In the Dahl House

Sawyer turns 4!!

2010-11-28T20:42:00.003-07:00

Sawyer turned 4 on November 17th. We had a family only party on Wednesday. When I took Sawyer to his school he couldn't wait to tell everyone that he was 4 "so now I get to eat food in bed!" We gave him breakfast in bed and apparently he thought this was a rite of passage and now he no longer needed to come down for breakfast. On Friday we had a Scooby-Doo themed party, it was so much fun. Lots of little boys running around. When it was time for cake, I brought out a box and opened it up and there was NO CAKE! The boys had to solve the mystery of the missing cake. It ended when they found Derek hiding in our entertainment center in a costume. They had to unmask the swamp thing and reveal the cake thief. Afterwards we hit the heck out of a Scooby-Doo Pinata. It was so much fun and Sawyer was so happy to have his friends over.
Sawyer is our youngest and has the soul of a comedian, he keeps us laughing and you cannot believe the thing he says. He is so loving and always wants to snuggle with me and his buddy (blanket). We love him so much and are so happy that he is growing up to e such a wonderful boy.
WE LOVE YOU SAWYER!!

HaPPy HalLowEen!!!

2010-11-02T21:57:00.006-07:00

Soren was a bloody Dr. The backstory was he was operating on someone that had a grenade in them and the grenade blew up.

Riding on the back of the golf cart

Every witch needs a cat.

This was the only picture I could take of these 2 because they took off to get as much candy as fast as possible.

Friend from trunk or treat

Cute Kids!

We had a fun Halloween with the trunk or treat and trick or treating with cousins.

Family time

2010-09-06T14:20:00.004-07:00

My kids have been having so much fun with their cousins. Having family around makes a huge difference. I love the fact that all my kids are matched up with 1 or more cousin that is near in age to them. I did not grow up with cousins around and did not know what I was missing. These are relationships that will last their whole life. It is also fun to travel and see other cousins. Sawyer is super excited to see "his Jack" this October. See you soon Utah cousins!

Funny blog

2010-09-03T09:21:00.002-07:00

Check this out. I grabbed this from another friends blog...pretty funny

http://catalogliving.net/

Swimmers take your mark......

2010-07-01T15:04:00.002-07:00

Soren had his first swim meet. He swam in 2 races and got 2nd and 1st place respectively. I had so much fun watching him.
Way to go Soren!!

Cali is 6!

2010-05-10T09:20:00.003-07:00

Six years ago and 5 weeks early I had an emergency c-section because Cali was too impatient and wanted to GET OUT NOW! My Dr. was great and told us what to expect... that she would probably be in NICU for awhile and that we were hoping that she would be home in a week or 2. They did the c-section and out comes this tiny little baby and then she let out this really big cry and the NICU were sent on their way as my Dr. exclaimed hmmm nothing wrong with her lungs after all. I was then told that since she was so tiny 4.09 that she would not have the strength or maturity to know how to nurse. About 3 minutes after that she was nursing like a champ. A day and a half after I had her we left the hospital (I HATE hospitals).
Cali has been true to her birth day she is loud and has a lot of energy and does not like to wait for anything. She has a very single minded determination and will decide that she wants to do something (jump roping, handstands, walking on her hands) and she will practice 24/7 until she has figured it out.
She is a great helper and loves to surprise me by cleaning up a room out of the blue. Somehow my uncreative, uncrafty self gave birth to a very girly girl who loves art and crafts (and is good at it too).
She has her Dad wrapped around her finger. Her and I have already had a number of arguments about hair and clothes...at 5!!
She keeps us entertained and we love her so much she is so full of life and our family would be so empty without her.
WE LOVE YOU CALI HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Happy 8th Birthday Soren!!!!!

2010-04-02T18:38:00.001-07:00

I don't know how this happened, but somehow I went from being a new mom to a mom of an 8 year old boy. Derek always says that the only reason we had more kids is because Soren was such a good baby and we were fooled into thinking all babies were that easy. He slept for 5 hours at a stretch and was hardly ever fussy.
He has grown into such an amazing boy, he is so loving to all of us. He still gives me kisses and hugs in public, every morning he takes his sister's hand and walks her to her class. The principal saw me and said that he was so impressed by what a good big brother he was. Soren said the principal yells out almost everyday for everyone to see what a good big brother he is. It completely embarrasses him but he still holds her hand and walks with her. He is so excited to get Baptized and I am so proud of how he says his prayers every night by himself without reminders (I still need reminders)
Soren loves to race remote control cars with his dad and play video and computer games. He loves to ski and he just gets up and goes down the mountain and we are lucky if we see him for the rest of the day. He also loves roller coasters. For his birthday, all he wanted for his party was to take a friend and go to Knott's Berry Farm. Luckily we found another boy who also likes upside down and crazy roller coasters, so I took them out of school early and off we went. On Friday we took another friend and the whole family went to see How to Train Your Dragon.

Soren you are so special and dear to all of us. Thank you for being a beyond wonderful son we love you so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

Under who? Under What? Underwear!

2010-03-09T20:25:00.002-07:00

(Imagine the Hallelujah Choir singing)
After almost 8 years and countless diapers, wipes, Balmex and swim diapers (is there anything more disgusting? The smell...oh the horror!) We are a DIAPER FREE house!!!! Well mostly, I am still put Sawyer in diapers at night just to be on the safe side. He has woken up the last 2 mornings with a dry diaper so I am pretty sure we are DONE! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

More Vacation Pictures

2010-01-09T22:23:00.007-07:00

Snowmobiling Boys Christmas Eve

Piggy back sledding

Sawyer going down Homerun at Park city Soren going off a jump on "Fire Rock" hill at the Chalet
Taking a break from snowmobiling to eat snow

Derek helping Sawyer down the hill on his first run.

Riding the rope pull to go tubing

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-09T14:53:00.009-07:00

Every year after Christmas we go up to Derek's parents house in Midway, UT. We lovingly call it the "Chalet". This year since we moved to California, we did not have the family parties that we usually have in Arizona. Derek and I decided to head up to Utah for the whole break and have a white Christmas. I thought that it would be nice to have a relaxing week before the cousins and in-laws came....I don't know what I was thinking. we had a TON of fun we went skiing, snowmobiling and tubing. We were exhausted every night but the next morning we were off on some other adventure.

We put Cali in a ski class one day and Derek decided he wanted to teach Sawyer himself. Sawyer was a natural. He was skiing down a green run (not the bunny hill) by the end of the day. Cali was great after her lesson. She was a little hesitant on some spots of the mountain but we made it down. Soren goes down the double blue runs and just looks for jumps.

On our way back to California we heard that it was a loooong trip with lots of traffic. So we stopped in Vegas. Derek signed me up for a massage and he took the kids to Circus Circus. We saw the white tigers and the sharks. We then headed home and luckily just missed the traffic. We had a great time but now i am so T

E.....

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I love Christmas time

2009-11-30T19:54:00.002-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving up in Arizona. It is so much fun for me to see my kids playing with their cousins. I love that they will have that bond their whole life.

I wimped out of black Friday and ate waayyyy too much food. We just had a great time. Thanks Paula and Steve for letting all of us converge on your house for the week!

Now the Christmas season can officially start.

2009-10-30T20:57:00.001-07:00

Kabob-a-dog

2009-10-28T19:46:00.011-07:00

The other day Cali took out 2 wooden kabob sticks from our pantry to play the "drums". Being the great mom that I am, I was just ignoring it. Derek came in and said 'that is a bad idea, those are used to stab through meat," so I cut of the tip and said have at it(wonderful parenting). After she was done I told her to throw them away and not use them again. Since she is five, she waited a day and then took a new pair out when I was doing the laundry. She got bored and dropped it on the ground, and wandered off.
I was in the middle of folding a shirt when I heard this horrific howling. I looked in the hallway and somehow our 4 lb. Papillon had managed to stab this stick through his body. I ran and grabbed him and tried to figure out how in the world this happened. Cali and Sawyer were upstairs and I could not fathom how Wiley had managed to stick a 12 in stick through his 6 inch tall body. Derek walked in about 30 seconds later with Soren and looked at what was going on and took Wiley to the vet. They were pretty amazed at what had happened and that he had miraculously had missed all his organs. So he his home, the kabob sticks have been thrown away and we have all learned our lesson about kids, dogs and sharp sticks.

NOT A GOOD COMBINATION

Lazy Blogger...Busy Life

2009-08-21T22:57:00.005-07:00

I am feeling a little guilty because I have not updated my blog and I have come to the realization that I am just a lazy blogger. Things actually have been really busy. Lets see, where did I leave off, oh yes, after Soren's birthday we had Derek's birthday and then we went to Hawaii with all of Derek's Family (12 adults and 16 gran kids 8 and under. fun plane ride) My parents also met us over there and we had just so much fun! When we came back we had Cali's 5th(!!) birthday party she wanted a Hawaiian puppy party so that made for an interesting cake. Lots of fun. Cali is one feisty 5 year old and we love her so much for keeping our lives interesting. She loves to dance and sing and at least 5 times a day we are privileged to watch a performance.School got out in May and we loaded up the kids and headed up to Park city. We had rented a condo up there so that we could get out of the heat. We had a ton of fun up there and got to visit with my brother josh and Lisa and my cute nephew Jack. July 4th was tons of fun as some families came up to the "Chalet". We had food, air soft rifle wars, food, fun games, food and fireworks. I LOVE the 4th up in Midway. At the end of July we went for our annual beach week in Newport, sun and cousins and California. We loved it so much that we decide to move here!!! So now we are unpacking and having fun in a new town. I will try to be a better blogger, and keep you updated about our new life in CA!!

Lucky # 7

2009-04-18T22:51:00.002-07:00

It's party time !!!

2009-04-16T19:46:00.010-07:00

Soren had his 7th birthday!! I cannot believe how fast those years went by. He has been such a blessing for us. Here are 7 things I love about him;

1. So loving towards his family

2. He is a great playmate for Derek!

3. He is very adventursome

4. He gets me my cereal in the morning (this one is from Cali)

5. He says the most wonderful prayers and his sweet spirit shines through

6. Very good at math (he did not get that from me)

7. He acts so grown up, I love when I still get those glimpses of my little baby

For his birthday he wanted an Army theme party. so we set up an obstacle course at our park and I was the Drill seargant. I had 16 boys running as fast as they could through the course. After they finished they were given a personalised dog tag stating that they graduated in defensive manuevers and covert ops. We then had cake and presents, as the sun began to set , I split them into 2 teams and gave one team orange glow bracelets and the other side greeen. we then had them play capture the flag. The boys had the best time with this. practically every kid cried when their parents came to get them. I was completely hoarse by the end of the night. Soren has told me that his friends from school all where the "Army" shirt I made for them. It was a very fun day.

New Addition

2009-03-17T22:08:00.011-07:00

Our persistent Cali wore us down and in a moment of insanity, Derek and I agreed to get her a "small" dog. I drove an hour each way to a breeder and picked out her little papillon puppy.

We surprised her on Valentines day. She was so excited. We named him Wiley, and he is a cutie. He is 2 lbs and my great dane does not know what to make of this tiny thing running in between his huge paws. Cali has kept up her end of the bargain and has been taking excellent care of him. Sawyer just wants to drag him everywhere and so we have to remind him to be soft. I have never had a tiny dog before and it is a whole different experience. He is so tiny that you feel like you have to carry him everywhere. i have had to be pretty firm about him having to walk a lot of places. If Cali had her way his feet would never touch the ground. About a week after we gave him to her, Cali and I were in the car and she said "When I was in Heaven, I asked Jesus to give me the funnest dad, the best mom, the nicest older brother, a fun baby brother and a the smallest dog ever. Now I don't need anything else!............I mean, I still want presents for my birthday and Christmas." She keeps us entertained that is for sure!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-17T13:37:00.001-07:00

Christmas craziness

2009-01-10T19:31:00.004-07:00

Lately I have been going with the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" I have been lazily just posting pictures without any narrative. Partly it has been because i have been really busy and also, I feel like sometimes my writing does not do our activities or my emotions justice. Anyway, here goes the rundown for our holiday month. It has been a whirlwind of parties, crafts, candy and family.

The kids had such a fun time circling EVERY toy in every catalog, and calling me in for every commercial and telling me to put that "on their list."

Christmas day was everything it should have been. The kids woke us up around 7:30 (we were very firm about them not opening anything) we learned last year that sometimes kids like to open presents without their parents around.

We went in and read the note Santa left and then we opened the presents. The kids got way to many toys and Derek gave me more than I needed. We spent the rest of the day in a blur of playing and putting things together.

On the 27th we headed out to Utah. We had so much fun in the snow. We went skiing and made snow tunnels and forts. Soren and his cousin made machine guns out of icicles. Cali learned how to ski and Sawyer just wanted to be outside in the snow. I brought up a puzzle and stayed up way to late. Luckily Derek and my Sister in law took pity on me and helped. We finished the night before we left around 11:00. The kids all got sick and that was kind of chaotic, but otherwise it was so much fun. I do have to admit that I was pretty worn out. For about 2 days after the kids started school I was pretty comatose. I guess that is what the holidays are all about.

Sawyer's 2nd Birthday!

2008-11-27T09:49:00.001-07:00

Trick or Treat!!

2008-11-04T19:21:00.001-07:00

Fire dog (name courtesy of Cali)

2008-10-03T19:10:00.004-07:00

Have you ever heard of this game? It is great fun. All you do is buy a pack of 15 glow sticks at Target ($1!), then you wait for dusk. After cracking the glow sticks you shove them under your dogs collar and then YELL "GO ENZO GO!!!!! and watch as your dog tears around the yard dropping the sticks one by one, then you say "On your mark, Get set...GO" and watch as your children run around and pick up the sticks. The person with the most sticks wins.
All this fun can be yours.... for only $1!!!!!

By a pricking of my thumbs....

2008-10-03T18:46:00.005-07:00

October is here! that means that the long hot summer has gone (mostly) and it is time to start the holiday season!
I never realized how much I enjoyed Halloween until I had children. On September 30th I was told that it was time to decorate for Halloween . I dragged all the bins (6!) down and the kids and I spent the next 2 hours putting up the decorations. They had so much fun decorating. As a mother, I was so happy for their enthusiasm....as someone with a little bit of taste I was cringing as they decorated their way. There were place mats placed on the ground "Look, a perfect path!", and pumpkins spread willy nilly throughout the house. I bit my tongue and just told them how excellent it all looked. Then as they rested their weary bones I went and made it look a little more conventional....oh and I washed the place mats!

Deep Thoughts

2008-09-01T11:15:00.004-07:00

When you park your car, facing down the driveway so you can hook up the trailer. After you ask your wife if the kids are all inside, you may want to check the front of your car. You never know when your Great Dane will decide that a great place to take a nap is in between the front tires of your car.

Sorry Enzo!

PS~ He is okay, just a little greasy from being on the bottom of the car.

Girls Getaway

2008-08-26T13:50:00.005-07:00

I went to California with 6 of my friends last weekend. We had so much fun. the ocean was beautiful and the waves were great! We stayed up late talking and then slept in, we ate our way through San Diego and Orange County, yummy, yummy food.

It was really nice to reconnect to my female friends. It was also wonderful to miss my family and have them miss me and be able to come back all excited to be a wife and mom. Thanks Derek for taking such good care of our kids!

We had so much fun that I forgot to take a lot of pictures. But here are a few.

LOVED IT!!!!!!!!

2008-08-13T16:15:00.003-07:00

Funny Blog

2008-08-13T16:09:00.002-07:00

I know that I am probably the last person to see this blog, but I thought that it was pretty funny. This level of commitment to sarcasm is something that I admire.

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

Last of the summer photos

2008-08-08T11:28:00.001-07:00

The Dark Knight

2008-07-22T20:52:00.002-07:00

Derek and I went and saw the Dark Knight last night. It was a good movie but it did run a little long. Derek was so excited to see this movie, so off we went.
I don't know if this is just an AZ & UT thing, but I get so annoyed when Parents bring their young children to either really late shows in their pajamas, or to shows that are OBVIOUSLY not children shows. Last night a lady comes in with her 3 young children, I am guessing 6, 4 & 2. and of course they sit right in front of us.
So the movie starts and the children are really well behaved and then comes an objectionable part of the movie for young children (hence the rating) so this lady starts SNAPPING her fingers at her children to close their eyes. I am not even talking about a soft snap. this lady was wildly waving her arms and had the loudest SNAP! So this went on the entire show (2 hours and 37 min) Scary part... SNAP! Scary part... SNAP! REALLY!!?!?

Fun in Midway

2008-07-14T09:58:00.001-07:00

4th Of July

2008-07-10T20:52:00.002-07:00

More Midway Pics

2008-06-23T21:25:00.003-07:00

I can't figure out how to get a lot of pictures in a post so I guess I am doing 2 posts.

MIDWAY!!

2008-06-23T21:00:00.003-07:00

We have been up in Midway Utah for about 2 1/2 weeks now and we are having a great time. Derek has been traveling back and forth to AZ so he gets to be in the blazing heat for a little while. We have had so much fun here. The kids just run around and play outside all day. We have been fishing and hiking and we rode the lift at Sundance and hiked around. The first week we were here was a little strange, on Monday we went swimming and Tuesday morning we woke up to snow! After that the weather straightened out, but we had a scare. Cali went to bed on Thursday night completely fine. Friday morning she wakes up and cannot walk...I whisk her to Primary children's hospital and after 9 hours and an MRI the doctors said that since she had strep 10 days ago, that she caught what they called a secondary virus that went into her brain and swelled it a little causing the vertigo. To a mom this sounds terrifying, but the doctors said it was sort of common...go figure. Saturday morning she was a little unstable, but by evening she was back to 100%. You have to love all the excitement that children cause. Thank you so much Paula and Steve for letting us stay at the "Chalet". We absolutely love it up here!

THE HAIRCUT

2008-05-28T19:37:00.002-07:00

Soren has had his hair long for awhile now and has always been really happy with it. Derek and I told him that whenever he wanted to cut it to let us know. So, on Sunday, Soren said that he wanted hair that he could spike up. So here are some before and after pictures. Derek did a lot and my SIL Liz did the last shaping part. Let me know what you think

Can you Dance?

2008-05-21T19:35:00.003-07:00

In just one day one of the most fun reality shows starts. So You Think You Can Dance?!?!
Derek and I love this show. I don't love all the made up drama of most reality shows but this one is just talent. I love to watch the dancers perform their routines. On Thursday they start the audition stage and that is kind of like American Idol, there is a lot of talent but also just some horrible cringe-worthy dancers.
So check it out on Fox!

Summer Reading

2008-05-13T14:02:00.004-07:00

I love books....seriously. As summer is beginning to start I thought That I would put out a list of my favorite summer reads. My criteria for a summer book is that it be easy enough to read while you are watching your kids at the pool or beach or park. I am in no way an expert but here are my recommends, in no particular order. The Stephine Plum Series hilarious, laugh out loud. Stephanie is an accidental bounty hunter, it is set in New Jersey so there is some language. James Patterson's Maximum Ride Series, these were written for teenagers and they are a fast read with no bad language at all. Dean Koontz Odd Thomas Series, these are a little dark and sort of creepy. I get really involved in books so I like to read scary ones during the day while it is sunny outside. Stephie Meyers vampire series is good as well, although I suspect everyone has already read them, I believe a new one is coming out in August. Thomas Perry Vanishing Act & Shadow Woman, Heroine is Jane whitfield a lady who helps people in danger disappear. Bill Bryson, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, a memoir of growing up in the 50's, another laugh out loud book.

I am sure that there are many more that I have not named. When I think of them I will add them to the list. If you have a suggestion please let me know. I am always on the lookout for great books.

Celebrity look- alikes??

2008-05-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

A rose by any other name

2008-05-11T20:52:00.005-07:00

Cali had her 4th birthday party yesterday. She wanted a flower party. The day of the party I had the girls decorate flower pots with stickers and glitter glue and gems. They played games and had a pinata and cupcakes. I completely stole the flower cupcake idea from my sis-in-law Julie....but otherwise the ideas were mine. I think they had fun...Cali was definitely exhausted by the end of the day.

Happy Birthday Cali!!!

2008-05-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today Cali turned 4!! She has been such a wonderful joy. She has such excitement for life, she always wakes up with a smile and hits the ground running. Her tremendous energy and creativity are so fun to watch (and exhausting to participate in).
Thank you for all your hugs and for always saying that we will be friends forever. I love you !!!

ALOHA!!!

2008-04-23T09:42:00.004-07:00

Well, We are back from Hawaii and trying to get back into the swing of normal life, We had no problem living the "aloha life".
We packed up the kids and got on the airplane for the wonderful 6 hour flight over. We landed and were met by Lala and Papa, the kids (big and small) were so excited to see them. After that it was just a week of fun crazy chaos in the sun. We swam and snorkeled from 8 in the morning until 6 at night and the after the kids were asleep, Derek and I would force everyone to play cards until 11:00 (2:00 AZ time).
It was so much fun to visit with Paula and Steve and to see how much they are enjoying their mission, Derek got to go out with Steve to go check on mission housing and he came back very grateful for our living conditions.
I would have posted some wonderfully moving, funny, adorable pictures of our trip at this point but some jackhole stole my camera....so whatcha gonna do?
Aloha and Mahalo!

Tag You're it!

2008-04-07T19:49:00.002-07:00

For Soren's birthday all he wanted was to play Laser Tag. So we booked a party at Stratum Laser tag and Soren and 10 buddies went to town. At first they were all a little skeptical of the loud music, dark room and crazy paintings on the wall. They were so funny, they all just ran around me shooting each other and never venturing past 6 feet away from me.

After awhile they gathered their collective courage and started exploring. Everyone had a great time and it was very entertaining to watch.

I am so glad that I followed through with this party. Soren had a great time and I think his friends did as well.

Happy 35th Birthday!!!!

2008-04-06T13:40:00.008-07:00

Today is Derek's birthday. We had a very relaxing Sunday, listening to conference and then going for a picnic in the park.

I want Derek to know that I am so happy to be married to him. I could not ask for a more loving or thoughtful husband. Derek is such a wonderful father to our three children, He always makes time to play with them and is very supportive in the things they like to do.

Thank you honey for being my rock and for loving me.

I LOVE YOU.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOREN!!!!!

2008-04-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

Today is Soren's 6th birthday! He has been such a joy. Derek and I are thrilled everyday that we get to have such a sweet spirit in our house.
Soren is a wonderful helper and a loving big brother. Cali and Sawyer look up to him and he has never let them down. Derek is happy that he has someone to play video games and go camping with.
I am so proud of Soren. He is a tough boy, but he still needs my hugs and kisses, and that just melts my heart.
I hope that your birthday is wonderful.
WE LOVE YOU!!!

So Funny

2008-03-31T14:02:00.003-07:00

Spring is in the "ACHOOO"....Air!

2008-03-23T09:20:00.003-07:00

"Sniff" Phoenix had a plethora of rain this winter so this spring we have been treated to "Ahchoo"...lots and lots of Flowers. up where we live the landscape is awash in yellow brittle brush "ahchoo"... while it is very pretty right now I am suffering with major seasonal allergies "sniff"..Also, I know that in a couple of weeks all this beauty with be brown nasty weeds. So I am trying to enjoy it while it is here....just from the safety of my house and car! "Ahchoo...ahchoo"!!!

Easter 2008

2008-03-22T16:39:00.001-07:00

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

2008-03-21T22:23:00.006-07:00

We had a fun photo shoot for Easter. My sister in law Liz, bought baby chicks and made some fun props. The kids had a great time, Sawyer was alternately enthralled and terrified of the chicks.
We hope that you all have a wonderful Easter and remember all that Jesus suffered for us and his glorious resurrection.
Happy Easter!!

March Madness!!

2008-03-19T20:55:00.004-07:00

This month has been super busy (I don't really have anything to show for it but trust me). Anyway, We have had a lot of birthday's and I just wanted to wish every on a Happy Birthday... so here goes. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Emi, Oliver,Brig, Brayden, Eve, Jake and David...Happy Birthday to you!!

He walks!!!

2008-03-18T18:54:00.017-07:00

Sawyer is 15 months and I was wondering if he was ever going to walk then, when we went to Las Vegas, I said Sawyer lets start walking. Apparently he agreed because he just stood up and started walking around the hotel room. He is having so much fun with his brother and sister. He thinks he is such a BIG kid. I am pretty sure he is our last and so I am a little bittersweet about him losing something from his babyhood, but he is such a joy.

On the road AGAIN!!!

2008-02-23T20:13:00.013-07:00

So, I have a husband that loves road trips. Somehow I got badgered into going on another trip. So we packed up the kids and drove to Las Vegas, or "The Vegas" as Soren calls it. We had fun once we got there. We took the kids to Mandalay Bay to see the aquarium which was really amazing. Then we went to Excalibur, which is not my favorite place but it is a castle with knights so the kids were excited. The next day we drove up to midway to the "snow house" there was about 3 feet of snow on the ground and it snowed another 6 inches while we were there. We had a great time, Derek and Soren went skiing, we hung out with my brother and his family and we just enjoyed ourselves (Thanks Lala and Papa!). We stopped at Vegas on the way down where I was given a wonderful gift to go and get an amazing massage at the Canyon Ranch and Spa....so nice.

I dread the going on road trips but I love it when we arrive at our destination and I get to see how happy my kids (and husband) are to be some place new. When we are all home and settled I remember all the fun we had and mostly forget all the annoying things that I hate about road trips....mostly...until the next trip anyway!

Why I prefer to go grocery shopping alone

2008-01-31T13:14:00.001-07:00

So, Derek had gone to his brother, the dentist to get his teeth looked at and I needed to go to the grocery store. I figured that since I just needed to pick up some dog food and diapers that it should be fairly quick and that taking Cali and Sawyer (Soren was at a friends house) should not be that hard.
On the way there Cali asked if she could get a donut. I, being the kind mother I am said yes she could. We walk into Albertsons and Cali begs me to get the cart that has the extended seats in it. I hate that cart, it is sooo long and not manueverable at all, anyway, I am a sucker so I say fine climb in. I buckle Sawyer into the baby seat at the front and off we go. about 1 minute into the store Sawyer starts to cry, really hard. This is pretty unusual so I go over to see what is wrong and I notice that he had pulled his leg out of the opening and had somehow jammed his foot into a side slot. His foot is in there so tight that I cannot move it up or down or side to side. I have no idea how he did this. Anyway, he is screaming louder and louder, a nice lady tries to help but his foot is not budging. Finally I get an idea to get some vegatable oil and put it in his leg. Of course the vegetable oil is on the other side of the store.
So, off go holding onto Sawyer who is screaming bloody murder, I am trying to manuver that stupid cart, because I am now on the side and as we go on our way to get the vegetable oil.... we pass the donuts. "Mom what about my donut" asked Cali. " "in a sceond" I reply. Apperantly this was not the answer Cali was looking for because she then proceeded to start screaming. So, now I am careening down the aisle in a barely controled shopping cart with a screaming baby and a 3 year old who is pitching a fit.
Finally I get to the baking aisle and grab the oil. I smear it all over Sawyer's foot and leg and voila! out it pops. I spin the cart around and race back to the donuts and grab 1 for Cali and 1 for Sawyer. Things calmed down after that but whew!!! I am definetly not going grocery shopping with those two anytime soon.

2008-01-26T23:34:00.001-07:00

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Blue

You're blue — the most soothing shade of the spectrum. The color of a clear summer sky or a deep, reflective ocean, blue has traditionally symbolized trust, solitude, and loyalty. Most likely a thoughtful person who values spending some time on your own, you'd rather connect deeply with a few people than have a bunch of slight acquaintances. Luckily, making close friends isn't that hard, since people are naturally attracted to you — they're soothed by your calming presence. Cool and collected, you rarely overreact. Instead, you think things through before coming to a decision. That level-headed, thoughtful approach to life is patently blue — and patently you!

What are you? http://web.tickle.com/rd/50651/color/index.jsp?testname=colorogt&resultid=E

Princess Wishes

2008-01-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

Cali and I along with her Aunt Liz and 3 cousins got to go see Disney on Ice Princesses Wishes. The girls got all dressed up in their Barbie Island Princess outfit and off we went. Cali had been so excited all week long. Se kept asking to go and see the princesses, I tried to explain that they were not here yet but she did not accept this explanation. Finally I told her they were on an airplane. "A red and blue one?"She asked. I answered to the affirmative and she understood that. Cali kept busy by trying on every dress she had and diffierent jewelry and tiara's to get just the right combination. It is so much fun to be a mom to such a spunky little girl.

Going back to Cali

2008-01-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

We took the family to California over MLK weekend. We had so much fun. California is by far my favorite place...one day I will live there.

Sawyer and the Big Blue

2008-01-20T23:17:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to California this weekend. We stopped at San Clemente Beach to let the kids play. Sawyer had the best time ever. This water was a chilly 60 degrees and he could not get enough of charging the waves. He was a shivering little blue thing at the end and when I took him out to dry him off and change his clothes, he was furious. All of our kids are such water babies, it makes it so much fun for me and Derek.

Snowy Fun

2008-01-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2007

2008-01-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

Christmas was a wonderful day. We got woken up around 7:oo by Soren yelling that Santa had come. Derek and I hurriedly got dressed and came out. By the time that we had gotten there Soren had unwrapped all but 1 of his presents that had been so lovingly (and laboriously) wrapped by Santa's little helper, who had sat there imagining the joy she would see on her oldest child's face as he carefully unwrapped his Christmas presents one at a time, and exclaimed how perfect each one was and that Santa had insight into his deepest present desires.

After that we went and woke up Cali and Sawyer and it went a lot smoother. There was a lot of unwrapping and yelling thanks to Santa out the window, our neighbors were probably trying to figure that one out! We spent the day in our PJ's and ate lots of junk food. We went to Derek's aunt's for a family Christmas party that night. It was wonderful to catch up with all of his cousins. It was a pretty perfect Day!

Techno Genius

2008-01-05T13:37:00.002-07:00

Sawyer is my one year old baby. I know that most babies are intrigued by cell phones and remotes, but Sawyer is OBSESSED!
So far these are a few of the things that Sawyer has accomplished. He has called 9-1-1. The police came out (sorry Officer). He has sent a video text message from Derek's phone to mine. He has reset my wallpaper on the front of my cell phone (from a picture HE took), recorded TV shows. On Christmas... and I am not lying, he turned on the TV and changed the channel to BYU Christmas music. Also, He has called a nice old lady at midnight on Derek's phone. When we were flying home the other day, he was a perfect angel until the poor lady sitting next to us took out her cell phone and computer. It was like I was holding a wild tiger, he was trying so hard to get over to her and get on her computer.
It will be very interesting to see what happens next!

2007-12-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

Nurse Tasha

2007-12-18T17:53:00.001-07:00

I have never been a big fan of sick people. I just do not have the patience for them. Heavenly Father I guess decided that I needed to learn some patience because I have been surrounded by my sick family. Derek is currently trying to find a diagnosis for whatever has attacked him 2 years ago. He has suffered through hives and welts and migraines and muscles that have locked up. He has been amazingly courageous and upbeat during the whole ordeal. We are hopeful that he will find some doctor that can cure him.
Soren & Cali both suffer from febrile seizures. That is where whenever they have a fever that spikes to high too fast then they will seize. Soren seems to have grown out of this but Cali still has them. She needs to get a shot of a tranquiliser to snap her out of them. Yesterday I took my HEALTHY girl; to the mall, as I was walking around dillards I looked into the stroller and noticed that Cali was stiff and Blue!! I picked her up out of the stroller and laid her on the ground. After calling her name she miraculously came out of it on her own. She started singing like a drunken sailor. The paramedics came and checked her vitals and said that she was fine with NO temperature. After talking with my doctor it was decided that she did not need to go to the ER but needs to see a neurologist as she just had a seizure that did not come from an onset of fever. So now I am praying that my little girl will be okay and not plagued by seizures. I will keep you updated as to the results.