The Jenkins Family

Only five and half more months...

2012-01-09T14:26:00.004-07:00

On Friday night we said goodbye to my mom once again. We all got together at my house for a final goodbye and thanks to the Hogan's for always having a camera.

Can't wait to see BOTH of them in such a short amount of time. Three years felt like FOREVER when they left, but I can't believe that it is just around the corner!

Ringing in the New Year

2012-01-08T10:19:00.004-07:00

We rung in the new year with some sledding at Soldier Hollow. Ethan LOVED it. I was nervous that he was going to have freak out since he isn't huge on tubing behind the boat, but he thought it was a blast. Kurt and I took turns watching Reese and taking her down the baby hill. She was a trooper and such a good girl. Apparently we exhausted her cause she thought the tube was a perfect place to take a nap.

Then it was off to a Jazz game on Monday night. Kurt's work has season tickets right at center court on row 15. It was so much fun to have a fun date night with the hubs doing something we love! Bring on the Jazz!

We are excited to bring on 2012!

Christmas

2011-12-30T09:53:00.001-07:00

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Ethan is at that age where it is so magical to him. At about 6:45 he threw open our door and told us that Santa had come. He was beyond excited! We got up and took the traditional stair picture. Some how this year Chucky joined us! (I can't stop laughing at Reese in the picture)

Reese saw her rocking horse and none of the other presents mattered. Ethan tore open the his presents the minute he laid eyes on them. I think he had all of them opened in record time. We were lucky enough to have my mom spend the night so she was there with us on Christmas morning. We saved the gifts we were going to send to Japan and let her open them here. Kurt got some fun things for our bikes and I got a quilted minky blanket that I LOVE along with a gym bag and some work out clothes.

It's our tradition to have a breakfast in the morning so this year we had some rudolph pancakes, thanks to Pintrest. It wouldn't be an eventful morning if something didn't go wrong....Kurt opened our back door to let Kya out and we didn't realize that our alarm was going off, the pancakes burned, and about thirty minutes later we had police knocking on our door! I don't think he was too happy to know it was a false alarm.

Later that morning we went to church. then headed to my sisters to exchange gifts and hang out for a little bit, and to end the day we headed to Kurt's mom and dad's to exchange gifts and spend some time with his family! Even as exhausting as Christmas day is I always love it! We had a great Christmas! I have to admit thought that I'm excited to take down the clutter!

Christmas Eve Tradition

2011-12-27T16:11:00.006-07:00

We had our annual lunch on Christmas Eve this year at The Brick Oven. Before we left the kids got some pictures together. Reese is sporting her new hair cut. I was so sick of the crazy hairs everywhere that they just did a cute bob cut until it grows out evenly. I think she looks pretty cute. Plus I can still do the normal pig tails.

This year was different then the past two years since we had my mom here with us! It was a fun lunch and a fun way to pass some of the time! We also got a little crazy with photo's, Kurt learned that you get lots of pictures when you are with the Margetts' Fam.

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Preschool Bliss

2011-12-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ethan had his Preschool Christmas Program on Wednesday night. I seriously don't know where this child of mine came from! He cracks me up! He knew every song and every word of all the songs. Kurt and I laughed so hard because when he sings it looks like he is overly enunciating every single word! Here is my cute typical Ethan...

Here he is with his best buddy (and cousin) Preston.

His super cute teachers....Mrs. Vesta

and Mrs. Becky.

Grandma Lynette and Grandpa Russ came to watch him

and Grandma Sherry was able to come see both Ethan and Preston.

He made sure to ask us the entire way home who we watched...him or everybody else? And even after telling him how great he did and that we watched him the WHOLE time, he pulled his sad pout face and in true Ethan form said, "I guess you just watched everybody else! I guess no one watched me!" I love that boy and we are so proud of him!

Grandma...back in the U.S.A.

2011-12-20T21:24:00.004-07:00

My mom is home!! I wish it was July and she was home for good, but this is a quick three week stay. My sweet little Grandma's health has started to go down hill. With not knowing how long she will be here my mom came home to spend some time with her sweet mom.

She is staying at our house for the first part of her stay so she though just Kurt and I were coming the get her. What she didn't know was that all of us were there to surprise her! We met at the airport and put together our sign...

Here are the kids waiting patiently with the sign. Once they saw her they took off running to hug her.

I am so excited to have my mom home for just this little time! I tried to talk my dad into stowing away in a suitcase...I even offered to ship a life size poster of him sitting at his desk for the missionaries, but I guess we will have to wait to see him in July.

Our Elf Arrived...

2011-12-03T14:22:00.006-07:00

Our elf, Johnny, has ARRIVED. I found this super cute idea for our elf to make his appearance this year. Last year was our first year doing "The Elf on the Shelf" and Ethan absolutely loved it. So this year I thought it would be fun to start a new tradition...(thank you lady on Pintrest and to my cousin Annie for showing me what Pintrest was.)

Johnny returned this year with a BANG! Some new table settings,

gifts for the kids,

donuts straight from the North Pole,

and even a letter for Ethan & Reese.

We made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, had milk in our new sippy cups, powdered donuts for desert, and then finished off with Kurt reading the book to the kids to remind them why Johnny was here.

Nothing beats the excitement of having your four year old run into your room to tell you that our elf has come! He was SO excited!! I love the excitement at this age. All morning long he has been talking to Johnny and he can't believe that Johnny brought us all of this stuff. He is convinced that he brought it all in the Santa hat that he left for him. Here's to hoping Johnny makes this next month a little easier while we wait for Christmas to come! Let the Christmas season begin!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-28T19:10:00.004-07:00

This year was our year with my in-laws for Thanksgiving. We met at Kurt's parents and had a great Thanksgiving lunch, started a new tradition of decorating gingerbread houses, lounged around, and played some games.

I love this time of year, despite the cold weather. I love how much time we get to spend with family. We have been lucky enough to always have family around and we take it for granted. It was a great relaxing Thanksgiving thanks to the Jenkins. And on another happy note....my mom and dad will be home in SEVEN months! Woo hoo.

Kurt got Thursday and Friday off so we spent some time shopping, getting Christmas put up, and took the kids to the Children's Museum.

And Sunday we headed down to Temple Square to see the lights. It was a fun weekend. Wish the hubster had more long weekends like that!

The Munchkins

2011-11-23T16:52:00.003-07:00

Back on the 10th of this month Ethan was the ring bearer for my cousin's wedding. He did such a good job and looked so handsome in his cute outfit!

Reese is finally back after a few sick bouts. She has always been my good eater but after getting sick and throwing up she decided not to eat much. In fact anything new that went into her mouth she instantly gagged or at least pretended to gag. It was funny at first but got old real quick. Last night we had lasagna and she pounded her whole piece.

I love these two munchkins of mine, even on days where I want to pull my hair out. They make me laugh and smile every day.

15 Months

2011-11-05T17:50:00.001-06:00

Reese turned fifteen months at the beginning of this month!! I can't believe how much she is changing. Not only does she know how to get her way, throw tantrums, and wrap herself around your finger, but she's growing and is nice and healthy.

Weight: 21lb. -25%

Height: 30" - 30%

She now loves to climb, eat with a fork, say about ten different words, scream and cry when she doesn't get her way, push her baby, talk on her phone, and basically act like everyone says girls act! She loves me and wants to be cuddled. When she wants to play she wants dad! We love her so much and are so glad she's part of our family! How can you not love a face like this??

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!

2011-11-01T16:15:00.000-06:00

I love Halloween! I love getting out all the decorations, the pumpkins, the candy, and most of all dressing up my kiddos. Kurt and I were pretty lame this year and didn't dress up at all. We have a good excuse since we missed the annual neighborhood party while we were in Hawaii!

Ethan: The Sheriff

Reese: The Bumble Bee

We started the Halloween week out by decorating a Haunted Mansion. I found this at JoAnn's and it was the best purchase. For a couple bucks more I got the house that was already put together!! That's right...no holding for hours while the stupid icing dried. We pulled it out of the box and let the kids go to town.

Later in the week was the ward Halloween party. Ethan ran around with all of his little friends and Reese walked around the gym struttin' her stuff!

Yesterday (HAlloween) Reese woke up not feeling well at all. The poor thing had a fever and just cried and laid most of the day. I had no other choice but to drag her out and about. We headed over to Ethan's preschool where he was all dressed up. They get to go out and wave to all the cars and try to get the cars to honk at them. It's hilarious and the kids love it! So just a little FYI...if you are ever driving on 12600 s. and right passed redwood road honk at the little kids waving! They get a kick out of it. Here they are on the road and then Ethan with his cousin Preston!

After the preschool we headed home and Reese took a four hour nap. After waking up I had a different baby. Happy as could be and feeling great! Not sure what happened to her that morning but was so happy she was feeling better. So after nap we headed over to Grandma Lynette's and Grandpa Russ's to see some of my nieces and nephew.

And finally it was off to trick or treat. This is the only decent picture I could get of the two of them together! Ethan LOVED it. I've never seen the kid run so fast. Reese walked for a little while and then ended the night being pushed in the stroller. Next year I think she will have more fun.

And of course, in tradition, here they are in their Halloween jammies. I love my pirate babies!!!

8 Days of Relaxation

2011-10-24T14:42:00.008-06:00

Kurt and I just got back from a much needed vacation to Hawaii. We headed over to my parents time share for eight days and invited his parents to come along. We had so much fun showing them around Hawaii and just lounging around at the resort!

We dropped of the kiddos and headed out on Saturday morning. After arriving there we headed to get a car, checked in, headed to Chili's for some dinner, and then did some grocery shopping. One of the nice things about the time share is that we have a full kitchen so we can buy food and eat there when we want.

The second day we headed over to Pearl Harbor. It's been a few years since we've been so it was interesting to watch the video and go out to the memorial again. Afterward went to the swap meet and did some shopping!

Monday we lounged at the resort! Kurt and Russ did some snorkeling and I spent most of the day reading and soaking up the sun!

Tuesday we headed into Waikiki and hiked Diamond Head. It looks over all of Waikiki. It was a fun little hike and was beautiful at the top. After hiking we went and walked the Waikiki strip and hit up the Cheesecake Factory for some yummy lunch. Later that night we drove to the North Shore the see the night show "Ha" at the Polynesian Cultural Center. (Sad I didn't get any pictures).

Wednesday we lounged again, laid in the sun, and then went to see the new "Footloose." I LOVED it!

Thursday we drove to Laie on the North Shore again and did a session at the Laie, Hawaii temple. After the session we headed to Sunset beach to enjoy a real beach on the North Shore. I have to admit that even though I do love the beach, the resort is so much better. Maybe it's the lounge chairs, the umbrellas, snow cones, Hawaiian music, or strawberry banana smoothies that appeals to me more...I'm not sure, but the beach only lasted a little over an hour until Lynette and I were ready to go back to the resort. On the way back we made a stop at the Dole Plantation to get the yummy soft serve pineapple ice cream.

Friday and Saturday we spent at the resort again. We checked out Saturday morning but lounged at the resort until about 3:00. Then we headed into Waikiki again to do some shopping, eat dinner, and then headed to the airport to catch our flight home.

It was such a fun vacation, much needed time away from the kids (thank you to those who watched them), and fun to spend time with Kurt's mom and dad. Now I can start counting down the days until next years Hawaii vacation!

PuMpKiNs

2011-10-13T20:23:00.006-06:00

Tonight we headed to the Pumpkin Patch to pick our little family of pumpkins. Ethan loves picking his out and has asked me for about three months if the pumpkins were ready to be picked!

Reese wandered around not sure what to do. Getting her to look at the camera just wasn't happening.

We walked away with a pumpkin for each of us along with baby pumpkins for our little munchkins! I love this time of year!

Off to St. George

2011-10-12T19:30:00.000-06:00

Since I was little we always go to St. George over October Conference and also the St. George marathon! This year was no different, however I found out in the seven years that Kurt and I have been married that he has never been to see the runners come in from the marathon....WHAT? Apparently I can't really say it's a tradition if we've missed it that many times. I think he is lying and just can't remember! So this year was no different. We headed down Wednesday afternoon so we could get there in time to make it to Tuacahn to go see the Little Mermaid! It was awesome!! They always do such an amazing job and are so creative.

Thursday we did some shopping, reading, and a lot of lounging. My sis and her family arrived later that night and Ethan finally had someone other then us boring people to play with.

Our days were filled with swimming, eating, and the parks.

We did make our "tradition" of seeing the runners come in. We missed the first guy but saw the first woman run in. It gave me HUGE motivation to start training to do another one for about an hour. Then all of the time and energy it takes to train set in and my motivation was right out the door! It felt good for about an hour though!

We finished our last night off with some shakes and ice cream! Good times and good company! Love me some St. George!

The Hubster

2011-10-10T11:30:00.000-06:00

My hubs turned the big 29 last Monday! I guess I should start planning a big hoo rah for his next big birthday bash for the big 3.0.! For now we celebrated with some lunch and dinner on his birthday, along with some cake bites and cupcakes from Sweet Tooth Fairy! I tried to make it a "special" day but when you get older it seems like birthdays are just another day!

I love you babe and hope that you had a good day!! Happy Birthday! We love you so much!

The Witches

2011-09-30T19:11:00.000-06:00

Gardner Village is always a must at Halloween! Last week I met up with my friend Tanya and let the kids run around and find all the witches.

Miss Thing chilled in her stroller for most of the time....

I love this time of year, the fall weather, the fall colors, and mainly just everything about fall time!

{Triathamom}

2011-09-25T20:30:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was my first sprint triathlon. My sis in law Mindy had told me about it months ago and I agreed to do it with her. My other sis in law Alaina and her friend Danika joined us too! This was a first for me so I set out learning to be a better swimmer, learning how to ride a road bike, and then starting to transition everything together. A sprint tri consists of a 300 meter swim, a 12 mile bike ride, and then a 5k (3.1 miles).

Friday night we picked up our packets and got body marked. Our numbers were on both our arms and our age was on our calf. We set out nice and early Saturday morning to get our transition area all set up with our different shoes and any clothes we were changing into. Let me just say that I loved the tri, it might be a new favorite of mine. The swimming was a bit chaotic....people didn't know how fast they swam and we probably should have put ourselves more in the beginning as faster swimmers. We ended up passing a few people on our way, but still was fun and I was glad it wasn't in open water. That is me in the bright pink cap!!

The bike ride was a ton of fun. The first 4.5 miles were a gradual uphill and then a good steep climb, but the rest of the ride was down hill and a flat stretch.

Last was the run. The first mile was probably the hardest part of the whole triathlon. My legs felt like jello and it was a small uphill right at the beginning. I felt like I was running in place but just kept telling myself not to stop or I would never get going again. Finally I passed the first mile and I felt like I got into a rhythm. I finished in 1 hour 31 minutes. It felt awesome crossing the finish line! I felt great the rest of the day...it felt like I had had an intense workout that morning but still was functionable unlike my marathon! If you are thinking of doing a sprint tri I would highly recommend it. It was tons of fun!!

I know you can't see it, but they gave out these cute necklaces with "Triatha{mom}" imprinted on it as our medal for finishing. I thought it was such a cute idea rather then a huge ugly medal that I never look at.

First Day of School

2011-09-10T21:20:00.001-06:00

Wednesday was back to school for this handsome little guy!

He is now in his last year of Pre School. Three days a week, what am I going to do with myself. I love this little boy of mine! He keeps me laughing MOST of the time!! When did he grow up so fast?

Swiss Day Mania

2011-09-09T14:30:00.000-06:00

Our annual Swiss Day trip has come and gone! Can I just say how much I LOVE this trip! This year we did something a little different...my cousins and some of my aunts from my mom's side came up with us. We hit Cafe Rio on the way up and then hit the Park City Outlets to begin our shopping spree. Then it was off to Midway where we stayed up laughing and talking way too late!

It's tradition to take a picture before we head out to do some major shopping. Trust me there were many more then just these three....but I'll spare you!

And finally it was off to Swiss Days! Every year gets more crazy but it's nice knowing that we have all the time in the world. We all split off and hit up what we wanted. I shopped my heart out and found some fun things. After our shopping we headed to the Homestead for a yummy lunch and of course a trip into the crater.

Later that afternoon the boys headed up with the kids and after laying around and showing them our fun purchases we headed into town, grabbed our own dinners, and then met back at the park to let the kids play!

The boys & Reese got new jammies at the outlets!

Saturday we headed into Park City for some minor shopping, Mexican food, and the Alpine Coaster.

Sunday we all hung out and once again lounged most of the day. Monday we got up and headed to the lake with my brother and his fam. The weather and water were crappy when we got there, but as the day went on it calmed down and ended up being a great day on the lake!

I can't tell you how much I look forward to our Swiss Day weekend. I love shopping at the outlets with no kids, laughing with the girls all night long, scones for breakfast, the madness of checking out every booth at Swiss Days, and hanging out with family all weekend! It's one of my favorite weekends and I look forward to it every year.

New Pics

2011-08-18T14:15:00.001-06:00

I finally got the kids pictures taken! Here are Ethan's 4 year old pictures and Reese's one year old pictures! Thanks to my talented sis in law, Mindy, for taking these! I LOVE how they turned out. Here are some of my favorites!

Ethan - 4 years old

Reese - 1 year old

The Birthday Princess

2011-08-10T11:28:00.007-06:00

Our baby girl turned one on August 1st. The poor girl was sick with a fever of 101 degrees. We ended up canceling her birthday party with the family so that we didn't get anyone else sick. However we still had our own little party and let her open her presents from us and from Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Sherm. We also had her well child check up the next day and got her stats.

WEIGHT: 19.1 lb. (25%)

HEIGHT: 28.1 in. (25%)

HEAD: 50%

She is getting so big and I can't believe the little personality she already has! She is very determined and knows how to get her way! She claps, shakes her head no, climbs, gives kisses, says no no, owe, dad, mom, & ba ba(bottle), she loves her little brother, and is definitely a mommy's girl! We love her so much and are so glad she is part of our family!

Finally this past Sunday we were able to have everyone over for a little party! Reese loved opening the presents and all the attention, but had a fit any time someone took a present away (we captured her true self on camera..2nd picture down). That girl is definitely all girl with lots of attitude.

She wasn't a big fan of the frosting and cupcake, no diving in for her. Maybe she will take after her dad and not like sweets very much! Thank you family for coming and celebrating her birthday!! I have no idea where a year has went!

Getting Older

2011-07-29T08:45:00.000-06:00

Nothing like turning a year older!! I celebrated the big 28 last Friday! We celebrated by going to dinner, hitting up the last Harry Potter movie, and getting some ice cream! Nothing beats my man, a nice big cherry coke, popcorn, and a good movie! It was a great day and I was spoiled by too many people! Thanks for all the birthday wishes and gifts!

She walks...

2011-07-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

Reese took her first two steps right before we left for Bear Lake It just so happened that I was talking to my mom on the video phone...so she got to see it! We tried to get her to walk more in Bear Lake but with so many people there she figured it was more fun to be held. When we got home Kurt kept playing with her and getting her to take more and more steps, so about a week and a half ago she started cruising around!! I love seeing those fat little thighs carry her everywhere! She is so happy and loves following us around! I can't believe how big she's getting! Next week she turns one! Where did a year go!?

Bear Lake

2011-07-26T14:30:00.000-06:00

Every year we go to Bear Lake for three days with my aunt and her sweet family! We've resorted to getting us a room at the lodge because lets face it...i don't camp, especially with two kids! We headed out Friday morning and then came home on Sunday. We had two whole fun days on the lake, yummy pizza, raspberry shakes, and of course good company! Thanks Beck for letting us always crash the party and hang out with you guys!! I slacked at the picture taking, so I stole some of my aunts! We love Bear Lake and look forward to going every year!

The Grandkids.

2011-07-18T20:33:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago my siblings and I got our kids together on a Sunday night to take some pictures for my parents...

Love these crazies!

4th of July

2011-07-17T19:44:00.012-06:00

As always we headed to Midway this year to spend some quality time with my side of the family! This is actually the last year without mom and dad! Next year we will be celebrating with them...or possibly picking them up from the airport! We enjoyed some Mexicana....

Yes he ended up at a table by himself...is anyone surprised?

quality time at the park....

sparklers and snaps (or cotton candies as Ethan liked to call them). Love my family!

Early Monday morning we ventured over to East Canyon to spend the rest of the time with Kurt's family. We got two days of boating in...with not so good weather, but awesome water! Reese ended up getting a new life jacket because the infant life jacket zipper wouldn't zip up due to those fat cheeks.

Zoom in close to see all the bugs Kurt killed while skiing. I don't know what happened but at some point we went through lots of bugs! Pretty nasty!

And of course we had to go see the Hennifer fire works! We always look forward to this holiday because we get to be with both families!

Some summer happenings...

2011-07-08T16:24:00.005-06:00

Man I'm behind. Life has been a tad crazy lately so here is a quick update of what's been going on. We went to the zoo with some friends and had tons of fun! I was bad at taking pictures and only go two.

We went to see Cars 2 at the drive in. We even took our little crazy head who had to be restrained in her car seat and then finally fell asleep. As we pulled in we noticed Kurt's sis and her family there, so we pulled right up next to them and enjoyed the movie together.

And amongst our craziness Ethan learned to ride his bike with no training wheels. He thinks he's pretty hot stuff on it and likes to show off. He's learning that showing off isn't always fun when you fall and biff it pretty good! We are way proud of him!

We also celebrated Father's Day, attended my Grandpa's funeral, and have been able to get some boating in. I pretty much suck at picture taking lately. Hopefully I'll be better with the next posts!

My Sweet Grandpa!

2011-06-15T21:00:00.000-06:00

My sweet 81 year old Grandpa passed away today! After being in pain for quite a few months we found out that he had cancer through out his entire body! We were so lucky to be able to go over this past Saturday while he was still coherent and spend some time with him talking and just being with him! I will always love these sweet pictures!

Death is never an easy thing for me! Thank goodness for the Gospel in my life and my LDS beliefs that help bring closure for me. I just never do well with funerals...however I'm so grateful for the time I had with him. We sure love you Gramps!

Spring Soccer

2011-06-07T21:05:00.005-06:00

Ethan just finished up playing soccer! This was the first sport we've tried and I'm already convinced that it's NOT the sport for him. After multiple melt downs on the field after being touched by someone, anger issues when the other team scored, and shoving with his elbows, I think that a NO contact sport might be better! My brother and hubby both coached our little tiny Pre-K team. Only one of the boys had played before and he was one of the smallest ones on the teams. We usually got scored on about 30-0 but Ethan did make about four or five goals, two of them being in the wrong goal! I laughed when the Taylorsville Summer Soccer League came around in the mail...I think we will pass! It definitely made for some good laughs, some parental drama, and constant bribing. Gotta love sports!

Remembering those who have went before us!

2011-05-31T20:30:00.000-06:00

For Memorial Day this year we went and visited my Grandparents, two cousins, and my Uncles graves. My parents weren't here to do it, and to be honest, we haven't been very good about visiting graves on Memorial Day, so this year my siblings all thought it would be a good idea to go! We picked up flowers and headed out in the cold weather! (Seriously...is it really almost June and we haven't broke 80?) We first went to my sweet Grandma Audrey and Grandpa Glen's graves. It's crazy to think that they've been gone for 4 and 5 years. It feels like yesterday that we were having all of our Margetts' family parties at their house. I'm sad that Kurt never really got to know my Grandma and that my kids never got to know either of them. Ethan was just a baby when my Gramps passed! Right next to their graves are my two cousins. I don't know how my aunt and uncle were able to bury two children within three years! I am so grateful that they are all together and knowing my Grandma, she's probably having lots of parties in Heaven. While we were there I was also able to visit a sweet friend of mine who passed away ten years ago! She was only 17. It was fun to reminisce of our fun times growing up and craziness in high school! She was too young to go!

...and can this picture describe every one of these kids better. Of course Ethan was throwing a tantrum about having to smile in the picture because it "take a LONG LONG time!" Preston is just chillin, and everyone else is looking at Ethan to see why he is yelling! Oh how I love my four year old!

We then headed to Riverton where the freshness of my Uncles passing still lingers. His grave looked beautiful with all of the flowers! We were able to joke and laugh and remember the fun times with my sweet Uncle Craigy! It looked beautiful! I love looking around at the cemeteries on Memorial day and see all the beautiful flowers and just remember all those that have went before us! I sure miss all of those in my family that have passed (there are more we didn't make it to visit) but am SO grateful for the knowledge of eternal life and that families can be forever!

After visiting the graves we went for some pizza. Then that night we headed to Russ & Lynettes for a BBQ! Of course my camera stayed in my diaper bag on the counter, which did a lot of good! No pictures this year!

Preschool Program

2011-05-23T10:44:00.004-06:00

Ethan had his preschool end of year program this past Thursday! It was supposed to be a program and picnic in the park but with this awesome weather we've been having we huddled in a freezing cold pavilion. They had a cute little program where they showed us what they learned, sang some songs, and then got a cute little picture book from their teachers! I'm SO glad he had preschool this year. I think it's helped him a ton and it gave him something to do and look forward to. This fall he starts his second year going three days a week!

We are proud of you buddy!

Mother's Day

2011-05-14T11:42:00.001-06:00

I love Mother's Day! The sugar cookies, donuts, and meals made for me, and kids taken care of. There is just that specialness in the air! Sunday was a great day for me! I missed having my sweet mom here...but at this time next year she will only have two more months left and then they will be HOME! Woo Hoo! I have the best mom and I hope one day I might be half the mom she has been and still is for me! She is amazing in my eyes! Those missionaries are so lucky to have my mom! I also have an amazing mother in law who I learn so much from and who raised an incredible son! I love you both so much!!

7 Years

2011-05-08T12:36:00.001-06:00

On Friday (May 6th) Kurt and I celebrated our seventh year anniversary!! Isn't this the year they say you get the itch?? I hope we make it! j/k. We decided to head up to the Alaskan Inn right at the mouth of Ogden Canyon for a quick little get away! We've stayed here before and we love this little place. I took my camera with full intentions to get pictures and didn't take one. We had dinner at the Timbermine, went to see Fast Five, went shopping at the mall, and Saturday morning went on a trail with our bikes. It was so nice to be out as late as we wanted and most of all...to enjoy dinner and each other with NO kids! I'm so happy I married this man of mine! He makes me smile and laugh every day! He balances out my seriousness and my worrisomeness (is that a word?). I can't believe it's been seven years! Can't wait for all the rest! Love you babe!

The Stats...

2011-05-05T16:00:00.000-06:00

We went to the doctor yesterday to do check ups on both the kiddos. Ethan looks good. Just an actual check up on him this year. They offered to do his kindergarten shots, so we did! You would have thought my poor boy was being murdered! It was so sad! He made it through the three shots and limped all day, but in the end he lived!! Here are his stats:

Weight: 39lbs. 75%

Height: 48 in. 60%

Reese only had to have her heel pricked, so it was an easy day for her! She is doing great at nine months and growing like a horse. She has also started crawling in the last two weeks. She gets wherever she wants to go now! She loves to yell and have us yell back, say da da, eat everything in sight, smiles with her big dimples...especially at her brother, loves her baths, is getting a little stranger anxiety, but for the most part is a happy happy baby! Here are her stats:

Weight: 18lbs. 40%

Height: 27.4 in. 50%

Head: 70%

I love these two little kids of mine! They make me smile and laugh every day! Ethan seems to be getting older and older, especially as he starts to pick up random words like, "certainly mom," and "sure thing!" (I have no idea where he got those...Kurt and I don't say them). Reese loves when Ethan is around...I think she loves him more then the two of us! Every day is a new adventure with these two! I love my little family.

Happy Easter

2011-04-26T13:40:00.006-06:00

Our Easter festivities started last Tuesday when some girls in the ward put together an Easter egg hunt at the park. We threw the eggs all over and the kids scrambled to collect the eggs. Ethan thought it was the coolest thing ever and Reese just chilled in the stroller in the freezing cold.

Easter morning was a lot of fun. Kurt and I should really get "Parents of the Year" award. Ethan came upstairs around 7 and we convinced him to lay in our bed for a little bit so we could sleep a tad longer. At some point he got out of our bed and I woke up to him next to my bed with a handful of eggs yelling, "you'll never believe it!! The Eater bunny left me a white basket that was hidden! I found it and it's on the table! I also found ALL of these eggs!" So our little guy had already had his own Easter morning while his parents slept in their bed! We are awesome!

We got dressed in our Eater clothes and headed to church! I love Eater Sunday! I'm grateful to be able to have a Sunday where we focus on our Savior and his resurrection. Then after church it was off to Grandma & Grandpa's for an Easter egg hunt and a yummy dinner! Only one more Easter without my parents and their CRAZY egg hunt! It was so much fun spending time with family and seeing my little guy get so excited!

I did it!!!

2011-04-19T09:30:00.002-06:00

I conquered the big Salt Lake City MARATHON on April 17! 26.2 miles royally kicked my trash! I mean, I laughed and almost cried when I saw on the news Saturday night that the first place girl ran it in like 3 hours and five minutes or something...not to mention that she started like 15 minutes late. I will never be one like that, but I now can say that I freakin ran a marathon!! (I get excited just saying that). I've been a little hard on myself about my time, cause I really thought I would be able to finish it by like 4 hours 45 minutes, but looks like I'll have to shoot for that next time....if there ever is a next time! The goal was to finish, and that I did!

For those of you who have known me, know that I went on a weight loss journey over the last two and a half years. In November of 2008 I got a slap in the face realizing that I was over weight. I've said it before and it's very true...I was always confident of myself, I was a very happy person and my weight never got me down. However there were those times I would look in the mirror and realize if I kept going as I was, not exercising and not eating right, I was going to end up being in a place I didn't want to be in! The day I got my bodybugg I set my mind to losing weight. I ran a 5k with my hubby and in-laws and realized that this body was capable of things I didn't think I was capable of. I realized that I could be even happier then I already was and feel GREAT about myself. A marathon NEVER crossed my mind. NEVER EVER EVER! As I kept exercising and realizing the different things I could accomplish I set my mind to running one. I'm not an excellent runner but I really developed a love for running. Finally I accomplished this goal and it's amazing to think of where I was....

and what I just accomplished....

Here is a little recap of my experience. I didn't sleep extremely well that night. Woke up at 4:15 to have breakfast, get ready, mentally prepare myself, and make it over to my friends to ride up to the Gateway. We got to the Gateway, jumped on TRAX which was packed like no other, and rode the ride up to the U of U. We got there about ten minutes before it started and I was feeling good. The horn sounded and off we went! I felt great. The first seven miles were a breeze. I made a potty stop since all the bathrooms were packed at the start line and every other miles marker. Didn't take long and was off again. I was excited because I was under my ten minute mile pace and feeling great. I hit mile ten and right after saw my sweet hubby and in-laws who had some food and drink for me. Chatted for a few seconds and was off again. Kept feeling great until about mile 13 where I started to feel tired and was now realizing I was only half way done! Hit mile 14 and saw my hubby and in-laws again! Waved to them and kept on running. About 14.5 i felt a big pain start in my lower back, everything from my lower back down to my mid thigh started to go numb (I blame this on a bulging disc I have on my lower back that gets irritated every now and again, but has never bugged me with my running). I tried to fight through it but by mile 16 I was hurting. At this point I had to start walking. I would run here and there but I slowed WAY down! I knew Kurt was at mile 18 so I kept pushing to get to him where he was waiting with some energy and most important an 800. I finally made it to 18 and my hubs was nowhere. I panicked thinking I had missed him. I pulled out my phone and called him only to find that I had misread the paper wrong, he was where he was supposed to be, but it was closer to mile 20. My sweet mother in law ran down to find me and walked/ran with me until we met up with my hubs. I took the 800 and walked until I felt it start to kick in and then I was off. I'll be completely honest...the last six miles were AWFUL! Mostly because I wanted to run so bad, but physically I couldn't. It was a walk/run the rest of the way! I wish so bad I could have got my body to just take off but just thinking that I still had at least another hour even running at a ten minute mile was depressing.

I just kept pushing through it and as I hit main street I knew the end was in sight. Kurt found me near the Raddison and ran the rest of the way with me!

I turned the corner to see all of this....

My family started going nuts!! They were so loud and just went crazy!! I got a HUGE burst of energy and started running as fast as my worn out legs would take me! It was exhilarating to cross the finish line and to know that this body of mine accomplished something I NEVER thought possible! It's a funny thing how the mind works...because even being a few days after I'm already thinking of what I would do different in the next one...am I crazy? Would I actually put my body through this again?? Guess only time will tell.

It's amazing the things you can accomplish in life when you put your mind to it! It's crazy to think of me back then, not even able to run a mile, and now 26.2! I'm as sore as ever, but that soreness is a reminder of the journey I've been through to get me here!! Thank you to everyone who supported me! It was so awesome to have my cheering squad at the end and through out the race. I couldn't have done it without my sweet hubby who encouraged me through my training and pushed me until the end! I have the best families who are constantly there! Love you all! You are the BEST!

The Little Sneak...

2011-04-11T15:30:00.000-06:00

I'm lucky! The reason I'm lucky...because my four year old still takes a 1.5 - 2 hour nap for me every day! Lately it's been more of playing and then crashing, but that just makes my "me" time even longer! The other day I had heard him playing and finally when it was quiet I snuck downstairs to see if he was really asleep. As I crept into his room I found no sign of him. That little tinge of panic started and right then I saw him sound to sleep on the love sac! That little sneaky boy...I guess a nap is a nap wherever it is right!?

The Land of Sun!

2011-04-04T15:12:00.007-06:00

This past weekend me and my siblings and families headed down to St. George for conference weekend! It was BEAUTIFUL! 80-85 degree weather, doesn't get much better then that. It was tons of fun driving home on Sunday to snow! SERIOUSLY! Why do I live here?

We had lots of fun and loaded the days with visits to parks, swimming...indoor and outdoor, fiesta fun, shopping, mountain biking, good grub, but mostly good company. Kurt and I headed down with the kiddos on Wednesday night and spent Thursday shopping and lounging! Later that night my brother and sister came with their families.

Friday the boys golfed and we went to the park, to the big indoor pool, hit up Texas Roadhouse, and then back to a different park where we had some major relay races going on.

Saturday Kurt and I went mountain biking on a trail called Bear Claw Poppy! It was my first experience and it was tons of fun! I can't wait to go again! Then it was fiesta fun, more swimming, and back to the park while the boys went to Priesthood!

So fun being with family! I love St. George! I think we should move there!

The Birthday Festives

2011-03-30T14:15:00.000-06:00

On Sunday night we had all of our family over for a little party for Ethan! I know, "worst mother of the year" award goes to me for not throwing a party with his little friends...I plan on doing it next year! He had to let everyone know that his cake was BOLT! He came to the store and looked through the magazine until he found just what he wanted! Thanks everyone for all the gifts he loved everything!

Reese was mesmerized by the balloons!

Yesterday morning we made chocolate chip pancakes...his fav, and then got ready for a fun day at Pre-school. While getting ready he took some phone calls from family. He thought he was the cream of the crop for the day with everyone calling for him and singing to only him!

He was so excited to "keep smiling" while I worked to get Reese to just look at me! I laughed at at all the funny pictures I got! I love that kid and his silly grin!

For pre-school we signed up to bring treats for the class so Ethan was excited to bring his M&M cookies! We got a picture with his teachers and mom and then it was mom's time to pick up a few more things while he had a fun day at school!

Then last night Ethan picked where he wanted to go to dinner and an activity that we could go do. We've trained our boy well cause we headed to Cafe Rio for dinner! No complaints from mom and dad. Then it was off to Hollywood Connections for some mini golf. He ended up loving the rides more then golf, so we rode rides over and over (seriously what's with them loving the ghetto rides) and then Kurt did a few holes with him on the course.

Baby girl just hung out most of the time!

My dad will be proud of his grandson for this awesome grip on the club!

Ethan said it was an AWESOME day! I love that little boy of mine and can't believe that he's been in our family for FOUR years! Feels like yesterday I was trying to get him here!! Happy Birthday stinky pants! We sure love you!

Finally Four!

2011-03-29T13:00:00.001-06:00

My sweet/crazy boy finally made it to the big 4. He has been counting down all month to his birthday! I love this little guy, his craziness too! He makes my life fun and has me laughing most of the time. All but the moments where I want to rip out my hair because of him! He is such a sweet boy when he wants to be and is my little buddy all through out the day! Happy Birthday my big boy!! We love you SO SO much!

Night Skiing

2011-03-21T14:04:00.003-06:00

My lover and I hit the slopes at Brighton's night skiing on Friday night!! Can't pass up a buy one get one free and fun date night!! Only a few more weeks left of skiing, better get in as many as we can!

The Leprechaun Hunt

2011-03-18T15:00:00.004-06:00

Last year our friend Nickie did a leprechaun hunt. The kids in the neighborhood found clues all around the neighborhood that the sneaky little leprechaun had left. We weren't able to be there last year but thanks to Dallas and Amanda the tradition was kept alive. Ethan was nothing but smiles for this. They ran the neighborhood and ended up at the Oliverson's where the leprechaun had left a whole lot of fun stuff all over the yard to collect!

Sadly baby girl had one of her crazy not breathing episodes that scared me pretty bad. Normally I can get her to calm down and start sucking her binki, but this time she wouldn't calm down and sounded like she couldn't get the gunk down her throat. She started breaking out in a rash around her face and her poor little eyes got all puffy! I'm still not quite sure what happened, but after about 15 minutes she finally calmed down and we were able to go for a walk while the hunt went on! Here she is looking almost 100% better, but those little eyes were so sensitive to the sun that we had to keep her hidden! I was hoping that we were past the not breathing thing, hopefully this was just a fluke! I don't want anymore ambulance rides to the hospital...way too scary!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

2011-03-17T12:57:00.004-06:00

I have sucked at blogging lately...I promise to get better! But at least today is St. Patty's Day! And my attempt for a smile from Ethan didn't work.

I hope you are wearing GREEN!

She sits....

2011-02-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

My little monkey is sitting! Yay! She is a squirmy baby and I'm surprised she can sit still for so long!! It started about two weeks ago with a lot of tipping, but last week she finally mastered it!

Obviously she thinks it's pretty cool too!

A Boys Day....

2011-02-21T01:30:00.003-07:00

Kurt and all his brothers/brother in law headed to the Monster Truck show at the Energy Solutions Arena this past Saturday with all their little boys. It was a boys days out! Ethan has been talking about it for about a month now and couldn't wait to go. I sent Kurt with the camera, excited about the pictures I was going to see of Ethan, and this is ALL I got

along with ONLY 75 pictures of the this....

No I'm being serious! 75 freakin' pictures!

When I asked Kurt why he didn't get any other pictures of him or Ethan he said, "I thought he would love all these pictures of the trucks!" Awesome. I'm so glad I can have all these pictures of Grave Digger and all the other awesome trucks who did the same jump in my photo library! I love boys!

And since the boys headed off to the show, us girls headed for pedicures. It was tons of fun spending time with my sis in laws and mother in law.

Happy Valentines

2011-02-20T15:20:00.003-07:00

Better late then never.....

Happy Valentines!

I love my little Valentines and how excited they get over everything! Especially if it's a holiday that included presents! Nothing says I love you more then heart shaped pancakes right? (at least in Ethan's eyes).

6 months

2011-02-06T16:00:00.001-07:00

My sweet little Reese turned six months on February 1st! I forget how fun each different stage is! She continues to light up each room with her huge smile! She doesn't know how to smile without opening her mouth as wide as she can! She has almost mastered sitting, can roll where she wants to, loves her bouncer, has started to get a little stranger anxiety, LOVES her brother, is a very HAPPY baby until hungry, and still refuses to eat solids for me! No matter how hard I try, she puts anything in her mouth besides a bottle and she spits it right out. Hopefully in the next month we can get it down. I gave up the last two months so now I'm back at it.

Finally we have a fat chubby baby! She's still somewhat small, but she's definitely gaining weight due to her medicine! We love having her in our family; I can't imagine it without her! She brightens up any room and makes us all smile!! I'm excited for the next stage and to see what she starts to do!

Her six month stats:

Weight: 14.9 lbs (30%)

Height: 24.8 in. (20%)

Head: 16.8 in. (55%)

We love you baby girl!

JAPAN - (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday)

2011-01-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry to picture overload....here are the last few days!!

FRIDAY

Friday we went to a place called Marine World. It was basically like Sea World. My parents had never been and we thought that Ethan would have fun! It turned out to b super fun. It had any type of marine animal, diving shows, dolphin shows, and tons of different exhibits.

My sweet little Reese was a trooper! She would just chill in the stroller for most of the days! I'm so grateful for such a happy little baby!

I had to take a picture of the vending machines. They are EVERYWHERE! Also their cars...they remind me of the movie "Cars." They look like little cartoon cars blown up! Every now and again you would see a full size car from the US but most of them are all smashed cartoon cars. In Japan tons of people walk or ride their bikes. Parking is super hard to find and when you do find it and park a little thing comes up underneath your car. If you take off with that up it will rip out the bottom of your car, so you have to pay most every time you park!

Later that night we went to Fukuoka Tower. It's a really tall tower that overlooks all of Fukuoka. We went at night so that we could see it all lit up! It was awesome! I can't believe how big the city is! After that we hit up Hard Rock one last time! Ethan was exhausted from the day and didn't even make it for his meal to come out.

SATURDAY

Saturday we got up and took the subway to a mall and market place called Tenjin. It was like a mall with one level all underground. We did some shopping and then headed back home. It was time to pack, do some last loads of laundry, and just hang out for our last night! We sat up late talking with my parents and were so sad that our trip was coming to an end.

SUNDAY

Sunday was a hard morning. We got up, got ready, and then headed for the airport! After getting everything checked in, we only had 30 minutes to get through security and get to our gate! We said our goodbyes, shed some tears, and then left!

It was such a refresher spending time with my parents. It was fun to feel like they were right back at home. I loved just being with them, eating out, watching tons of movies at night, and just being together! Now only eighteen more months and they will be home again! We can't wait!

JAPAN - (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)

2011-01-21T14:00:00.002-07:00

TUESDAY

Tuesday we headed to Costco for my parents to stock up on some food. It was fun driving there and getting out of the city. Out in the country there are a few more homes and tons of rice fields. We came back and let the kids nap and then headed to one of their favorite Ramen Noodle places. Everywhere you go there are only chopsticks so we tried to learn as best we could to use them. As you can see Kurt didn't get it down very good. He ended up with one noodle most of the time! The food was great though and I would have eaten there again!

WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday we went to a place called Dazaifu. The AP's came with us that day and helped us get on all the right trains. They were such cute missionaries and I can just see how much they love my parents! The train was one of Ethan's favorite parts. Dazaifu was super cool. There were tons of little shops and lots and lots of little shrines. It's what I pictured Japan to be.

After seeing all there was to see we decided to eat at one of the little restaurants. It's customary for you to take your shoes off at many places in Japan, so we slipped them off and then sat on pillows at a little table. The food was actually really good; one of my favorites. We had so much fun laughing with the AP's and getting entertainment from our crazy Ethan.

THURSDAY

Thursday we went to a Hakata Doll shop! My parents had purchased us all Hakata dolls this last Christmas and Kurt wanted to add a samurai to our doll. We went to a little store that had any type of Hakata doll you could think of. After the store we headed to a mall in the city and had some lunch along with some yummy crepes. It's so interesting to see how everything is in Japan....so different from the US. The women's bathrooms have squatter toilets....which luckily I was able to avoid by finding one or two stalls with a normal toilet.

Later that night some of the missionaries stopped by with some chocolate treats for us and a "special" treat for Kurt called Nato. Lets just say the consistency looked like pinto beans and snot. It looked awful but the Japanese eat it with everything. I'll let the pictures tell you what Kurt thought of it.....

I was so glad that he didn't throw up on the counter, only in his mouth!

We also hit my mom's favorite store in Japan....THE DOLLAR STORE! We laughed so hard as we shopped with her. I don't think my mom ever went to the dollar store here, but now she thinks it's the greatest thing ever! We came out with some pretty awesome purchases. I've got a picture of my mom, dad, and Kurt, but my mom told me she would disown me if I ever posted it...so I guess it will remain unseen!

JAPAN - (Saturday, Sunday, Monday)

2011-01-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Well it finally came and sadly now we are back home! We loved Japan and being able to spend time with my mom and dad. The kids were spoiled, we had tons of good laughs, my parents got to see Reese in person for the first time, and we just loved being together.

On Thursday night we headed to the airport. After checking in our luggage and boarding a plane headed for L.A. we were off. The flight was great, if only the flight to Japan was under two hours. Instead we had a 14 hour flight ahead of us. We arrived in LA, transferred to the international terminal, checked in to get our tickets, and then headed to wait at our gate. Our flight left at 12:30 A.M. on Friday morning but because of the time difference we arrived in Japan on Saturday morning. The kids were exhausted by this point and as soon as we were in our seats they were out cold.

This is the bassinet that Asian Airlines provides if you are traveling with an infant. My sister had flown to Japan earlier last year and had seen them and told me about them. I had to reserve one since they only provide six, and was lucky enough to have it on all our flights with Asiana. It was a complete life saver. We swaddled her up and both Reese and Ethan were out about the first 7 hours of the flight. The next seven were on and off sleep and lots of movies.

Finally we arrived in Korea, exhausted but we had survived. We found McDonalds where we got us some breakfast, sent my parents a message that we were only an hour away, and then waited for our connecting flight to Fukuoka, Japan.

Finally we made it to Japan! We waited for a while to get through customs, grabbed our luggage, and then went through two big slider doors where my cute parents were waiting with the AP's. It was SO good to see them and to be able to hug them! Such an awesome moment. After loading up one van with our luggage we hopped in the other to head back to their house. Here are my sweet parents all excited. Everything is opposite in Japan, so you drive on the other side of the car and also on the other side of the road. Most of the times we were on the road we thought we were going to die...it's pretty crazy and SCARY if you ask me.

After getting to their house, which is the basement of the Fukuko Temple, we went for a little walk while my dad took some phone calls. Here is the temple, it's very pretty and very small. Everything in Japan is so close together! Not a lot of people live in homes it's mostly all big apartment buildings. 1.33 million people live in the city of Fukuoka alone so the temple just kind of appears right off of the road.

SUNDAY

On Sunday we were able to attend my parents ward. It was so fun to see how much the people just love and adore them. Even the sweet ladies who don't know any English just hug and hug my mom. We were able to go to an English speaking Sunday school class and then we had earpieces where an Elder translated sacrament meeting for us. The rest of the day we just lounged, watched movies, and ate dinner. It was the best just sitting around laughing and talking and catching up on everything.

MONDAY

Monday was the only day that my dad had things he needed to do. They were finalizing transfers and he had a few meetings. We had Kurt stay home with the kids while my mom and I went to a Spa to get a massage with two of the Sister Missionaries. It was such a cute spa. They had you put on these awesome outfits and then when they massaged they did it over your clothes. The "hot rocks" were HOT! I wasn't in the room for long but it was like a sauna. We had so much fun with Sister McIntyre and Sister Beazer.

Then it was back to the house where the kids played and we relaxed for a little bit. Reese was already loving Grandpa and loved for him to hold her. In fact she fell sound to sleep on him like this...which she never does for us!

The night ended with Hard Rock Cafe! At least we always knew we could go here for some good American food.

Our Little Sunbeam

2011-01-04T12:59:00.004-07:00

We now have a Sunbeam at our house! It's weird that he is no longer in Nursery! After a few tears and pout faces I think he loved it! He got his own Book of Mormon from the Primary Presidency and hasn't stopped carrying it around. In fact I am the WORST mom ever because I didn't let him take it to school yesterday! Such a bad mom!! He's got AWESOME teachers who put so much time into their cute lessons!! This pictures is from the last Sunday of the year! His other AWESOME nursery teachers, who he loves, made these graduation caps and banners for their Graduation from Nursery! So cute!

MeRrY ChRiStMaS

2010-12-30T15:07:00.004-07:00

This Christmas was so much FUN! It made it magical again watching it though the eyes of Ethan! We were able to start some of the fun traditions Kurt and I did as kids now that he is old enough! We started a new tradition of our very own (and probably lots of other people)....Johnny the elf! He came all the way from Santa and watched Ethan throughout the month of December. Then every night he was off o see Santa to let him know if Ethan was bad or good. Is there some kind of doll that could watch him ALL year long? It helped MOST of the time.

We left Santa cookies that night and then off to bed we all went! At 7:30 that morning Ethan threw open our door and said, "He came & he brought me LOTS of presents!" So we crawled out of bed and headed downstairs to see what he got! He was so excited that I didn't even get a traditional stair picture!

We had a great Christmas and we were spoiled! We had the whole morning to chill and let Ethan play with his toys! He stayed downstairs for most of the morning and only came up when we would call him to eat! That afternoon we headed to my sisters to spend time with my fam, talk to my parents, and exchange gifts! Then it was off to Kurt's families to eat some grub, visit, and exchange gifts. We were spoiled more by everyone!!

It was a fun Christmas and I love spending time with both families. It's been fun starting new and continuing old traditions with my own little family! I'm also excited that only one more Christmas and my mom and dad will be home! It was also fun to see Ethan recognize the story of our Savior!! In light of everything that has happened this past year with some deaths in our family, it's sure nice to have a true testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I'm so very blessed in my life and am so grateful for my Savior and to know that this life has meaning! We hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve Lunch

2010-12-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

This year our traditional Christmas Eve lunch was at Training Table! Us adults had our own table and the kids each sat by us at different tables. I Can't complain having a nice peaceful lunch! I love my siblings and their families. We all get along great and can laugh and joke about anything! I'm so grateful for my wonderful family! I look forward to our lunch every year! Thanks for appeasing me and carrying on the tradition!!

One Crazy week!

2010-12-26T13:58:00.005-07:00

This past week was filled with something each night! I didn't get pictures of each thing, but we had three family parties and a preschool program. On Monday night we started with the Margetts Family party! My aunt and uncle rented a blow up jump house and it was a huge hit! I didn't see Ethan for the entire night...that is until the presents came out! We had a yummy dinner and then a gift exchange. It was so much fun to get together with this side of the family! We used to get together all the time, but since the passing of my grandparents a few years back we don't seem to get together as often.

My dad's three brothers and their wives with the dolls they sent them from Japan.

Tuesday night was Ethan's preschool program! It was the most hilarious thing I have been to in a long time! He was so proud sitting up on stage singing all of his songs! He did a good job and knew most of the songs. We got it all on camera but I'm new to downloading video clips, so that will have to come later. Until then here are a few pictures from the program.

The best of friends and worst enemies...depends on the day!

Grandpa Russ & Grandma Lynette came to watch

Preston & Ethan with their teachers who they LOVE! (guess they can't help it since it's my aunt and cousin!)

Thursday night was the Jenkins family party and Friday night was the Ashby family party! I took my camera to both and forgot to pull it out! Even with how crazy this time of year gets, it's still so much fun to see everyone and catch up!

The Lights...

2010-12-21T15:11:00.004-07:00

It's tradition to go see the lights at Temple Square with Kurt's family each year! This past Sunday we headed to see them. We thought we might have to brave the rain/snow but it stopped raining long enough to enjoy the lights and then started back up as we were walking back to our cars! We were all bundled up nice and warm and walked all around. I love going to Temple square each Christmas with all the beautiful lights...it just doesn't feel like Christmas if you don't go see them.

I can't believe it's the week of Christmas!! Can't wait to see Ethan's face on Christmas morning!

4 Month Pictures...

2010-12-13T12:28:00.004-07:00

Here are some pictures Kurt's sis Mindy did of my sweet girl at four months. I LOVE how they turned out!! Love her personality in them!! Thanks so much Mindy.

I just can't resist those big eyes & fat cheeks!!

Blight Christmas Party

2010-12-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

Now that it's December we had the annual Blight family Christmas party!! It's always fun to be with family...I just can't believe how many of us there are now! This Christmas party isn't complete without a visit from the Big Guy. Ethan was skeptical at first, but after some coaxing from Paige, he ran up there when his name was called.

and this is what he walked away with! (Thanks Grandma!)

And then it was Reese's turn! She wasn't too happy at first, but warmed up after a minute! She walked away with cute little cabbage patch babies!! (again thanks Grandma).

It was fun to be with my mom's side of the family to celebrate! Even though December is SO crazy, it's nice to remember how important family is!! One family party down...three more to go!

4 Months!

2010-12-08T15:59:00.002-07:00

Well little Miss Reese turned the big four months on the 1st of this month! She is a little tiny peanut. Looking at her with those HUGE ole' cheeks you would think she was chunky...but not when you pick her up! The stats from the doc:

Height: 25% -23.5 in.

Weight : 5% -10lb 12 oz

Head: 25%

We have now moved her on to some other medication to hopefully help her gain some weight. All the formula she is throwing up could help her gain some major weight. The medication helps move the food from her stomach to her intestines fast...so not a lot is in her stomach for her to throw up. I've actually seen a little bit of improvement these past few days, so lets hope it works!

She has been such a fun and easy baby! She is constantly smiling and is so happy! She has always been a great sleeper for me (sleeping through the night at 5 weeks), loves to coo and jabber, started rolling from her tummy to her back, holds her bottle when she's not lazy, loves watching her bother. and loves to be held by anyone. She can throw the biggest tantrum I've ever seen when she wants to eat. Hopefully I don't have a drama queen one my hands! We just recently started cereal and fruits and veggies. She still doesn't care for them but hopefully soon she will like them and they can help her chunk up! We sure love her and her fat smile!

Snowman

2010-11-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in the midst of all these snow storms Ethan and Kurt made a mini size snowman!

and there was only a little drama when one of his eyes blew away!!

Thanksgiving...

2010-11-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

This Thanksgiving was supposed to be down in sunny St. George, but due to the DEADLY blizzard that the news was forecasting, we decided to stay here and hang out without the drive. We do every other year with our families, so this Thanksgiving was with mine! We started out with some yummy dinner Wednesday night at Tepanyaki....

Thursday was followed with a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at my sisters house! Alaina provided lots of activities for the kids to do to keep them busy, Kristin had all the boys sleep over the night before and prepared the turkey, and me...well I didn't do much of anything! I did help with the potatoes and stuffing..that was my assignment.

Then to end it with a bang we took all the kids to see Tangled on Friday afternoon. We did a stop by chick-fil-a for some lunch, and then off to the movie! So cute!!

I love the easiness of Thanksgiving. I love being with family and just being able to relax and enjoy! It's so much fun to be with my siblings and their families! I have an amazing family!! So grateful to be a part of it!! And only one more thanksgiving without my parents! Woo hoo~

Family Night Bowling

2010-11-23T12:34:00.005-07:00

Last week my sister called and told us to come to FatCats for some family time bowling! My bro and his wife couldn't make it due to prior engagements, but that didn't stop us. I was craving some Pizza Factory Pizza and a chance to kick some butt at bowling! (It's rare when I can get Kurt out to bowl...partly because he doesn't care for it and I believe the other part is because I kick his TRASH!!!) Ethan had a blast bowling and had to give high fives and scream every time he knocked down a pin! I love doing things like this as he gets older and enjoys it so much more! So here are a few pictures from the night!

Update on the EYES

2010-11-22T16:14:00.003-07:00

Wow I'm slacking on my blog. At the beginning of this month we had our check up once again with Dr. Larson for Ethan's eyes! It's good news!! His eyes look great! No crossing, no laziness, and he is using both eyes together! They tested him with 3D glasses and he was able to pick out the pictures that were 3D, indicating that he is using both eyes at the same time. (Our issues in months past have been that he would just use one eye at a time). So now that he has binocular vision instead of monocular vision we will wait 6 months to see the doc again!! It's been a long process but I think we are finally looking good. Hopefully he won't relapse and get lazy with either eye. I guess that is why we will probably have yearly check up throughout his childhood! Yay for wonderful doctors!!!

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-31T16:00:00.007-06:00

Say hello to Mr. Incredible and our little Witch!

I've never seen Ethan so excited for night time to come! He couldn't wait to trick or treat! We tried to make the day go by fast! We made some spider cookies...

and visited Grandma's to get pictures with all the cousins...

He drove us nuts half the day with his craziness but it paid off seeing him run out the door with Kurt ready to yell "Trick or Treat! It was pouring rain but it didn't bother him a bit! He was so excited!!

After he got home we got in Halloween jammies and sent him to work answering the door. I think he was just as excited to put candy in every one's bag as he was to get his own candy! I don't think I had to answer the door once, except while he was gone! Then the kiddos went to bed, and we enjoyed the rest of our night!

I think we have enough candy to last a life time! Ethan got the trick or treating down pat....distract all the nice people with your charm and take as much candy as possible while distracted! I guess the kids pretty smart! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

The Festives

2010-10-29T15:46:00.008-06:00

We've had lots of fun Halloween Festives! For some reason I always love this time of year! I love the beginning of fall, the excitement of dressing up, the Halloween decorations, and of course the big bags of Tootie Fruities at the store. Here are a few thing we've done so far...

The witches at Gardner Village! Ethan and Maysen were not into finding the witches, they have more fun running like hooligans all over the place.

Then the Walter's hosted the annual neighborhood Halloween party! It was a blast which included a heated game of Pictionary. Boys vs. girls and I'd have to say girls won, even with some random drawings of a blueberry muffin! Tyler might beg to differ, but I still believe we won! I didn't get pictures of everyone but I will be stealing pictures from Jamie and Janai! I love getting together with everyone from the neighborhood, just love being with friends! We went as cowboys!! Thank you to my hubby for always appeasing me and dressing up!

Next was the ward party, which sadly I didn't get any pictures. Reese was dressed up a tad, but I figured real Halloween pictures will come tomorrow!

And yesterday was Ethan's pre-school party! They get to go out on to 12600 s. and wave to all the cars! It's hilarious! They think it's the coolest thing ever!! All the cars honk and the kids go crazy!! This first picture of Ethan cracks me up....I keep wondering who that kid is! Frankenstein and Mr. Incredible had a blast at pre-school!!

Family Pictures

2010-10-24T21:00:00.003-06:00

While we were in St. George we were able to get updated family pictures! I think they turned out super cute!!

(Of course the binki appears yet again in pictures!! Why do they always decide to get mad right in the middle of pictures!?)

Thanks to my talented sister in law, Mindy, for taking all the pictures!

Big Girl

2010-10-24T13:59:00.004-06:00

We are lovin' the Bumbo!!

Hopefully we can stop that bald spot that is starting to form from rubbing her head back and forth!! Such a big girl!!

Pickin' Pumpkins

2010-10-21T16:30:00.001-06:00

Off to the pumpkin patch.....

St. George with the Jenkins

2010-10-18T21:28:00.012-06:00

Kurt's whole fam decided to take a trip down to good old St. George. It was so much fun having the entire family together. We had a great time. I wish I had gotten more pictures of the family, but for now here is what I have.

We had tons of fun hitting up ghetto Fiesta Fun...

Love these two pictures of Reese. You have the "annoyed look" and the "happy look."

Hit up The Cheesecake Factory and the strip in Vegas....

play at an awesome park....

and watch Landon and Brandon cross the finish line in the Tour de St. George (100 mile bike ride). They did AWESOME!!

We also were able to get family pictures done (coming later), hit up "Tarzan" at Tuacahn (loved it), eat yummy food, and just enjoy good company!! Gotta love family!!

Wasatch Women's 10 K

2010-10-10T21:18:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I ran in the Wasatch Women's Love Your Body 10K with my cute mother in law! It was a beautiful run down at Thanksgiving Point. The run was supposed to be 6.2 miles but apparently the officer lead us down the wrong path making the run an extra mile! My mind mentally gave up at 6.2, but somehow I pushed through. I crossed the finish line at 1 hour 7 minutes making it a 9.24 minute mile! Big improvement from my 10K last year! Now it's off to train for the SL marathon! YIKES! Anyone have any advice??

2 Months

2010-10-06T19:00:00.001-06:00

Reese had her two month check up today!! The doc said she looked great and is still a small little peanut. Apparently Kurt and I produce babies who like to puke...and puke A LOT! Hopefully she will eventually start to keep more of it in her tummy and not all over her outfits! Here are her stats:

Weight: 9.4 lbs - 15%

Height: 22 in. - 40%

Head: 50%

She has been such a fun baby!! I love this stage where they start smiling! She is so happy when she wakes up and loves to coo and smile at us! How can you resist these two big dimples!? And I hope those baby blues stay and look like my moms. My guess is they won't, but for now they are fun to look at. She has been a great little sleeper for me. She started sleeping eight hours during the night at 5 weeks and at about 7 weeks she started giving me 10 hours a night! I love her to pieces and can't wait for each new little stage! I've decided that the second child is a tough little thing. I'm going to laugh when she starts stealing all of Ethan's toys...it will be payback to the countless times he drives them on her face and all over her head. As much as he's constantly right in her face he usually gets pretty big smiles from her!

I can't not post about my cute little Ethan! He loves preschool and is constantly learning. He cracks me up every day with the things that he talks to me about. He will talk to anyone and tell them our whole life story while he's at it (do you think he takes after his mother?). He is a great big brother and is always helping me out. He makes us laugh every day with his fun little personality but at the same time can be a little stubborn thing and never listen! I love him so much and am so glad he's my little buddy!

I'm so grateful for my two sweet kids! I don't know what I would do without them...even on the days where I think I'm going to pull out my hair! I sure love them to pieces.

Another year older....

2010-10-04T21:15:00.000-06:00

My hubby turned the big 28 yesterday! We celebrated Friday night by hitting dinner and a movie with just the two of us! He also got this...

He got it two weeks early so he could enjoy it the last times out on the lake! Hopefully his present makes up for his day yesterday! Although I was a good wife and made him a cake, I forgot to plan a good dinner! We had no food in the house (grocery shopping was today) and I didn't even think about dinner! So my cute hubby settled with Cheerios! Really, we had NO food!

I love you Kurt and hope that you had a great day!! Thanks for being my best friend and making me laugh EVERY day!! Life is so much fun with you! Happy Birthday!!

Blessing Day

2010-09-29T18:31:00.001-06:00

This past Sunday we were able to bless Reese! Kurt did a great job and gave her a wonderful blessing. She was such a good baby and didn't even make a peep!

I sure missed my cute MOM and DAD! We wished they could have been here. However, we know that they are needed much more in Japan then here! I know they would have been on the next plane, if they were able to.

My talented mother in law made her dress for me! I showed her one that I really liked and the next thing I knew she had it all made! Thank you so much Lynette! I loved it!

After the blessing we headed back to our house for a little breakfast! Thanks to all my family and friends who helped with everything! Thanks Kell for writing down what you remembered!! I'm so glad I have that!

I didn't get a lot of pictures of just her in her dress or of her and Ethan together. We couldn't find my wedding ring about ten minutes before we were supposed to leave, so pictures didn't happen since we were searching for it (don't worry we found it after church). At least we got what we did!! I just wish I had some of my cute kids together! Maybe we will have to dress them up again! :) Kurt will just love that idea!!

PrEsChOoL

2010-09-10T15:12:00.004-06:00

(Why can they never look at the camera or SMILE a normal cute smile?)

He finally made it!! The first day of preschool started yesterday. He was SO excited!! Even more excited to be going with his cousin Preston. Hopefully one day they will be the best of friends...but for now the morning conversation went like this:

Ethan: "Hey Presto, I'm NOT going to bug you today!!" (how thoughtful of my wonderful child)

Preston: "Good!! Are you going to hit me?"

The life of three year olds! One day Ethan will have a child just like him...and I will sit back and smile!

I'm so excited for my Tuesday and Thursday mornings! What am I going to do with myself!? Oh and of course Ethan wouldn't leave the house without holding Reese and getting a picture with her too!!

Our Annual Swiss Days

2010-09-08T20:37:00.006-06:00

Well we can officially say only ONE more Swiss Days and my mom will be home! Kind of crazy to think about. Don't get too excited, she just hit a year in July, so we still got two years! :( Anyways we didn't let the tradition die...even without my sister who was headed to Arizona with her family (and our fame photographer who usually takes a gazillion pictures of this event which we failed miserably at), Alaina and I lived it up at Swiss Days. We saw the same things over and over again, enjoyed our yummy scones, enjoyed ladies in full out sun flower jump suits, and most of all shopped like crazy! We had lots of fun! We headed to dinner on Thursday night, leaving our wonderful hubbies to play mom. We hit the outlets a little late but got some good Gap shopping in and then headed to Midway where I spent a WELL rested night! Friday we were up early to get all the goods at Swiss Days and then to lunch.

Our hubbies came up with the kids that afternoon where we just chilled for the rest of the day and had some dinner. Saturday we took the kids to the Alpine Slide. Ethan liked after some coaxing and showing him the slide and how it was like a car you could drive down. He said he wanted to go again which is better then screaming the whole way down.

On Sunday we got to go to my cousins Jill's little boy Jace's blessing. She's in town from Tennessee, so I was so excited that we would be there. We also got to see her up at Swiss Days with her CUTE little boy! She took some cute pictures at the get together after the blessing of our babies together, but I don't have the picture to post...so that will come later.

Wen ended our Labor Day with a BBQ with Kurt's fam. Of course I didn't get any pictures...but the weekend was lots of fun!

4 weeks = AMBULANCE RIDE

2010-09-01T13:34:00.003-06:00

Reese's one month mark was quite the day. Our day started out normal on Sunday. I decided to attempt church and ended up staying the whole time. During priesthood/relief society I had gotten Reese to sleep and got her all buckled in her car seat at the end of the meeting. About two seconds after I had buckled her in I heard her throw up (no big deal, she does it all the time). I looked down at her to see her face turn as red as a tomato and her eyes start bugging. I panicked and got her out of her car seat as fast as I could. I immediately flipped her over on my arm and started hitting her back to get her to breathe. With no luck and panic really starting to set in I took off running out of the room. I flipped her over and mucus was coming out of her nose and she still wouldn't take a breath. I jammed my finger into her mouth, got it on top of her tongue, and pushed her tongue down to open an air way. Finally at that point she started screaming, but as she would try to inhale through her nose she would lock her jaw again and stop breathing. At this point I had found Kurt and he started getting the stuff out of her nose the best he could and got her to keep screaming. I started to feel a little relief at this point.

As we were standing in the hallway a brother from my ward, who is a paramedic, came over and started helping us and asking us what had happened. He decided to come home with us to see if we could suction out the mucus because she was still having a hard time when she would try to inhale through her nose. We got home and tried for about ten minutes to suck stuff out, but with no luck. I calmed her down and Ken (the paramedic) told me I should take her to an insta care and get her on some oxygen and see if they could clear her out. We thought that would be a great idea. During the time that we were talking we all looked at her and her arms and her legs were going blue, at that point I saw Ken get a little worried (she was still breathing but it was labored) and he told me we needed to call 911. Apparently her body wasn't getting enough oxygen so her body was sacrificing other areas to get oxygen to her core. The ambulance and firetruck got here within three minutes and had us immediately bring her out to the ambulance. They had something ready to go down her throat to clear it out, but after holding some oxygen over her mouth she calmed down and her color started returning. She instantly started improving, but they wanted to take her to the hospital to make sure she hasn't aspirated anything into her lungs! So off we went in the ambulance to Riverton Hospital where we stayed for about three hours while they watched her to make sure she didn't do it again. They took x-rays of her lungs and those all came back negative (thank goodness) and she looked good. As the doctor was getting ready to release us she gave one last call up to Primary Children's and to my pediatrician to let them know what we were doing and they both wanted her to be transported to Primary's to spend the night where she could be monitored. So another ambulance ride up to Primary's where we spent the night while she was monitored.

Everything ended up being just fine, they think she has acid reflux, which I've thought all along, and for some reason this time she just couldn't get it back down. Since coming home she's done it two more times in her car seat but she's been able to get it back down. I've had some major freak outs and am now scared to put her in her car seat. However we started her on prevacid yesterday hoping that it will help some. I guess we will just have to wait it out and see. We are just so glad that everything was alright! I don't ever want to experience that again, it felt like pure helplessness. I'm so thankful that she's alright! I know my Heavenly Father was watching over her and I'm so grateful that she's ok! I'm also very grateful to have been at church where Ken was! Had it have happened at home by myself I don't know what I would have done!