The Girardo Family

Family Pictures

2012-01-16T15:39:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our family pictures we got done in December. We usually get them done in November, but we went to schedule the appointment in September and they (FotoFly) were booked until the end of December. Wow, I had no idea that it was that hard to get an appointment. No biggie, we got them for the 23rd of December. It was hard to figure out a good time because we had Baby Sam (schedules are big with me). What would cause the least amount of ripples in our day? And we survived!

I have to make a few facts about my family pictures, first, Olivia is very shy and we can't do retail store studios (they rush the pictures and Olivia freaks-literally). Second, we loved Fotofly last year and gave them a go again this year (which we were just as happy). Third, Sam does not smile for anyone he knows and doesn't know away from home, so the one where is looks like a slight smile is the best we got (but Sam looks great in all of them-especially with the girls). Now for the pictures:

Super Late Update

2011-10-26T10:26:00.007-06:00

So I am a super slacker, and have really not been keeping this thing up. Man I don't even think I have kept anything up. Crazy times have been going on here, three kids really zap up your time (but what cute three kids are). And don't forget to look at the last pic, he has a kiss for everyone.

My three little nerds (Sam is about 1 month here)
These next three are from Sam's blessing (I had to include each of them):

Sam getting older and cuter (its amazing how fast they change):
Maddie reading to Livs (She does this all the time):
Livs and Sam getting ready to go to Grandma's (had to show off the cute Red stripes):
First day of school:
Another of the nerd clan (look at the Smile on Mads-missing 4 teeth):
And we might as well show my Birthday Pie (yum!!! 31 years old!)
You got to Love it when David brings home this yummy gift basket from his job for taking 2nd in a free throw contest!!!!
These next two are from his 5 month ones (he tends to like to roll but gets stuck on his tummy-can't quite catch onto the rolling back thing). Plus I love his face on the second pic!:

Starting to eat:

Here is the most up-to-date picture of the Nerd Herd:

And for the grand finale, Sam is blowing you all a kiss goodbye (I love this picture):

10 days early

2011-05-15T19:43:00.008-06:00

Well, it happened. Sam was born yesterday at 4:19 pm. He was 7 lbs 8 oz., and 19 1/2 inches long. Lyss had the joy of feeling her water break around 12 yesterday afternoon. Of course, it happened on the one Saturday I was at work. We were planning on going in on Friday to have a C-section, but I guess he wanted to show who was in charge. The sad thing is we were getting ready for a family party for Olivia's birthday, which is today. It sounds like it was a pretty funny scene:

Maddie: "Mom, why are you naked?" As Alyssa is walking to the bathroom with a towel trying to stop the water.

Alyssa: "My water broke."

Olivia: "How did you break it, mom?"

Alyssa: "It came out of mom."

Olivia: "Okay."

Alyssa, looking at Maddie and reading the expression on her face: "Yep, we are going to have the baby today."

Maddie, sobbing uncontrollably: "But what about Livie's cake?! I wanna have some cake!"

All went smooth. Mom and baby are doing well

Alyssa getting ready for surgery

Proud Dad!

Lovin' time together

Rough day!

Finally, some R and R!

It's March Already... (WARNING:Super Long Post)

2011-03-04T15:47:00.002-07:00

...wow I am way slacking at this point (I don't give myself much hope in May after the baby is born. poop!). I have not caught up on my usual posts. These are my favorite but I will have to condense them. Christmas was fun and exciting we got all sorts of goodies, mostly on the technology side (wii games, new digital camera, etc.). And Santa is very practical, the usual socks, clothes, toothpaste/toothbrush, hair things, and other toiletries. But a good balance!!! The girls also got a bunk-bed for Christmas, since they will be sharing a room together (we decided to do it now so they will be used to it when we have the baby). We also have the girls make homemade presents for the grandparents and teachers, this year we made magnets. Livie made her own scribbles and Maddie drew pictures of what she thought they liked and a picture of them (like Snapper Grandpa got a train). Then we bought adhesive magnets and stuck them on then cut them out. Maddie and Livie did most of it but I mostly cut them out because it "made her tired." (Maddie's words)! But they turned out so cute.

And we even had our annual gingerbread house making, this year we had Bouncy Grandma and Grandpa attend (we try and do this the first Sunday of December). The funnest part is the creativity everybody has, especially when we cheat (we used a hot glue gun this year to glue the house together, but the boys- the Davids (Grandpa and Dad) used it on other projects around their house). I will have to post them and see if you can tell what icing can do compared to what the hot glue gun does. But it was fun! I actually mostly ate candy rather than be on the creative side- mine was simple but worth all that cotton candy I ate, and sour stars, and more cotton candy.

January was our get back into a rhythm and back to reality. I like January for that reason, which translates to really boring. February is our "restless, itchy" month. I noticed the girls were dieing to go outside and play with outside toys (bikes, scooters, soccer, games). We had a few of those nice days, but the weather was crazy- you never knew. And on the cold days we stayed inside, I don't like to freeze, I am a wussy. They are the craziest of kids and really wild so I am hoping for a warm March.

For Valentines Day we made heart crayons for her class. Which turned out amazing! I have been wanting to do this for awhile, I found the idea in Family Fun Magazine a year or two ago. I have broken crayons and they just keep piling up, and I couldn't get myself to throw them out because they still had life left in them. So this was the year, we wiped out my massive supply of broken, worn-out, and neglected crayons and made heart shaped ones for her class and teachers. I then did a quick google to see what I could attach them too and found this awesome template for cards. Maddie and I peeled the paper off, Olivia and Maddie put the pieces in the heart shaped molds. And I cooked them, then we attached them to the card. Ta-da! Gotta love this face:

I have not really announced my pregnancy but have alluded to it a few times. So here is my announcement. We are going to have a baby at the end of May, just in time for Maddie to be done with school. And we are having a Boy, which is a big deal around here. We have two little girls and David has 4 sisters and no brothers. I don't even know if he knows what to do with boys, j/k! The bad thing about this is I need to get boy things now, so I feel almost like I am a new mom again. New clothes, blankets, boy toys, etc.!! But we are super excited and hope we can survive 3 kids, our man-to-man defense is working, now we have to switch to a zone (scary). Names are hard as well, the girls were quick but boy names are not coming this time. And I do have to say Boy pregnancies for me are super easier then my girls were, no throwing up, I could eat more things, I didn't have that bad of morning sickness (I still had it but it wasn't as intense), I wish I could say smells still weren't too bad or that I could not breath fire (heartburn) but those still have been intense. But we are excited and can't wait.

Hope I can keep this updated, at least till we have the baby. Then I make no promises! P.S. I will post the gingerbread house pictures now:

David's (notice the licorice rope hanging in-between the candy cane posts-not icing):

Bouncy Grandma's (notice the yummy cotton candy-mmm):

Mine (I got mine done quick so I could eat the candy):

Olivia's (she was more concerned about eating the icing and treats then sticking them on):

Bouncy Grandpa (who would have thought Grandpa was so creative):

Maddie's (she worked on hers the longest, even grandma and grandpa left before she was done):

Olivia

2011-01-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

My little girl, the baby of the family (for now). She is my little lovey girl. She is super sensitive to loud noises and wind. She loves to follow her sister in almost everything she does, she loves Maddie to pieces.

She is scared of bugs and spiders. We have to pick her up and bring her in the house if there is a bug on our door. The daddy long legs scare her the most, she freezes and won't move if she sees him. Silly girl!

She likes to sit and cuddle with you during a movie (well as long as its only 30 minutes, she loses interest in movies). She will caress your face when you are sad or comes in a sleeps with you in the morning). She has to hug and kiss the baby in my tummy about 10 times a day. She says the baby likes to be scratched and patted as well. She even tries to feed the baby (my tummy) her rolls or lunches. She is such a caring and loving little girl.

I thought that maybe this little red head won't have the independence, stubbornness, and fiestiness that they almost always have. She used to be my quiet, shy, and observant baby, and as she got to being a toddler she really blossomed. She has to undress herself before bath (no helping or she gets mad), she has to have things done the way she wants them or she will take matters into her own hand, and she doesn't like it when you help her say her prayers at night (which usually means she blesses the food 5 times). She is still extremely shy with strangers, but she does warm up pretty quickly!

She was a big mama's girl, but now she tends to flock to her dad when he is home. Even in the morning if David is home she will fight over with Maddie where they will lay next to dad. Good thing I have a body pillow or I will feel quite lonely.

I love this little girl we have been blessed with (and my little Maddie as well). What cute girls we have.

So I have been a major slacker...

2011-01-17T11:17:00.002-07:00

I have not written a blog post for about 5 months. Which is about when I got pregnant. I have not really had the energy or time to get it done. I have several post that are mostly finished so I will be rolling out a bunch in the the next month. Including my little spotlight on Olivia, the only person I haven't done. And of course Christmas and the fun we have had the last couple of months. And lets not forget the pregnancy. So heres to a great new year. And I will leave you with a wonderful little treat (well at least I think it is), Book 4 of the Mortal Instruments, City of Fallen Angels comes out in April:

Madelyn

2010-09-28T18:48:00.000-06:00

I thought I would write about each of my family members. I first wrote about me on my birthday, and then David. So I thought why not do one on the girls as well.

My little Maddie Lou! She keeps me on my toes! She is so active and crazy, that I get tired just watching her. One of the things that I love the most about her is her strong will. Sometimes it drives me insane, but in the real world you need it and I am glad that she has it.

I also love how driven she is. When she has a challenge she really dives in. Sometimes she just frustrated and doubts a bit. But she keeps on trying, and trying (with some screams of frustration and grunts). She loves a good puzzle that challenges her. We got her a 150 piece puzzle for her, and it takes her a full day to get it together (she did it the other day again and finished it in about an hour). The 63 pieces are not challenging enough. I think by Christmas we are going to have to get one of those 500 piece ones. She goes nuts with them!

She loves to learn! She grasps onto things so fast. I just started reading with her and I am very surprised how much she can read. And she always wants to learn a Portuguese word when David is home. And she remembers almost every single one of them. Wow! I also have noticed that she tries to write words out. She sounds them out and writes the letters. And most the things she does is on her own. I watch her and marvel at what she does sometimes. She is even reading books now, and I guess I should have tried earlier, I just had no clue she wanted to but now we do it constantly.

She is crazy! She always has to make silly faces or pose funny for pictures. Its like a photo shoot every time I pull my camera out. She is getting Olivia to do some of her crazy poses as well. When we do our family pictures, she works it. The last time we did it about 2/3 of the pictures were of Maddie. The photographers captured her, there were some great ones!

Madelyn likes to hide her sensitive side. She tries to be tough, but sometimes she lets you see it. She loves to cuddle with you, as long as she doesn't have something on her mind or something she has to do (so that is rare). She has always been that way, even as a baby. She never cuddled with me unless she was sick or if it was Dad (as a new baby she always wanted to be held even to sleep, but when she was about 6 months old that was it). She always tells me that she is a "toughie pants." A phrase my mom taught her! Silly!

Soccer is her favorite thing to do. She even watches some soccer matches on TV with us, especially recently during the World Cup. She loves to play, and she used to just hit the ball. But the last few games in Spring I noticed that she was trying some new things out. Like playing a bit of defense and passing the ball around. It also helps that she loves her team mates. We have the same team this fall that we did last year, and that is good, they already are comfortable with each other. She is such a good big sister. Yeah they fight and yell and scream and get upset at each other but when they play good together, the laughter never stops. She really knows how to make Olivia laugh. She always has! Olivia always laughed the hardest with Madelyn. As a baby, Madelyn would make a silly face and that would send Livs into hysterics. I would do the same thing and Olivia would look at me weird. Madelyn never could wait for her to wake up, she would run in there and talk to her when I am not watching. Madelyn has a sweet love for her sister.

She loves going to church. Sometimes we have to miss it due to sickness or something. And we have giant fits sometimes. Even when we have to go to someone else's church, she still gets upset. Unless it is My mom's ward, she loves the primary there too. She has only gone a few times but she loves it. We had our primary program during sacrament meeting. She memorized her part and during the songs I could hear here (and we sat near the back). She made sure we were always watching her. I couldn't help but laugh!

I love my little angel! She is a handful but I love her so!

David

2010-09-06T14:16:00.000-06:00

So the other day my cousin asked me, what David was like, I don't know him very well. Right on the spot I couldn't think of tangible words to explain who he was. I knew inside but I didn't know how to explain it out loud.

Let me tell you the few things I did tell him. He is very funny! I don't think there is a day that goes by that I don't smile or laugh at something he did either on the phone, face to face, or some random text. I also told them that my mom loves him more then me. I am so not kidding about this one. If we got in a wreck my mom would rush to David and then ask me if I was okay. My mom never ever liked any guy I dated, any!!! So when I brought David home to meet my parents, I was a bit worried. But as we know I should not have worried about what my mom thought, I should have worried about how much she would like him. I am currently ranked last on my mom's list, it goes David, the girls, and then poor me. I don't mind it though, I just like to make a fuss!

David is so much more than that. He is such a hard worker and wants to do everything for his little family. While he was in school he had a full time job, 2 part time jobs, and he still managed to keep his grades up and land on the deans list a few times ( the times he missed the list he was sooooo close). Some nights he never got any sleep, and there were many where he would only have a few hours. We never got to see him, but he really does love us.

The girls love him so much. We get to see him more now, but when he was in school there would be days they wouldn't see him. And that was hard on him, and the girls. My oldest, Maddie, would be stuck to him like Velcro when he would be home. She is a daddy's girl through and through. Olivia is more a momma's girl, but don't put it past her to climb all over him and ignore me when he is home. These girls love their daddy!!! At bath time, he lets them "do" his hair with the bubbles and water and shape it. And they climb all over him, run him over, slam him, dog pile him, and he loves it because they are laughing the whole time. They even know the Utes fight song, and are true Ute fans, after their dad.

I married a man that could make me smile and laugh. He was my biggest fan, even when I didn't do too well. He was there to cheer me up and and tell me what I can improve on. When I let him into my life I told him some things I was scared would scare him away, but he didn't even judge me- he listened and stayed. He really truly loved me. But that man I married is no where near the man I have now. He is so much more than that, so much deeper and stronger. I love him more now then ever before. We have 8 years of marriage under our belts, and I love where we are. We truly are happy and I love to be with him and my girls.

And one of my favorite things about him, are the surprises he gives me. It all started while we were dating. He used to do all sorts of surprises. Some were little and stop by while working an take me to lunch. And others were bigger like when he took me to Les Mis.. And the best surprise of all was our engagement on Christmas, I had no idea it was coming. We never even talked about marriage (the one time I brought it up, he actually laughed and changed the subject). He still pulls surprises for me! He brings home treats from work, he took me to LA for my birthday to the AI concert, he comes home early from work, or even makes me dinner. About 1.5 years ago I came home after being gone all day and night (exhausted). And he had the house cleaned, dinner on the table, and the girls were cleaned up. I thought that was amazing! I could go on and on and on with the big and little surprises he gives me.

Yummy!!

2010-08-25T02:07:00.002-06:00

Do you like cupcakes? I sure do. Check out this awesome giveaway, but nobody enter....I want to win. =)

30, Flirty, and Thriving...

2010-08-09T21:20:00.001-06:00

When I was young I remember one birthday of my mom's. It was her 30th birthday. I remember that she did not like it. Chad and I tried to make her feel better and tell her all the good things about her and why turning 30 was good.

This year, on a hot August 9th morning, is that same birthday. A year ago I wasn't happy that I was in my last year of my 20s. I am not that young of a pup anymore. I am getting older, I can't bounce back like I was in high school or college. I get tired sooner and I get worn-out faster. I am not saying I am falling apart but there definitely is a difference from my early 20s. And I just wasn't happy where I was in terms of my body, I used to be runner and I was a bit chubby and not running or anything.

So the month before my 29th birthday I decided on a present to myself. I wanted to get back in shape. Back to my running days weight (lose 20 lbs by the time I turn 30), and back into running like I used to. My body screamed at me when I started to run. I was only running 4 minutes at first, and my body hated every second. It felt like forever some days, because my body hasn't ran for 8 years. I slowly, and I mean s-l-o-w-l-y, lengthened my run. I only went longer when my body felt like it could handle a change.

The other hard part was finding the time to run. I can't run with a jogging stroller (and there is nothing against those that use one, its just not my thing). So finding the time to run without the girls was tough too. David has a crazy schedule, and sometimes I am running at 6 AM and other times I wait till late morning or evening. So I really had to be tough some mornings. But in the summer those early mornings are nice.

At first I was not seeing any results. Just my body aching in places that I really had no idea could ache, and my legs were hating me and revolting. I felt like I was getting tired at night sooner then normal. I decided to add in some weight training with some good old "Core Secrets" I had from a few years back. So the days I don't run I do 45 minutes of "Core Secrets." Now I was starting to see some results. My body wasn't revolting against me, it was actually feeling good during my runs. I think it was because my muscles were stronger

Then I decided I needed to change some eating habits, of course after I let my body get over the shock of running. This took some major self control. I cut out night time snacking! This is really tough, and on occasions I still have something (especially the nights when David takes out a sleeve of girl scout thin mints to watch a movie- he knows my weakness -thin mints with a glass of milk). I have even turned into a label reader. I used to think that it was crazy to do it. But now I am aware of what I am eating, and if I should or shouldn't eat it. And it has also helped me make healthy choices for my family (modify recipes to take out unnecessary ingredients or make substitutions). I still have 3 meals a day and eat snacks with my girls, so I am not starving myself.

What were my results? Did I meet my goals? Can I give myself an awesome present that only I could give myself? I sure did! I am back to my college/wedding weight (132 lbs). I am back down to a size 4 (I was a borderline size 12 a year ago, mostly 10 though). I feel so good, and I like how I look. And exercising is just apart of my life now, if I miss a day I feel crappy (and I believe my family would tell you I am even crabby when I miss), and of course Sunday I don't-that is my nap day. The only draw back to losing my 20 lbs, I lost a good amount in my chest. I am sad to say my B-R-A (haha mom and kits!!!!) is back down to an A cup, Grrrrr. And despite all my efforts, I still have a little tummy pooch, but its okay!

BRING ON MY 30s!!!!!! HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY TO (the new) ME!

Madelyn's Birthday Party

2010-07-23T07:30:00.000-06:00

Once again I finally got the time to post Maddie's Birthday Extravaganza. We had her first friend party on Saturday and a family BBQ/Birthday on Sunday. I thought the friend party was so exciting. I asked Maddie what she wanted her theme to be for her birthday and she told me that she wanted a fairy theme. I had a few ideas but the games were hard for me to think of. But thanks to my awesome David, he found some good ones online and thought of another.

First I asked Maddie who she wanted to invite. And I think she would have invited the whole world to her party. But we narrowed it down to 11 girls. She invited her soccer team, her cousin Taylee, her neighbor friends Emily and Avienda, Grace, Presley, and Savannah. One couldn't make it, bummer!

I decided to make tutus for the girls, and felt wands to decorate. Which I got an amazing deal on the Tulle. It turned out that each tutu cost me $2.00 to make. And that is with the elastic as well. I think I did good! Plus they were super easy to make! I just Googled "how to make tutus" and combined a few results. Maddie even got to pick her colors out, she loves the color orange, so that became one of them. And she then picked white and bright pick (for her soccer team! they were pink and black). The wands were simple as well a wooden dowel and I cute out star shapes in stiff felt. Then I sewed the edges together after I glued the stick into the middle. Then I just bought a few things here and there for the decorations and treat bags.

The day of the party, I got a bit nervous to have all those girls over. But I felt the party went really well. We had lunch for them when they got there. They each made their own french bread pizza. And then we got our tutus on. I told them that we needed to become a fairy. And the first thing to do is dress like one. We then decorated the wands, which was another thing to do to become a fairy (the girls were eating this stuff up, I loved how badly they wanted to be a fairy). And then we played the first game, spin the "nail polish" bottle (David's online game). Which we had 5 different colors and spun the bottle. And the girl it landed on we would paint one nail. We would spin till all fingers were covered (it did take awhile so we stopped the game and ended up painting what the girls wanted). Which was another requirement to be a fairy, paint your finger nails. Then we went outside for an obstacle course. We spilt into teams (I told the girls that we need to keep active as fairies). That game went well.

We then went in and decorated our cupcakes with "fairy dust (colored sugar)" and frosting. Then we sang to Madelyn and eat the cupcakes (the ice cream sandwiches were sent home with them, because we ran out of time). And opened presents, then the parents took the kids home. Busy but it kept them all going and not bored.

Olivia's Birthday

2010-07-21T17:17:00.000-06:00

Olivia turned two way back in May. And I really have been a slacker! But I did post it, because you are reading it now. So I think I get some sort of credit here.

We just had a little party for her birthday. We had Grandparents, Chad, Kitty and Ivan, and Us. We had a little BBQ, well it really was a ton of food. But where can you go wrong with tons of BBQ food. Bacon-wrapped Chicken, Hot dogs, Hamburgers, and Bratwurst (yuck! David likes it!).

We then sang to her and she hardly could control herself enough to wait till we got done with the song. But she did wait, barely! She loves princesses so we got a Cinderella and Belle for her cake. She pick her cake out-Sprinkles, and the frosting was- Strawberry. When we had her pick her ice cream out, she was so adamant on picking the Breyers Cookies and Cream. Thank goodness it was on sale that week. She loved helping make it too!

She got lots of awesome stuff from everyone. Thank you everyone who was there for sharing the day with us! We had fun! And Olivia was so excited, she still asks if her birthday is coming.

Did we get May Flowers or more rain?

2010-06-21T15:40:00.001-06:00

So the weather has been crazy! And so has May been for me. We had a few birthdays, a wedding, a dance recital, a few soccer games, and a few odds and ends during the month. My life is going crazy, and it is leaking into June.

Maddie just finished her preschool. My little girl finished her first year of school. We had her preschool graduation last week. And she sang a few songs and had a few refreshments. And we picked up all her stuff from the school. Now we need to sort and save our favorites, there is a ton!!! Maddie also had her last soccer game on Kitty's wedding, we are going to miss everyone from her team (hopefully we can get them on our team again). Maddie is going to have her birthday party soon, should be a bunch of fairy fun. Maddie also had her dance recital a few weeks back, and thanks to my mom, she looked so cute for it too. She was in a purple tutu, how could you go wrong with purple. I am going to get her video up soon! Maddie is so upset that Dance, Soccer, and school is done. What to do? I don't know, but we will have to keep active. She changes her clothes at least 5 times a day, puts about 6 different clips in her hair, and her shoes keep changing too. This girl makes me dizzy! But I wouldn't trade her for anyone else!

Olivia turned 2 this month! My baby is so not a baby anymore. She is my big toddler girl! I will post her birthday later. She is talking in sentences and following whatever her sister does. The best times are when they are laughing their heads off at each other. I could sit and listen to that all day! I love it! She is so a red head, she is getting to be very independent. Always wanting to do her way not mommy's. She has to say the prayers, she has comb her hair, she has use a fork not fingers, she has to climb up herself, she has to climb out herself, and the best of all she tells me "Peek-a-Boo do it!" She calls her self that! She also loves to do"hair" and give all sorts of kisses and hugs and face caresses. My little lovey girl!
I have been quite a busy bee myself. I made my girl's jackets and sashes for their flower girl dresses. Which was a fun adventure, if anyone says "Chiffon" to me I will scream. I hate that material. It took me like 2.5 weeks just to make the sashes, granted that wasn't the only thing that I worked on during that time, but still maybe a week tops. I had to put a liner in it to make it stiffer for when I tie it in a bow, and since it looked like I was drunk when I cut the material (another fun moment- the material is very slippery and flimsy so it wasn't easy to pin and cut) that made for a fun time getting the pieces to work together. But I did it and the jackets were quite fast to make. I think they turned out great, and they looked so cute (I didn't take pictures at the wedding because I totally spaced it, maybe Katherine will let me borrow some of hers).

My other past time was a whole bunch of reading! What a great stress reliever for me. I can just escape for a half hour and enjoy myself. I am listening to the Count of Monte Cristo, still, but I usually only listen to it when my hands are busy (sewing, crocheting, making tutus, etc.). And I love this book, even though it is so long, I love it!!!! I have read quite a few books this last month. I finished the Percy Jackson books, what a great last book. I really enjoyed it!! Greek Gods and the Modern World-who would have ever put them together. I recommend those books! I am almost caught up on House of Night series, which I am reading the new one now. Its a bit strange but I am enjoying it. My next book adventure, Great Expectations- I have never read this and my mom gave it to me for Christmas. I am excited for this one! Its been awhile since I have read a classic, and I love those books!

David has been just as busy as ever this month. He is just working and working, with the occasional basketball game. Which we enjoy to go watch! He has been listening to his book obsession "Wheel of Time" series. The 12th one just came out, and since he is a nerd, he decided to start from the start, which I think has a few prequels before the first book. And after a few months, he has finally started the 12th book. And David had another Birthday, he turned 31! What an old man, heehee! And he graduated this month even though he was done in December, he walked in May. My parents, David's parents, the girls and I watched him get his diploma (I got all teary-eyed knowing that for now we are done- we survived this, maybe a masters later). Then we went to Chili's after (Cajun Chicken Pasta- yum!!!)We are so proud of him!!!

We also ran the Race for the sure with my mom and David's sister. I brought the stroller and we pushed the girls. They got out a few times and ran. We really just took our time, and made our way to the finish. It was fun, running with my mom and the girls and David. We didn't see Mandee until the finish, but it was a good day.

I (David) can't wait for this!!!!

2010-06-19T22:02:00.003-06:00

This is my favorite series! A must read!

The Joys of April Showers

2010-05-04T19:59:00.001-06:00

We have had plenty of weird weather this last month. And I have to say that our lives have been a bit on the weird side. Easter was the same time as Conference which was weird for me, because the girls never wore there dresses. And the week after was Stake Conference, so we had a few weeks to wait. But Easter was fun and we had plenty of egg hunts, treats, toys, and sugar highs. But we still remembered that Easter was about Christ and his Resurrection, which I am so grateful for.

Madelyn is having so much fun at preschool. She asked me if her school friends will be with her in Kindergarten and I told her that they won't and she was so upset. I told her that she will make new friends and have fun like she is having now. I don't know if it helped, she moved on after our talk. But I am sad that she is going to be gone to all day Kindergarten. Its just like nursery, I will probably cry a bit. I am happy for her though. To learn and grow!

Olivia is my little Red Monster. I mean that in a good way! She is all emotions, and driven by them. But its good, she really lets me know how she feels. She also loves to be a Maddie copy, always doing exactly what she does. And when we say prayers, she always has to make sure we bless "Chad-Chad" when we pray for Grandmas and Grandpas. And every time we talk about any Grandma or Grandpa she always adds in "Chad-Chad." When we have dinner at my parents she makes sure Chad sits next to her. I love it! She is so "lovey" and hugy and kissy. My little love bug!

I have been really enjoying this spring. I feel like myself finally. I go running a few times a week and workout the other days. If I don't I really don't do well, I am almost cranky. I also have been reading all sorts of books. I don't think I can get enough of reading. I read everything I can. Right now I am reading "Count of Monte Cristo- Alexander Dumas." I love this book!!!! It is very long but I am loving it. I also started the Percy Jackson Books. I like them and the whole Greek Gods idea. Its a good twist, and I start to remember the stories from school of the Gods. And how the Gods are in the present, is genius! I still have 2 books left of the "House of Night" series. I think I am official hooked to these series. And to even book-nerd me out more, my mom gave me her nice hard copy of "Persuasion-Jane Austen." My favorite of the Austen novels, now I have my own copy. I could go on forever about my nerdy books, but I will stop now.

David has been home more lately, and we are loving it. We love that he is home and able to play all morning. I also get time to go out and run too. But we just love him being home and the girls think he is the best (I am slowly losing my mommy's girl, I already lost my first born to him!). He graduated in December but he walks on Friday, May 7th. I am so proud of him! The college grad, which was a long hard road but we survived it. I love him so much!

Plus it was his birthday a bit ago. He is 31 years old, man it sure must blow to be in your thirties. I don't know yet, I still have few months left of my 20s. We went to the movies with the girls to celebrate. We watch "How to Train a Dragon." Which was very good! And to make it better Olivia sat through the whole movie and kept her 3D glasses on (both are a big feat, and means that she really loved the movie). They keep talking about the movie and playing it out. It was great!

Olivia's Adventures

2010-03-29T20:30:00.000-06:00

Now you know how Madelyn's amazing attitude toward the big rides. Olivia was also very surprising. She rode everything she could. And at first she would be worried but most rides she really enjoyed. The only rides that really spooked her was "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Haunted Mansion." Which she was only scared of the mansion when the lights cut out and these girls screamed, and Livie hid her face on my shoulder. But she was fine for the rest of it. And the Pirate ride was all dark and that spooked her. She was the little trooper that tried everything and enjoyed most of it. She loved the Toy Story Mania at California Adventures, we rode it twice and everytime I tried to help her shoot she got mad and said "I do it!"

She enjoyed Small World and Teacups just as much as Madelyn did. They asked over and over to go on them. Livie was our little trooper!!!! Look at her sneaking a peek at Tinker Bell (her favorite fairy)!!!

Madelyn's Disney Adventures

2010-03-29T08:48:00.001-06:00

Madelyn is usually our scaredy pants. We were walking by Splash Mountain and she told me she wanted to do it. I was shocked! I wanted to make sure she was serious and showed her what kind of a hill she would be going down. And she said she would do it! We jumped on the ride, Livs stayed withe Dad and went on Winnie the Pooh. She liked the whole ride but the last hill. She cried and cried after, but I was proud that she had the guts to do it. Then she also went on Grizzly Rapids in California Adventures with David(I have the start and finish of this ride up, if you squint really hard you can see Maddie clinging on to David's arm). And once again it was Madelyn that ask to go on it. We showed her the hill at the end and still wanted to go on it. And once again cried after the ride, but she did it.

She went on everything we could get her on. Some rides she didn't like but she liked the majority of them. Her favorites were Small World and Teacups, and she did the twist with Goofy and others. She loved the whole thing, she even got upset when we went to the Aquarium (she wanted to be at Disneyland not there). She says we have to save up and go to Disneyworld next year because she wants to see Cinderella's Castle too.

Disneyland 2010

2010-03-26T15:13:00.000-06:00

We decided to go to Disneyland this year, because a) we thought the girls were old enough to enjoy it, b) David wanted to give the girls something back for being gone all the time during school, c) and we wanted to do a family vacation.

We decided to drive straight through to Anaheim (12.5 hours on the road- that includes stops and meals). I wasn't all for it, but since this was the beginning of the trip, I thought why not. The girls did good, we stopped every time they got antsy. We got the girls some new toys while on the road. We also got these trays that strap around the carseat so they can eat and color and read books and all that. They were a lifesaver. Well for Maddie (I don't think Maddie every took it off while she was strapped in), Olivia hated the tray and threw a fit every time we put it on (the trays have sides so things don't fall off- so during snack time and when she wanted to play). The only problem came right at the end, Olivia was getting all loopy and singing to herself and throwing her self around as much as she could in her carseat. I was a bit worried, she might not come out of the roadtrip sane, but she has and is back to normal.

We had a 3 day park hopper, so we spent most of the time in Disneyland and 3/4 of a day in California Adventures. We liked California Adventures, but the girls just couldn't get enough of the teacups or Small World. Since I am not a young pup anymore, I get sick and headaches on twirly rides and roller coasters, don't get me wrong I like those but I can't do them like I used to. Anyways, the first time (of many) we rode the teacups and I made everyone not spin the cup. Well that didn't last long, and by the thousandth time we were twirly as fast as we could go. Even Olivia was in on it, getting me as sick as they could. I have always liked Small World, so when the girls wanted to go on it again, I was so there. And then we went on it again and again and again, and surprisingly I still liked it. I even sang along with it during the ride, outloud. The music was too loud for anyone to really hear me, so I was okay.

We got the girls autograph books and they just loved getting the characters autographs. Olivia was scared of the characters up close but she would just sit there and wave and say "hi, _____" over and over and over. Olivia wouldn't do the picture thing alone so I made it in all the pictures with the characters (unless we were eating). But when we met Cinderella, Olivia was star struck. She even took a picture alone with her, it was funny to see her get all excited. And Madelyn wasn't shy with any of them, but Aurora (her favorite) she was just in awe. All she could do was stare at her, I had to do all the talking. And she was the last princess, and she talked to them all and was friendly too, but Aurora just made her star struck. The girls liked the autographs so much that we had to buy new books for them. The first thing we did when we came in was go to Pixie Hollow, Maddie had to meet the fairies. And the first one we met was Silvermist, Maddie's favorite. And Olivia loved Tinker Bell, she loved that too.

We also ran into some friends from home. The Chamber's were there, David went to high school with Mike and I ran with Steph. I knew they would be there because we talked about it. But we ran into The Holmes's, David also went to high school with Jason. We had no idea they would be there. I took Maddie to the Bathroom by Splash Mountain and they saw us. I came out and David was talking to Jason and Krystal. It was good because Maddie had a friend for a few rides, Presley. That was just crazy, that we would be there together.

This trip was magical, Disney sure knew what he was doing when he opened Disneyland!!!! I will blog about a few other places we went to also.

Its been awhile...

2010-02-10T14:28:00.002-07:00

So I have been a slacker in the blog world. And I honestly have been pretty busy with life. Just a bunch of small things squished together. Here is a quick update of the past little bit.
Christmas was great! We spent Christmas Eve with the Girardo's. We had a big party and had yummy food and good times. The girls were loved there gifts from Grandma and Grandpa (the piano is played constantly by both the girls and Olivia loves her Abby stuff). Christmas Day was fun! We all got lots of surprises from Santa (even I got a few!). The girls played all morning with their new toys. We finally got ourselves out the door and down to the My parents. And we were just starting to open presents when SPENCER called. We all got to talk to him, and I loved it (even though it made me miss my little bro more). He seems to like his new area better then the first. When Maddie talked to him she told him "I will never forget you while you are on your mission." It was great to him again! We then went home after we had an early dinner. Christmas was great and we are all spoiled by all the love and gifts we got from both families. Thank you for a wonderful Christmas!
Maddie has been busy with school and dance. She is dieing for soccer to start again, she misses her team. I mean it is almost a daily routine to wonder when soccer is going to start and talk about each of the girls. We just got done making her valentine's for her class party. She cut out all the leaves and she did really well. She even assembled the flowers herself, and wrote all there names on them. She is just getting so big, and I love it! I love that she is her own person. Maddie insists on buying her own clothes now, she will tell me what she likes and doesn't like, and I guess I am turning into a "mom with no good fashion sense." I knew this day would come but so soon, huh!

Olivia is my "lovey-dovey." She will come up to you and caress my face and give me a little kiss just because. She will tell me she loves me and hug me. I love it! Especially in the morning when she climbs into my bed and lays on my pillow and caresses my face until I wake up and then she kisses me. And after all the lovey-dovey stuff she gives me this big cheeser and goes back to life. I still have a momma's girl! Yeah!

The girls like to race around the house, ah my little track nerds. And this is there start postion(above). We had to take a picture of them getting "set." And when you yell go, they pop right up and take off. I guess I have them to watch too many track races. They make me laugh.

David has been done with school for awhile, yeah. He has taken up his old "homework," video games. I forgot about this, well at least he isn't staying up all hours doing school work anymore. We see him more often, which is great. And the girls love it when he comes home and they scream out for daddy and run and give him a hug. I love it!
I have been just doing little things here and there. I have been doing some major reading, I guess I really enjoy it. I just finished some good ones. "Hunger Games" and its sequel "Catching Fire" are great, I loved the second one the best. I don't know if I could wait till August when the final book comes out (AAAHHH!). Then Maddie gave me book 1 from a vampire series, since she thinks I am a Twilight Nerd (which I am!). "Marked" is the first of 6 and the 7th comes out in April. I liked it but oh my ka-ka words and "trying to hard to be a teen" stuff. The take on vampires is different and I liked the story line. I am going to finish the series, I did get hooked. I also read "Villette" by Charlotte Bronte (she wrote Jane Eyre), I really liked this book, classic old english and a surprising finish.

We are going to Disneyland in about a week, and the girls are going crazy. Literally! They are so excited to go! Well I think Olivia is excited because Maddie is. We made a chain to count down the days till we leave. We are going to be Disneyed out when we are done with our trip. So here we come!
Another big event coming up, is my sister's wedding in May. And I need to make the girls a jacket and sash for their flower girl dresses. And I need to add some orange to the white dress itself. So this has kept me busy finding the material needed and the stuff to finish it off. I hope it turns out good, these are also going to double as their easter dresses. Hope I can pull it off, wish me luck!!!

Merry Christmas to ALL!!!!!

2009-12-24T12:59:00.005-07:00

I am a proud mommy

2009-12-19T00:37:00.000-07:00

Maddie had her first dance recital last night, and I want to show everyone how good she did. After we taped her we found that the back light was on the whole time so it is a bit bright. But it doesn't take away from how cute she really was. So here she is (she is the on the far right):

Family Pictures

2009-12-11T21:09:00.001-07:00

I am so excited about these pictures. I chose this year to go with a Photographer rather than a store portrait studio. Olivia is very shy, and it turns into a nightmare just to get pictures. We only have a 15 minute slot and everyone is trying to get Livs to smile and she just wants mom. And starts to cry and then pictures are done. Chaos at its finest!
This year was a one hour shot and we took our time with everything. Maddie was the model of the day, no surprise (more than half the pictures were her!!). And Livie even smiled(a first for a stranger), and we got some good pictures of her. She warmed up to the photographer and really started to get into it. No nightmares, yeah!
Maddie gets really intense from time to time, and it shows in the pictures. She has some funny intense moments. So in our family pictures, Maddie has a new face in each one. We took some outside in the photographer's yard at first. The day we took them was the day the temperature dropped low and rained a bit after we went inside. So Maddie was freezing and had a hard time smiling. And then the few we took inside Maddie was major cheesing it. I loved the different faces she made!
The best part of the shoot is that Livie didn't cry once. She got fussy right at the last few minutes. But we really captured Livie. Our photographer even got some really neat ones of Maddie's many poses. I also have to say that David looked really handsome. I even liked myself, which its been years since I have.
I wanted to add more pictures, but the post would be very novel like long. So here are a few of our favorites (including the ones on the left side).
I really liked the photographer too. She really did a great job with us. I just wish the weather was nicer so we could take more outside. She has a studio in her basement and her yard is landscaped for pictures too. I would totally recommend her!! Her name is Rachael Collins and here is her website http://photographybyrachael.com/
The coolest part, I get all my pictures on a disc and can do anything I want with them. The copyright is mine. Well worth the money and time! So enjoy the pictures!!!!

3rd Annual Gingerbread Houses 2009

2009-12-10T10:29:00.018-07:00

Get ready for a bucket load of pictures!

This last weekend we made Gingerbread houses with Snapper Grandma. Snapper Grandpa was called to work earlier so we missed him. And Chad had to get sleep because he had to work that night. So we sent them home with the Gingerbread pieces. I will post their gingerbread house as soon I get them.

I was a bit worried about Livie not getting into it. But she was so for it. I just stuck icing everywhere and she stuck everything she could reach on her house. She even told David where to put stuff. She really worked on it longer than I thought that she would. I do have to say that Livs probably ate more candy then she actually put on her house. She had candy face! Livie's is the first house (just below all the pictures of us making our houses)!

Maddie really got creative with her house. All we did was put the house together and then we gave her a tube of icing and all the candy (David did put a window and door on it, but the rest was her). She really put a lot of time into. She even has reindeers (teddy grahams) and a sleigh in her yard. She knew exactly where she wanted her trees and snowman. She was the last one to finish. Maddie's is the second house, just below Livie's!

David took a break from his homework and have some fun times with the family. he helped Maddie and Livie. So he had to wait on spending his creativity on his home. But his turned out great too. I especially liked the candy cane with the stars on top. If you look close in the background of Livie's David is hard at work. David got his house done just before Maddie did. So it just goes to show that Maddie really got down and dirty. David's is the last one, the one at the bottom.

My mom's house looks like a church. She is such the decorator, she would do something and then change her mind and change it. My mom the perfectionist! :) She would have kept going but she had to leave for Chad. Maybe she would have beat Maddie on how much time she spent on her house. My mom's is the middle one below Livie's and Maddie's.

This year, I actually got to sit down and spend time on my house. Last year I was in a rush because Livie was a baby and I only had a few moments while she was on the ground and happy. So that was good. I had more design time, but I still don't think my compares to the others. They are all so creative, but I like mine. It's mine! Mine is the second to last one with candy canes on the corner without the stars on them.

I love to do this every year. You get to see what everyone creates. And each house is so unique, and special. I also enjoy spending the time laughing and showing what you did and looking at what everyone else is doing.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

November Update

2009-11-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

I really haven't done an update for awhile. So here we go!

Maddie is my little busy body. Even when she was sick, it only slowed her down one day. She was going strong while stuffed up and all. She loves her school, she tells me what she does all the time. And she talks that whole way home. Its fun to hear her talk about it. I help in her class once a month, and I really enjoy it because I get to know all the kids and the teacher. Plus I know exactly what they do on a daily basis. Well on this particular day, I watched Maddie and the other girls dance. Which was fun because I have never seen them do that. Maddie is very competitive (I wonder who she got that from, not me!!!!!! hahaha!), and during the warm up they were doing different moves along the lines on the floor. Each girl had their own line, and Maddie wasn't really doing anything close to what the teacher wanted. She wanted to be the first one to the other side of the room. I had to laugh! What have I given this girl!

What I have noticed about Maddie is that she isn't afraid to be who she is. I love that about her! At one point during the day, they split off into certain areas. And Maddie will do the project that she really wants to do first (sometimes that means that she will do it alone, and in my case not the project that I was helping with), and then work her way through the different areas.

Maddie also finished soccer awhile ago! I loved the team she was on. They were the pink fairies, they were pink and black. Maddie at first just ran around the ball and didn't do much but follow everyone and run circles around the ball. And that is fine, even though it was hard to watch it because I am so competitive (and I was a good parent and just cheered and watched!). But as the season went on my little girl turned into a soccer machine. She really goes after the ball, and by the end of the season she could dribble the ball from one end to the other. She even did some passing with the other girls on the team. And she hustled all over the place. She enjoyed herself too. David thinks she got her soccer skills from him, but we all know that you have to be a good runner to keep up in soccer (so we know who is responsible). Okay maybe it was him, but I can take some credit, right?

Olivia is like my little blossom! She really has come out of her shell. She has so much personality now. Even to me she has just really opened up. She is shy by nature so she doesn't really open up too much around people outside of the family. But when she gets comfortable, she turns into a little red firecracker. She is saying all sorts of things. Her new thing is to yell, "Are you ready?" And we say, "YEP!" or she keeps asking you until she gets that answer. She calls Maddie, "Maddie Lou." She adores her Maddie Lou, she follows her everywhere. She copys her at everything, and sometimes Maddie is not a fan (but isn't that what little sisters do?). She counts to five, not always in order but she does it. And I love the way she talks. She runs with a bounce to it. I can't help but laugh when she runs. She also says "I La ooo," which is I love you, when she feels like it- which is all the time.

Livie loves to do my hair. She takes a barbie brush and brushes through my hair and fluffs it. I love it when she does it too. She is so gentle! Unless she is fighting over my hair with Maddie (sibling rivalry-you got love it!), and you could imagine what I live through. But she really is a gentle little girl. She loves babies, and points them out everywhere. She also enjoys barbies, this girl thinks that Cinderella (she says 'Rella) is all of them.

David is in his last month of school! I am so excited to get more time with him. I love the weekends when he is home. He also makes it special for the girls, he gets treat trays ready for a movie. Or he lets them pick dinner out. Or we go do something. So he really makes our weekends fun. We love him very much!

I just finished "The Undaunted" the other day. I loved this book! I got on the website after I read it and saw the trail these pioneers took. And it amazed me where they went and what different trials they endured to cross the trail they took. I cried in a few spots because what they went through and how tough it was on them. I don't know if I could do such a task as these pioneers took on. The Lord really had a hand in it, I mean really had a hand it. Babies were born out there and survived, they went down and up hills that I would really have hard time walking let alone taking a wagon on them, and they really had to work hard to get to their destination. I recommend this book to anyone!!!!

Oh and we had a hot date at the beginning of November. David won tickets to the Train Concert. And I loved it! I was dancing the whole time. He even sung my favorite song from these guys, "Ordinary" from the Spiderman Soundtrack. We had to leave early to get my girls, because my mom needed go. David had to literally drag me out of the place. I really didn't want to leave, but I did. I want to go back!!! Train is sooo Awesome LIVE!!!!!

And my nerdyness came out a few days ago. I dragged David to New Moon, but he really did like it. He probably won't tell ya that, but he said it was way better then Twilight. You know I loved it! I always like a good Twilight Fix! We went with Mel(David's Sister), Shelton (Mel's Husband), David's Parents, Alissa and Matt. My mom was suppose to come with Dad, but she had a old friend she hasn't seen for years come into town and had symphony tickets. I guess my Dad was let off the hook. I loved NEW MOON!!!!!!

Hope you all have a good holiday season!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-13T20:37:00.001-07:00

Sorry this took so long to get up! I have no excuses! But it is finally up and you all get to see my cute little girls.

Halloween was fun this year, but new because we had two kids going out and trick or treating. We got cold early on so we didn't do as many this year. Livie was going strong! Maddie wouldn't take her costume off to get warmer clothes underneath them. I told her she will get cold, but I wanted to avoid a meltdown. So I just went with it!

Livie was a lion! I had pink bows in the mane from when Maddie had the costume. I went and found some colorful ribbons to add to the mane. And I loved how it turned out. She looked so cute running around in a chubby lion costume.

Maddie wore her sleeping beauty costume I made. She wears it constantly, and never wants to wear anything else. So it will get some good use! I also learned a new lesson! Even though she looked good, I am going to try and do no more dresses. At least not long ones! It is just hard to maneuver in a dress. And I believe Livie was still going because she was warm. So warm and no long dresses are going to be next years theme (which Maddie already has one idea- fairies- Livie is going to be Rosetta and she will be Tinker Bell). We will see, maybe I will have to make it out of fleece!

Even Ivan, my nephew, made an appearance as Batman. He is now 6 months old! Babies grow so fast!!!! Super cute!

And a side note: Laffy Taffy not good for my little 1.5 year old. She was miss treat eater after halloween. Hence the chocolate face, and candy stuck in hair. It came out easy, but the washing it out of her hair took a bit of time.

Enjoy the pictures! And I hope that you all had a good Halloween!

I thought Godets were hard...

2009-10-28T18:05:00.000-06:00

So when I said "I just have to..."(in the last sewing post at the bottom) I meant to say "I am going to throw a fit and yell and scream and say words that are appropriate around my kids and when they are not around try not to say bad words."

While piecing the bottom of the dress together, I didn't have much trouble until I had to sew in the godets. Which I don't think they should be called godets, they should be called [insert a bad word of choice]. Honestly I don't even know what a godet is, and I really don't care to know either. Sewing them on was not the rough part, it's the trying to line them up with another seam so the seam lines match. AAAHHH! The godet piece is pictured above. You sew two of them together and then sew them to the skirt and there are four spots for the godets to go. Maybe to give it flare! I hate godets!!!! I had to unpick a few times, and unpicking is horrible, I hate it!

Oh then the fun doesn't stop there. I hate godets, but I loath the stupid bodice the seemed to not match up with the skirt. And then to make it even more enjoyable, I kept sewing the bodice into the stitching and I had to unpick almost a billion times. And then the bodice comes to a point in the front. And that small 2 inch section (pictured above, with enough thread to withstand the hardest pulling- believe me!) took me about 3 hours to sew. 3 FLIPPING HOURS, and that doesn't count the hours I spent on it the night before. The night before was horrible!! Attaching the bodice to the skirt turned out to be a nightmare. I threw the dress down and went to bed. I wanted to burn the dress right there. I hated it!

I woke up and decided to try it again! I tried different ways to sew it together. I finally got it worked down to a small 2 inches (right at the point). And that is where the three hours started. I hate the point of the dress! It turned out good, but I still hated it. Here is a picture of the dress without the zipper:

So I was worried about the zipper since my luck changed to bad. But I went forward! And I really had no trouble with the zipper. I even had to change thread colors to match the material in the middle. And you should see the material I had to move around while I was sewing the zipper (in both pictures below).

All I had left was to do a few snaps on the peplum (which is what is between the bodice (dark pink) and the skirt (med pink). And a few hook and eyes on the collar! Those went on quick. And i am officially finished. I am FINISHED! I am so glad!

I am not going to post the finished product until I post my Halloween pictures! But the one above should give you an idea. Now I have to finish Livie's Lion costume, I am adding new ribbon to the lion's mane. Looks good, so far!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!!!!! Pictures soon to come!

Enchanted Woods @ Treehouse Museum

2009-10-22T08:15:00.006-06:00

So our little Madelyn is scared of almost anything. I wanted to do something for Halloween this last weekend (October 17th), and that was a challenge. Even Livie is scared of alot of things, of course she is only 18 months.

I came across a comment on Facebook on someone elses status update. And they mentioned the Enchanted Woods at Treehouse Museum. I looked it up and it sounded great. You can even buy the tickets online and what time to do your "tour." You can where your costume there, and many of the kids did! Maddie didn't have her's finished yet, so Livie couldn't wear hers either.

The Enchanted Woods is a tour through-out the museum. At the start they give you a halloween bag and a coloring book, and you get a tour guide- ours was Little Red Riding Hood. Then you start, and at each "station" you meet a character from a story. I don't know if the theme changes, but they told us the theme was about animals so every story was about an animal. Back to the tour, each character tells a story, like the frog princess told her story about the frog and her. They interacted with the children and asked questions. At the end of there story the character would give the kids a prize or a treat, and each one related to the story in some way. Each station went by quick, it was the perfect length to keep the kids engaged and not wandering.

Maddie loved it! She liked to hear all the stories and get all the neat stuff. In the last station, we met the "big good wolf" and Livie was so scared she was shaking. David took Livie and wrapped his arms around her and talked to her. It seemed to help her! Maddie after told us that she didn't want to see the wolf ever again.

I thought it was way fun! And would recommend it to everyone. The tour is about an hour long, and each one begins every 15 minutes. And its only on the weekend until halloween. So this coming weekend would be one of the last. It is $6.00 for kids 2-15, kids under 2 are free and. And worth every penny. I think it starts at 4 PM till 9 PMish, check the times i am not postive. Treehouse Museum

Fabulous Friday with My Mom

2009-10-20T12:49:00.003-06:00

I am going to be punching out a bunch of posts in the next little while. I have had a busy month, and thought I would break them up. I know that everyone wants to hear about my girls, but that is going to be the next post. I still need to get the pictures off my camera first. I already have these on my computer, so that is the reason for more of me, sorry to let you down.

I went to my Mom's "Fabulous Friday" night at her church in the evening, which is a much better idea than a saturday morning one. And they had so many cool things to make that I actually had to limit myself (I wish I had Maddie to help and more money). But I do have to say I didn't make them all. Since my mom is involved in the planning I got to help pick what was made. And the one I voted for (see picture above) they chose, so they gave me the one on display (I still paid the price to make it but I never had to make it). Which is good because I was busy all night.

And Olivia's letter "O" we never made either. My mom got the display, which in turn is in Livie's room now. My mom did make the "M" for Madelyn, which was a quite the project. And I am surprised it turned out looking really good. Because I was worried about it (I think I really didn't help out- my mom fixed it!) I made the countdown to Christmas blocks. Which took me awhile because I was chatting with my mom's friends and the young women who were there. I even talked to an old friend from when I was in Young Womens, and she came with her mom too. We used to play church ball together, we had some good laughs.

And the best part was a taco bar for dinner. And homemade salsa, rice, and refired beans, how could you not eat so much. And there was a ton of food, so I did go back for seconds and I wanted thirds but I controled my will with dessert. Brownies and Cake! I am such a pig, but it was good! Good thing I run, huh! I might have to run twice a day now!

Plus I spent some time with my Mom, which was fun too!!! And gotta see where I got the "talking" gene from. My mom talked to everyone and about everything. It is all part of the mom gene!

And the fun continues!

2009-10-19T16:23:00.000-06:00

I am finished with the top part of the dress and now I move to the bottom of the dress. I have attached the horsehair-braid (a plastic-netty-stretchy 1 inch strip-see picture) to the bottom of the dress. I don't know much about this, but I know it used to be made from horsehair and it is used in Wedding dresses and Formals.

Well sewing it on wasn't such a big deal. I have not had much trouble in the sewing machine part, no stupid stitches that require unstitching or my machine being retarded.

Then I realized that I need to hand sew the hem. A quick definition of a hem is the nice edges on your shirt sleeves and the bottom of dresses or skirts. Well this hem involves hand stitching. Which is not good for me, I am really slow at that. Not to mention, I have tons of knots and some I can't get out. That got really frustrating quick, but I had to keep going. I have been working on it for about 2 weeks, and I finally finished it yesterday.

I am running behind, I wanted to be done with it on the 17th, and the hemming took so long. But I think I can get it done this week. I just need to piece everything together. And then sew the top to the bottom, and a zipper. I always worry about the zipper, but I have had no problems with zippers the three other times I have done them. Well I will keep you posted when more gets done.

Alright, frustration is at hand!!!

2009-10-02T10:46:00.000-06:00

**Note: I was going to publish this post this week but I got caught up painting my dining/computer room. So its a bit late, and a new one will be posted soon, sorry!**

This collar is just kicking my bum! AAHH! I have had it! Just getting it pressed with the iron was tough enough. Since it sticks out, it took me forever to get the stitching to line up and then hold it in place to iron it. That was a fun evening of playing with the iron for a few hours.

Then lining the interfacing into it, was fun too! The interfacing was too long on the sides, so I had to trim it slowly so I don't trim it too short. But some how I managed to cut it too short. So I took the pieces that I needed and sewed them together and back to the original. Fun Stuff! But then I basted (which is hand sewn a line (see the top picture) to hold the interfacing to the material before sewing) the pieces together. You can even see the flare out in the picture above(yeah!)!!

The picture below is the collar sewn to the bodice and sleeves! I just need to sew the straps in, which will go quick.

So Far, no anger issues...

2009-10-02T10:15:00.000-06:00

...yet! I am actually sewing now! It took a month just to cut the pieces. I have sown the bodice together. Which was pretty simple but time consuming. There are a ton of pieces in this costume. It took awhile to get the right pieces together. But I did it!

The sleeves are done too (sort of)!! I always worry about the sleeves. I am not good at keeping all the wrinkles out of them and keeping them together right. But I did it! And I did it right the first time. Yeah, I am so pro now! I still need to attach the sleeves to the collar though, so its not over yet, cross your fingers for me.

I am working on the collar. This has to be the weirdest collar I have ever attempted, but it has to stick up and flare out on the sides (Aurora has interesting fashion ideas). It calls for wire, but I read on some reviews that the wire was a pain and most people just used a thicker interfacing and had no problems with it not standing up (after many washes even). Interfacing, i wish I knew exactly, but I think it is for adding weight to the material and in my case to get something to stand up (I am new at what everything is- this is the first time working with interfacing). So I am attempting to do it without the wire! We will see how it goes!

I am trying to get this done by Oct. 17th. That is my deadline, hoping sooner- but we will see. This are actually ahead of schedule, so I can have a few days of crappy sewing and get nothing done but cuss at my sewing machine. I totally plan on having one or more of those days. I don't like them, but what can I do. I better get back to it! I do have to admit having no problems makes for a boring post. Sorry guys! I think the collar might be a bit of a monster, so here to a good post next time.

My New Sewing Project

2009-09-17T09:25:00.000-06:00

I am going to try my luck at a Halloween Costume. Maddie wants to be Sleeping Beauty, and I thought I would sew her one. We will see how well that turns out. I know I will have days that things go well and other day when I want to throw my sewing machine through the window. But I hope the finished result will be all worth it.

I thought I would blog about my sewing roller coaster project. It might be boring, but you know it might even help me calm down if I had one of those days. They say writing about it helps. And then I can share in the successes and so I know I can do something right. This is my little experiment. So bare with me!

I had to trace the pattern out, because I don't dare cut this pattern. Its out of print and very authentic looking. So I want to keep it whole, maybe if I don't hate it when I am done I can make it again (unlike Livie's Easter Dress-it still sits in a drawer, way in the back and buried). That took awhile, but well worth it. I like the tracing paper I used rather than the tissue that it is printed on. It seems to hold up better when I use my tracing wheel (I have to make marks on the material so I know where each piece is to go). I have to use each pattern a few times, so its multiple uses really can wear it out, but it is holding up nicely.

Maddie is a size 4, when I measured her. But the dress I made her for easter just barely fits her. And that dress is a size 4. And it is the same brand of pattern I used, so I am going to make it in a size 5. Hopefully it will fit her fine!!! Cross your fingers for me.

I just finished cutting all the pieces out. I get to do the fun/scary part!!! Wish me luck! I first have to sew the organza to the matching satin pieces. Then I get to do the bodice! I will keep you posted how much fun this is going to be.

Updates...Updates...Updates

2009-09-14T09:20:00.005-06:00

So life has been pretty busy lately. I feel like I never sit down, unless it is Sunday. But my Mondays are also pretty boring. Which I use to make sure I have things for the rest of the week.

Maddie started preschool!!! And I got her in a combo class, which consists of tumbling on Tuesdays and dancing on Thursdays. The last 45 minutes of class she changes her clothes and tumbles and dances. She really loves it! The first day she actually threw a fit (I can laugh at it now), because she wanted to tumble again and again. The second day, I walk in and she starts to cry. I asked the teacher what happened and she told me she was just fine and nothing happened. I asked Maddie what's going on and she tells me she doesn't want to go home. And last week was better but she still trys to see if she can stay behind and do more. So I take it as a hit.

Maddie also started soccer. Her first game was Saturday, and it was an interesting game. She ran around in circles around the ball. David told me she has too much of the running blood in her, she was doing turning left the whole time (I knew she was going to be my track runner). It was funny too watch! She loves to go to soccer too! She insists on wearing the team uniform to practice as well. Good thing the other girls are the same. Its so funny to watch all the girls play and really don't know what they are doing.

Livie has been sick this past week. And just getting back to herself. She really looked out of it, and she had a croupy cough. Livs loves to read books, but her favorite are the wii game booklets. She opens the games and takes the booklets out and flips through them. You would think that she would get sick of them but nope she reads them over and over. Another thing she likes to do is climb. She climbs on the barstools and chairs and couches and anything taller than her. I worry she will fall and get things she isn't suppose to have so I really hoover around her. The barstools scare me the most, she has almost fallen a few times. But she is just my busy girl! She is a little person now, and I sort of miss my baby. But I love to watch her learn, and make me laugh!

For some reason she doesn't take a good nap when Maddie is at preschool. She is always up 30 minutes to 1 hour earlier then usual. She really enjoys Mads! They climb all over eachother, it looks like they are wrestling. But laughing there heads off, and squealing makes me just laugh with them.

David is on his last semester!!!! Yeah!!!! I am so excited and so happy that I won't feel like a single mom anymore. I might even be able to see him daily!!! I miss him! So I just need to make it through this last sememster. He seems pretty tired these days though. He really does so much for us. I really appreciate him!

I am just doing a few projects here and there. And reading the Inheritance series, I am on Eldest (#2). I also am working on Maddie's Halloween costume. Catching up on some crocheting. And trying to survive my busy schedule! But I really enjoy watching Maddie learn new things and watching Livie learn her new things also. I am so grateful for my little family!! My girls are so much fun!! And David is the best!!! What more can I ask for?

My Obsession...My Birthday Present

2009-08-21T08:38:00.001-06:00

I still have not covered all my summer fun. This has to be the busiest summer yet. But let me tell you about July 14th. I went to the....American Idol Concert. Yes I am a uber nerd and I have no problem with my obsession with it either. I accept it and embrace it.

Every year I go to the concert. And every year it is my birthday present from David. Its a month early but I enjoy every minute of it. We even flew to L.A., when they didn't come to Utah a few years back(and I had no idea I was going till we were at the airport- he blindfolded me). I know what your thinking, but you know I have to have some sort of obsession. And this is mine! Poor David has to endure this obsession and has to be dragged to this once a year concert.

Like any tickets that we buy, David always ends up winning some on the radio. So we invited Mel and Chelton to join us. Mel really liked Kris Allen, and she also told me she has all his songs on her playlist. A fellow AI nerd!!! And Chelton had to be dragged along, but he had David.

And this year was just as fun! I was looking forward to this year. I really enjoyed many of the contestants. I had no idea who I wanted to win until we got closer to it. My favorites were Kris Allen, Matt Girard, and Danny Gokey. I liked the others except Jorge Nunez (thank goodness he was the first to go).

Danny Gokey sang the normal ballads and a few songs from the show. I enjoyed him! Matt Girard was so entertaining, and he sang the Frey song "I found god." I loved it!!! He really knows how to entertain a crowd. And what new can be said about Kris Allen. He really was good!!! I loved his songs! They were all good!!! I always call him my Accoustic rocker! The higher the placing the more people cheered. Kris got the loudest reception, I mean the place just exploded. And surprisingly, they cheered louder than Adam!

There was one I was pleasantly surprised about. Scot McIntyre, he really did well. On the show I always thought he sounded like Micheal Bolton (I am not knocking on him, but its a few decades to late). Like he was in the wrong era! But at the conert he really seemed current. And I loved his piano duet with Matt Girard.

The others did well, but these were the ones I remembered the most. Oh Lil Rounds, she sang "Single Ladies" and that is a favorite of Maddie's. So we recorded it for her! And she loved it! Allison was really heavy in the rock area, but I did like it- it suited her. Adam did well, I didn't really like his songs though.

I hope that Matt Girard does well in the future and Kris Allen as well!!!! I had a great time and what a great birthday present. My voice was hoarse for awhile, but well worth it. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

I'M 29 YEARS OLD!!!

2009-08-09T10:14:00.002-06:00

August 9th at 2 AM, I was born into this world. And now 29 years later, I am sitting here and amazed that I made it this far. I am no young whipper-snapper, but I feel like there is some life still inside me. Since this year will be the eve of my 20s and I am going to embark soon into my 30s. I want to make this year count.

I have just started running again! I haven't ran since I got pregnant with Maddie, and that was almost 5 years ago. I was thinking about running again, but trying to find the time was hard. With David in school and working, I had to wake up early and only on select days. I am not the type to take my kids along with me, so that is not feasible. I finally did start, but it was after I drove for my team at the Wasatch Back Relay. I had fun driving and being up all night, but I really wanted to run the relay (I hope I can next year!). So now I have been running for a month now. My body is slowly not revolting anymore, and I am up to 12 minutes of straight running (yeah!!! go me!!!). I still have a long way to go!

I read an article in the Standard, coincidentally it was written by Steph, about what other people are doing to mark their 30th, 40th, and so on birthdays. And since next year I am going to be thirty. I got an idea!!!

My birthday present to myself next year, I want to run the Wasatch Back Relay (that is if I can be on the team) and be in shape. This makes me feel better about my 30th birthday, I am not dreading it anymore.

Here's to a great year!!!

Roaming the Wasatch Front with My Family

2009-07-17T14:45:00.011-06:00

This is our lovely ride, with some unfortunate person sitting next to Maddie, we found him and took him in- how could we not feel pity for him. I stayed in the back the whole trip, and so did Livs, except the last day. We were the back seat dwellers.

So the week before I went to Jackson. My family, Alyssa's, had our own little "stay-cation." My dad rented a mini van, so we all can fit into one vehicle. We then roamed the Wasatch Front for the week even made a trip to Logan and the Last Golden Spike Monument (so Katherine and Ivan could play for a few days). It was a family trip before my little bro went on his mission. (Just for a fair warning this is going to be a long post, but lots of pictures!)

Our first adventure took us to Garland, to pick up my sis and her little babe, Ivan. We then trucked us all in the mini van to the Last Golden Spike Monument. We left so late that we made it to the last train driving away. The visitors center was opened for a half hour longer. So we got to walk around and see the stuff. But it was just nice to be outside and roaming around. You have to excuse my lack of pictures at the monument. I just didn't want to lug the camera and a baby.

The next day we got ourselves out the door quicker. First my family came and got me, and then we made the trip to Garland. And we picked up Kits and Ivan. Well we had to wait for Kits, so we roamed around Garland and looked at what little there really was in Garland. I added a pic of downtown Garland, cruising main. Yeah! Even my mom nerded out while we were in the van roaming. Sorry, I never caught her on camera, but I tried.

After we got Kits and Ivan. We made our way to Logan. We first went to a cheese factory where I bought some yummy pepper jack cheese, exciting isn't it!!! We then hung out at the Logan temple, which was cool. Now keep in mind we had a newborn with us and so we didn't do much just hung out. We were at the temple for awhile, Kits had to feed Ivan. we did try to get an ice cream at Aggie's Ice Cream but something went down and they were closed. Then we had dinner and then made the trip back to Garland, then home. Not much was accomplished but we did it together.

The next day, I made my way down to Salt Lake and met my family at their house. Then Chad, Spencer, and I became the back seat dwellers. And Livs and Mads hung out in the middle, and the usual mom and dad up front. We went to this is the place monument. Which was pretty cool. I went there a long time ago, back when I was a kid. So it was all new to me. It was quite hot that day, but I came prepared (amazingly none of my girls got even a small sunburn from this trip). The pioneers were amazing people, and what they went through to get to this valley is nothing short of amazing. we had train rides to the different places. And we also got to roam around Brigham's Farm Home, which was cool. We even tried on hats in the candy store!

Jackson/Grand Tetons

2009-07-10T12:31:00.004-06:00

We went on a trip to Jackson at the end of May. we west with my in-laws, but they only stayed a weekend :(. But we still had lots of fun with them.

Maddie loved the Park right by the place we were staying at. She couldn't get enough of the park.

We made a trek up to Yellowstone Park. Maddie really didn't get too into it like I thought she would. She had her nose covered the whole time (except when we were in the car!). I tried to blame the smell on dad (hee!hee!), but Maddie always got upset at me for even mentioning it- she said she knew it was the geysers and not dad. We were lucky enough to be walking around Old Faithful Basin when Beehive went off right there (I have never seen it- weird since I have seen many big ones go off). My dad would love the guy who was walking up and down the trails to tell everyone that Beehive was about to go off- a fellow Yellowstone expert. we also checked out Biscuit Basin because a month before a thermal explosion (according to my dad- its rare and the last one was in the 70s) went off at Black Opal Pool. So we took some pictures for him to compare to the ones he has.

We then spent the rest of our time in the area of Jackson. Maddie and I had some Mommy/Daughter time, just me and her. we went and asw "Up." She gets so into these movies! She almosted started to cry at one point, I explained to her that its a Disney Movie and they always end happy.

We mostly just hung out with no real agenda. It rained alot so not much swimming happened. But we got some in, with Maddie loving it. Livie even enjoyed floating around, as long as someone was holding her, she did not like the floaty. We ate at Bubbas, one of our favorites there. We also had birthday cake with Bouncy Grandma.

The Grand Tetons were beautiful. I want to do more exploring next time. This was the first time in the park, I loved Jenny Lake. This trip was fun, but I was worn out at the end of it. Vacations are so different with kids, but I wouldn't have it anyother way.

BBQ Location

2009-07-06T23:19:00.001-06:00

The BBQ will be at Mt. Ogden Park. It is at about 32nd and Taylor. If you turn east on 32nd from Harrison, you'll run right into it. Hope everyone is still spreading the word....there aren't as many people RSVPing as I'd hoped. It'll be around 5:30 PM. There is a playground with it. Also, there is a lot of open ground, so bring whatever you think would be fun to do - frisbees, soccer balls, horseshoes....whatever. It'll be great seeing everyone!!

Madelyn Luiza's 4th Birthday

2009-07-06T13:48:00.003-06:00

I know this has taken so long to get to, but here we go. Maddie turned 4 in June. I can't believe my little girl is 4!!! I know that is young but I can't believe that it has been 4 years already. Four years since I held my little newborn Maddie in my arms.

She has always been a girl with a strong will and strong spirit. She has really been such a great blessing to our family. She is a very good sister to Livie, her sister. And becoming such a great helper and such a fun little girl to be around.

She loves to go to primary. If we miss it for a blessing or something like that, she really gets upset. Not sad but pouts and fusses, once she even cried. She also likes to color, go swimming, race everyone that will race her (but she has to win or she will be upset- we are working on that!- but it still makes me laugh.), play dress up, and playing with Barbies (which Livie also joins in!).

For Maddie's birthday we had cake and ice cream with the Grandparents , Spencer, and Church Grandma. We were going to do a friend party but things were a bit crazy from vacations and Spencer leaving on his mission. But Maddie loved it! Her cake was the Disney Princesses and she had to have cookies and cream ice cream(her favorite). She also got a new bike with training wheels from us. She really loves to ride it! She got clothes and toys for playing in the water.

Many Things to write but No Time

2009-07-01T14:29:00.003-06:00

I have many things to update including Maddie's Birthday, some fun things we have done, Our trips with my family and to Jackson with In-Laws, and little things! So I just have been busy busy busy and will write soon!

Summer BBQ

2009-06-20T23:25:00.004-06:00

I know I posted about this a little while ago, but it is getting closer. I put a post on the Fremont Class of '97 Facebook page. July 18th will be the fateful day. It is going to be for everyone, not just the usual clan. Since we didn't have a 10 year reunion, this, I hope, will do. I know there are probably a ton of people I don't know of that have a blog, so spread the word. It'll probably be around 5 or 5:30. I will post the location in a little while. Let me know if you plan on atttending so I can get the food squared away. There may be a small charge per family to help cover - I say little and really mean it, so don't sweat that part of it. I've already gota bunch of RSVPs on facebook, so it is shaping up to be fun. Post here or comment on my facebook page. It should be a blast!!

Wheel of Time

2009-06-20T23:20:00.002-06:00

Okay everyone, I know I'm a nerd. This is already confirmed. I just wanted to pass on some book info. For those who don't know, which is probably most everyone, I am a fantasy book nerd. My favorite by far is The Wheel of Time series. Incredible. You could say it is my Twilight, Anyway, the twelth book comes out soon. If you want a good read, check it out.

P.S. - I did put a counter on the bottom left of the page. I know....uber nerd

Livie's First Birthday!!!!!

2009-05-26T22:16:00.006-06:00

So I am a week or two late on posting this, but my motto: Better Late Than Never. We just had a small party for her with the grandparents and such. Had a simple dinner than had cake and ice cream. They gave us a free 8 inch round cake for livs. I thought it was huge for a kid to dig into but we gave it to her anyways. At first she was a bit timid with it. I think its because I won't let them dig around and get messy. But she didn't waste anytime after testing the waters. She dug and dug at it. And in true classic Livie style when she is done with it she throws it off the high chair. Luckily, we knew what she was doing and caught it before the SPLAT! She got a bunch of fun stuff from the family. Way cute clothes and a big slide and some "clipo" blocks, and she got a card from my Grandma Trimble and she has played more with that than any of the toys, go figure!

I can't believe that she is one years old. She just started talking a bit and walking a bit. I guess when they don't want to be babies they do it all at once. I don't have a baby no more (at times I miss it and other times I am relieved). She went from baby to a walking, talking, no baby food, sleeping all night (yeah that took awhile), little toddler in a matter of weeks.

She makes us all laugh with her funny ways! She has this cute cheesier smile that I bust up laughing at (pic below). I enjoy her laugh! My favorite thing is her trying to feed me all the time. Sometimes she will take any random bit size piece off the ground, food or not, and just stick it in my mouth. I guess she figures everything tastes good. She adores her sister, every morning, the first thing she looks for is Maddie. And kicks and smiles when she finally sees her. What a cute little bug she is! And she really adds to the family, what did I ever do without my little bug! And Maddie too, these two girls complete me!

Happy First Birthday Livs-A-Boo!

Once Again...

2009-05-09T00:09:00.001-06:00

Listen up everyone....here is another great blog for you to check out. She has some really awesome giveaways going on right now, so check it out!

Introducing...

2009-05-06T20:27:00.000-06:00

...my new little nephew. I finally got to see my baby nephew, Ivan Harold Stephens. He was born on the 16th of April. Livie got sick the very day Katherine (my sister) had baby Ivan. Then Maddie got it and then I got it. So I had to wait till it left. After 2 weeks I finally made the trip to Garland. Here are a few pictures:

DAVID TURNS 30!

2009-05-06T20:15:00.001-06:00

So I asked David today how it feels to be 30 and he told me he actually felt 40. So maybe we should be celebrating 40 instead!

For his birthday, we went to Braza Grill. It was suppose to be a surprise, which it was. But if you like to make him happy it is Brazilian Grub. So he figured it out before, but Maddie and I kept the secret. Which is a tough thing for me to do anyways.

Right now I feel like I ate a Thanksgiving dinner. I even attempted to eat Strawberry Shortcake when we got home. Haha! I ate half and saved it for later. Since this is David's favorite dessert, it didn't matter how full he was.

David is such an amazing Dad and Husband. He helps me out with dishes (I hate doing these), and he also helps put the kids down to bed when he is home. And on top of being a maid and dad, he works full-time and goes to school. It makes me feel like I do nothing! I love him very much and hopes his birthday was fun just hanging with the family.

P.S. I wrote this on his birthday but our computer went on the fritz and we just got it back going. So I am posting it now!

MMMMMMmmmmmmm............

2009-04-29T09:24:00.000-06:00

So listen up everyone! If you haven't checked this blog out yet....do it! There are lots of cool giveaways. This time, there is a Texas Roadhouse gift card up for grabs! Free date, people. Who wouldn't love that?

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-04-26T09:00:00.002-06:00

Today is my dad's birthday. Maddie asked him how old he was going to be, he told her 2 nickels. She turned to me and gave me this weird look and said "what is that?" I told her 55 years old. She then told me that he is really big now, like almost to the ceiling.

He is such a awesome grandpa. Maddie always asks me while we are driving down, if Grandpa will be there. My dad is an engineer for the railroad, which means he basically drives the trains. He is always on call so its a hit or miss if he is home when we come down. Maddie adores him! He gets down and plays with her, and teases her! She loves him so much!

I am so proud of my dad! He has really turned his life around. It has taken years to get where he is now, but he seems really happy now. Way to go daddy-o!

If you need a guide for Yellowstone, my dad is your guy. He knows about every geyser there is and when it last went. And where it is located and what type it is and so on. He even can tell you what the seismic activity is like there. He really pays attention to it when my family plans a trip there and brushes up on stuff and maps out his geysers that he wants to see erupt. I think this is so cool! Especially if I come up with them, I have my own personal tour guide.

I love my dad! And I couldn't ask for a better dad or grandpa! Thanks for being so freaking awesome! Have a good 55th birthday!

This is AMAZING!!

2009-04-24T23:19:00.001-06:00

Check her out!!!!

2009-04-22T22:55:00.006-06:00

Alright everyone, listen up! There is a new semi-pro blogger in town, and she is looking at getting into the big leagues! =) She's a super cool chick that's happenin' in a far out way. Sell...Party of 3 is actually doing a giveaway right now to get her name out there. Tell your friends; tell your relatives; tell your friends' relatives! Any questions.....ask her. =)

Easter Fest 2009

2009-04-18T21:30:00.000-06:00

Finally I am going to write about Easter. The Saturday before Easter was a busy day full of candy, egg hunts, food, food, and more food. We started the day off by picking Daddy up from work and heading to my parents for an egg hunt and lunch. Which Maddie had the whole backyard to herself except one egg Livie had to have this one egg (she grunted till I got it for her). But next year Maddie will have to share with Livs and Ivan.

Next we got in the car a bit late and headed to my-in-laws for another egg hunt and dinner. Which I was busy with Livie and didn't get to see it. But Maddie filled me in with how it all went down. It was chaos with 10 kids running around grabbing eggs. But Maddie enjoyed it! Livs next year will add to the Chaos, watch out! Dinner was yummy! Especially since I didn't have to make it.

Then we went home and dyed the eggs. Which was a smaller mess this year since Maddie didn't decide to stick her hand in the Orange dye to get the egg. No colored hands this year!

Easter morning I got Maddie and Livie ready for church before they looked for their baskets. Maddie showed Livie where her basket was. It took Maddie a while to find hers, but she found it in the printer cart drawer. David's passed his basket up, if it were a snake it would have bit him. I always tease him about being blind! My basket was easily found, growing up my baskets were always hidden well. It would take an hour or two to find, sometimes longer. So the Easter Bunny needs to step it up a notch with my basket. But Maddie found it before me so she found three of the four baskets this year, way to go Maddie!

Great Easter Weekend! The best part is that we spent it with Family and we also were able to celebrate Jesus's Resurrection. Which we discussed at the end of the day with Maddie.

My Little Bro..

2009-04-17T11:14:00.002-06:00

...got his mission call. We went down to my parents and had dinner and got everyone who couldn't make it on speaker phone and opened the letter. He is going to St. Louis Missouri mission, Spanish speaking. My little brother leaves on Maddie's Birthday to the MTC, June 10th. I am going to miss my Brother. He always cracks me up, with his witty comebacks. At least he won't teach Maddie Bad BYU things to say anymore. Maddie is already talking about how much we will miss him. She wants to visit him on his mission and she says that we just need to ask Heavenly Father and he will let us. She makes me smile! I just can't believe the baby of the family is going on a mission!

Easter Dresses-Sewing Project

2009-04-12T20:00:00.006-06:00

I decided to take on a big project about 2 months ago. Growing up, my grandma used to make my Easter dresses every year. I got to pick out the patterns most of the time, and pick the material. I really liked it and it meant alot to me. So I wanted to start the tradition with my girls.

It started out innocently enough. Knowing that this was my first attempt at making clothing. I knew I was going to have some problems. But I had no idea what problems I was heading for. I looked through patterns online with Maddie and we picked out the ones we liked. Well I should say the ones Maddie liked. Then Maddie and I went to the Fabric store and bought everything we needed. She picked out the material also.
I decided to do Olivia's dress first. Since the pattern said "Easy to Sew." How wrong the words really were. I call it the Dress from Hell. A bit harsh but the only words to convey my feelings in a few words. That thing took me almost 6 weeks to make and it still looked horrible. I think I about destroyed my sewing machine a million times. I loved the whole dress except the neck, the neck never sat right. My favorite part was the rick rack at the bottom. I finally quite trying to fix the neck and let it be until I got Maddie's made (and then so many hours were spent on the neck after Maddie's-ugh).

Maddie's on the other hand went like clockwork. I only got upset at the sewing machine once. What a difference these two patterns were. I am proud of my work, but I see mistakes. But I loved Maddie's dress, and it only took half the time to make hers. And it fit her perfectly. One big reason I got it done so fast was I was running out of time and had to work double time.

I have to say the hardest part for me was being a perfectionist. I am no perfectionist! My mom told me I would be fine if I just acted like one. And so I did, I unpicked so many stitches and so many times I tried to figure a way around the unpicking but I still unpicked. I called my mom constantly for help and it seemed almost nightly. After I finished the dresses I felt good. All the frustrations left me and it was replaced with pride of my work. They aren't perfect but I loved how they turned out.

March...What can I say?

2009-03-24T15:33:00.005-06:00

Wow March has been a fun one. Busy with all sorts of things to do almost every weekend and then we got struck with sickness. But as you can see we all survived.

David had spring break this last weekend. And we enjoyed him home, but he had some kind of stomach bug that kept him down and missed work also. Too bad! Maddie didn't mind though, as long as her dad was home with her she was happy. He is now back to school and working, maddie is always asking me if dad is coming home soon. He also won tickets to Monsters Vs. Aliens movie pass to the commons this last weekend (he wins everything- I got a massage last month). He went with Mads and my little bro and my mom (I was suppose to go but Livs got sick). It was even 3-D!

I have been running around! I swear I had something to finish each week. My sister had her baby shower, which I was the man power (my mom provided the money). So I got it all put together- I even made the invites (no pics sorry). That is big for the not-so-creative one! We don't play the silly games , so I just had to get the food ready. I also had to get a bunch of blankets done for my sister and my neighbor who is having twins. I also had a bright idea to make easter dresses for my girls. After many nights of un-picking and figuring out different ways to destroy my sewing machine- Livvie's dress is done (I'll post pics when I get both of them done). Maddie's is underway, I have three weeks cross your fingers.

Maddie is being the normal 3 year old self. She is throwing me curve balls all day, and I think I handle most of them alright. But she is also a little sponge. The other day I was playing Mario Kart Wii and I was doing a time trial. She asked me "why the freak are you doing that crap?" And I have to admit I do say freak and crap alot, so it is me! But I had to laugh- my little clone! We have been learning to write and she is getting so good at it. Each day we do it her writing looks better. I was looking back and it really has improved. I am so proud of her. She is also a puzzle maniac. She puts together all her puzzles at least once a day (she has 7 puzzles and two of them are 63 small pieces). I know when she is putting them together because she is in her room just singing primary songs to her self and telling herself stories. She also goes to the ball about 3 times or more a day. I can't go because I am not single, I have my own prince (I love my prince). Thats what she tells me. She goes to the ball with her prince (mickey) on her couch (her coach) -pic below.

Livvie is my little curious 10 month old. She has been down the last few days (my arms are in pain and sore). But today she has been her old self most of the time. Trying to figure anything and everything out. She still won't let me read to her, but she will talk to herself while she is flipping the pages. I guess she doesn't need anyone to tell her a story she knows it already (must be the red hair). I got her pictures done a few weeks ago, and she was so mesmerized by the camera that she never smiled. She also doesn't smile for strangers even if we are there trying to help make her smile. My little observant baby! They did capture her little personality. She is also at the stage where our food is looking good. She has put a stand to not eating baby food at lunch. I don't know why lunch, but she has to eat lunch with Maddie and eat "big human food." That is what Maddie calls her finger food. At dinner I have to share some of my food with her or she will go on strike until she gets a bite.

My little girls sure keeps me on my toes, but they are so much fun! When they play together they make eachother laugh. Maddie can really get Livs to laugh hard. I can't help but laugh with them. My two little blessings! Being a mom is awesome!

Summer BBQ

2009-03-08T16:44:00.002-06:00

That's right!! It's been a few years, but it is time for the semi-annual get together. All you Fremont crew, we will be having the BBQ July 18th. Leave it open. If you are out of town, come into town. It'll be great to see everyone again. I'll pass along more info as it gets closer. If you know of anyone, pass it along. It actually would be cool to get a bunch of people there. Maybe even some type of mini reunion. Anyways, spread the word, and I'll post a time and location later.

A side note about Livs

2009-02-19T15:04:00.002-07:00

I just wanted to add. I went to the doctor's for Livs on Monday and she is chunky and really long. She weighs 19 lbs 11 oz (75th percentile) and 28 3/4 inches (90th percentile). She weighs 3 lbs more than Maddie did at this age and 3/4 inch longer. I was amazed! My chunky lurp!

Update Time

2009-02-11T22:38:00.005-07:00

I have not done an update in about a million years. Well at least a month-ish. I feel like I have been just trying to survive this past month.

First of all Livie is almost 9 months old, and she just learned to clap and shake her head no. And I have tried to read books to her, which when Maddie has always loved to have me read to her since I about 6 months. So her not willing to sit and be read to is abit different. But she is does do something I like to watch her while I attempt a read. She take the pages and turns them then turns the book over then flips the pages back. Its seems to me that she is trying to figure the book out. Which I just laugh at. She loves her sister, and squeals whenever she sees her and smiles from ear to ear. Its way cute.

Maddie is learning her handwriting. She got a handwriting program from Snapper Grandma (my mom!) and we have had a few days off but we are plugging away. So she loves to do it! She is such a great sister. She sometimes has to be checked but most of the time she is very good with Livs. She can make Livs laugh at everything and anything. I really don't know how she does it, because I can't get her to laugh at me as much. She loves getting big. She is always talking about how she is big now and goes to primary. And sings all the songs that she learned in primary during the week, the first time she did it I got all teary because my baby is in primary now (I wonder what kindergarten will do to me). We just got her a booster seat and she tells everyone how big she is that she has a booster seat. She quotes movies all the time (mostly Disney or others like that but today we watch Madagascar 2 in the morning and at dinner and bath time she was quoting almost the whole thing.). She is a mini David! Speaking of David, the other day we were making a valentine's box for David's work and she told me, "Mom did you know that Dad is my best boy ever."

I have been giving them a bath together for a few weeks and they are hilarious together. The first time they drenched the whole bathroom, splashing. And the second day it was drenched again. But it gets bad once in awhile. But they just laugh and splash away. It is so cute!

David is plugging away with school and work and I really don't know how he does it all and still is alive today. I really appreciate what he does and feel like I don't do enough. But I know this is the last leg of school (well last year). And with all his load of work and school, he still finds time to have a little obsession playing mob wars on facebook (O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D!).

And to make my days go by better, my obsession, American Idol has started! Yeah! I am a uber-nerd with American Idol.

And that is a bit of an update! Happy Valentines to all! And here is a video of the first bath together (it is a bit shaky but I was trying not to get too wet!)

Trying the Brazilian Way

2009-01-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

So we made this yummy meal a week or two ago. Whenever I go to a Brazilian Restaruant, I always eat about a billion bacon-wrapped chickens (yum!). And I decided to try it out myself. And I just took about 1 lb of chicken and cut it into big chunks, sprinkled it with garlic pepper seasoning, wrap a 1/2 a strip of bacon around it and put it on a kabob. I filled the kabob up and then put it on my foreman. Then I repeat till I run out of chicken and bacon. They cook quick and are so very yummy. And there you have it, a yummy quick meal. (These pictures I borrowed from and internet search, but they look the same)

And I also experimented with making another one of my Brazilian favorites, coxinhas. These are so good! When I was down in Brasil there was a bakery down the street from our hotel and they had the best pasteries to eat. Among my favorites was a coxinha! Yum! David brought this recipe home one day and I tried it. A coxinha, for those of you who don't know what it is, it has chicken (cooked in garlic and onion) and sometimes cheese (I used cream cheese because we don't have the cheese that was in the ones I ate in Brasil) on the inside and surrounded with that is a soft bread (made from flour and chicken broth- homemade broth is the best). And they are in the shape of a teardrop. The first few were a bit hard to shape but I figured it out and I loved them and got better at them, plus I felt good that I made such a yummy snack. And the best part of all- Maddie ate almost more then I did, if Maddie eats it that means its good.

I also tried it with Rice Flour (my brother has celiac disease- can't have gluten) in place of the wheat flour. And wow they were easier to shape than the original ones and tasted the same. So a sucess!

My next experiment is to try a sonyo. I just need to find the recipe. And I just thought that I would share the chicken recipe because it is so yummy!

My Big Sewing Projects

2009-01-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

Normally I don't post these things but I am so proud of my newly acquired sewing skills. I am slowly building my projects up. My first was sew blankets for corcheting, which was tough at first but now it can be done in a few minutes. So I felt I needed a challenge, and I want to start making something for my girls for christmas each year. Last year i made a Strawberry Shortcake blanket for maddie.

And this year I made Maddie fleece pillowcases for her new pillow ( she picked out the material at the store for me- Cinderella, of course, her obsession!). I know, I know- wow pillowcases they are the easiest things out there. But I want to build my confidence up, not swear at my sewing machine trying a tough project. And they turned out amazing (I made two). I am proud of my work.

Now this last week I decided to try another project. Which Livie was growing out of her fleece sleepsacks (store bought), and the next size up is cotton. I don't want to switch to cotton till it warms up. So I have been looking at buying new ones for the next couple of months. And I really can't afford 2-3 sleepsacks at $20-$25 (some more) a piece. So I got online and found a pattern/instructions. And tried it out! And I made two sleepsacks for $10 (fleece was on clearance and zippers were 50% off). So that made me feel frugal on the money side, and like a crafty on the sewing side. And I never have done zippers before, and even though they aren't perfect they do what they are supposed to and my second time trying is even better.

So in conclusion, I would just like to say I have made mistakes and had to unpick some parts of the sleepsacks, the pillowcases were a sinch- no unpicking there. And consulting my mom about each project and having her walk me through it before I attempted it (thanks mom!). I feel like I am getting better on my newly budding sewing skills.

Christmas

2009-01-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

So this took like three weeks for me to post, but I have no excuses except my life is in fast forward and I do this as I can. Plus I am also not very smart, we got most of christmas on video and only a few pictures. I am just not thinking anymore, must be the mom gene.

Well we had a good christmas. Maddie came in yelling "Santa came, Santa came." She did this at first light, I just got done feeding Olivia, and was hoping to get 20 more minutes. But we got up with her and Livie never fell back asleep so she joined in on the festivities. Which was fun.

Maddie had to help everyone open their presents. She got some clothes from us, and I made her a few cinderella pillowcases for her new pillow- from Mom and Dad. Santa gave her a computer keyboard from fisher-price, wii game (wii music), and her stocking had all the normal stuff- hygene products (tradition from growing up- once again must be the mom gene!) and a few treats (she is already wired so we toned down the treat department). Livie got some toys and clothes from mom and dad and Santa. Her stocking had fruit puffs, socks, and other necessities.

David got a beard trimmer (which his old one died three days before christmas, Maddie was with him when it died and she told him that it will be okay just wait till christmas- she can't keep a secret), and Homer slippers (which he killed his other ones and really missed them, so I had to replace it). Santa brought him his stocking with all the hygene necessities also, with a memory card for his MP3 player. Also he got a star wars wii game.

I got a small MP3 player to clip on me, so I can wear it around. I also got a wii game, big brain academy (is santa telling me that I need to get smarter). Santa also brought the family, which I was surprised about myself, Wii Fit (MP3 player comes in handy for this), Apples to Apples, big fuzzy King Size blanket, Dvd player for the car (since my kids do not like to be in their carseats longer than a trip to the store- this will help when we go to the grandparents, and we won't hear the crying- not livie yet but when we turn her around she can stop crying also).

We stayed home most the day on Christmas (which is our first year doing this). We will not drive all over on christmas. Christmas Eve we spent with my family and visited David's family on Christmas day. A nice relaxing day, no missed naps and no big melt downs (well not as bad melt downs as if we went all over).

Oh and the gift that trumped them all, which is fun for the kids but where the heck can we put it in our house. A Jumper with a bunch of balls. But we found a spot in Maddie's room. The pictures will show you what I mean. They love this, Livie likes it for a minute but she likes the balls.

Gingerbread Houses

2008-12-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

I promised to have this up sooner, but I did it finally. For family home evening we made our own gingerbread houses. We invited Dave's parents to join in the festivities. What fun homes we made. Here we are at work:

My little house looks like a very colorful home. This picture was taken pre-Maddie fun (the photo with all three homes is after maddie got to it). Maddie thought my front yard need her touch. Which I had to go and get Livvie ready for bed, so she helped me.

Maddie's home has its own style. She really got into her house. She spent alot of time on it and did a great job. She made it her own.

Bouncy Grandma's house had a licorice bow in the front and lattice roof (much better than mine):

Bouncy Grandpa's house has a red chimney and well put together home (he had a bit of trouble at the start, but it all came together at the end):

This is the back of his home, look at the window in the back:

Now I saved David for last, because he was the decorator of the night (his dad was a close 2nd). He really worked hard on it:

And if you look close he even made a christmas tree,inpsired by grandpa, in the front yard, next to his beautiful walkway:

It was tons of fun! And i believe that bouncy grandma and grandpa had fun, I know that they even have theirs under a spotlight (grandpa seemed very proud his). Here is David's, Mine (after Maddie), and Maddie's finished:

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Remember

2008-12-20T03:22:00.002-07:00

I know I have posted about it before, but this is the coolest blog/website. Everybody needs to check it out. It's inevergrewup.net. Right now, they are giving away a flip ultra video camcorder. She usually has a drawing every week. You guys are missing out if you get in on this!!

Time for an Update

2008-11-24T13:03:00.010-07:00

David just registered for school for the spring and told me that he has only three more semesters left of school. Yeah for him and us! Hopefully we will get more time with him. David went to the Utah/BYU game and he came back with a very hoarse voice (he sounds like Barry White!- I laugh every time he talks)- GO UTES! I had to listen to it on the radio, I made Olivia cry a few times because I got a little loud when Utah got interceptions or touchdowns. So I got a play by play of the game when David got home.

Olivia just had her 6 month checkup. What a surprise to me. She weighs 17lbs and 7oz, and is 27 inches long (I have a chubby long baby- if that is possible- she does have a few rolls). She is creeping everywhere and loves to see what she can find, this little girl is obsessed with paper. I think that I have picked the floor up but no she always finds something that I have missed. That girl has radar.

Maddie just keeps me on my toes, she got a pen/highlighter and decided that her wall needed add her own touch to the polka dots on her walls. But that was a easy taken care of. I just painted over the pen. I also have been teaching her numbers. She can count to 20 (sometimes she forgets 15) and recognizes them also. I have been teaching her the 20s but I usually have to remind her with one number and then she remembers the rest. I also have taught her how to write her first name, she really picked that up quick. I was amazed how quickly she learned her name, we are just starting her last name. She loves to read books and we just got a new book from the Cheerios box, which I think she has it memorized already (I like the book alot myself). The book is "When Dinosaurs came with Everything."

I have just been home trying to keep myself afloat. I had a break the other day, which does not happen much, to see a movie (see the last post). Olivia is an uber mommy's girl, she is miserable if I am not with her. She doesn't eat well or take a bottle when I am gone. So my breaks don't happen often and if they ever do they aren't long. But its okay I know that this won't last long (they grow up so fast), but sometimes I do get jealous.

I am excited for Thanksgiving and can't wait for snow. I wonder why we haven't gotten any yet! This is one of my favorite holidays (because eating food is one of my hobbies- I love a good meal!) Hope you all have a good holiday and eat plenty! Gobble Gobble!

Last two pictures are more from our photo shoot, photographer Maddie.

Twilight Nerd!

2008-11-22T14:50:00.002-07:00

So this morning I went to Twilight with my mom. I was so giddy, I really was! And the movie was so good. I thought it kept with the spirit of Twilight the book (does anyone want to go, I'll go again.). I want New Moon now! I am such a nerd! The best part is that I got a small 2 hour break and got to be me (but I did miss my little ones a tad).

A Long Update

2008-11-07T12:42:00.004-07:00

I don't know when I am going to get used to how fast my days go. I feel like we were just at the end of summer and now it is almost Thanksgiving, and then the day after that is Christmas. I really feel that things are going by at a blur.

Halloween was great! We went to my parent's to go trick or treating, something about Ogden just doesn't appeal to me at night. She loved it and wanted to go forever. I was retarded and forgot to take pictures of them. I was driving all over too, so I will get copies of them from my in-laws and parents and post them later. I really don't know where my brain was.

Olivia is almost 6 months. I can't believe she is that old. I feel that I need to push a pause button and take things slow. She is rolling everywhere, I am not kidding. I will leave the room to grab something and she is facing the other way and across the room in less than a minute. She laughs all the time, I love it when she laughs. She tends to laugh at almost everything Maddie does, she loves to watch Maddie and she wants everything that Maddie has (figures!). She is a very happy baby!

Maddie is a typical kid. She would rather play than clean. She doesn't think eating is important. And candy is a food group. And constant energy high! She wears me out just watching her. She is a great help though. She likes to make Olivia laugh!

I laugh now, but I almost killed Maddie 2 weeks ago. She thought she would help me out with stenciling polka dots on her new bookcase and painted bright green all over the bookcase and all over the carpet. It took me all day to get the paint out of the carpet. I was so mad I just wiped all the paint off the bookcase and the dots that I already did and just put the books in the bookcase (I can't finish it!). BUt she survived the day without a scratch.

So Olivia learned to say MaMa. I know she doesn't know what it means. When Maddie was a baby she learned DaDa before MaMa. And I would always tell David that she means that she wants her dad. Now it has backfired on me, now I get the, "she wants you, not me." That is my luck!

I hope it snows soon! I really would like snow to accompany this cold weather. My philosophy is "If it is cold then it should be snowing." Plus I love snow, so it always is good to have snow.

David is just doing the school and work thing like usual. And he also goes to the Utah football games. He went to one last night with a friend and he came back with a deep raspy voice, which is normal. And he gives me a play by play of the game. Which is a good thing, because he gets so excited while he tells me what happens. I laugh at him!

Grandpa Trimble

2008-10-08T08:00:00.002-06:00

Today is my Grandpa's Birthday! He past away at the end of August. I wanted to write a tribute to him, as a birthday gift to him. I want to share a glimpse of the grandpa I knew and loved.

My grandpa was good with wood. He could make anything with wood. He made many things. I had a barbie house he made for me and Katherine, a table and chairs when I wanted to play house, a dresser that my girls use now, shelves in almost every room in my house, and countless other items. I am always reminded by the genius he was when he created anything from wood.

As soon as the weather turned nice we would head to my grandparents and have a BBQ. We would always have strawberries and other fruits along with chips and occasional pastrami for the hamburgers. It was like thanksgiving, eat as much as you could because it was so good. Grandpa made the best hamburgers in all the universe. I remember he would always ask what cheese I wanted, orange or white (Sounds silly but its part of the memory!). I still have not found anything remotely as amazing as his hamburgers.

He never liked strawberries because of a childhood experience with strawberry ice cream. But we always had strawberries at my grandparents. I always tried to get Grandpa to eat some. Katherine and I would tempt him to try the strawberries and say that we knew that he wanted some deep down inside. He would make this sound that was a cross between kaka and ssshhh (hard to put into words). And we would bust up laughing.

Saturday mornings when I spent the night, we would watch Saturday cartoons while we ate the yummy breakfast Grandma made us. He had one requirement, that we watched Looney Tunes and then I had free reign of the rest of the time. He especially liked the road runner and wiley coyote. Good Times! So much to remember and hold dear!

Thank you Grandpa for being such a great Grandpa. I miss your smile and your humor. I wish I could have been there more at the end, I tried to be. I will keep you close in my heart. Happy Birthday! Not a day over 23, right?

twilight

2008-10-03T12:07:00.001-06:00

Check it out

2008-09-29T00:40:00.002-06:00

Alright, I know I posted about it already, but for everyone who has not seen it, check out inevergrewup.net. They have some great ideas and fun stuff to do. Also, they have a giveaway that always has great stuff.

A bit of an update!

2008-09-22T14:26:00.003-06:00

I have a few more minutes to spare. Olivia is 4 months now, and we took her in for your well-child thing. And she weighs 14 lbs 9 oz (We took her to the doctors two weeks ago because we thought she had an earache, and she weighed 13 lbs 10 oz- she gained a pound in 2 weeks- wow!), and is 24.75 inches long. Maddie was an inch longer then Livvie at 4 months but Livvie has maddie by a pound. She is a bit chubby and long! Surprised me! And she has learned to roll over, now I really have to start watching her.

Maddie is just being a curious little girl. She decided this morning to find a pen and write on her face, hands, and tummy. I was so upset with her, because I didn't have time to clean her before going to the doctors in the morning. AHHHH! But it was kind of funny! This is a usual thing for her, she is so curious about how things works and "cause and effect" things. Real quick Maddieism: She was running around the house and she wanted me to cheer her on, so she said, "Mom, cheer me out!"

David is just going to school and working, and trying to get "my jobs" for him done on the weekend. He is so busy! I just am trying to survive each day as it comes. I enjoy it and I some days wish for it all to go away. I can't really plan anything because I just take it as it comes. But my two little girls are a great blessing, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

So there is my quick update of my family. Hope all is well with everyone.

My Obsession, and my excuse!

2008-09-22T14:17:00.003-06:00

So I have a little obsession that has been consuming my every moment after the kids go to bed (which also explains why I have not written anything for my blog). I have been reading, well I finished, the twilight books. I loved them all! I really liked the fourth book! I went to bed mad a few times, but I got over it after I read more later.

I was reading them every minute I could but I really was a bit negligent of the kids. So I forced myself to read only when they went to sleep for the night. And that really didn't help either because I was thinking about what happened and what will happen the whole day anyways. I even, I hate to admit, dreamed about them the whole time I read them. I am such a dweeb!

I am rereading the books because I was so caught up in the action that I missed details, I would have a book read in 2-3 days (mind you I only read 2-3 hours at night) and feel that I missed the small things. So now I have started over, and I also read midnight sun (till it ran out!) right along with twilight. It was cool to read what they each were thinking.

I just wish that she would finish midnight sun, stupid person who ruined it for all of us. Well just thought I would add another excuse to my list of why I have been bad with our blog!

2008-09-09T09:45:00.000-06:00

August was a Blur

2008-09-03T10:24:00.003-06:00

So much has happened in August! Wow it has been awhile since I posted! Well first of all it was my birthday on the 9th, I am 28 now. Ahhhh! Not a young pup no more! My mom's birthday was right after mine (54 years old! much older than me, that makes me feel better- j/k). Well then after that my brother, Spencer, got his eagle. And then a few days after that my grandpa passed away. And to end the month, my little girls got a cold. Yeah! Nothing like fussy children, but we are getting better now.

So that is a quick update of our family! Here is a picture. More soon!

Here are a few short videos we got

2008-07-22T14:11:00.002-06:00

David Archuleta

2008-07-22T14:10:00.000-06:00

Michael Johns

2008-07-22T14:05:00.002-06:00

Syesha

Idol Dorks

2008-07-22T07:00:00.011-06:00

Yes, it is true....we are Idol dorks. Lyss all but makes an advent calendar counting down to when Idol starts. On Monday, July 14th, we went to the concert. She was very excited to see her "hottie" David Cook. It was a very good show. We ended up with some pretty good seats. It was a given that we were smack dab in the middle of what seemed like 10,000 screaming girls, all there to catch a glimpse of David Archuleta. He wanted to talk to the crowd, but seriously had to wait like five minutes because all the girls were trying to hoarse in that short amount of time. It was insane! Very good show, though. I (David) forgot the extra battery for our camera, so it died right at the end before I could get video of David Cook. Lyss was not happy with that!

Nerds at the concert

Carly Smithson (David's favorite)

Jason Castro (Maddie's favorite)

Kristi Lee Cook

Syesha Mercado

David Archuleta (Utah's newest celebrity)

David Cook (Alyssa's favorite)

Zoo Day!

2008-07-22T06:15:00.005-06:00

A couple weeks ago, we went to the zoo with David' work. It was a a lot of fun, but I thought we were all going to melt! We were there for about six hours. Poor Olivia was miserable! She did not sleep very much, so she was cranky. Maddie, on the other hand, had a blast. She was so bummed when we had to leave.

Maddie and David on the carousel

Maddie and her eagle (she collects the magnet animals)

Olivia and her new sun hat

The must-have turtle shell photo

I just wanted to share a few quick maddieisms

2008-07-18T20:37:00.004-06:00

On our way to Sacrament after Nursery,
she asked me: "Are we going to Snackrament?"
I just laughed and told her yeah! (that is my favorite part, too)

While playing the bowling game on the wii, she bowled a strike, and she jumped up and down and said "Look mom and dad I got a stripe!"

When David was building shelves in our basement, Maddie was in nursery and her teacher asked her where wood comes from. She got real excited and told her that wood came from the basement.

Father's Day

2008-06-17T16:47:00.002-06:00

Maddie made this tie for her dad in Nursery today. Which I thought was so cute! I just wanted to show everyone Maddie's Tie for Father's Day.

Madelyn's 3rd Birthday

2008-06-17T16:31:00.002-06:00

I wanted to do a seperate post for Maddie's birthday. We had a small party with the grandparents to celebrate her 3rd birthday. She got a lot of neat things. She got her own digital camera (so now she will leave ours alone), chalk/dry erase/crayon coloring esal, crafting kit, money to buy clothes, a few puzzles and a puzzle game (she likes to match the different objects in the game), and chutes and ladders. She wanted strawberry shortcake (which is also her dad's favorite cake too) and Strawberry ice cream. So you can tell what maddie likes to eat. She also wanted the Disney Princesses for her theme. As we were putting out the table cloth she told me, "look mom, Ariel is human." I laughed, and I know that she meant that she was not a mermaid anymore. But I thought it was funny!

we were sitting at the table after church eating lunch, and you can tell she was thinking about something. And then it looked like something just clicked in her head, and she said, " I am three now!" For so long she has been telling everyone that she will be three on her birthday, and she finally realized that it was her birthday now. I thought that was cute! It amazes me how fast she has grown, my little Maddie is three, wow time flies.

Maddie makes me laugh with all the funny things that she says daily. She sure brings alot of sunshine in our life. She is a true blessing to have in our family. And she is such a great big sister.

An Update!

2008-06-17T16:05:00.003-06:00

Well it has been about a month since our last post. And Olivia has made it through her first month. And things are starting to get a bit easier. Now all we have to do is get her to sleep through the night and a more predictable schedule.

Having two kids is quite the change in life. It is like when you have your first and the shock of all that needed to be done for one kid. And now I feel the same, finding a way to balance between the two kids and get other stuff done. But I do enjoy having both, and I really don't regret it but it is an adjustment.

Madelyn is doing better than I thought that she would do. She has a few times where she pushes her limits, but she really loves Olivia. She wants to help in everything that we do with Olivia. She always asks to hold Olivia or pat her head or hold her hand.

I myself am really running on empty almost everyday. But you know somehow I make it day after day with little sleep (and I love weekends- David is home). If you know me, no sleep is not possible for me, so I have to say that I am doing well for my situation.

I love the summer. All the BBQs and family get-togethers are what I love. I know it won't be the same in some ways, but I really love to get out and see everyone.

Olivia Carol Girardo

2008-05-19T21:11:00.004-06:00

She was born Thursday, May 15th at 7:34 AM. She was 7 lbs 9 oz, 20 in long!!

Mine and Maddie's first 5k

2008-05-19T20:32:00.004-06:00

So, we put a team together to run in the Race for the cure 5k. I didn't think much of it. Come on, after all, it's only 3.1 miles! Who can't do that?!? I set about diligently training. First, you have to train mentally. You don't want to go in to this kind of thing doubting yourself! Once that was done, I.....well, that was really about it. I don't really have a lot of time to run, so it was pretty much cold turkey. It wasn't too bad, but I thought my ankles were going to fall off the next morning. That probably would've been okay, because my quads and hammies were right there with the ankles. I was all but calling the insurance company to see if I could approved for a jazzy! Maddie thought it was cake. She really didn't even break a sweat. Fat kid, on he other hand, was dead!!

Me and Mads

Evonne gettin' pumped!

Landon looking Rico Suave

Tammy lookin' great

At the two-mile mark!

Girardo Look-alike Meter

2008-05-14T08:55:00.002-06:00

So I was going to do this forever ago, and just did it now. I was curious to see who she looked the most alike. But apparently she has got a good part of both of us.

Maddie and Dad's Next Hot Date!

2008-05-08T21:29:00.001-06:00

Maddie is Excited About her New Room

2008-05-07T11:14:00.006-06:00

We just finished Maddie's new room and moved her in. Which she is way excited about! I just thought I would show a few pictures, since I think it turned out cute. I was nervous about it, but I like it. We are just getting things ready for Olivia now. So this is probably the last post till she comes! Hope all is well!

Almost There!!

2008-04-20T14:57:00.003-06:00

Easter Fun

2008-04-01T12:30:00.006-06:00

I just got time to put up some easter pictures. Our digital camera is being fixed, so we had to use our video camera (which is not the best quality, but what can you do). Well Easter was great, Maddie really liked the whole easter egg hunt thing.

We dyed eggs in the morning so Dad could be there since he works evenings. So that is why her hair is almost bed head. She had so much fun dyeing the eggs. She had to color on each of the eggs. Each egg at the beginning had to be a sesame street character. Then she just named the eggs. She loved it! And was not happy when the eggs ran out. I am posting a few pictures through out this post of the egg-dyeing time.

The day before easter we went to my parents, Trimbles, for a hunt. Which was just Maddie (the only grandchild)! After we found the eggs in the yard she wanted to find them again. She was more into the finding then what was in them. She had lots of fun! We then just spent the day with them.

Easter day was a bit chaotic in the morning. The bunny came and hid her basket and some more eggs (since she loves to find eggs). She was cute! She really didn't know where to look for her basket, since we saw if before her we gave her some clues. But she was real excited when she found it. The easter bunny left her a bunch of candy to share with mom and dad, coloring book, backyardigans DVD, stickers, peeps (yum!), and a few odds and ends.

After that I made our traditional "eggs al a golden rod." Which is a breakfast that my dad's side of the family has made on easter for a few generations now. It isn't extravagant, just white sauce with cut up egg whites from the hard boiled eggs. And you put that over broken up bread, then smoosh a yolk through a wire colander over the top. I love it, and so does David, but Maddie just wanted the bread part. We will have to see if she likes this tradition or not. But then we went to church, and amazingly enough Maddie let me put her hair into pigtails (which is not a common thing- I have learned not to fight over hair it is not worth the time or the frustration of trying to get her to hold still.). But then the rest of the day we just hungout together, which was nice.

We went to David's parents, Girardos, the following Saturday, March 29th, for another easter egg hunt and a dinner. She was way excited the whole day to go for another egg hunt. She enjoyed the hunt, dad helped her get the eggs. Since it is a mad rush to get the eggs. But she liked it, afterwards we just had dinner with everyone. So you could say we had a fun easter.

Just as a side note, I am about a 1.5 months from being done, I am on a countdown now. I am ready to get this pregnancy done with. I want to sleep on my tummy again and get comfy again, and get the first 6 weeks under my belt.

Hope everyone had a happy easter.

Update of Last Month

2008-03-03T14:43:00.004-07:00

It has been awhile since I have updated our blog. This last month has been a very filled one. Not of any importance! Just a bunch of sickness and running around doing errands. We all had the stomach flu 2 weeks ago. Yuck! That was tough! We were suppose to go to a mission farewell for my sister's friend (who is like a brother, we adopted him!). But instead we were up all night long with throw-up.

And then we are smart and have to get both our vehicles registered in the same month. And the last snow storm, my windshield developed a crack and it was on the drivers side, which means we had to replace it. I really don't understand it but I have to always get my windshield replaced. I can't go more than 2 years without a windshield problem. But we didn't have any thing else. So that is good!

David received a renewal in the mail for his drivers license. I thought I should look at mine. And mine has lapsed! Yeah! I called the place and they told me since it lapsed for more than 6 months I need to take the written test again. I wish I would have looked.

We did have some good things happen though. We are moving stuff out of the third bedroom. So I can get it ready for Maddie. I am going to stencil polka dots, varied sizes, and flowers around her room. I am excited to do that. Then we will get the nursery ready for Olivia after. So that will be a fun project!

Maddie is learning to potty train. She is in Underwear! Yeah! She is doing very well with that. And she loves to go potty! It is like a party every time. She also gets a sticker each time. We have been trying to get her interested for a few months now. But it just happened, she started and hasn't looked back since (we have a few accidents, but that is not a big problem). And we also put her bed on rails, it used to be on the floor. She is growing up way too fast! I really enjoy her, but I would love to slow the growing up down.

Yesterday I wanted to put her in sweatpants after church. She told me, "Mom that is totally not awesome!" We thought it was funny!

I found a picture of our snowman, that I never put up. So here is a picture of Maddie and her snowman. The birds ate the carrot and chocolate eyes within hours of building it. And she was so mad at the birds. I thought it was cute!

My Big Ultrasound

2008-02-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

We have just had our target ultrasound. Which we were able to bring home a couple pictures of our little Olivia. It was fun to see how big she has gotten since last month. And to see some 3-D pictures of her. Here she is:
This is what David calls "The Beast Look:" (As in Beauty and the Beast, when he changes into a human and looks at Belle)

These are her feet:
And this is a profile of Olivia:

An Update

2008-02-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

Well our computer is not fixed and we can't pull anything off our hard drive yet. But hopefully we can figure something out.

Maddie is just a handful of fun. She is so active that I get worn out just watching her. The other day, Olivia was kicking around and I wanted Maddie to feel. She put her hand on my tummy and Olivia delivered a hard kick. It scared Maddie! Now she won't touch my tummy, unless to give it a hug. She always asks me if Olivia is moving or not.

I am about 6 months along. I am more than half way, yeah! I have now just started to fit into Maternity. I have been in-between for awhile, I called it my fat roll. But now things are starting to fit. Olivia is a mover not much of a kicker/puncher. But when she does kick/punch, man she sure delivers a hard one. Which Maddie was a kicker/puncher, what a difference between the two. I am so worn out by the end of the day, I just crash when David gets home (which is usually around 11 PM).

David is just working right now. He took a break from school, he was becoming very worn-out. But he will start back up in the fall, maybe a class in the summer. So we get to see him all morning long, which we have enjoyed. And all this snow that we are receiving here is just amazing, David thinks he shovels and works and that is his day. Which it seems like. We are starting to run out of room to put our snow. Some piles are taller than David. Maddie is more than waist deep in the snow when she trys to venture into it (Which she wants to do all the time). She eventually gets stuck and we have to get her out of there.

So it took so long!

2008-01-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been awhile since I have been on here. I have a legit excuse! One day our computer, just after Christmas, decides to not boot anymore. Don't know why! But we got it checked out and they say that it has a bad hard drive, and they can't recover anything. What a bummer! But David knows some guys who know their way around the computer, and he is having them check it out. So cross your fingers we can save some of our stuff.

I never got to report on Christmas yet! So I will do a quick overview. Maddie got a kitchen from Santa, and she also got the accessories (food, utensils, pots, pans, and other stuff). David got a bunch of money, a calling plan for phone calls to Brazil ( I lost his calling card when we moved), and a few necessities. And I the same, but I did get something I have been wanting for awhile. I received a sewing machine from my family. I am not good, I am a beginner. And another staple in my life, a quesadilla maker, from my in-laws. Maddie also got clothes, a table and chairs, a pirate ship (she shots everyone with the cannon on it), and a bunch of candy. So she did good! And thanks to the family for a great Christmas day, it was nice to see everyone.

Gingerbread House Adventure

2007-12-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday for we made a Gingerbread house. This was the first of its kind in our house. I have never made the pieces for a gingerbread house before. But you know it wasn't as hard as I thought that it would be. The fun part was putting the pieces together and keeping them up while the icing set up a bit. Maddie had alot of fun! Her side of the house was quite the creativity. I even think that she did better than mom. Her is her side:
My side:
And David did the front:
So I think that it was a success. we will have to keep this going! I was amazed at how much fun and how creativity she used in her creation. I thought that she would put a few things up and move on. But she didn't want to stop.

Merry Christmas to everyone tomorrow!

Our big exciting news!

2007-12-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

We are adding on to our family. I am due May 21st, which is about a month before Maddie's 3rd birthday (she is growing up so fast!). We found out at the last time we went to the doctor's, that we are going to be having another girl, Olivia. Which we are way excited for! Right now I am 4.5 months along, almost half way (the ultrasound was from 11 weeks). I think David might be a little worried since now he is 3 to 1 in the gender count. Now he will have to share his attention with two girls, since one is a daddy's girl the other most likely will follow. I am beginning to think that I must be boring or something. Well anyways we are excited for the new addition.

Maddie likes to talk to Olivia. She likes to pat my tummy every night before she goes to bed. She knows Princess Olivia is in my tummy and tells everyone that she can the news. I hope the excitement carries over when Olivia arrives.

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and hope things are going well for everyone.

So I guess I am a blogger now!

2007-12-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to try to keep a blog, but I really don't know if I would keep one up. I have enjoyed my friend's blogs. And it is nice to see what everyone is up to since I am a bad emailer and caller. I just seem to be a busy bee all the time. If I get free time I try to catch-up on everything that needs to be cleaned or washed, once in a while I can focus on my stuff (read, crochet, scrapbook, or whatever I feel like doing). My little tornado, Maddie, keeps the house in a constant mess. I feel like that is all I do is clean, but she is worth it. After all my blabbing, I am going to try and keep up my blog! Good Luck to me!