presents or for eating her cake. Annie still has 4 teeth, is standing up on her own in the middle of the room, but not walking yet. She has taking a couple of steps as she moves from the coffee table to the couch. She doesn't say any words, but Dada, but she is almost always talking. We love having Annie in our family and are excited for another year full of exciting firsts.

Quilting times 2

2009-11-14T20:36:00.000-08:00

Brandon's brother David and his wife Christy are expecting twin boys. Christy is doing an owl theme for their nursery. I made these quilts for them, but I copied the idea and the style of the owls from some art her friend made for the room. I think they turned out cute.

I have a Visitor in my house

2009-11-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

Brandon is watching the premier of the new show V wearing his V costume (from the 80s miniseries) that I made him a few years back for Halloween. He put it on as a joke, but as you can see in the 2nd picture he kept it on to watch.

Quilt Exchange

2009-11-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

I joined another quilt exchange with some friends. There are 12 of us and each gets a month and everyone makes a block for them during their month using fabrics you pick and rules you set. I got the month of October and so of course I had to do a Halloween quilt. This is what I got back. (I am missing one in the picture, but I will post each of the block individually later so you can get a closer look). I am really excited to put these together to make a fun quilt. Stay tuned for a completed quilt soon. The one I made is the spider web pattern (bottom right).

Kate playing Softball

2009-11-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

Kate played softball again for the winter season. She learned so much and did so well. She had a great coach and really enjoyed playing. In complete contrast to our football season, we really enjoyed attending Kate's games. We also discovered that Kate is really good at the batting cages and to Brandon's delight they liked having a daddy daughter date there. Kate's team played on Halloween and Kate dressed up like a bat (not a baseball bat, ha).

May the Trick or Treating be with you....

2009-10-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

We had a Star Wars themed Halloween this year. Kate was Princess Leia, Matt was a Clone trooper, and Annie was an Ewok.

Carving Pumpkins

2009-10-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

The kids carved their own pumpkins (pretty much all by themselves) this year. Matt really loved his happy face, Kate made a scary one and Brandon is excited for the new season of V and showing his support with his pumpkin.

Annie-11 months

2009-10-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

This Halloween Annie is 11 months old. Have you every seen something so scary??? Annie is such a sweet and happy baby. No new teeth yet (besides her green vampire teeth that only come out on Halloween) and she isn't walking yet (thankfully). She calls me Dada and says AAAA for Matt and I know that only because she copys me when I yell his name. It's no surprise that she would say his name before anyone else since she hears it the most often when we have to constantly yell at him to get off of her. He sure does love his sister and it drives us crazy sometimes.

BYU football

2009-10-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Although I have learned to bear it, football season around our house is pretty stressful. Brandon's emotional temperament is based on how well BYU's football team is doing. We have been lucky the last few years with pretty good seasons. He has really enjoyed getting the kids involved and took them to a game when BYU came to play San Diego. Unfortunately, I stayed home with Annie :). They also went with Brandon's parents, his dad being even more intense then he is when it comes to BYU football. The kids favorite part was putting tattoos on their faces, Kate didn't want to take hers off, but I thought it didn't go with her dress for church the next day.

Petting the cows

2009-09-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Cal Poly to visit the baby cows. Matt was brave and petted them, Annie too, but Kate....

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

2009-09-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

We signed Matt up for flag football and it turned out to be a nightmare. He had 2 hour long practices and one 1 1/2 hour games a week. I think a lot of the frustration we felt came from the fact that his coach was very serious about winning and hardly let Matt play in the games and then got frustrated with him for goofing off on the sideline. It was for 5-7 year olds and it wasn't suppose to be about winning. Also, this particular league is a tackle league and so the flag team has a lot of contact and nobody stops it. Matt was one of the smallest on the team (being one of the youngest) and he was thrown around quite a bit. We were happy when the season ended and we don't plan on doing it ever again (well I don't, but Brandon loves football and says when he's older he's doing it....We'll see....) Watch this video of Matt, he was so cute running around even though he didn't understand the point of the game...

At Least He found something worthwhile to do with his padded pants.

Annie-9 months

2009-09-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

Annie is 9 months. She has 4 teeth and is crawling and pulling to stand on everything. She plays peek-a-boo, and patty cake and waves bye bye. She says Dada for everything. Isn't she so cute?

Introducing my new craft room...

2009-08-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

For my birthday I got my craft room decorated. I haven't finished accessorising it yet, that is why the shelves are still empty, but I plan on bring in more pink and a bulletin board in front of my sewing machine. Doesn't it look great?

I'm 30!

2009-08-24T14:09:00.001-07:00

I just turned 30. I heard they are the best years. I feel like it is about time since Brandon has been here for a while now and I do have 3 kids. I just got called to the young women's as the 2nd councilor. I have been on the Enrichment board for the past 5 years so it will be a nice change, but I will miss Relief Society. I haven't been doing any quilting since I had the baby and I was thinking it about time to get started on a new project. Lately, I have been very busy with my new calling and the kids fall sports just started up. Plus they have been off track all month, I was thinking the other day how I feel like I am cleaning up all day and I realized it is because the kids are home all day making messes. They will go back to school next week. I love being home with my kids and even among all the mess I enjoy having them around. They are constantly saying funny things that make me laugh.

Disneyland

2009-08-24T14:00:00.001-07:00

We just took the kids to Disneyland for the morning (that is what is great about season passes, you can go for a few hours and when it gets busy you leave). Brandon took the kids on Star Tours for their first time (they are both in love with everything Star Wars right now, they spend hours together playing "Star Wars" with their action figures. Matt always wants to be Princess Leia. Good or bad?) We also met up with some friends and went of a few rides with them. They loved it and want to go again soon.

Ten Years!

2009-08-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I just celebrated our anniversary. We went to Catalina Island for 2 days while Brandon's parents stayed with the kids (even the baby). We had a great time kayaking, snorkeling (at least Brandon did) and getting spa treatments.

All about Kate

2009-08-24T13:28:00.001-07:00

Kate has had quite a summer so far. She had her dance recital in July and had so much fun and did a great job. She just started a new dance school in just ballet. She loves to dance and is doing great at it. Just before her 7th birthday she got her first loose tooth. I tried to get it out before she turned 7, but she didn't like me wiggling it. So she lost her first tooth just after her 7th birthday with me holding her down wiggling her tooth back and forth till it came out.

For her birthday she invited two friends, Brianna and Isabella, to go to the American Girl Store in downtown LA. Grandma gave her money for her birthday to buy an American Girl that looks just like her. We had lunch at the Cafe and then shopped. She was so silly during lunch she kept saying "We're fashion models and we don't drink out of straws" or other things that fashion models do and don't do. The girls had a lot of fun and Kate keeps asking to go back.

Our sweet Annie

2009-08-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Annie is changing so fast. We are having so much fun with her. She will be 9 months in a couple of days. She got her first 2 teeth about the same time last month. She sits and plays really well and a has been scooting around for a couple of weeks. A couple of days ago she started crawling. She hasn't done it much since the first day, but she does move all over the place mostly backwards. She can go from laying down to sitting up all by herself. I have been doing baby sign language to her and she will say all done when she is done eating and last night she waved bye bye to Grandma and Grandpa. She says dada, but I don't thinks she knows that it means daddy yet. Most everything she says starts with da. She saids diedie when she waves bye bye. Matt still can't keep his hands off her and she is starting to get annoyed by him. She pushes him away when he is in her face too much. She is such a pleasant little girl.

New Year of School

2009-08-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

We are year round here so the kids started school in July and they off track for the month of August (a little strange to go to school for one month, but o well). Matt started Kindergarten and loves going to school everyday. He has a little bit of trouble sitting still for so long, but he is learn so much. I can't believe how much he already knows. Kate loves school and was so excited to start 2nd grade. Getting her to do homework is so easy because she loves it so much. Let hope that never changes.

Family Reunion in Oregon

2009-07-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our family reunion. We left after school last Friday and flew into Boise, ID. We stayed at a really nice hotel there and then drove 3 hours to eastern Oregon Saturday morning. This was Brandon's dad's family. We were at the reunion on Saturday and Sunday. There was so much to do and the kids had a blast. I took almost 200 pictures, so you can check them out and see all the fun stuff we did. We camped out on Saturday night, which was an adventure with 3 little kids. Kate and Annie did really good and slept all night, but Matt had a little accident and woke up cold. Once he was redressed and covered up he fell asleep and slept till 10am. Brandon and I had more trouble sleeping since right after we took care of Matt the sun came up. It gets dark after 9:30pm and light at 4:30am. Monday and Tuesday we stayed in a hotel (thank goodness) and hung out with Brandon's parents and visited more with his extended family. Kate made good friends with Libby, one of Brandon's cousins daughter and had a blast running around with her. A couple of funny things happened that I want to remember, but I'm afraid they won't be very funny to anyone who wasn't there. Frank (Brandon's dad) was talking to Kate and Libby and said "Libby I'm your grandma's big brother", Libby then said "You look younger than my grandma", so Frank took out a dollar and gave it to her. When Frank's sister Tammy saw the dollar she asked about it and Libby said "I told him he looked younger than you". Tammy said "WHAT?!!" and Libby said (trying to defend herself) "He didn't make me say it, it's true". Another day we drove up to the lake in the mountain. We were on a skinny dirt road and a park ranger truck was coming toward us. We pulled over to let him pass and as he passed (very slowly) he had his window down and he nodded at us. Linda (Brandon's mom) said to Frank, "he wants to talk to you". So Frank rolled down his window and just stared at him. Well he just stared back for like 3 seconds, until they both said "what?" Then Frank said "I thought you wanted to talk to me" and the ranger said "I thought you wanted to talk to me", then they rolled up their windows and drove away. It was an awkward moment and we laughed for a long time about it. Too bad Linda didn't do it on purpose to embarrass Frank.

2009-07-05T20:44:00.001-07:00

Where are the training wheels?

2009-07-05T15:17:00.001-07:00

We decided that Matt was ready to learn to ride his bike without training wheels. He wasn't that excited about it and was a little scared at first. It only took him 3 short days of practice and he can do it now. We haven't practiced in a while since we went on vacation, but lets hope that its true that once you learn you never forget, "it's like riding a bike".

Kate is done with 1st Grade

2009-07-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

Kate did so well in 1st grade this year. She loved going to school so much that she won an award for perfect attendance and also one for academic achievement. Her class voted her friendliest, which I think is true. She is always nice to everyone. I can't believe that she will be starting 2nd grade tomorrow (we are year round here). I was the room mom for her class this year. The end of the year party was a lot of fun. Her teacher told me she wanted to have a breakfast, so I had parents contribute food and I had Brandon come and make pancakes. We played a bingo game I made with all the kids names. Her class was called Bear Country so I made little white bears for all the kids and we used permanent makers and decorated the bears, then passed them around for all the kids to autograph. The kids really seemed to like it and there were some very creative bear decorators.

Brandon is getting old

2009-06-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

or I'm just always young. Kate wanted to put the exact number of candles that Brandon is old on his pie (his favorite so I didn't do a cake). It looks like the whole pie is on fire. We had a family birthday party with his parents and David and Christy the Sunday before and then the kids and I decorated the house and had a "surprise" party for him the day before his birthday (can you believe he was on call the night of his birthday?) Kate has always wanted to have a surprise party. She and Matt were both so excited to jump out and surprise Brandon.

What brings me joy?

2009-05-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

At our last Enrichment night we played a game where we had to share something about ourselves and I had to share what brings me joy. Well right now Annie brings me so much joy. She is at the greatest age 6 months and is so easy. As I type this she has just woken up and wants to eat, but I want to finish this real fast so she just sits her making cute noises waiting patiently. Just in the last month she has learned how to pick things up and bring them to her mouth. That is what I shared at Enrichment, I love how she picks up toys now and licks them.She loves me most and she smiles so easily. She is a great sleeper and goes to bed very easy. Still no teeth.

I also just started feeding her baby food. She isn't that interested yet, most of the food just runs out of her mouth.

Kate's softball season is over!

2009-05-31T15:29:00.001-07:00

Kate just finished up her softball season and I think she has improved so much. She had a great time playing with her friends. I signed her up for winter ball so she will get some more practice for next year.

Kate with her coach...

Playing the outfield...

On deck to bat...

I love this picture of Kate relaxing with her feet on her helmet while she waits for her turn at bat.

Matt's birthday party had we!

2009-05-31T14:33:00.001-07:00

You can imagine how proud Brandon was when Matt claimed he wanted to have a Star Wars themed birthday party. Both Brandon and I had a great time planning this party. Here are the invitations I made... I made Jedi vest out of brown felt and a rope to tie with and Brandon made light sabers out of PVC pipes, pool noodles and gray electrical tape. I gave Brandon the idea, but he perfected it, he was pretty particular about how it had to be done.

I wore my Princess Leia costume (oh sorry, no pictures) and Brandon wore his Han Solo. I did a training session with the kids, although as one kid (a Star Wars fan) pointed out that Princess Leia does not use a light saber or use the force. Like Princess Leia, I had no idea what I was doing, but the kids were all really excited to practice the moves I taught them anyway. Like a chop and a spin (true Star Wars lingo). Then we had a visit from Darth Vader.

Each kid took a turn to fight him.

Then we played "Master May I" (very similar to Mother May I). I was surprised that so many kids could be so good and excited to play. Only Matt's friend Rachel (far right) didn't know it was Brandon and was a little nervous to get closer. Brandon, uhhh I mean Darth Vader would say "All Padawans with blue light sabers take two giant steps, etc..." and they would say "Master May I?" and Vader would say "hhooooooo phoooooooooo yes you may".

We also had lunch, a pinata and Popsicles (no cake for Matt). A lot of the time the kids were just running around the yard fighting with their sabers. 20 kids with light sabers may not have been the best idea, but we only had a few minor incidents. Matt got a ton of fun gifts from his friends and I think fun was had by all. By the time is was over I was so tired (partly because I got up at 6am to run 9 miles, my half marathon is this coming Saturday).

Look who's 5...

2009-05-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that Matt is 5 already. He will start kindergarten in a month. For his birthday we all went around as a family and told him what we love most about him. Here are some of the things we said... We love how much he loves his sisters, so much he can't keep his hands off them. He is so smart. He is so kind and generous, always sharing with others. He has a lot of energy and loves to run, play and laugh. We love having this special boy in our family.

What we've been up to...

2009-04-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

I just looked at the pictures in my camera and realized we've been really busy and I have a lot to update...

I started running again a few months ago and I did my first 5k since college a couple weekends ago. I have been training with a couple friends to do another half marathon in June. My 5k time was 27:00 minutes, I was happy with that time since I usually run around 10 minute miles, but Brandon told me his last 5k he "thinks" he did 26:30. I can't believe Brandon can beat me now. I don't like the 5k much, I'd rather run a longer, slower race. At least there is no way Brandon could beat me in the half :).

I also signed the kids up for the 1k kids run. The also did it with some friends and both seemed to like it. 1k is .6 of a mile and I was impressed they ran the whole time. My camera ran out of batteries right before the kids race, so this is all we've got. (by the way, I got a new battery and hopefully I won't have this problem anymore).

Brandon took Kate on a date to the Daddy daughter dance at school. Kate wanted so badly to wear a dress. I took her to the store and let her pick out what dress she wanted. This is what she chose.

And then she found one in Annie's size, oh yea! I wouldn't of picked this dress, but I am a sucker for matching girls, so Annie has one too. Look at her pose, she loved it.Last week we went to visit my mom and grandparents. It was a short trip, but mom kept us busy with lots of fun activities. One afternoon we took the kids to the University farm to see the baby cows. I remember going there when I was young and seeing the baby pigs. When you walked up to the cage the cows stuck their heads out wanting to eat. Matt was brave and was petting them, but as you can see Kate didn't like it.

We also went to the Children's Museum and the beach(which was freezing cold).

Right before we left my grandma invited me to see some of her quilts. I really enjoyed looking at them. Here are my favorites...

Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Morro Rock, Morro Bay, CA-I use to go to Morro Bay for Cross Country Camp in High School and just love how this quilt reminds me of those fun time.She made this quilt for a contest in the Ensign magazine with the theme "Worldwide Church". It has the temple in the middle and all different types of house you find around the world, with an umbrella over the whole thing. The quilt was displayed in Salt Lake City with other contest winners and a picture was in the Ensign. The most amazing part of this quilt is the beautiful hand quilting.

Going home....

Annie is the perfect little baby and has been so good on all of our outings this month. Here is a recent picture of her and another I took today.

Vacation

2009-04-21T11:50:00.001-07:00

Our very good and generous friends Andrea and Scott invited us to stay with them at their place in Newport Beach for a week. My camera ran out of batteries the first day there, so I don't have many pictures to document the great and fun week we had. The weather was prefect for a beach vacation and was even warm enough to swim in the pool. Scott and Andrea have 3 kids exactly Kate and Matt's age and they had a blast together, with only a few minor incidents (sand to the eyes and fingers in the door, we believe one was retaliation for the other :) ). We went to Legoland one day and Disneyland another. They were both a little crowded from spring break, but the kids enjoyed it anyway. We mostly enjoyed hanging out and relaxing at the beach or pool with our friends. Andrea, I miss you already, let's plan to get together this summer.

Easter Pictures-a little late

2009-04-21T11:40:00.001-07:00

April Fool's!

2009-04-01T19:24:00.001-07:00

The reason I love holidays so much is because I love to make and have family traditions, a way that only our family celebrates something year after year. I have never really cared for April Fool's Day, mostly because I never could think of any good tricks. Today was such a fun day though because now the kids get it and love to play tricks. This morning when the kids woke up I told them that Annie learned to walk and Matt looked at me all serious and said "can I see?". I told him to use that joke on his teacher at school. After school he told me that he told his teacher that Annie started talking and then said April Fool's. His teacher told him "good one". I got this next idea out of the current Family Fun magazine. I took a small bag of Cheetos (regular chips for Matt because of his allergies, but the Cheetos worked better), and opened the bottom of the bag. I took out the Cheetos and put in some carrots and a note that said "April Fool's. Kate's off track so she had lunch at home with me. When she opened them she looked at me all serious and said "these aren't Cheetos, I think their carrots". I said "are you sure? Try one." She pulled one out and put it to her mouth and said "yeah, it's a carrot". She was all serious and concerned and then she found the note and I said "Gotcha". She said I didn't get her because she knew they weren't Cheetos. I put the chips in Matt lunch which he eat at school today. As soon as I walked into Matt's class to pick him up he said to me "Mommy you got me today". I said "what did you think, wasn't that funny?" He said "Yeah, you freaked me out". All day they kept saying funny things then saying "April Fool's". We had a good day. Do you have any other idea of tricks to play, maybe for next year? Did anyone get you good? Happy April Fool's Day

Happy Thanksgiving?

2009-03-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest quilt. I made it with my turkeys and leaves from my quilt block exchanges. My mom quilted it for me and did a beautiful job. Now I have to wait until next November to hang it up.

Brandon's Blog

2009-03-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

Brandon has just started blogging. He says it will be about random stuff he feels like talking about, but mostly about medical advice, and since he is a pediatrician it will be mostly about kids. If you know Brandon you will understand and appreciate his humor. Check it out here! If you like, you can add him to your blogroll.

Kid update

2009-02-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

Here are the latest pictures I took of Annie. I'm not trying to brag (OK maybe a little), but Annie is such a easy baby. I enjoy her so much, she is almost always pleasant and sleeps so well. I'm so grateful for this sweet baby who has joined our family.

I got a lot of comments on her hair bow. Please participate in the poll about her hair bow on the side. You can be honest, I'll still put it on her even if you don't like it.

Brandon got us Wii for Valentine's Day. Matt is in love with Wii Mario Kart.

Kate just got a hair cut, she wanted to go really short like a little bob, but I couldn't do it, so I only let her go to her shoulders, which still is a big change. Today, when we were getting ready for church Kate asked me to do her hair like her Mii (her Wii Character). Kate also asked me if a woman could be president and said she wants to be the President of the United States when she grows up(she's learning about the Presidents at school). I her asked her if she wanted to be a mommy and told her it would be hard to be a mommy and the President. She said "well why can't the daddy take care of the kids". I told her he could, but it is such a great job that I have that I think she would want to stay home and take care of the kids and she said "well then I'll hurry and do my president job and then hurry home to spend time with the kids".

Kate's Mii

Our Mii Family

Annie's Blessing

2009-02-01T16:08:00.001-08:00

Today was Annie's blessing. She wore the same dress Kate was blessed in. Brandon blessed her that she would be a great missionary, that she would have an eternal family someday, and that she will have faith and strength to get through adversity that comes to her. She was very good during the blessing and everyone who participated commented that she just stared at Brandon the whole time. She is such a happy and pleasant baby.

New Annie pics.

2009-01-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

I've been getting some complaints that we haven't put up enough pics of Annie. So this should whet your appetite. Life is kind of returned to normal, just more crowded in the house. I'm back at work and Jackie started running again yesterday (you can't keep a good woman down). I warned her marathons were addictive.

If you can't tell, this was posted by Brandon, not Jackie

Here's Annie:

2008-11-29T11:11:00.000-08:00

OK, Annie finally decided to join us after 40 2/7 weeks of cooking. Not without a little gentle push with induced labor, however. She was born on 11/28 at 11:29PM. We think she really didn't want a Thanksgiving birthday, because she was 31 minutes from never having a birthday on Thanksgiving, but now due to her mean parents and doctors, she will have a Thanksgiving birthday about one every 7 years. She was our biggest 8 lbs 7 oz and 20 1/4 in long. Both mom and baby are doing well and will be coming home this afternoon.

This was posted by Brandon

Smiths Cover

2008-10-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

Here's part two of Kate singing alternative hits of the 80's:
The Smiths - Please please please let me get what I want

Cure cover

2008-10-21T09:46:00.001-07:00

Here's Kate on youtube doing a cover of the Cure (from a few years ago):

Words of Wisdom from Ariel Tweeto

2008-09-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

The kids love to watch the game show Wipeout. A while back there was a girl on the show named Ariel Tweeto and she did really well and was kind of silly, so the kids liked her. She said during one of the challenges "It easy, but it's so hard". I'm sure the kids haven't seen this episode in a few weeks. Well, we were at Chili's for dinner last night and Kate had Macaroni and Cheese. I told her it was hot so to check it before she ate it. Kate said "it looks cold, but it's so hot. Matt then said "Yeah, like Ariel Tweeto, it's easy, but it's so hard". He was totally serious. Maybe you had to be there, but Brandon and I thought it was hilarious.

Matt's Race

2008-09-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

Back in June I took the kids with me to watch my friend Gina run a 1/2 marathon. We drove along the course and got out every once in a while and ran up to the race to cheer her on as she passed us. The kids really enjoyed it, they had made a sign for her and they yelled for her when ever she passed. Since then Matt has been asking to do a race, me being a runner wanted to encourage that so we signed him up for the Disneyland kid race, which was run in California Adventure at Disneyland. He was so excited and proud of himself when he finished.

Getting ready...

There were so many kids in this race, Aunt Christy came too and ran with Matt so we wouldn't lose him. He ran so fast that this is the only picture I was able to get of them :)...

Here is my fast runner at the finish....

Education Week and Wild Rivers

2008-09-10T08:47:00.001-07:00

Here are a few things in August that I want to remember. For my birthday Brandon watched the kids for a whole week while I went to Education Week at BYU in Utah. I went with 3 friends and we had a lot of fun. I'm sure they got sick of hearing me complain because I am so uncomfortable. Monday we drove around and hit a few quilt stores and other shops, then the rest of the week we went to classes. We stayed in the dorms, and I missed my own bed and bathroom the most (next to Brandon and the kids, of course).

Later in the month we took the kids to Wild Rivers (a water park). We had free passes and thought it would be fun. It was pretty crowded and after about 30 minutes we had done everything that our kids were able to do and were ready to leave. I remember going there when I was younger and loving it. I really couldn't do anything since I am pregnant so I watched the kids play on the kiddy slides and pools. The kids really wanted to go in the hot tub so Brandon took them and I went to get something to eat. I was sitting back at our chairs when Brandon and Matt walked up and Brandon said "Don't freak out, but I can't find Kate". He said they were playing in the spa and Kate said she wanted to go on the slides again before we left so Brandon was going to go look there. I went back to the spa and waited to see if she'd come back. Brandon came back after looking at the slides and didn't find her. I started to freak out and thought that someone must have taken her. After a few minutes here she comes walking toward us with a huge smile. She said she had gone on the slides and was so proud of herself for doing it alone. I was so relieved. We talked to her about the importance of always telling us exactly where she is, but she thought she had when she said that is what she wanted to do before we leave. It is so scary how quickly they can disappear. Despite that we had a really good time, but probably won't return to Wild Rivers until our kids are old enough to go on more than 2 slides.

Dance and Gymnastics

2008-09-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

I finally signed Kate up for Ballet. She has been asking for it for a while now and she totally loves it. Don't worry, I bought here a skirt to cover her underwear. I wanted to get Matt involved in something too. He needs something where he can get out some of his energy. I found a gym close by and he now goes to gymnastics. He is the only boy in the class, but he doesn't care. He loves it and it is perfect for him. He is so cute when he does a somersault and then stands up with both hands in the air, just like the Olympics. Both the kids started back at school this week, YEAH! We are going to be very busy.

MATT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

I was just putting pictures from my camera to the computer and noticed 100 pictures of things like the fish tank and the computer again. I thought that I had just never erased the pictures from last time Matt took my camera and took a bunch of pictures (see old post). But then I saw these and realized, No these are all new....

Kate's 6

2008-08-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

Kate turned 6 last week. We had a few friends over for a pool party and then Grandma and Grandpa took us to Red Robin for dinner. I can't believe how old she is getting. Her favorite thing to do is read and she is getting so good at it. She got a bunch of books for her birthday and is really enjoying reading them. Another one of her favorite presents was an American Girl Doll from my friends daughter Kim. She saw a catalog for them a while back and has been asking for one. I have heard of them before, but know very little about them. When Kate showed me the doll she wanted and that it cost over $100 I thought "yeah right she's never getting that", especially since she never plays with dolls. Kim gave Kate her old "Kit" doll which is in perfect condition and all the accessories that go with her. Brandon took Kate to see the movie and she was excited to take the doll with her. I have been surprised at how often she plays with the doll and how much she loves it. Thanks Kim! Kate is a very silly girl and loves to make people laugh, especially her daddy. She loves school and can't wait to go back in September. She also has turned into a great swimmer. I was worried since both kids were afraid of the water at first, but now they both swim across the pool with no floaties.

My latest quilt

2008-08-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

My family room colors are brown and blue and when I saw these fabrics I was with my friend Chanel. She pretty much forced my to buy them, but I am glad she did. Here is my finished quilt that lays over the arm of my couch. Oh, and check out my curtains. My mom and I just finished them.

Bite Me...

2008-08-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night I went to a Breaking Dawn party for the last book in the Twilight series. For those of you that don't know what Twilight is, it is a series of books about a vampire love story, seriously just go get it. The reason it has taken me so long to post about it is because I preordered my book so I wouldn't have to go to Barnes and Noble and fight the vampire crazy crowd, mine arrived on Monday and I just finished last night, 48 hours for 750 pages. Yes it's that good! The girl who throw the party went above and beyond and it was a lot of fun. She had themed food and trivia games. My friend Debbie and I made shirts, they say Bite Me, Edward only please. And there was an appearance by Bella and Edward. Anyone else finished it yet? What did you think? I'm glad that we finally have closer, but I have to admit that every time I finished one of the books I am wanting more. Now I'll just have to wait for the movie in December. Watch the trailer here http://www.twilightthemovie.com/.

I hate earthquakes

2008-07-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

Today we had an earthquake. The epicenter was really close to here. It was a 5.4. This is the strongest earthquake I can remember feeling and I grew up here in Southern California. The shaking wasn't so bad, but it was so loud and it went on for 15 seconds. Matt was in the playroom and a little freaked out, but probably more by me running in saying "it's OK" over and over. Kate was at school and they were outside for lunch. She said she didn't feel anything, she just heard the alarm and had to get under the table. Our phone still isn't working, thank goodness for cell phones, but even that was difficult to get through at times. I have to admit that I have been doing a pretty good job at getting our emergency kits ready, but there are still things I need to do, like know how to turn off the gas and water. I hope we never have to use them.

It's a.......

2008-07-22T10:03:00.001-07:00

girl. We had our third ultrasound yesterday and they were finally able to see that it's a girl. Kate is excited, but Matt is a little disappointed. I am still not feeling that good, which is has been frustrating. I am not nauseous and throwing up anymore, but I am so tired and achy. This has been a really hard pregnancy, but I am over half way done. YEAH!

Kate started 1st grade

2008-07-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? And she loves it. I was worried that it would be hard for her to get up everyday and be at school all day long, but she is doing great. She is so excited to go and to do all the homework. I hope that she will always love school. Matt is a little lonely and bored, but he goes back to school tomorrow. I am going to have so much free time, or kid-free time, I love it.

Wii Played Wii

2008-07-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

We had family night at Brandon's brother David and his wife Christy's house last Sunday. They have Wii and Brandon and his dad were boxing. It was so funny how serious they were. If you listen careful you can hear Kate encouraging her daddy.

Leaf Quilt Block Exchange

2008-07-02T11:47:00.001-07:00

Last night we had our quilt block exchange (check out our blog here). Our latest blocks were fall leaves. Here is a picture of all the blocks laid out and one of the few of us that were able to make it to the exchange (there were 20 women involved).

What's Matt up to?

2008-06-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

When I went to get Matt up in the morning I found open band-aids all over his room. I guess that after I put him to bed the night before he got out, went in the bathroom found the box of bandaids and opened every single one. I told him that I hope he doesn't get hurt and bleed anytime soon because I wasn't getting him anymore bandaids. So after we ate breakfast I sent him upstairs to get dressed and when he came down I found his leg was covered in Band-aids, I didn't noticed earlier since he was wearing long pants to bed. It was hard not to laugh, I was so mad that he had wasted all the band-aids, but then his leg looked so funny. I didn't want to take a picture because I was afraid it would encourage the behavior, but my friend April gave me a good idea to tell him that I was going to take a picture to help him remember to never do this again. So here it is...

And since I wrote this post a few days ago, here's what else he's done since then. He found my camera and took 60 pictures of himself and the fish tank, here are just a few...

So Hot!

2008-06-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

It has been so hot here. I am so glad we have a pool and we have really been using it a lot. Last Saturday we went to the beach to get away from the heat. It was only in the high 80's there which compared to the 110+ we've been having here was like winter (just kidding). The kids were so brave and went out in the water with Brandon and then played the rest of the time in the shallow part. Matt loves to catch sand crabs then let them crawl on him (yuck) and then let them go and watch them dig back under the sand. This was the first time we've been to the beach where the kids enjoyed being there, usually they complain about the sand and are afraid to go near the water. I think this will be a fun summer to spend at the beach. By the way, Brandon is not wearing a shirt and yes, he got really sunburned.

Catch up on two months

2008-06-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

So, most of you already know that I am pregnant. I am almost 18 weeks and have been really sick for the past 12 weeks. I've had only a couple of good days in those weeks, most have been pretty bad. I have spent many days laying on the couch yelling up the stairs at the kids. I have also been know to pay Kate to entertain Matt, it actually works really well. Today we had a great lesson in Relief Society about keeping a journal and I have been inspired, despite how I am feeling, to recommit to my blog. So here is an update on the kids for May and June. Warning-this may be long and boring to most of you....

Matt had his 4th Birthday on May 17th. We had a little family BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa's. Matt got a lot of gifts and was excited about every one. His favorite present was from Brandon and I, we got him his first bike.

Because of Matt's food allergies he cannot have a regular cake and requested a Jello Cake instead. (His first birthday I made a dairy free, egg free, wheat free cake and no one would touch it).Right now Matt is obsessed with Spider man. He loves everything Spider man. Grandpa Kirk got him a Spider man swimsuit and it is the only one he will wear.

In early June both kids took swim lessons. Kate really didn't care for them, but Matt went from being hysterical when water got splashed on his face to going completely under. He loved swim lessons and when they were over asked over and over again for more. He is currently taking private swim lessons from a teenage girl in our ward. It has been so hot and we have been in the pool almost everyday and both kids are swimming so well now. Brandon offered to take them anywhere they wanted to go on a daddy date if they would swim across the pool, something we thought would take all summer for them to do. Last week both kids did it and Kate got to go get ice cream and Matt chose Chuck E Cheese. I am so proud of how brave they are at learning to swim. If you knew how scared they were a few weeks ago you would be impressed too.

Kate only has one more week of Kindergarten left. Recently she won an award for being a good writer. She wrote out all the words to a song they were learning in school, including the humming part and gave it to her teacher. That is why Kate was given this award and the Principal ask Kate to sing it for everyone and she did it in front of all the other Kindergarten classes and all their parents.

I am sure many other things have happened, but these are the most important. I will try to be better at posting from now on.

Did I win?

2008-04-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

My friend Chanel knows me well. She called me the other day and told me that she wanted to motivate me to finish my patriotic house quilt (this was a block exchange we did together with some of our other friends). She told me that she was already quilting hers, so I had to get busy to finish before her. Well, I finished it today, but I haven't heard if I beat her yet. I am excited to hang it up for Memorial day and it will stay up for 4th of July and Chanel knows it will probably be up until Halloween. I still haven't taken down my St. Patrick's Day garland, now I'm embarrassed so I'll do it tonight. By the way Chanel, it is quilter, bound, and labeled.

Funny or embrassing moments

2008-04-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

I was shopping for a new purse with the kids today. Kate was bringing me all different purses and asking me if I liked them. I would say "Yes, but it's too orange" or "it's too stripey" or "it's too big". Well I found a purse that was made of grass and looked like an upside down hat. I asked Kate if she liked it and she said "No, it's too Mexican". She said it loud enough for everyone around to hear and I was too embarrassed to ask her what she meant so we just walked away.

Matt came home from school the other day with a cross written on his hand (he goes to a Lutheran preschool, although we believe in Christ we don't typical use a cross for a symbol in our church). I asked him what it meant and he said that Jesus died on the cross for every ones sins. I laughed and he said "what mommy, they teach that at our church too". I told him he was right. By the way, Matt said "He has rosen too". I think he has learned more about the bible at this school in 2 months than his lifetime at church. Probably because nursery and Sunbeams are total chaos. I love that he is learning about Jesus. He tells me he knows Jesus loves him.

My latest addiction

2008-04-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

Kate and Matt's friend Walker sent them both a webkinz in the mail. They are so excited and have slept with them and carry them everywhere we go. So, I have heard of webkinz, but never really knew what they did. So I logged on to their website and registered the kids and now I am addicted. I have to get on everyday and make money for them so I can buy them stuff (you know for the animal's virtual life). Kate and Matt like to watch, but they are more interested in having the stuffed animal. I really should teach them how to use the website, but I am having too much fun. Brandon thinks I'm weird when I get all excited about winning a game against another webkinz, who is probably another parent anyway, right? Hey it makes money for my, I mean the kids, animals. If any of your kids have webkinz let me know so our animals can be friends and we can play. Really I do involve the kids, but I seem to enjoy it more than them. Kate is excited to invite Walker over to her newly decorated (from all my hard work) room. I really should get back in my craft room, but speaking of which I need to go check the webkinz employment office to see what job I can get today.

Happy Easter?

2008-04-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little late, but here are the kids in their Sunday Easter clothes. I haven't even taken down my St. Patrick's Day Decorations yet.

That's What I'm Talking About!

2008-03-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here's where 'That's what I'm Talking About' comes from:

(This was posted by Brandon)

Found Keys

2008-03-24T16:05:00.001-07:00

Yeah!!!! I found the keys to my car. I was right about someone hiding them. I found them in the pocket of Matt's pants in the dirty clothes basket. Now where did he hide the other set?

Lost Keys

2008-03-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I lost my set of keys to Brandon's car. It has been frustrating since occasionally he will take the van and I will realize after he is gone that I am stranded. They have not shown up and I assume they are gone for good. Well, this weekend I lost the key to my car. This is not like me and I would bet someone is taking them and hiding them from me. I have searched my house and still no keys. So we called the Nissan dealer to see how much it will cost to replace and it will be $250 for my car and $280 for Brandon's. I really hope they show up somewhere. I feel like I am losing my mind, I also lost my Sam's Club card a couple weeks ago. That was easy to replace though. Seriously someone is going through my purse and hiding things. Where could they be?

Yard Work

2008-03-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

Brandon and my dad have been busy cleaning up our yard. The house had been vacant for a while before we moved in, so most of the yard was over grown. There was a huge tree in the backyard that just dumped everything into the pool. It was as high as the neighbor's chimney. My dad climbed it and cut it down with a chain saw.

Then they cleaned up the rest of the yard (with a little help). It looks great.

St. Patrick's Day 2008

2008-03-20T09:06:00.001-07:00

I told the kids that the Leprechauns were going to come in the night and leave a surprise for them. When they woke up the leprechaun had left individual bowls of Lucky Charms. Then Because Kate wanted to wear all green so did Matt.

I made them an all green lunch.

And then our friends came over for dinner and instead of our traditional all green dinner they brought Corn beef and sauerkraut sandwiches. It was a fun holiday!

Enrichment Night

2008-03-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

I am still new to this blogging and I need to carry my camera with me more often so I can better document the things I want to share with you. I just got a calling in my new ward. I am on the Enrichment Committee. I was the Enrichment Leader in my old ward for the past 2 years. I love Enrichment, but it was so much work to be the leader, now I just do what I'm told and I love it. So, I was called just in time for our Relief Society Birthday Enrichment that was tonight. I always struggled with coming up with ideas for Enrichment so I want to share what we did so anyone who needs a good idea can steal it. Our program was focused on sisters around the world. There was a sign up in Relief Society to bring a main dish or salad from another country. Then after dinner, 7 different women shared a story about a sister in another country. There was a story from a country for every Continent. They were touching stories about their struggles and blessings that come from living righteously. There were also 2 musical numbers, one was sung in French and another in Spanish and then we closed by singing As Sister's in Zion. The table center pieces were very simple but appropriate and adorable. They were pots with different countries flags in them. I asked where they got the flags and they were from Oriental Trading Co. I have more ideas if you need them, let me know.

Praying Mantis

2008-03-13T16:24:00.001-07:00

Kate had a project for homework this week to make a 3D insect. She told me she wanted to do a praying mantis. I'm not sure where she even learned about them because they don't live here in California. I tried to talk her into something cuter and a lot easier, but to no avail. Once we started doing some research on the praying mantis I found that the female eats the male after they mate, so I liked them a little more. The project is suppose to be done as much as possible by the child and I really did try to let her do most of it. Here are some pictures of her praying mantis. She is so proud of it that she asked me to take a picture of her holding it.

Latest Quilt-St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest quilt I made for St. Patrick's Day. Those that know me, know how much I love holidays. It doesn't matter what holiday (although Halloween is by far the best) I love to decorate and make family traditions. Every year, I think since we've been married, we have a few friends over on St. Patrick's Day and eat green dinner. I have a contest for the most unusual use of green and I have got some super creative friends. It make for a fun tradition and good time. I'm not sure how it will happen this year since I don't know many people here, but I will still make a green dinner even if it just for us. Do any of you have any good ideas for green food? Or any good St. Patrick's Day traditions? Stay tuned for Kate's all green outfit to be revealed the 17th.

I Give Up!

2008-03-09T21:23:00.001-07:00

So, after so much peer presure here it is. I have spent much time being a silent lurker on many of your blogs. I don't comment, but I enjoy hearing how everyone is doing and what they are up to and especially getting creative ideas of things to do or make. So that is my goal with this blog, I want to let you know what projects I'm working on in hopes to inspire you with ideas and occasionally let you know what the kids are doing to drive me crazy. Please comment and let me know what you think.