Colloton Family

John's Rockin' Birthday Party

2012-02-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

Happy 7th birthday to John! Wow! This guy's gotten so big, Mom and Dad agreed to let him have some friends from school come party with him. He did a good job welcoming his friends and trying to involve them all. So cool!

John has gone giddy over rocks (especially geodes) over the past few months. So we decided an appropriate party theme would be Rocks. We played Rock Relay and even the big kids thought that was fun! Then everyone got to search for their rock candy gift bags. The kids were especially excited for the rock crystal suckers. They thought those were cool! I don't know how the parents reacted when they got the bags home. But it was fun.

John also loved all of his presents, even the rocks! Can you believe it? A kid excited to put a rock on his shelf!? It's awesome! We've had to try to keep Jack away from all of John's new toys...but that's a bit difficult when John's at school. John's been a good sport about it. We've been blessed having him as a member of our family!

Happy Birthday, John!

More Zoo Pics

2012-01-31T13:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, so you might say, "Hey, don't you guys do anything but go to the Zoo?" Well, honestly, the winter is a great time to go! There aren't so many people. It's not a million degrees outside. And the animals are TONS more active. Even the kids enjoy it more!

So, put up with a few more pictures and perhaps someday we'll add some different activities. Springtime always brings more days at the park and more fun outside (like shooting).

Jack actually didn't let me take the picture. It's one I had to sneak in while he wasn't looking. But he wanted to ride the alligator! This one looked pretty harmless to me. And Jack insisted I take a picture of the tiger. It had been walking around growling all the time we were walking up the hill to it's cage. As soon as we got to the big window, it sat down. RUDE!

This is the second attempt at getting Joe into his namesake: Turtle. The first one showed him sprawled on the ground on his nose. We didn't realize the shell was sloped slightly down and he slid from end all the way out to the wood chips below. He was a good sport about it, though!

See the two fingers in the background!? It was all I could do not to giggle and set the girls to looking away from the camera. Thanks, Daddy! Those are two cute girls!

And last, but not least, comes John. He had a blast jumping off of the pillars that hold the giant spider web. He thought it was great fun. Who needs fancy and expensive toys? Just get some thick rope, pound some logs into the ground, and you've got a boy's dream playground.

Merry, Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T08:46:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas celebration started on Christmas Eve. We had the kids perform their very first nativity. Bekah immediately volunteered to be Mary. Kelsey wanted to be the angel. John was chosen to be the wise man (he argued that there were three...we don't have enough for three people!). And Jack was...riding the rocking horse/donkey. Joe just sat and watched. Ah well.

After that, the kids opened their gifts from Macher. They loved the coloring books, jacket, gloves, and Jack did NOT want to give up his brand new underwear! Not even to let Mommy wash it so he could wear it in the morning. It's the little things that make them excited!

After setting out all of the presents after small people were asleep, Mommy and Daddy were given their first gift from the kids: Joe slept through the night! Ahh...and the rest of the kids didn't get up until 0700. Ahhhh...peace! But the kids got up and got a neat little surprise in the kitchen and then for their stockings (which they opened before breakfast).

Thanks to Grandma Yvonne and Grand Grammy for the dishes on the table. I remember eating out of these when Grammy lived on 1 Horseshoe Lane. I can almost remember the smell of the house and waking up to the early morning fog...but enough of that...thanks for the nostalgia! The kids love the cups and plates too! Thanks for the stocking stuffers too, Grandma Yvonne!

And now...to break things down by kid:

JOHN!!! He loved his race cars, tools, and building set! Oh my goodness. The squealing we got off him from the Criss cross racetrack...joy! Here's to loads of racing and building!

Just look at that kid! Oh, and Great Grams, we loved how John's jammies matched the wrapping paper on his gifts! That was awesome! Thanks a bunch!

Now, KELSEY:

I just realized we don't have as many pictures of Kelsey and her gifts. Crazy! She must have dashed off to play with them before we got any of her. I did get her to pose with her newly decorated jewelry box. Thanks, Grams! This was an awesome idea! She loved designing and decorating stuff to make it her own. And now she's got a place to store some of her new bracelets and necklaces. Thanks so much!

Bekah:

She was the first one dressed in the morning. She couldn't wait to get into her new Christmas dress. And all of the accessories went well with her new dress too! She was so excited about her new jewelry box too! We got it all decorated for her. She did some of the work and Kelsey pitched in to help as well. Thanks for the awesome gifts!

Jack:

He tried opening everyone's gifts. Things just weren't moving fast enough for him. Enough of the one-by-one opening gifts. Let's get things done! But he loves his train and tools. He's been fixing his Tonka truck every chance he can. Thanks so much for the gifts!

Don't touch other's gifts, Jack! "Oh, man!"

And finally, Joe:

We didn't get as many of him because he decided to take a nap most of the way through opening gifts. I guess that's okay since Jack got to open some of Joe's. But it's kinda hard to get pictures of him opening gifts if he's not around. Ah well. First Christmas for Joe! And he got some awesome gifts. Thank you!

Aren't I cute?! And so warm too!

Shawn and I didn't get any pictures of ourselves (go figure!) opening presents, but we feel truly blessed. We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you all had a memorable one as well. In the days to come, we'll try to get pictures of the kids enjoying their new toys even more. Thank you all for your love and support. We love you!

The Strange Things Babies Do

2011-12-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning dishes the other day and not paying any attention to what Joe was doing. He was laughing, giggling and hanging onto my pants. Like a good parent, I just assumed he was happy because he was by me. Well, the other kids noticed what he was doing and let me know! We all thought it was funny enough to share with the world. Hope you get a good laugh like we did!

Yup, that's the cabinet hardware. I guess I don't need all those teething toys. I only need lots of Clorox wipes. Ah well. Babies bring lots of joy to our lives. I'm just grateful for Joe.

John's Christmas Joy from School

2011-12-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

John had been excited all week about the class party he was going to have on Friday. He helped me shop at the store for just the right candy to make gingerbread houses with his class at school. He loved the rock candy and thought it would be fun to "surprise" his teacher by eating something that looked like a rock.

He was so proud of his creation. When I went to pick him up from school he took forever walking to the van because he wanted to make sure he didn't bump his awesome house. He was so careful! What a good artist and designer. Good work, John!

Zoo Day with Parker!

2011-12-21T11:54:00.000-08:00

Ice sculptures at the zoo. When we came back at 1600, there were icicles hanging off the reindeer and the snowflake. Kinda fun! I think they should have put a red LED on the reindeer.

Anyway, we had a great time visiting with the Florida edition of the Tweed family! It was great spending time Parker, Michelle, Stephanie, Allie, and Mom/Dad Jensen! The cousins loved seeing each other too, though I think Jack and Joe may not remember much of Parker. Ah well. Maybe we'll make it to the beach someday when they're bigger and they'll remember more.

As it stands, the kids loved seeing the animals. I didn't hear too many complaints about the cold either. Kelsey didn't like the smell in some of the animal houses. But that's pretty standard with her.

Poor Kelsey could barely handle the giraffe house. She made it through the small animal house better than some times. Poor girl.

Cute babes in arms. It was a miracle Joe fell asleep at the very end. But good times for all! We sure miss you guys already!

This was pretty much Jack's pose the entire time. He is 2 going on 16. He kept arguing about what the names of all the animals were. It wasn't a snow leopard...it was a cheetah.

"No, Mommy! Cheetah!" said Jack.
"Whatever," said Mommy.

Oh, and pictures of Jack were not to be tolerated. He didn't want me taking his picture the entire time. He's got his own ideas and he's definitely a very determined individual. But the kids are enjoying winter! We're looking forward to Christmas! Are you?

It's Santa!

2011-12-20T11:49:00.000-08:00

Of all the kids to run up to Santa, it was Kelsey who approached him first. She gave him a big hug but was a little reluctant to speak with him. Ah well. It took a moment for the others to warm up to him. But I was surprised with the youngest two's reactions. Jack wanted nothing to do with the guy in the red suit.

He was more than content to hug the pillar and watch the action from behind it. He did venture out to get a candy cane from Mrs. Claus. Oh well.

But Joe didn't even scream or cry (as most of our other kids have done) upon meeting Santa. Pretty impressive! He did a great job smiling for the camera...even if it was his naptime and he was tired. We were more than happy with his reaction.

John and Bekah were good sports too. Oh, and the antlers were for the Christmas fest the store was throwing for the kids. It was fun to see which kids were excited to get the head gear, and which ones actually wore them. We are sure excited to see the holidays getting nearer.

Merry Christmas!

Oh, Little Joe!

2011-12-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

You're not so little anymore, Lil' Joe! He's got two (working on two more) teeth. He's also working on "big" people food! He was so excited to try those shells and cheese that his big siblings get to eat. And when he got to feed himself, that made it all worthwhile!

But he's a happy boy! He's a flirt with all the ladies and he loves shopping with Mommy. If you can handle tipping your screen/head, you can see a cute moment with Joe. Sorry, my phone doesn't always tell me I'm recording sideways. Ah well.

and one more cute moment with Joe...turn your screen/head again...

Happy Birthday to Bekah! You're 4!

2011-12-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

Bekah has been the sunshine of our lives. She is truly a joy. It was fun to see her get so excited for her birthday party. The other kids had a countdown going (mostly Kelsey) but even they were busy planning how much fun they'd have with their friends. So fun!

I can't believe how big Bekah's getting! She planned her own birthday dinner (complete with veggies) and was very specific on what kind of decorations for the birthday cake. She's in love with Tangled. For someone with blonde hair, she wants to look just like Rapunzel. Awww...but here's a few highlights from the friend party and then our family party. Enjoy!

Thanks, Grams, for the dress! Bekah's so excited about the butterflies! She even wanted to enjoy the card for as long as possible.

"It's so fluffy!" Bekah was so excited to get a unicorn pillow pet! Wow! Thanks, Aunt Helen and clan!

Ooh! A warm, winter coat that's pink. Bekah compared this to John's coat...but she said, "This one's red not pink." Yes, very astute! She's excited to try out her new mittens that came with it. Now all we need is some snow. My phone washed out the second picture...but the coat fits great!

And the pink/white tutu was a great hit! Here's Bekah and Kelsey dancing...one of the few times Bekah gets to be the princess. And she makes a cute princess too.

Pre-holiday Enjoyment

2011-12-08T09:38:00.000-08:00

At this time of year, I'm very grateful for children that get pure joy over empty boxes or little pillows of air (packaging cushions). The kids recently got a big box in the mail and it has been fun watching them jump on the bubbles! I had to keep Joe away from the noise, but everyone else tried their best to burst the bubbles. Jack doesn't really weigh enough to pop the plastic, but he tries!

Once the plastic was recycled, it was off to hide in the box. Bekah did it first and I couldn't believe she could curl up in such a small space. Jack closed the lid and proceeded to sit on top of the box. Kelsey wanted to try but when the lid started to close, she decided she'd had enough. Jack thought it a great place to ambush people with his squirt gun (not loaded, thank goodness!). And Joe just laughed to have the attention.

That face just says it all! That's what the holiday season is all about--pure love and great thanks for the little things in life. Thank you!

The Newest Member of Our Family

2011-12-05T09:34:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure if we got any pictures of Bob-Cat up on previous entries. But here's a good time to introduce him. He is a wonderful cat and puts up with a lot of love from the kids. He even puts up with Joe reaching/grabbing for the bell on his harness. John loves to play "fishing" with the cat. Bob loves trying to catch the feathers on the end of the pole. He's also figured out the laser pointer. I think he chases the little red light just to hear us laugh.

Shawn's been doing a great job training him too. Yes, you can train a cat! He sits, stands up on hind legs, and spins. He comes when he's called/whistled and waits by the front door for the kids to open it for him. It's been fun having such a good natured member of the family.

Sleeping, Bob.

A Great Halloween!

2011-11-02T13:42:00.001-07:00

We all remembered last year...rainy, cold, but cleared up just as we went hunting candy for little people. This year was completely the opposite. It was almost warm and the sun was still shining at 1800 when we set out for a fun evening with the kids.

Everyone had a great time! The kids came home with a bunch of candy and were good enough to share a few pieces with Mom and Dad. Thanks, kids. Only Joe got a little fussy. We forgot his pacifier. Maybe next year he'll be better about the candy collecting.

Enjoy the pictures!

John chose to fit into his cowboy costume again. I think it has something to do with the cap guns making noise. But he loved it! The red neckerchief is a carry over of the costume he wore to school. He was Brer Rabbit there and the neckerchief was originally on a stick as Brer Rabbit's hobo bag. Good thing we can use these pieces for more than one thing! He even had a shoot-out with several neighbors as we went trick-or-treating.

Aren't those the cutest princess's ever? It's amazing that Kelsey still fit into her Snow White dress. The maroon dress looked beautiful on Bekah. Wow! And they hardly needed jackets over their pretty dresses. Amazing!

Jack had plenty of room for his candy. That honey pot has an extra pouch in the front and it got weighed down as the night progressed. Jack's trick-or-treat bucket was half the size of the other kids. Cute, but meant for littler guys who don't appreciate candy like Jack.

Joe spent the day as in a pumpkin sleep n' play. For the evening, he dressed up in a warm tiger costume. I think Jack was a little jealous, but he got over it once the candy started flowing.

One of our favorite neighbors brought home some work and chased around our kids with a robot bus. It was pretty hard to get this close. They weren't a big fan of a talking, moving bus. Ah well. It was good times.

I think next year we may see even more excitement for candy. The kids will be older and braver about approaching "strange" doors and asking for treats. They will teach Joe all about the joys of Halloween. Here's to hoping your Halloween was memorable as well!

Happy Pumpkin Days!

2011-10-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

The kids picked out their pumpkins and most of them chose the design they wanted carved into the pumpkin. I still can't tell you whose, is whose...I just carved them for the kids. Enjoy!

I think Kelsey wanted the "Trick or Treat" one. John wanted a hissing cat to be like our Bob-Cat. Bekah wanted a witch....then she wanted the bat in the moon. And I don't think Jack really cared. And poor Joe didn't get one this year. I don't think he'll really mind.

Look for the costume party, coming soon!

Farmers' Market Fun

2011-10-26T16:05:00.001-07:00

We decided to take a trip up to Thanksgiving Point and see the art show. While we were there, we checked out some of the other sights. The kids loved the fresh fruit and jams the vendors were selling. Free samples of actual tree ripened peaches, apples, pears, and fresh raspberries were heavenly. You don't get that kind of flavor from the stores!

We also piled all the kids into the oversized rocking chair. We all fit! Even with Daddy and Mommy included.

Then it was off to a little village. The kids loved the little dance hall and jail. It was fun seeing them run around the farm area. Poor Kelsey still has a sensitive nose. She bypassed the pigs with hardly a backward glance. Ah well. They really aren't that beautiful. But it was a fun evening out and a good way to end the summer season.

Bicycle Fun

2011-08-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here's behind the scenes from taking school pictures with John and Kelsey. The other kids (Jack and Bekah) were feeling a little left out of the spotlight. I can only imagine they won't want to have any part of picture taking in the coming years (eg. teenage school pictures with boys are going to be fun...hah!), but they were sad not to have pictures taken of them. To keep them happy, Mom let them ride Bekah's bike. Shawn came up with this idea...and it made the rest of us laugh!

And Jack wouldn't be outdone by his big sister...so, he had to have a turn too.

Hooray for wheels and little kids! It makes us all have smiley days!

Fruits of our Labors

2011-08-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

We have done fairly well with the little garden at the side of our townhome again. This year found new veggies on the vine and a trial for bell peppers. We've done okay with our zucchini. We haven't seen any cucumbers like last year, but those plants got a late start. I guess we should be lucky we got much of anything since Joe was born right when we should have been seeing peas growing in the garden. But the kids have been super excited to see tomatoes, zucchini, and now peppers. We have been blessed!

Now, if only I could get Jack to smile for the picture...

It's Back to School Time!

2011-08-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

And here are the kids, all ready for a new school year! Don't they look great in their new uniforms? John's going to be in first grade and Kelsey gets John's class in kindergarten! Mom's looking forward to naptime with only three kids at home! Yippee!

Kelsey did a great job posing for the pictures. Such a pretty girl!

Can you believe she's such a big girl? All ready and excited for kindergarten!

And John's so excited for first grade! He's ready to show off all he's practiced over the summer to his new teacher. Such a good lookin' kid!

Let's get ready to learn!!

Happy Birthday Jack Jack!

2011-08-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

Jack Jack's two years old!? We very nearly didn't get any pictures for his birthday this year. We had a small family party on his actual birthday and had chicken decorate cupcakes to celebrate. He called them "ducks" but just about any bird is a "duck" to him. He actually blew out the two candles we put on the cupcake. He wouldn't do it for the larger cake we ordered for Saturday. Ah well. So goes life.

But he was in love with the fishing pole and magnetic fish that went with it. His brother and sisters were in love with the Duplo Lego set that he got. He got to play with all of his toys later, but it was funny to see how possessive he was of his fishing pole.

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Princess Party

2011-08-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

Another year and another princess party for my girls. This time, I didn't feel like dressing up. But the girls wouldn't dream of missing THEIR party. So, we pulled out the pretties and went to the grocery store's local tea party. It was fun for the girls to be treated like princesses. They loved the attention. This year, instead of coloring your crown, they had loose "jewels" you could glue in place. I think they enjoyed this craft much better than the crayon version from last year. Happy Princess Day, Kelsey and Bekah!

Wednesday Fun at the Park

2011-07-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

So, we had Field Trip Fridays and Duck Park Wednesdays this past summer. Most of the time, we'd pack a lunch and walk a couple blocks to the Paul Ream Wilderness Park just down the road from us. The kids who could ride their bikes/trikes responsibly would go on those "vehicles" while I pulled Jack and Joe in the covered Radio Flyer wagon.

Anyway, the kids loved playing at the park. Jack followed the kids anywhere he could. He would frighten Mommy when he'd climb the taller ladder thingy's and I knew I couldn't get there fast enough to catch him if he fell (it's kinda hard juggling life while feeding Joe).

But they all did great! The kids even stayed away from the high, fast moving river. The water levels were so high, I could see the water splashing over the bank. A bit scary but that's life when there's spring runoff. The only thing that could have made this more perfect were shade sails or trees over the playground. We could have stayed much longer and the sun wouldn't have burnt us so much.

Happy Fourth of July

2011-07-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Freedom Days! We spent Friday morning before the fourth watching hot air balloons inflate and then rise into the sky. The kids were pretty impressed by the amount of fire it took to get the balloons into the air. It was awesome! The wind actually allowed the balloons to go up this year but wasn't cooperating enough to let the balloons play their games. Ah well. I guess you can't have it all.

We had a few "characters" show up this year for the festival. Smokey the Bear (as seen from below) and the pink piggy bank are regular attendees. The Coke bottle showed up after all the balloons had left the field. But the main attraction was the Darth Vader balloon all the way from Belgium. Wow! There were even stormtroopers, Darth Vader, and the Emperor who made their appearance. It was fun!

Speaking of the Coke balloon. It inflates but rarely flies. The crew actually had volunteers from the crowd (preferably those under the age of 12) come roll the air out of the balloon before it got stuffed in the giant bag and put in the trailer. We talked John into helping out with the crew. And before the end of the line, Jack decided to help a little. We got that on video.

All of the kids were pretty good. We all tumbled out of bed and they showed up in their jammies. It was so much fun. Maybe we'll see some of you next year and we can show you around the festivities!

Friday Field Trips

2011-07-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

This summer I have tried something "new." It's called "let's keep the kids entertained, busy, and educated all summer long." We've had John practicing his penmanship; Kelsey's been working on recognizing upper and lower case letters; Bekah's been coloring; and Jack has been working on listening. We've had varying results depending upon the week.

But every Friday we've tried to get our work done early to do a little "exploring" around Utah. We've had some fun hiking to a waterfall, checking out the dinosaur museum at BYU, and going to the zoo. Here's some of the memories we've made.

The Hogle Zoo had a Zoorassic experience this last summer. They had lots of dinosaur models around the park. Some of them, like the T-Rex, were life size and somewhat interactive. The eyes moved as though the dinosaur was looking at you and his head turned. It was rather intimidating. Little Jack backed away from T-Rex and growled at him...so tough!

This was at the base of Bridal Veil Falls. The kids decided to go wading in the "pool" made at the base of the falls. John was the most adventurous and was all over the rocks, water, and generally having a great time. Jack couldn't understand why the water was so "hot." I kept trying to convince him it was really "cold" and not "hot." But I think he's a little backward.

I guess this is the only picture I got from the dinosaur museum. Bekah was the only one brave enough to climb up onto the brachiosaurus's vertabrae. The kids enjoyed seeing students working on real dinosaur bones. It was pretty cool! What kid doesn't look forward to field trip day?! It's been fun trying to find fun, free places to make things exciting.

Updated Happenings

2011-07-17T08:55:00.001-07:00

Life around here is pretty normal. And, like normal, we haven't updated the blog in a while. Not sure if anyone is paying attention. Hi! You may be the only person reading this. But, know this, you are appreciated.

Back to the actual point of this blog. JOHN LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!! I have photographic evidence as proof.

Can you see it? We as slackers in our parenting duties of photographing every precious moment of our children's existence neglected to photograph said event until today (about a week or so after the loss of said tooth).

John was, and still is, incredibly excited about his loss. If you look closely at the photo you can see his new Big Boy tooth coming in.

We also gave the camera to John and Kelsey to play around with this morning, and this is what they have to share.

Enjoy, and feel free to comment with your favorite childhood memory of tooth loss...iness.

Kelsey's Birthday

2011-07-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile...so sorry. Here's the update on Kelsey's birthday party. She loved seeing her cousins and have so many friends coming to her pool party. The weather was great and we didn't even get sunburned. Thanks, everyone, for supporting Kelsey! We all had a great time!

A quick update on Kelsey too...she will be entering kindergarten in a month! She is so excited! We have been working on our alphabet flashcards and looking for letters as we drive in the car. She loves to learn and now she has started to claim "John's school" as her own. Hopefully, I'll get some first day pictures up here for you to enjoy. August is just around the corner.

Lil Joe's Blessing

2011-05-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Not only has he been a blessing to our crazy family, but he's been blessed by those who love him. I thought I'd say "thanks" to those who have been a part of Joe's life thus far and let you see him in his first "formal" attire. Enjoy!

He's a pretty handsome kid, if I say so. And he looks so much like his siblings! What a good baby he's been. Sure he's a little fussy before bedtime but what person in our family isn't? He's so calm when the kids hold him. If only we could cure the spit ups, but that comes with time.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

This month has proven fun for the kids. They've waited sooo long for Easter to arrive. It's almost as if Christmas was coming. Well, we are celebrating the Saviour, so...I guess there is some correlation. But they've been so eager for the candy too. Ah well, they enjoy all parts of the season.

We had a church egg hunt a week before Easter and that was a lot of fun. Bekah got lots more eggs than her brothers or sister. She's got this game down! Jack had to be coaxed into looking for his eggs; but once they were all found, his shining moment was eating the candy from everyone else's egg and handing back the empty "shell." He didn't care if it was a golden egg or not. He only wanted the candy. Smart boy!

Joe didn't get much into the thing of things. But he was a good sport and let everyone else find the eggs.

And here are the pictures from our family egg hunt. We had two visitors that are the kids' friends. Christopher and his sister wanted to help look for eggs. We had enough to share and it was fun to see them all scampering around the yard looking for eggs.

John kept saying it was too easy. And it probably was, but we're dealing with a large age range here. Jack wasn't as interested in finding the eggs today. He like picking them up and throwing them. Thank goodness we left the hardboiled eggs inside. The joy of finding plastic eggs was enough for them all.

Happy Easter! From our family to yours.

Teaching Jack to "Smile!"

2011-04-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

So, Shawn decided to teach Jack how to smile for a camera. And we got some interesting results. Most of the kids know how to pose and smile for their pictures. They all want to see their pictures instantly (thank goodness for digital pictures). Gone are the days of guessing how the picture will turn out once it's developed.

Well, the kids (minus Jack) were all ready to have their pictures taken, and they were more than eager to show Jack how it's done. Well, we got some good shots that really show the personalities of our children.

Say, "Cheese!", Jack Jack!

Welcome Home Lil' Joe!

2011-04-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

And we added number seven to our family this past March! Joseph Michael was born on March 21st at 6:14 pm. Amazingly, he was also 6 lbs. 14 oz. Talk about coincidence! And it wasn't even a hard labor on Mom! Yea!

Joe had to spend a week in the NICU because of various reasons that all turned out to be fine. He couldn't keep his blood sugars at levels that satisfied the doctors and then they ran some more tests only to find he might have an infection/inflammation somewhere in his body. All of those blood tests came back normal/negative, so he cleared that test just fine. Then, to help him keep his sugar levels higher, they force fed him through a tube.

Anyway, long story short, he gained weight nicely and is now home. He has surpassed his birth weight (which usually happens by the second week of life, not the first 8 days!) and is working on a schedule that matches more of our family's needs.

My stay at the hospital wasn't all bad. I had some great visitors and the hospital food was actually awesome! They are starting a new program at the hospital where you get to choose from a menu, so every meal has an individual touch to it. The above one was my lunch. Loads of food available and when it came, it was enough to share with another adult too. Wow! Shawn was a little jealous that I got pizza for two days. Ah well. I told him he could have the next baby and get pampered.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of our newest member! He is everyone's favorite. John and Kelsey are constantly battling as to who gets to carry/hold Joe. Bekah calms down as soon as she has her little brother in her arms. And Jack's first words on waking up are "Joe? Joe?" He loves his little brother. And I can't complain either. Joe's a pretty mellow baby and I get plenty of help holding him when he needs cuddle time. It's been fun to see the kids interacting and caring for Joe. It's nice to see them getting along over little Joe.

A Winter Zoo Day

2011-02-22T08:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we decided to do something for President's Day that we've never done before. We took a trip to the Hogle Zoo. There's been hardly any snow at our house (not unusual for a place by a lake) but the zoo had a foot on the park where the kids HAD to play! Ah well, they had fun.

There weren't too many animals out and about. All of the African animals (elephants, giraffes, primates, etc) were put away for the winter and we couldn't see them. Well, that is except the ostriches. Weird, if you ask me. But the tigers were lazing around and the Amur leopard was pacing. So, at least the big cats were actually doing something. Normally, they just lie in the shade and pant during the summer time.

Jack walked most of the way, choosing only inopportune times to get out of the stroller while I was pushing it. But he had some fun this time and wasn't left home to nap. The zoo wasn't even that busy. We got front row parking! It's amazing I got some good shots, since I the sun was so bright and I couldn't see the display on my phone! I was just hoping they turned out okay.

Happy Birthday, John John Man!

2011-02-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

Has it really been six years since John John entered our lives? I'm probably going to say this about all of my kids on every birthday they have! Oh well. He's gotten to be such a big boy and so fun to have around. He's starting to want to plan his own parties more and invite people to them. Maybe next year I'll remember to include him more on the plans (and limit how many school friends can come...I mean, I can only accommodate so many seven year olds then!).

For those of you who don't recognize the cake, it's a Bakugan (Japanese cartoon series) that John has fallen in love with. He has never really seen the show but he loves the idea of creatures being captured in little balls and then transforming to fight battles for their owners. It's rather like Pokemon (if you know what that is) with a more fierce twist.

But John had a great time with his cousins! He was so happy to see everyone that came and then to open the gifts they gave him. We missed everyone who couldn't be there, but John says "thanks and (sheepishly) says I love you."

John loved all of his gifts! I have never seen a kid so excited about the variety of gifts. He was just as excited to get stickers as he was to get new school shirts! He has poured over the Japanese comic books called Gon. Everyone wanted to "read" these at the party (even those who can't read can understand these because it's a comic book without any words). Quite impressive!

I don't know what happened to pictures of the R/C truck he got, but John also loved the newest remote control addition to the family. He loves anything that flies or shoots, and has since driven the truck through some soft snow just for fun. He loves all of his presents and all of you who thought of him on his birthday. Thanks a bunch!

Happy Birthday Bekah!

2010-12-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

Our Bekah Mae Mae has just turned 3! Really? It doesn't seem like she's only three. She acts so big (and she's quite tall too!) that it surprises me sometimes that she's still so "young." Ah well. I guess that's what happens when you try to do everything your four and a half year old sister does. What a big girl!

When we went to the store to pick out a special birthday cake, Bekah wanted three different cakes, "Because I'm three," she said. Shawn liked this thinking but Mommy squashed the idea. With just us celebrating together this year (sorry if you felt left out...but I didn't feel like hosting after such a difficult past couple of weeks), I knew we would barely be able to handle this little cake, let alone three! Bekah and Kelsey didn't fight much over the rings: each got two and they were content.

Both of her gifts were a big hit, although I'd say the Mr. Potato Man was the best loved by everyone. Even Jack wanted to try on the glasses-- to be like Mommy and Daddy. But Bekah has loved the baby doll more than I've seen her love any other baby doll. Yeah! Thanks to all of you who love and support our little Bekah!

Number Five is on His Way

2010-11-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

Surprise to y'all! The battle of the sexes has been somewhat won--for the time being. John has convinced Kelsey that having a new baby brother really would be better than getting a new baby sister. I think Bekah doesn't really care either way. She loves playing with Kelsey and a new baby wouldn't be someone to play with for a few years anyway.

But anyway, in about five months, we should count seven in our household. That's how many seat belts we have in the van. Time to upgrade?

I love little baby feet!

Autumn Leaves and the Kids

2010-11-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a pretty mild Autumn this year and the leaves have been pretty slow to fall near our home. The maple trees across the street have finally all turned yellow and are dropping their leaves. But the sycamore trees in front of our house are barely starting to turn brown. We'll see how quickly that changes after the next couple of days when the cold storm finally hits.

The kids have loved going across the street to pile up leaves and jump in them. Jack loves to run through them and listen to the crunch! Kelsey and Bekah pretend they have bouquets of flowers and they love to throw them in the air to see them fall again. It's been lots of fun to see them playing.

Shawn and I were remembering back to our first home with the Box Elder tree that dumped bags full of leaves on our lawn. We had such fun piling them together to let John play in them. Ah well. Memories and photos are what we keep of that. But it's great to see all of the kids enjoying the changing seasons.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

To all of you ghosts and ghouls, we wish you a Happy Halloween! It's a few days late, but here's some of the highlights of our kids' experience. I have to say, it turned out better than we expected...since it was thundering and pouring at 1730 when we had planned to get started. By 1800, it had cleared enough that we thought we'd get a few houses in before the rain would start again. Luckily, it didn't rain again while we were gathering candy.

John forgot to wait for his sisters and Jack was always at the rear. But we had Jack trained by the end of the night to say "thank you", in his own way. It was fun and we got quite the haul. Poor Bekah's handle on her candy bucket broke it was so heavy! Sorry, no pictures of Jack in his frog costume. But I'm sure if you checked out last year's pictures, you can see Bekah in the same costume Jack wore this year.

The kids picked out their own designs for the pumpkins and I got the privilege of gutting, cleaning, and carving the jack-o-lanterns. Not too bad...since I had kids bumping and hovering over me during the sawing process. Jack got the bat and the moon; Bekah's became the owl when Jack broke the frowning jack-o-lantern; John chose the flaming pumpkin; and Kelsey chose the witch. It was fun! Hope you had a fun Halloween too!

War Paint

2010-10-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

Chalk art is always an adventure with our kids. It usually gets all over their clothes and then just brushes off. Add an artist to the mix, and you get even more unusual results-- not bad, just unexpected. Jack got the inspiration this time. Doesn't he look like a "native?" I think he went around town like this for a few hours...and he still brings smiles to our faces.

Zoo Day With Three of the Kids

2010-10-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

On a whim, and because John had been begging to go, we decided to go to the Hogle Zoo. Shawn was home working on school stuff and "volunteered" to "watch" Jack take a nap. That made it so much easier for me to get around the zoo. The kids asked where the red wagon was (that has been a constant companion for the past two years) but we didn't have to take it this time! Everybody walked! Ah, such freedom from a stroller or a diaper bag! Sorry, Jack...we didn't really miss you. Love ya!

We had such a good time taking it slow and looking at whatever we felt like seeing. Bekah was excited for the baby elephant. John wanted to see poison dart frogs (Kelsey plugged her nose in the animal house). And everyone wanted to ride the train at the end. There was hardly anyone at the zoo (poor Shawn would have LOVED this part of the day!). So, we got some good pics to prove the fun we had.

We were the only ones on the tail end of the train. The kids thought it was great fun to be by themselves. And to show how empty the zoo was, check out the following picture of the parking lot. Usually, it's packed and you have to search for a place to park. This is what it looked like as we were leaving the zoo at 1600 (one hour before the zoo closed).

This is what Shawn would have loved. Ah well. I did think of you!

His First Word

2010-10-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

We've come to the decision that Jack's first word was "Ball." He has been repeatedly saying the same word every time he sees one. It's kinda cute. I first noticed it when I set up the umbrella stand as a make-shift t-ball stand for John. The height was too low for John but Jack caught on quickly and took over the batter position when John got bored.

Anyway, he's been overjoyed with the popper gun (which holds and shoots balls!). He will ask for the guns whenever I pick him up. Oh, and "easss" is "Please" for Jack Jack. So, he's exploring the world of words and sounds. I'm grateful. It's much easier to guess what he wants when he can put a word to it, rather than a whine and reach.

John's First Day of School

2010-08-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

That's right loyal blog followers and Family. Yesterday was John's FIRST OFFICIAL DAY OF SCHOOL!!

The story of John's school registration is a bit longer than you would expect. Where we live there are many wonderful schools available. We originally applied to get John into Freedom Academy. Which is a local public Charter school only a few minutes from our home. Unfortunetly, due to the high demand for enrolment, we were unable to get John in to kindergarden as we didn't make the lottery.

So we quickly moved to Plan B. Linda registered John at Westridge Elementry. Another great school only a few minutes away from our home up on Grandview hill.

With School quickly approaching we set ourselves to organizing our affairs. We put all the school dates on the family calendar, bought John some school clothes, and generally prepared for the day John would enter school at Westridge.

I'll be honest in that I was having to prepare myself for the inevitable fact that my John John Man was going to be a big boy in a big school. So I set myself to be prepared for his first day on September 1.

As in all things, plans change. Late Thursday night Linda received a call that John was next on the list to enter Freedom Academy. WHOA!

That's right. A butterfly left a branch somewhere in china effecting the wind patterns and effectively changing the world as we know it.

So instead of John's first day of school being two weeks away his first day was Friday the 21st.

We have been in a constant rush to get him all his supplies and uniformed school gear. But he loves his new school and teacher. We are absolutely excited for him and all the things he'll learn. I think our family will fit in nicely with Freedom Academy.

Edit: Ok, Shawn is still a big baby and is not ready for John to go to School.

Jack Jack's obsession with Shells N' Cheese

2010-08-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

Shawn has recently discovered Jack's love for Velveeta Shells n' Cheese. Wow! It was such a messy ordeal that Jack got a bath after the entire incident. But there was one happy boy! I think Shawn said he ate more than John at the meal. Good thing you cooked two boxes of shells n' cheese!

Bridal Veil Falls

2010-08-11T13:22:00.001-07:00

The kids and I decided to go for a little outing and a picnic. We took along Macher (who thought to bring an extra pair of sandals!) and what a big help she was! We were all hungry before we started out on our hike to the falls so we ate our meat and cheese sandwiches first. The wind was blowing just a bit and the kids were cold by the time they had finished their food. Ah well. Who knew it could be chilly in August? It wasn't, really.

Anyway, we took a leisurely stroll up to the base of the falls and the kids were eager to get in the water and start playing--until they discovered how cold mountain water really is! Kelsey froze up in the water and wouldn't move until someone came to rescue her. Yea, Macher!

The kids thought it was great fun to pose together on rocks in the water. Too bad we couldn't get them all looking at the camera at the same time. There was just too much to look at. Jack was fascinated by all the rushing water over the rocks. He wanted to splash in the water too.

This was the best we could do. Enjoy!

Pioneer Day Parade

2010-08-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood has done a Primary Pioneer Day parade for the past two years. The kids have enjoyed walking the streets on their bikes, decorated wagons, or scooters. At the end of the parade route (the church building), they get to play games. The favorite with the boys (young and old) is the giant sling shots. If you park on the opposite side of the street, you can bet your car may become a target for those water balloons launched at a high speed. The kids love it!

The girls had fun walking the "trek" route with their stick horses and eating watermelon at the end. I don't know what John did all morning but I assume he stuck pretty close to the water balloons and sling shots with Daddy.

My pretty girls!

Enjoy the girls and their ring toss game! They both won a prize for their ability to get the ring on the stick!

Happy Birthday, Jack Jack!

2010-08-01T15:39:00.001-07:00

It's really been one year since Jack was born? Time really does fly nowadays. We have really enjoyed having another boy in the family (John has recently started wrestling with his little brother). Jack's been making life more interesting these days since he's started to walk more unassisted and learned some good words like "no" and "ball." He's learning fast!

Well, we decided to make his birthday a themed one of a beach party, complete with a sand castle birthday cake! John was planning on "tricking" everyone into thinking they were eating sand and then telling them later that it was just graham crackers. Silly boy. But he did help me decorate it.

We had some great friends and family come to help celebrate! Thanks, everyone! We love you!

Birthday present monster! Roar!!!

Shopping with Jack

2010-07-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

One of Jack's favorite things to do is go shopping. Not because he gets a lot when we go, but because he can sometimes push the cart. If we're not in a rush (which usually happens when we go to Cabella's or the farm/ranch store), I'll put him down and he'll push the bottom bar of the cart everywhere he can. It's really quite funny. I'm sure he'll get over the novelty as soon as he can walk. But for now, it really makes me smile.

The following video was at the end of April. So, you can see how early he's had this obsession with pushing things around. Ah...he's so cute.

Camping with the Collotons

2010-07-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

What a weekend we had! We decided to invite some neighbor friends to go camping with us and we had so much fun, we're planning to do it again in September! Wow! We went up Diamond Fork canyon in Spanish Fork canyon to a small group camp area. There was a huge parking lot available (not that we needed it for vehicles) but it was great for playing glow-in-the-dark frisbee with the teens that came.

The kids had so much fun playing with other kids their age, and even some who were a few years older. That left time for Mom and Dad to socialize with some of the other adults, or clean up, or both! Anyway, the kids keep asking when we're going to get out the sleeping bags and tent again. It's nice to see they enjoyed themselves as well.

This is where Jack stayed pretty much the entire morning after we all got up. He was playing outside of it the night before, but we had so much to do to pack up that he got sequestered to his bed. Contain! We contained the baby! But he was a good sport about it.

There was also a small stream by the campsite and the kids loved wading it in. At one point, I turned around and realized I had at least two pantless children. Bekah and John both had clothes hanging on the fence post to dry...but they weren't finished with the water.

Happy Fourth of July

2010-07-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

A very big Happy Freedom Days to everyone! In honor of the 4th of July, we take the kids to see the balloon festival every year. It's held in the baseball field behind the Utah Valley hospital and this is it's 26th year. They have lots of balloons, people, kids, and even an early pancake breakfast by the Kiwanis club. It's a good time!

We decided to see the balloon launch on Friday morning. I was hoping that there wouldn't be as many people attending the Friday session as the ones for Saturday and Monday. I was right. It was a LOT less crowded! It was actually more enjoyable this way. The only problem we/the pilots encountered was a strong crosswind somewhere overhead. There wasn't any wind on the ground, but it's been fairly windy for the past couple of days, and the atmosphere above us could be doing anything.

Anyway, we got to see the balloons inflate and one was even offering rides (I didn't check out prices). But it was an awesome sight to watch deflated fabric suddenly "balloon" overhead and then lift off of the ground! The kids loved it!

Thanks to Daddy's camera abilities! The panoramic picture is awesome, Shawn! I think the Coke bottle was a favorite of everyone's this year. John kept calling it "Dr. Pepper" but he finally figured it out when he could see the letter "C" on the huge label.

Amazing what they can fly? So...the unusual balloons this year were the bottle, piggy bank, and Smokey the Bear. Kinda fun to see something different in the sky.

Golden Spike National Monument

2010-07-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

I am REALLY behind on all of this! We did this little trip back on May 10th on National Train Day (didn't know there was such a thing, did ya?). Anyway, we decided to take a day trip up to Golden Spike National Monument for the reenactment of driving the last spike into the first transcontinental railway. We had be worried that it would be rainy and miserable; but we were pleasantly surprised to find mostly sunny conditions with a cool wind.

It was so much fun to see all of the people dressed in 1860's costume! Several of the older people in the reenactment had a great sense of humor as they explained what was going on to the waiting crowd. The kids were pretty good for such a long drive and John wants to go back to see the trains again. Can't really blame him. The trains were impressive when they got moving.

The train on the left is a replica of the wood burning engine, Jupiter, from the Central Pacific Railroad. The train on the right is the coal burning engine from the Union Pacific railroad (I can't remember her name).

Did you count the stars on that flag? Looks a little different from the one we're used to. Back in 1869, there weren't quite as many states in the Union. Pretty cool arrangement for the stars.

Anyway, here's some video we got of the trains. Here's looking back in time...

Temple Square

2010-06-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

Our kids love going to Temple Square in Salt Lake City. They love the fountains, flowers, and the chance to see the temple up close. Either way, we decided to join a couple of Shawn's friends on a Sunday stroll in downtown. The kids were so excited...and even more so when they saw the "giant" model of the temple in the Visitor's Center. It had sides cutaway so visitors could see what the interior of the temple looks like.

The model was so exact! Down to light fixtures, chairs and paintings. Wow! I was impressed and you could tell so were a lot of other people (there were a lot of forehead smudges on the glass from people trying to get a closer look at the detail!). It was so amazing! This is a definite must-see if you're visiting Salt Lake!

Anyway, the kids came, saw, and moved on faster than the adults. But we enjoyed getting some pictures at some of the fountains. It was so much fun.

After Temple Square, we decided to visit the Conference Center (where the Prophet speaks to the Church). The kids weren't as impressed by the enormous size...they were too busy putting their hands over their ears because someone was practicing the organ. I forget how much of a dampening effect 20,000 people can have on an organ with so many pipes. Ah well. It was fun trying to entertain the kids...especially Jack. He had fun chasing Mom around one of the three feet pillars in the center. Kept him entertained and made me smile. Unfortunately, the video we got of the experience didn't make it. So goes life.

Here's a link to the local paper's pictures of the temple model. Enjoy!

ksl.com - LDS Church shows inside view of Salt Lake Temple through new exhibit (Gallery Viewer)

Kelsey's Fourth Birthday

2010-06-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe it's been four years since Kelsey joined our family on Father's Day! Time has really gone by...some days faster than others but we have loved having Kelsey as a part of our family! What a cute princess she is!

Speaking of "princess," she was so happy to get so much princess stuff! She loves her Ballerina Barbie (thank you, Grams, for getting one without removable accessories! That is a literal lifesaver with an infant chewing on everything!), her chalk, bubbles, and all the wonderful art stuff. She has learned how to trace some of the princesses from her big coloring book so she now has double the pictures to color!

We had a great time with family and friends, and even the weather cooperated so we could splash in the pool. We are truly blessed. Thank you all for your love and support! Enjoy the pictures!

She was pretty much all smiles all night. Thank you all for making our Kelsey so happy!

Looking Back...

2010-06-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

I just found some pictures that I should have put up awhile ago from the kids' preschool graduations. I've been slacking on the blog, and I'll try to make up for that with at least a post a week this summer. Let's see how it goes!

Kelsey graduated from the three year old preschool class a day before John graduated from his four year old preschool class. I got to see her class program and she did a great job singing the songs with her other classmates. She sang so pretty and all of the words too! Usually, Kelsey doesn't like getting up in front of people and performing (even if she's with a group of other kids), but she made me proud by getting up at the front of the room and singing. Wow!

She also loved the last day activities of fishing for a bag of goodies and then going outside to play. She misses going to school, but I'm sure she'll have a great time in two years when she can finally go to kindergarten.

John had a great time on his last day of class. We made it there for the last two minutes of his program, but he didn't want anything to do with standing in front of a classroom of parents to sing songs. So, I guess it's okay we missed the program. He had fun running around the "carnival" that the teachers set up for everyone. But he had the most fun eating lunch outside on the playground.

John loved his teachers and was especially sad to say good-bye to Miss Melissa. He got to see her one week later at her wedding (congrats!) and said he was so happy he almost cried. Sweet! But he's very excited to move on to kindergarten and ride the big school bus in the fall! Oh how the time is flying!

"Cantelope" Island

2010-06-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

We decided to have a little family adventure yesterday but we didn't want to go too far. Shawn and I are slowly discovering some of the natural beauties of Utah. We found one on Antelope Island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. We saw more bison and their calves than we did Pronghorn Antelope, but that's alright. We were lucky that we got to drive by and see so many. Shawn said the lady at the visitor center told him the herd is usually on a different side of the island...the side you have to hike to (no cars) in order to see them. Lucky us!

It was also reported to have really bad bugs (no see-um biting gnats) yesterday. The blowing wind kept most of the bugs away and kept temperatures moderate. It was sunny enough to need sunblock every two hours but cool enough to enjoy a "dip" in the salty water. (Actually, we skipped some really good rocks out there!)

The kids enjoyed seeing the animals but loved looking for brine shrimp in the lake. It was a great day to get away from civilization and return to nature. And John kept looking for "Cantelope" the entire time we were there...that and the...

"Um...what are those things called?"(john)
"Bison. They're called bison, John." (mom or dad)
"Yeah, the bison."

Fun day!

T-Ball continued

2010-06-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

John has been having a great time with T-ball this year, and the fun continues. This past Saturday we had the opportunity to attend a baseball clinic sponsored by the Salt Lake Bees baseball team.

John had a blast playing with the players, fielding ground balls, and hitting off the tee in the team's batting cage. Plus he got a pretty cool Anaheim Angels binder to take home.

Princess Tea Party

2010-05-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

What a smile, Bekah! The girls and I had a simple "tea" party at the local grocery store right after John's tball game. They dressed up before we left for the game in their various princess attire and kept asking me when it was time to go to the party. All of the little girls at the game noticed the "Princesses" and how beautiful they looked. Awwwww...

But the girls had lots of fun with their pink lemonade "tea" and their dainty little peanut butter sandwiches. I think Bekah liked her pink cupcake the best. I gave Daddy my chocolate covered strawberry just before he took our pictures. It was a good idea and made the girls feel pretty special.

Aren't they just cute little princesses? Bekah only complained once that the table was too tall for her, but that's not bad for manners. Right?

The First T-Ball Game of the Year

2010-05-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

So, we signed up John for T-Ball this year and he has loved it! He has been confused about the difference between practices and the games, but he loves the game. Every time it is sunny outside, he has been bugging Daddy about going outside to play catch, or go to the store to buy a bat so he can practice hitting the ball. It's too bad we don't have our own backyard where he could hit a practice tee. That will come.

The first game was an adventure for us all. The girls were pretty much bored until I told them they could go play on the playground in the school yard next door. They were much happier sliding down the slides and playing on the bouncy butterfly.

John did very well hitting the ball. In his game, they only get two times to bat and he hit the ball into the outfield every time. He even ran to first base without chasing the ball he just hit. It was kinda fun seeing the batters chase and catch the ball they just hit off the tee. Don't they know they get themselves out that way? Oh wait, they're only five and probably don't realize this is a game with other people in it. :-)

But we had fun watching the kids learn and have fun. Who cares about winning when the kids all think they're winners, even if they got out and didn't get to run around the bases? Too bad they can't always have this kind of fun.

For the Love of Chocolate

2010-02-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have never tried Cake Bites, you are really missing out. I learned of these at a Relief Society event and we've made them at least once a month since November. We made them for Bekah's birthday as Cake Pops (just make a ball and stick a lollipop stick in the bottom of it before you dip it). It was great fun! And they taste great! If you need the recipe or some of the flavors we've tried, ask. We'd love to share the joy with you!

And for Valentine's Day, I experimented with the tuxedo strawberries. It never fails that prices for "exotic" or lovely things go up at this time of year. The price of roses triples and the price for strawberries doubles this time of year. But I had lots of fun making these! Anyone need some extra love this week?

Updated Family Pics

2010-02-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

For all those who'd like to see our updated family pics, this is for you! We tried to get family pictures taken last Sunday, and although we didn't use a pro, we got some decent results. The results aren't "decent" because of the photographer...more like the resistance of our children. We couldn't keep the older ones focused or still for longer than five seconds. The younger two didn't want much to do with smiling or looking good. Ah well, so goes life. If you'd like prints, let us know. If you'd like to make your own prints, let us know and we'll send you larger files.

The one above is the one in our living room. I like Kelsey's karate move.

Daddy with his three wriggle worms. I think Jack was having a moment not worthy of the camera. He's a cuddle buddy right now, not a wrestling boy.

Kelsey's usually so photogenic. It's a wonder why I don't have one of the girls together. Oh, yeah. Bekah was not having a good picture taking day. Jack was able to give us a few good smiles before he was ready for nap time.

And this was Bekah! Enjoy!

John John is Five!

2010-02-05T09:33:00.000-08:00

This past year has been full of amazing things for John! Can you believe he's five already? He greatly enjoyed sharing his birthday with his cousins! They had such fun eating pizza and having rocket cake. Thanks for the great birthday presents, everyone! Enjoy the pics!

Suck it up, John John man! And with a breath that big, you'd expect him to have blown out all of the candles on the first puff! Well, there's technique involved with blowing out candles, not just the volume of air. And poor Jack Jack eyed the cake and ice cream all night. Daddy gave him some and boy! does he love ice cream!

That was pretty much the same face we got from John all night long. He was filled with pure excitement. I don't think he needed any additional ice cream to make him bounce off the wall. Doesn't he just look full of joy?

The birthday crown was the one he made at preschool. He was so proud of the "watermelons" on the crown. I'm assuming he's talking about the circle stamps. He was so excited to wear the crown at school and then again at home.

Hardware Ranch and the Elk

2010-01-25T13:48:00.000-08:00

We were looking for something fun to do the day after Christmas...we're not much of the after Christmas sale shoppers...and Macher came up with Hardware Ranch just outside Logan, Utah. The kids (minus Jack) loved the experience. They were a little impatient waiting in line for a chance to ride on the horse pulled wagons...but we distracted them with the camera phone!

And the last child is in among the blankets and coat. Jack Jack was NOT happy to be out in the cold, without lunch, or a nap! He cried the entire time we waited in line (which seemed like forever while he was crying) and for the first 10 minutes of the explanation. Ah well. I had a good time and John still remembers it!

The Bike Riders

2010-01-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

The bicycle gang that we currently have at our house consists of more bikes than riders...until friends come over. Isn't that a nice looking collection of "wheels?" Yeah, I know the horse isn't really wheels, but it takes a rider wherever he or she needs to go.

John loves his big wheel. We love how sturdy this thing is. He was even practicing turning and skidding. We were lucky not to have any snow on the sidewalk for him to get up some good speed. And that rear seat is just big enough to turn around and enjoy a comfy break spot.

Bekah has already learned how to be a big girl on a tricycle. She's been using John and Kelsey's for the past summer months (whenever the other two weren't looking). Now, she has her own bike, complete with stickers! And it looks like she'll be practicing on John's bike when he needs a break from all the hard work of being the big brother.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-22T12:02:00.000-08:00

We felt very blessed as a family this year. We shared time with wonderful friends, ate tasty treats, and we weren't sick at all! What a gift! We would like to thank everyone who made our Christmas a memorable one this year! Thank you so much for your love and support!

And without further ado...the pictures! I hope they bring a smile to your heart as much as they brought laughter to our home!

The stockings were stuffed with goodies like Pop Rocks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and clementines! Oh the joy of new toothbrushes and their own tube of special kid toothpaste! WOW! Such lucky kids! They also got "warm" goodies like cocoa with marshmallows and Jack is modeling his new rice bag (he has yet to try it out but the other kids have already tried theirs!).

Speaking of Jack, he slept through the excitement of the day and woke to enjoy all of his presents unwrapped for him. He didn't have to do a thing! The kids got to love some of his toys for him first, but that's alright. They were just "breaking" them in for him.

Bekah was loving her toys! She loved her tea set (which we named a hot cocoa set since she was given cocoa for Christmas too). I think she was the most excited about her bicycle and wanted to ride it as soon as possible.

Kelsey fell in love with everything! She got lots of princess stuff (puzzles, games, bubbles, etc) but I have to say she was most excited about her Barbie! Mom was a little hesitant about getting something with so many accessories that could get lost or choked on, but Grams did an excellent job finding one where the shoes and necklace were permanently attached. Thanks, Grams!

John has gotten to the stage where he doesn't want to wait for his presents to be given to him. He wanted them all now and then to help everyone else open theirs too. Ah well. He did a good job waiting to ride his new bike outside. But can you say "Pure happiness" when you see him with his helicopter?

And on to the bikes...

Two lucky bike riders! John and Bekah were so excited about their new bikes! They even knew exactly which bike went to which person. And I think the bow on John's bike is still attached to it. And since this entry is so long...I think I'll save the "Bike Ride" for another day. Keep watching!

Happy 2nd Birthday Bekah Mae!

2010-01-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

I should have done this a long time ago...since it's almost John's birthday. WOW! Here's to keeping up with the kids...a New Year's Resolution! Hah!

We celebrated a small birthday party for Bekah on her 2nd birthday back in December (hence the Christmas themed party). Shawn mentioned that she's going to have a Christmas theme to her birthdays forever. Probably true. But she picked out what type of cake she wanted. She got to choose between a reindeer, a snowman, Santa Claus, and the Christmas tree. I think she was most excited about getting a candy cane with her cake. And it was a fun cake to make too.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the gifts she received. She LOVES her sheets and constantly reminds us that "Gamma Sue give me bed" and then she snuggles into her blanket. What a cute girl!

We later had a combined birthday party for the kids in our development. We had a lot of friends show up to celebrate with us. One family gave Bekah some bath time paints. She decided it would be a good idea to try them out in her bed and on her teddy bear! Good thing they're all washable! Everyone enjoyed the paints in the bath. Daddy loved showing the kids how to mix colors to make different colors. Great bubbles!

And the biggest news for Bekah...she's doing very well on the potty! It looks like she might be potty trained before all of the snow melts! That's wonderful news for all of us! She's truly getting to be a big girl!

Happy Turkey Day!

2010-01-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

I know this is a BIT late...but we wanted everyone to know the fun we had while Grandma Sue and Great Grams came to visit. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the kids with the grandparents (bad me!). But the kids still talk about when will they get to see Grandma Sue and Grams again! Good memories for all!

I did get some pictures of the girls and then the traditional spread of pies on pie night! Thought I'd share the love, even if it is a few months late!

This picture is actually from Kelsey's first bus ride at school. It happened shortly before Thanksgiving. Believe me, the kids' harnesses for preschool are a curious thing. They are difficult to get the kids into and even harder for me to believe that they would really save a life. I think they're more of a restraint system to keep kids sitting down than to keep them safe....I guess that helps keep them safe too. Ah well.

Preschool Days

2009-10-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

John and Kelsey are having a blast in their preschool classes. Kelsey goes once a week and John gets to go four days of the week. John can't wait to tell us everything he's learned and all of the friends he's made. It's fun seeing him get up in the morning excited for school.

Kelsey loves going to her class and always wants Mommy to play with her. I get to go with her and see her interacting with other kids her age. She does a really good job even though she's kinda shy...nothing like outgoing John. But that's alright, most of the other kids in her class are the same way. Is it just a three year old thing?

I don't have any pics of John at class (he doesn't want me to come to his class... :-P). So, enjoy what we've got of Kelsey playing in the sand!

Pretty As A Princess

2009-10-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

Kelsey is our pretty princess girl. She's loved dressing up for the longest time in anything that resembles "princess." That means it has to be shiny, a necklace, or something with a Disney princess already printed on it. Her favorite princess is Aurora...go figure. That's everyone's, right?

Thanks to Aunt Cecelia for the new princess dresses! Kelsey tried to get Bekah to dress up in something pretty, but Bekah's a little less...delicate? I think Bekah would rather be the princess who arm wrestles her handsome prince. But they are good girls and we love them!

Three Months Old

2009-10-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, let's see if you all see what I see...

Yes, those are happy babies...but who's who?

If you guessed Bekah's the one on the left and Jack's the one on the right, you're correct! If you're like Bekah, (she guessed the one on the left was our neighbor boy who's borrowing our jammies) then you get as confused as I do sometimes with my kids. Silly, Mommy.

Anyway, thought I'd update you all on how Jack's doing and how fast he's growing. He's smiling, starting to coo, and holding himself up better than ever. He's on reflux meds but that means he's a happier baby now! Looking back, I probably should have had all my kids (sans Bekah) on the medicine; but we all survived.

Jack's almost fifteen pounds and sleeping longer through the night. He's been so much fun lately. Hope you all enjoy the dimples like I do!

Havin' Some Fun

2009-10-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what you can do all day with four kids under the age of four and a half? Well, here's some ideas for you. Some of the pictures are a few months old (sorry 'bout that) but it's been fun trying to find educational and entertaining things for the kiddies to do.

One of the places we HAVE to stop whenever we go to a hardware store or Wal-Mart is the motorcycle section. My kids think they are ready for the bigger bikes!

These actually should have been with the Hill Air Force Base air show back in June. But I just found them on my phone. So, the entry has stuff about Daddy and John but not what the girls did. Here they are! The boys went off and looked and shiny airplanes that fired guns or dropped bombs while the girls went off to see a big plane that offered shade and a place to sit down.

I've got a monkey by the tail! He's escaped from his cage! Quick! Get the zoo keepers! Oh wait, that's just John John Man! Zoo days are fun ways to spend the afternoon. I just wish they put benches or something so the kids can see the animals over the fences or bushes.

Kelsey and John trying out the neighbor's outdoor equipment. John's not doing too bad for his first time on skates. Watch your toes, Kelsey. Those are just some of the things we did this past summer to have fun! What did you do?

A Month of Firsts

2009-10-02T12:52:00.001-07:00

We've just had our first snowfall of the season! Doesn't Mt. Timpanogos look beautiful? It was cold, windy and rainy down in the valley all day. When the clouds broke apart for a few minutes, I knew I had to get the camera quick...this wasn't going to last long. I was right. By the time I'd run down to the basement and back upstairs, the perfect photo moment had passed. Luckily, the clouds parted just enough to let some more sunlight hit the mountain. Not quite as good as the first time I noticed it, but enough to give some definition to the hills, valleys, and snowy peaks. So pretty!

Another first for us this month has been the "first day" of preschool for two of my kids. John and Kelsey started HeadStart on the 15th of this month. Kelsey goes once a week and John goes four days out of five. Both of them are so excited to be going to a school. They are both getting so big and learning so much! I'm so proud of them! Aren't they cute!?

Addition and Subtraction

2009-09-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

We gained and lost a member of the family this month. After ten years of faithful service, Shawn's Malibu moved on to a new home. We cleaned him up and made him look nice. Then, for his last photo op, Shawn shot pretty professional looking pictures. The car was fun to drive and comfy inside...and all the kids loved going in Daddy's car. But we decided after taking the van to the fix-it shop that we needed another vehicle that would fit the whole family.

So, we started SUV hunting and found someone willing to trade straight across. They wanted something that would get better gas mileage and we needed something that seated nine. What we found, was a Sean in need of a Malibu and a Shawn in need of an Expedition. After meeting up in Spanish Fork, we got keys for a big "manly" truck and Sean drove off in the Malibu he was looking for. Crazy!? Maybe we should do this when we want a house?

Anyway, the kids love riding in Daddy's "truck." It has a V8 engine and Shawn loves the "Varoooom!" that the truck gives every time it starts up. We can certainly tell when Daddy's coming home! We can hear him coming! It's the greatest people mover we have...no offense to the minivan...but it doesn't seat nine.

Cuz pics!

2009-08-16T06:59:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, we got some pictures taken of the cousins that were in Utah together. Thought I'd share some of those and declare, "Skittles can't make Bekah smile when she's tired and hungry...and not much works for those two week old babies." Ah well...the older kids had fun and look good.

Thanks, Macher, for taking us to Wal-mart and giving us all an experience to remember. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Aren't they cute when you get them to listen and smile? Dunno what Jack Jack's doing...being a baby, I guess. But at least his eyes are open. I think we drove the poor photographer to insanity with 11 kids. We were there when she opened and she went to lunch just after we left. Crazy.

Enter...Jack Jack!

2009-07-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

After waiting for months and months, James Alexander Colloton has finally arrived! He was scheduled to come via c-section on the 23rd of July, but he had other plans. Monday night, Mom's water broke and we hurried to the hospital to see if we'd have to have an emergency c-section done. Low and behold, he'd finally listened to Dad and turned head down.

No c-section for Mom!! About 12 hours after arriving at the hospital, Jack made his entrance...dark hair and all! Everyone's doing great...a little tired...but that's to be expected and will probably continue for awhile. We're all VERY happy Mom didn't have to be cut open again. She's already up and around...and missing the family.

Jack ended up 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21 inches long. He has lots of dark hair...except for a huge bald patch at the front, which the nurses tried to hide with his first comb-over. Didn't work so well...but he is not completely bald like John and Bekah were. Hah!

We'll post more pics after we get them off of the camera. For now, this is what we've got from Shawn's cell phone. Oh the beauties of technology!

edit:

After a run home, and change of clothes (including a shower...I know you are shocked) I got the camera and was able to snap the following for your viewing pleasure.

Plus these three contributed by Aunt Johanna:

One Great Fishing Season

2009-07-20T14:47:00.001-07:00

This past saturday John, Cousin Adam, and I woke up before the sun to hit Vivan Park Pond and terrorize some fish. Well the sun didn't make it over the mountain as fast as I thought it would, and the only thing that got terrorized were some Water Skeeters. The kids did get a kick out of a dog that was roaming the park. He had found a box of almost full velveta cheese by one of the trees and decided to make a snack of it while the kids watched and giggled.

John and Adam had a great time though, casting in the water, and both had a great time seeing who could pull out the biggest "green" or, as Adam called them, "spinach" fish. The pond was full of weeds and gunk. Eventually I had both boys, after Adam tried just about every other lure I had, casting small Rapalas. Adam didn't get but maybe a nibble or two. John got one great bite, but didn't set his hook in time. A bit later John brought in the first fish of the day, a pretty little 10" Rainbow trout that he was so proud of. He's turning into a great little angler.

I think we'll have to go out again with cousin Adam and see what we can terrorize before he leaves for Okinawa with his family.

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with Alex's in-laws from Florida this past week! Wow! The kids already are asking when Aunt Michelle will be coming back to visit them. John's also been asking when we can go get more fireworks from the firework tents. We aren't planning on doing anymore this year (due to Jack Jack's due date being so close to the 24th of July).

The kids really enjoyed all the fireworks they got to see...well, everyone except Bekah. She didn't get to experience the excitement of the ward party. She and Mommy went home early...both girls were cranky and ready for bed. So, when she got to see the family fireworks with the Jensen's, she was more than willing to stay behind everyone else.

Can you see her? Thanks to Heather for this picture! Hope you all had a great 4th of July!

Kelsey's 3rd Happy Tu-Tu

2009-06-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

June 18th Marked Kelsey's third birthday. For some of us there were days where we didn't think she would make it this long. But lets face it, she's our princess and the whole thought of "I brought you into this world, I can take you out of it" is illegal.

First I have to tell you that Kelsey was the most excited about her "horsey" cake. She had found this in Linda's cake book and for 2 to 3 months prior to her birthday would sneek a glimps of "her cake" at every available opportunity, and when friends would come to visit she was sure to go in to the house, get her book, and show everyone around "her horsey cake". Linda really did a great job on the cake given the difficulty she was having with the materials.

Kelsey wanted a swimming party. Luckily for us we happen to have a swimming pool readily available to us. Sorry, no shots of the swimming. I was in the water and the camera mysteriously doesn't work when I'm in frame....go figure.

The pinacle of the evening, as it is with almost every birthday celebration, was the presents. Kelsey was in love with each and every present she received. *note: if your particular gift is not pictured it is more than likely the fault of our beloved digital camera....or the camera operator.

The next day she couldn't wait to get dressed up in her new princess clothes. I have to prefface this by saying this picture makes me shake my head every time. John, in his infinite wisdom as brother, decided that he too....would play with Kelsey's birthday presents......ugh. Oh well...... can we say "BLACKMAIL?"

2009 Hill AFB Air Show

2009-06-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we went up to Hill AFB for their annual air show. We have been in years past and, minus a little sun sickness and sun burns, have had a wonderful time. This year was no exception. So much so that we neglected to take pictures of most of what we did.

John and I had a great time walking around the static displays. He wanted to see anything that he could either get into or was shiny. We walked through a few large cargo planes, checked out the bomb bays of a B2 bomber, and even got up close and personal with an AWACS.

Kelsey and Bekah both had a great time. I don't think Kelsey was as impressed with the goings on toward the end of the day when heat and sleepyness started taking their toll, but Bekah was gung ho to the end stating a "wow.." after every loud jet blasted by the crowd.

The highlight of this years show were the USAF Thunderbirds. I have seen the Thunderbirds perform in past years and have to honestly say that I prefer seeing the Blue Angels. However, this year I might have to change that. Ok maybe not but it was the best show I've seen them do thus far: great tight formations, respectful and whimsical when needed, one spectacular show.

Military Intelligence is not just an oxymoron

2009-06-03T21:35:00.001-07:00

Featured here is the eldest of the Tweed siblings. You can see that they acclime naturally to military life. Don't quote me on this but I think Philip's first words were "Semper Fi"...then the obligatory "Sir" and "Ma'am." We are proud of the work he does and delighted that he was featured for this video.

John's First Fishing Day

2009-05-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

I didn't get any pictures as I was busy pulling trout out of the water myself. But, today was John's first fishing day. He had a blast and actually landed the first fish of the day. John was really excited to go fishing and even more excited when we went out last night to pick up a spiderman fishing pole for him. He spent most of the time casting into the water and reeling back in.

Though he got really excited when I started fishing and pulling out fish. I caught 3 rainbow trout and kept 1. John's trout didn't quite make it out of the pond, but he caught it none the less.

He's excited to go again. If anyone is interested in coming with us we have an extra rod you can use.

Seeing the sights with Grandma Sue

2009-05-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

Next stop, Dunlap to see Grandma Sue. And boy did we do a lot of stuff! I think we ran everyone down to exhaustion because of what we wanted to see and do! Ah well...we had fun!

First stop, Nauvoo. It was the first time back since we'd started our adventure as the Colloton family, and we've increased our numbers. Does the following picture look familiar?

The last time we were here, we only had Mommy and Daddy touching the door to the temple. This time, we had three little hands with us! The kids loved being able to touch the temple and see where we started our Forever Family.

We toured a few of the sights in Nauvoo...not very many because the kids' attention span isn't much for the tours that aren't hands-on. At the ox wagon, the girls weren't much for touching the animals but they did join us for the ride in the wagon. John was a little leery of the big animals but at least he got closer than Kelsey did. Oh well. Maybe next time we'll get a horse carriage ride for Kelsey.

We stopped by the blacksmith shop for our Prairie Diamond rings. John claimed the horseshoe the senior missionary made for Grandma Sue. Silly John! Both he and Kelsey were very concerned if they lost track of their rings.

Next stop, Pioneer Activities for the kids. It has great activities for the kids to do...to show them some of the ways kids in the 1840s played. Bekah and Kelsey were great little moms as they made dinner, took care of the baby dolls, and even fed the sheep and horse.

John and Daddy played ring toss, climbing bear, tops, and stick pull...mostly boy games, of course. But John did want to ride the horse too...and show us all how he could spell his name on the chalkboard in the little schoolhouse.

We also saw the rope making, candle making, and bread making demonstrations in the Family Living Center...but the kids wanted to be up and doing rather than listening to what the missionaries had to say. They loved the cookies in the Scovil Bakery and the brick from the brickyard. All in all, Nauvoo was fun...and such nice weather too! Much better than the crowds and heat of summer.

We then took the kids (and Shawn) to Wildlife Prairie Park in Peoria! We saw bison, wolves, red tail hawks, great horned owls, bald eagles, foxes, bobcats, cougars, elk, cranes, cardinals...and several bus loads of grade schoolers...lots of native wildlife of Illinois.

We took the train around the loops and the kids had a blast on that! But I don't know who was more excited about all of the slides in the park: Shawn or John? Everyone had such a great time!

We had so much fun at Grandma Sue's house! We'll have to go back after Jack Jack arrives and gets big enough to enjoy some of the fun stuff in Peoria.

Visiting Great Grams

2009-05-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

Grams was wonderful...is wonderful! Her food was amazing as ever and we loved just "hanging out" with her. The kids picked up some fun toys (Grams was well stocked with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and crayons when we arrived!). I think the bubbles and the thunderstorm were the hit of her house with the kids...that and the unlimited supply of soda or apples.

The kids loved showing off their skills in the hotel's swimming pool. Grams was a great audience and kept thanking them for letting her come see them swim. They loved it!

I couldn't get many good pictures of John jumping off the side of the pool, but this was his favorite game. He's practicing kicking and doggy-paddling.

Bekah wouldn't have much to do with the pool. She get in at the top step and get back out again. She didn't want anyone to hold her or even sit in her floaty ring. She didn't get very wet but she did get lots of loves from Grams.

Kelsey is trying so hard to be big like John. She tried to do everything he did. She doesn't quite have the arm movements down but she's trying. We'll work on the swimming stuff in the clubhouse pool this summer. Maybe the next time we head for Illinois, the kids will be expert swimmers!

We were all sad to leave Sterling...but we're already thinking of when we can come back! We love you, Grams!

Travelin' the High Road

2009-05-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a rather photo intense blog, so I'll break it up into two or three different posts. This first one will be about the traveling. The next one will be about Great Grams and the final one will be about Grandma Sue. Hope you all enjoy!

For those of you who didn't know...and those who knew...here are a few highlights from our trip to Illinois! We all had such a blast and we loved seeing the family. The kids did really well in the van and they didn’t even watch a ton of movies like we first thought they’d have to! They did get a little whiny by the end of the day (but even Mom and Dad were ready to get done driving by the time we were to the hotel).

We stayed the first night in North Platte, Nebraska at a Holiday Inn Express. May we recommend the KidSuite to anyone with small children. They have a separate bedroom with a bunkbed, small table, two kid chairs, and a t.v. for the kids. Mom and Dad get a king sized bed in another room. Very nice! Shawn was a little disappointed to find out (as we were leaving) that the kids' room also came with a PlayStation II. He wanted to play a few video games with John John Man.

A few tips for those of you thinking of taking I-80 across the country: Wyoming does not have very many rest stops. The ones they do have very little grass but little prairie dogs will help you eat your snack. The kids enjoyed feeding them! Little America is a great place to stop and refresh yourself while traveling through Wyoming. It has a small playground and picnic tables to use...even if you don't purchase anything from the store.

Nebraska rest stops are wonderful! They have structures for the kids to climb on, through or in. They are so helpful for cooped up children and adults. Iowa rest stops aren’t as great for play areas but most have Wi-Fi and are clean, big, and informative...and shady for those looking for a picnic lunch.

We stopped every two hours or so to let everyone get out and stretch. Thank goodness for that! The little kids needed about 30 minutes to get out and stretch before they even considered it a good idea to get back in the van. Driving time to Illinois was about 20 hours...for those who wanted to know.

Get ANGRY.....that's it..

2009-04-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I'm upstairs and suddenly hear the quick little feet of John blasting up the stairs. He turns the corner into my room, toy knife and cell phone in hand, and panting..instructs me that the bad guys are coming to kill us. "What bad guys?" I ask. "The Soldiers...the soldiers are coming to kill us." he replies.

At this point I'm thinking we've watched a few to many x-men cartoons, however I decide to play along.

"Maybe you should call the President and ask him to....bail us out." - yeah it made Linda laugh.

John...

"No, let's call him and tell him to get angry so he turns into The Rock Obama!"

Yeah.. I Love My Boy!

Going Once, Going Twice...

2009-04-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Well it appears that we are being sold out of house and home. Linda found this online. I'm not sure why (yes I know why, but I like to act naieve), but Linda tends to surf the internet looking for homes. In her search today she found this picture of our house attached to one of the units in our townhome community.

This had both of us laughing and made our day. I guess we have the house the best represents our neighborhood. Which reminds me. If you're looking for a nice home in the Provo, UT area and want to live closer to the "better model than the model home home" check out http://utahrealestate.com/843688 .

Jac-Jac Attack!

2009-03-19T13:42:00.000-07:00

With our twenty week ultrasound, we get complimentary pictures of our newest member of the family. Isn't that so nice of the doctors? You can hardly tell what's in the pictures sometimes, but they can tell. I think that's supposed to be a profile in the first picture, but who knows?

Jac-Jac was being very "difficult" during the procedure and the technician happily provided a disco dance for him by jiggling him around where she wanted him to be. When the doctor arrived to "confirm" the good news of a healthy baby, he got much better pictures.

We have decided that our little guy is going to be very flexible, just perfect for martial arts...and all the wrestling he'll have to do to keep up with his big brother. Jac-Jac enjoyed keeping one leg up near his chin, cheek, or tucked under his bottom. It made determining if he was really a boy rather difficult.

But once he decided we weren't going to let up until we got a show, he was all for it! So, if you couldn't tell by the pointer...we're having a boy!

We went from a little guy at 14 weeks to a one pounder at 22 weeks. And we've decided his profile looks a bit like John's and Bekah's. More pictures to come in about 20 more weeks!

"I Spy" Bags & Other Travel Gear

2009-02-19T14:19:00.001-08:00

I've gotten a little "project" oriented these past few weeks. We're gearing up for a trip in May to see the Illinois side of the family. I've been researching ways to keep the kids entertained during the long drive (yes, I said DRIVE!) to and from Illinois. So far, I'm hoping that some of my ideas will not go to waste. Twenty hours driving one way just watching movies could get to be a bore.

Anyway, I've created lap trays out of old cookie sheets for the kids to play with magnets on. The trays were coated with white board paint (so when they're older, we can all get high from sniffing dry erase markers). No, really, the white surface means we can have a smooth area for coloring pages or laminated race tracks. Kelsey's really excited to use her magnetic paper doll set!

My second project was a set of "I Spy" bags (pocket-sized). It took forever to find a pattern for these 5.5" square bags. They only have 24-25 toys in each but it was fun making them. John was really excited to help fill the bags with the beads. Kelsey's excited to find the stuff inside. And Bekah hasn't gotten up from her nap to see the bags. Ah well. Email me if you want the directions for making these things. They sell on the market for $20 and I made three for less than that!

We'll see if they work in the doctor's office today and that should say whether or not the kids are interested. At least we've got a few months to hide away the travel stuff so they can all be excited about the "new" stuff when I get it out for the trip! And I have one less stress to think about. I've done my part.

The Many Faces of Our Silly Kids

2009-02-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

I didn't think John's face making skills were so popular until I walked into a higher end department store and saw a mannequin with the same face that John makes when he greets people. So, you tell me, doesn't this look the same?

Anyway, while we're on a roll with "face-making" skills, let's check out the other kids' skills! Bekah's pictures were actually taken on John's birthday when we celebrated with cupcakes and chocolate icing. Mmmmm...doesn't she look lovely?

Kelsey didn't want to be left out of the picture when I asked John to make faces for me. So...here are the two who copy each other.

So if my kids ever come up to you and make one of these faces, it really means they like you. Crazy, huh?

Happy Birthday, John John Man!

2009-02-01T07:49:00.000-08:00

We celebrated John's birthday over a two day period...starting on his birthday and ending with his party on Friday night. He had so much fun! Thank you to everyone who sent cards, presents, or just showed up for the festivities. He was so happy he could share his day with you!

John wanted to have an airplane birthday cake. I tried looking for things to make it more of a themed birthday party, but all the party stores only had fighter jets not commercial airplanes. So...we settled on an airplane cake with "awfuls" (translation: waffles) for dinner. John chose it all.

Shawn did a great job taking pictures of the present opening session...but the camera didn't cooperate. Most of the pictures were blurry. Shawn was NOT a little happy! But we did manage to capture John's reaction when he opened the Cowboy set. He gave a two fisted, two armed, "YESSSS!!!!"

He was so grateful for all the cards and other presents too! I don't think he had a favorite. He loves them all! Thank you! Can you believe our boy is 4!? Can you believe we all survived this long? Just kidding. He's a good boy and we love him. Happy Birthday, John.

A Memorable Christmas

2008-12-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

A big 'thank you' to everyone who helped make our Christmas a good one this year. We were a bit under the weather (so if the pictures don't make us look quite like ourselves, that's why...cameras don't lie) but we survived it all. The kids had lots of fun with their presents and even though we've had runny noses all week, they've been able to enjoy the "new" stuff.

John loved his Spiderman toothbrush, toothpaste, and matching underwear from his stocking. Kelsey got a princess toothbrush, toothpaste, but no undies...ah well. She loves having her own toothpaste with matching accessories.

John got an old Fisher Price Parking Garage (almost antique now!) and Kelsey got the Fisher Price Doctor's Kit (antique too!). Both kids have loved playing with their toys and clothes! John loved his new Superman jammies and had to try out the cape on the back by jumping off the couch! He said it worked great!

Bekah's still doesn't quite understand what all the fuss is about. She was ready to open all of the presents the moment they arrived. So, when it finally came time for her to rip off the wrapping paper, she had to be persuaded to give it a go. Maybe next year she'll be more of a pro.

Shawn and I say "thank you" for our presents too. We were "lucky" enough to stay out of most of the pictures. Good thing too...since we don't look nearly as lovely as the kids. Sick kids take it out of the parents! So...we're hoping to recover fully by New Year's so we can party all night. Well, at least until bedtime. Thank you!

Signs of Christmas

2008-12-20T12:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas around our house hasn't been as hectic this year as it has in other years. It's been nice to relax and gradually add decorations to our home. Decorations that have an amazing way of disappearing. We have little fingers who like to help rearrange things. Ah well, what can you expect when there's a nearly 4 year old (no problem with him rearranging), a 2 1/2 year old (she likes to eat leftover candy and cookies), and a 1 year old (she looks cute with cookie mess on her face from eating a cookie off the Christmas tree).

I thought I'd let you see some of the fun we've had this year. Leave a comment on what you think looks different about our Christmas tree from other trees you've seen this year. It's not unique but it is kinda funny.

Happy First Birthday, Bekah Mae!

2008-12-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

Rebekah Mae made it to one year! And so did all of the rest of us! Wow! It seems to have flown by so quickly. Here are some highlights from her birthday party! We had such a great time with family and friends in our new clubhouse. It was nice not having it in our own house...there's so much more room to romp and play in the gathering area. See? Shawn had time for wrestle mania!

The kids really enjoyed playing ping pong and fooseball downstairs while the adults got things ready upstairs. So much fun!

I guess Bekah's going to have Christmas themed birthdays for a long time. A cupcake tree seemed like the easiest way to go. I don't have to cut cake and everyone seemed to enjoy a unique idea! Bekah loved her very own "smash" cake. John blew out her candle (thank you, big brother).

The presents were a hit too...especially with everyone else! Kelsey kept running off with the baby doll and John wanted to go get his Spider-Man Christmas presents to put under the little tree where we stashed all of Bekah's presents. He thought it would be fun to open his presents too. Poor guy just doesn't understand.

Bekah loved the truck...as did the other boys present. The monkey ball was a hit. Poor cousin Rian kept saying, "Mine." since we got him the same thing for his first birthday. The box that held Bekah's new church shoes was a huge hit! The puff balls for the snowmen grabbed her attention. It was all I could do to encourage her to look inside the box. Even then, she wanted to finger those snowmen. They were awesome! Thanks, Great Grams!

And here's the only picture we could get of her in her new Christmas romper. Poor kid, looks like she's had plenty of birthday for one year! Thank you, everyone, for helping us have a memorable first birthday for our little Bekah Mae Mae.

A Visit with Santa

2008-12-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, the kids got to see Santa Claus at the grocery store. We were one of the first ones there on a relatively slow day. There wasn't hardly a line because no one knew Santa was coming at 10:30 in the morning. It was really fun to see the kids' reactions. John didn't really want to talk to Santa as much as he wanted the candy cane at the end. He did get time to tell Santa Claus all about his Spider-Man hat.

Kelsey's always shy around new people and never really talks much (even when prompted).

And Bekah took one look at the white beard and did what most babies do. CRY!

Also, an update on our Bekah Mae Mae...she's walking now. It's the stiff legged walk but she's taking steps independent of objects. Her favorite thing to say is "Uhhh...", which is usually associated with raised arms. So, although her first word was "Daddy", she has since moved past that to "up!" She'll be ONE on Saturday. What a big girl!

Our Silly Kids

2008-11-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

Three pictures...short and sweet. You let me know what you think of my silly kids.

Bekah being Bekah. Why can't she show those teeth?

John being a robot, Ironman, or whatever else he wants to be. That's actually a little purse for one of Kelsey's ponies. Crazy kid!

Kelsey, Kelsey, Kelsey. She's usually pretty happy and wants to give lots of smiles. She's so fun!

Mom's Feeling the Muse

2008-11-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

So, I decided to "show off" some of my completed projects. I'm proud of any project I actually finish but some of these turned out rather well....if I may say so. Anyway, to show you some of the things I've been doing this summer and fall, I thought I'd include some pictures. It was fun!

Spaghetti sauce goes quickly in our house, especially if it's premade! This took a few hours to complete but I'm excited to see bottles of sauce ready for cold winter days when I don't feel like cooking much. Very nice and tasty!

I just finished these at a Relief Society activity. The first two are magnet boards. I used two pieces of 12x12 scrapbooking paper and glued them to a large piece of sheet metal (the edges aren't sharp, thank goodness!). The letters (pet themed board) and the flowers have magnets on the back. The other three objects are supposed to be car kits. They are hot pads with baggies sewn inside to carry things like scissors, thread, buttons, pens, band-aids, etc. in a car's glove box. I was hoping to use them as little travel kits for the kids. They'd need something to hold small pads of paper, crayons, small cars/toys, etc. when we travel. Kinda fun.

SNOW DAY

2008-11-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

These pictures are actually from the beginning of November when we had a bit of snow. It wasn't much but it was enough to get the kids excited for the coming winter. We hauled out snow boots (discovered both kids need bigger boots!), mittens, hats, and coats. John was out the door before I could get Kelsey ready. He was so excited to experience it all first.

First, he ran around in it to make as many footprints as possible. Then, he started chucking snowballs. Hence, the picture of him winding up for a throw. Future athelete? Probably, but he's more interested in hockey than football or baseball. Ice hockey usually doesn't entail throwing a ball.

Kelsey joined him for a snow taste testing contest. They both decided it was pretty good. Cold but good.

It then moved on to the favorite game of the morning: snow angels. Every yard had one in it by the time John was finished. Kelsey finally got brave enough to lay down in it, though she didn't accumulate as much snow on her backside as John. They both had loads of fun and didn't want to come inside until I mentioned HOT COCOA with marshmallows!