Together We Make A Family

Gunner James

2010-10-29T17:16:00.003-06:00

Three weeks ago today baby Gunner was born. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 6.6 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long. He was much smaller than Landon but he was still a pretty good sized baby.

Gunner went in for his two week check this week and is now up to 8 lbs. 13 ounces and he is still 21 3/4 inches. He is doing very well and is only getting us up once a night, sometimes two. The kids love him a little too much but they are a good help when I need it.

What have the Anderson's Been Up To?

2010-10-07T15:43:00.011-06:00

Well, we have not been up to all whole lot. We are BORING people.
Here is the update since our vacation back in May!!
To start off, Chad passed is CPA exam this summer! He spent alot of time working on this and we are so proud of him for all his hard work!
We came home from vacation to get back to school. Yes, that is right, I took a summer class. Math 1050 to be exact. I will never do that again. I hated that class and I really struggled with the class since all the material was smashed into a shorter time period. It was awful but on the plus side, I didn't flunk! This was the class that made my love for math disappear. It was that bad.
Shaleigh finished her dance year with an invitation to be on one of the competetive dance teams. She was so excited and has been loving it so far. We also ended the year with her Spring Dance Recital. Sorry for the blurriness of the picture. I struggle with figuring out my camera.June was a boring month. Like I said earlier, I was in summer school and didn't have too much time to play. The kids finished school the second week in June and wanted to play all summer. Thank goodness two of them are old enough to go outside without me and are old enough to watch Landon. In June, we also found out that our baby is a BOY. I was really worried about how Shaleigh would react to the news of this but she has been pretty good with it. We just keep telling her that she will always have her own bedroom and will never have to share her stuff with anyone. That seems to make her pretty happy.
July brought the Boys' Birthdays! Tanner turned 11! Wow that makes me feel old. All he wanted was a RipStick! I was a little worried about this. I thought for sure we would end up with broken bones but he picked right up on it and does really good on it.
Landon turned 4 this year. He is quite the kid and his personality has really come out. He has us laughing all the time. He really wanted a remote control truck! OK he is four does he really need one? Heck yes, he needs to keep up with all the big kids. He loves it!

Tanner and Shaleigh started school again on July 26. Tanner is in his last year of Elementary School which is 6th grade down here and Shaleigh is in 3rd grade. They seem to really like their teachers and are doing really well. They are currently off track for another week. So that means that their school year is 1/4 over!!
In August, Shaleigh's dance team performed in the Fire, Water, and Ice Festival that the City of Kearns does each year. The day started of with a parade first thing in the morning. She loved being in the parade and thought that it was the greatest thing she has ever done.And then in the afternoon, she had a dance performance at the Rec Center where the festival is held.
In August, Shaleigh also had a Birthday and turned 8. She couldn't really tell us what she wanted that wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg or that she wasn't too young to have. So I used my imagination and figured that since she wants to cook stuff all the time, that she should have an Easy Bake Oven. She was excited for this but guess who ends up cooking the stuff when she wants to play with it? You got it, I do. So I guess, I got the Easy Bake Oven!

In September, over Labor Day weekend, Shaleigh was baptized by Chad.I took her dress shopping a few weeks earlier and she found the one she wanted and then we took her out and had her picture taken for some invitations. They turned out cute.After Shaleigh's baptism, we had all our family over for lunch. It was a good time.
Landon also started Preschool in September.He loves it. After I pick him up, I ask him what he did a school that day and he can never remember. I think he is just there to play with other kids and to get away from being at home and bored with me. But he does remember what he had for his snack that day. He is a funny kid.
And for the biggest news yet, at our house anyways. Tomorrow is the big day. We are scheduled for a c-section at 7:30 a.m. and will finally get to meet this little (or big) guy that we have been waiting so long to see. The kids are excited and I am just excited to finally get this over with. So hopefully, I can talk Chad into updating this thing tomorrow too with the little guy.

Vacation - Day 5 and 6

2010-06-24T12:52:00.007-06:00

Finally, I am taking a minute to finish up our vacation. On Friday of our vacation, we went to Disneyland for one last time. I think that this was the warmest day that we were there. We started the morning off by heading over to Fantasy Land. Landon was the only one that really enjoyed this part of Disneyland. The other two thought that it was pretty boring. We first got in line to ride the Peter Pan ride. We had been waiting in line for about fifteen minutes and were almost to the end of the line when the ride got shut down. They told us that we could either leave or wait for it to open back up (they didn't know when that would be, they were guessing 15 minutes). We were at the point that it would have been to hard to get out so we decided to just wait. It ended up only being about 10 minutes but all the waiting really wasn't worth the ride. After that ride, we went over to another ride (I can't remember what it was called because I actually ended up not riding). We had waited a few minutes and were almost to where we would get on the ride, and the same thing happened! This time, Landon really had to use the potty, so I fought through all the people and got out of line to take him. Chad, Tanner, and Shaleigh stayed to ride. They all said that it was dumb! Anyways, we spent just a short time there and then tried to hit all the rides that they wanted to go on again.
Before we left Fantasy Land, we had to go on "It's a Small World" just to say we went. Chad said that he fell asleep. Shaleigh loved it and was pretty camera happy.

Later that afternoon, we camped out on Mainstreet and watched the Celebrate Parade. It was pretty fun.

After this, we went over to California Adventure one last time to ride the rides the kids wanted to go on again. They had a blast going on some of these rides again and again. After California Adventure, we went back over to Disneyland to watch the fireworks. What a joke. Little did we know, if you are not there early for those fireworks, there is no where to stand and watch. So we were pushed through the crowds like cattle trying to get somewhere, anywhere, away from all the people. We did manage to see some of the fireworks though.

Day 6 - We got up and packed up all of our stuff to head home this day. We had a few hours to kill before we needed to be to the airport so we took the kids to the beach. We just walked along the sand. It was nice. I take any pictures here because I had packed my camera in the suitcase for our flight. I wish I would have kept it out because I could have had some fun pictures. Oh well. After we left the beach, we got a phone call from the airport letting us know that our flight was delayed just about 2 hours. So we took our time eating lunch and then had to head to the airport anyways to get the rental car back on time. Then we sat at the airport for a couple of hours. Once we finally boarded our plane to come home, they came on the intercom and notified us that there was a mechanical problem that needed to be taken care of before leaving. They finally got that taken care of but before we even got to the runway, they pulled off and notified us of yet another mechanical proboem. I began to think that we were never going to get home. They got that problem taken care of and we were off. We finally got home at 10:30.
It was a very fun vacation but it is always nice to come home.

Vacation - Day 4 - Universal Studios

2010-05-13T23:13:00.010-06:00

Today we went to Universal Studios. It was HOT but we had a good time.
I have a ton of pictures for today but I am not going to post to many until I can get home and do one big post of the entire trip.
First off, we went on the Studio Tour and was able to visit the different sets that are used for filming. We took a trip down Wisteria Lane and saw the many houses on Desperate Housewives. I love those houses and would love to live in a house that looks like one. On the outside that is.
We saw Jaws.
We saw set for War of the Worlds. This was a great sight to see knowing that we are getting on a plane to come home on Saturday!
And we went to the Waterworld show. It was great. I took way too many pictures of this show and don't even know where to start so this is what you get.

And today, we were able to meet these guys.

Tanner has a new girlfriend. Dora loved him and couldn't keep her hands off of him. She was rubbing his arms, chest and even his face. It was funny.
Then there was this guy. He was interesting. He would stand there and not move at all. He was very still but when he would move he was like a robot and he made this buzzing noise with his mouth. We sat there and watched him for a while and watched the different people walk up to him and just look at him and then laugh when he would move and scare them. Very interesting.
Tomorrow we are heading back to Disneyland for one last day. Tomorrow night is the fireworks so it will be a late night but the kids are excited for the fireworks. Our vacation is winding down and we are starting to look forward to being back home. Especially Mom and Dad.

Vacation - Day 3 - Disneyland/California Adventure

2010-05-12T23:28:00.006-06:00

We went back to Disneyland today. The older kids had a good time, but Landon just wasn't tall enough for some of the rides they went on today so Landon and I got to hang out quite a bit today. We hit Splash Mountain first off this morning. I went the first time with Tanner and then Tanner took dad on the ride. Shaleigh and Landon wouldn't go so Tanner told them all day that they missed out.
We then ran into they two characters.
Shaleigh and Landon thought they were pretty cool but I think Tanner thinks that he is a little old.
We went on a big ship ride and Landon was able to steer for a little bit.
Later on we headed over to California Adventure.
If you know Landon, you know how much he loves CARS!! This was the highlight of his day.
We also went on this ride called Soarin' over California. It was pretty cool. We highly recommend this ride to anyone who is coming this way. We had so many people at home tell us that this is the ride to not miss. Well, we didn't. We went twice.
I think we are wearing the kids out but they are loving every minute of it.
Tomorrow we are off to Hollywood to visit Universal Studios and we will also make a stop at the beach. Can't wait! More to come tomorrow!

Vacation - Day 2 - Sea World

2010-05-11T23:28:00.006-06:00

Today we took the drive to San Diego to visit Sea World. When I went with my family years ago, I wasn't a fan. Today, I still wasn't a fan. Shaleigh and Landon had a blast. Shaleigh loves animals so she was right in her element. There is a Sesame Street section that is made for the younger kids and Landon loved it there. So we spent quite some time there today.

We also went to the Shamu show. They all loved it and we got wet!

And we watched the dolphins play. Today was a good day. Sunny and warm and we all got sunburned.
Tomorrow, we will be back at Disneyland.

Vacation - Day 1 - Disneyland

2010-05-10T23:04:00.005-06:00

Okay I quit. I just spent the last forty five minutes typing up an update of our vacation so far. The internet is slow and I just lost all that I had done!! So, here is a few pics of what we did today. I probably won't post on the trip until we get home so that I don't lose it all again. We are having a good time and the kids are loving it. They are so worn out when we get back to the Hotel that all they want to do is have a bath and go to bed. It is nice. Tomorrow, we are heading to Sea World so I will probably post some teaser pictures of that tomorrow night. But nothing to big. I don't want to lose anything big again!! Anyways, here are some pics from today!!
Until tomorrow...

The Long Awaited Update

2010-05-05T21:13:00.011-06:00

Yay! Spring Semester is finally done. I think this was my toughest semester yet and I survived! I was taking 13 credits which is four classes. That is way to much with a family and home to take care of so needless to say, I decided to cut back. Six credits or two classes from now on if I want to keep my sanity.
Chad has been keeping busy with work and Bishopric stuff. He has also passed three of the four CPA tests and will take the fourth one the end of the month. Keep your fingers crossed. He has studied and worked so hard for this and he can't wait to be done.
In January, the kids were off track. So we spent some time playing in the snow. They really loved sledding this year and Landon was able to keep up with them this year.
Landon graduated from nursery and moved up to Sunbeams. He loves it and always wants to know when it is going to be his turn to talk in the microphone. He actually got to have his chance in April when he was asked to give the scripture in Primary. I was afraid he would be nervous and not want to do it when it came down to it but he did it. He couldn't be seen over the podium but he could be heard.
In January, Tanner also received his Arrow of Light award in Cub Scouts. This is the highest award they can earn in Cub Scouts. We are so proud of him for all that he has accomplished in Scouts. This last week, he was able to move up to the 11 year old scouts even though he is still 10. All the boys his age all turn 11 this month and he is the only one that doesn't. So instead of making him wait until July, they let him start going. He was pretty happy about that!

February was pretty uneventful. Tanner finished up with Jr. Jazz.

March ended up being a pretty busy month. Shaleigh lost her second tooth. Yes, she is slow at losing teeth. It is hard to tell that she lost a tooth because the new tooth was already in behind the loose tooth.
I was released from being the Enrichment leader and was put in as Secretary in the Young Womens. But before I could totally be done with my Enrichment calling, I had to finish up the Birthday activity that I had been planning. For this activity we did "This Little Piggy" theme and as a treat for the ladies as they were leaving, I made these cute Piggy Pops.
For St. Patricks Day, Shaleigh needed to make a Leprechan trap for school. This is what we came up with.
She didn't catch the little guy but she did have fun trying.
In April, we colored Easter eggs for Easter.

April also brought the Pinewood Derby. Tanner searched in internet for ideas on what he wanted his car to look like and came across a car made into an iPod. So that is what he chose. This project usually involves Dad cutting out the car, Tanner sanding the car and painting the main coats of the car and Mom painting the details. It really turned out pretty good and he was excited to race it.
If you remember last year, his car came in last place every race. He was so disappointed but this year was much better. He was so happy that he didn't have to be the last place car every race.

And that was pretty much what has happened around here the last few months. I currently have one and a half more weeks off and then I am back to school. I am finishing up my math in the summer. I was afraid that if I took the summer off I would forget what I learned in Math 1010 and then struggle through Math 1050, so it is back to the grind for me. Thankfully, that is the only class I will be taking in the summer so I should be able to enjoy some of my summer.
And last but not least, you may have noticed the ticker at the top of the page. No it is not a joke, it is for real. Number four is on the way. Should be here around the middle of October. I have been teased and given a lot of crap because I told everyone that we were done and that I was NOT having any more. Well things changed but this is IT. I promise this time. :) The kids are very excited and Landon keeps telling me that he will be my baby until the new baby comes and then he is going to be the big brother. He is funny. But we are really excited to have this baby come to our family.

Update to Come Soon!!

2010-04-17T22:52:00.001-06:00

For those of you who've asked, only two more weeks of classes and the last final on the 3rd and then I promise an update!

Sledding

2010-01-10T20:02:00.007-07:00

The kids have been off track and we we have been going sledding. All three of them love and I was surprised at how well Landon took to it. He is not afraid of anything! I tried my hardest to keep him on the smaller hills, but he got pretty bored with those and wanted to move to the bigger hills with the kids.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-10T19:35:00.007-07:00

A little late but I thought I better post this before I go back to class tomorrow or else it will not get done for a while. Christmas was fun this year. We headed up to Logan on Christmas Eve to celebrate with Chad's family. There was a lot of good food and fun. As usual, all the kids got their Christmas Jammies from Grandpa and Grandma.We then headed home and spent Christmas day together, just the five of us. It was no nice to be able to stay home and enjoy the day.

This year Santa brought the kids Band Hero for the Wii. What a hit! They love it and I now have my very own band living with me.
Ignore the messy house. It was Christmas and all my hard work got trashed with messy fun!
The day after Christmas, we headed back up to Logan for the Olson Christmas party and to celebrate Christmas with my family. It is so fun watching all the little kids open presents.

The kids all got snow pants and outside clothes for playing in the snow and that is all my kids have done!!
Christmas a great this year and as always, we were all spoiled!

Catch Up Time

2009-12-23T20:36:00.016-07:00

No, I am not dead! Just very busy. I just finished the semester last week so now I have three weeks to catch up on everything that has been ignored for the last four months. This is what has been going on at our house.

August

I realized that I blogged about the boys' birthdays but never blogged about Shaleigh's. This year Shaleigh got a bike for her birthay. That seems to be the birthday present of choice at our house this year, with the exception of Landon.Shaleigh is very into girly things such as painting her nails. So she got some fingernail polish and some nail stickers. She has loved them and always has a new sticker on either her toes or her fingernails. She has even shared with mom.
For Shaleigh's birthday cake this year, she wanted cupcakes with flowers on them. So we made daisies with candy corns and skittles for the center. They turned out pretty cute. Oh yeah, and she had to have a few cupcakes with footballs on them for the boys.
September

Not much going on in September. I was in class and things were pretty busy.

October

The month of October brought lots of fun. The kids were off track for most of the month. For UEA, the kids went up to Logan and stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Anderson for the weekend and Mom and Dad got a start on Christmas shopping. We also were able to get tickets to the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference. This was the first time I have ever gone to conference. It was a lot of fun and was nice to be able to actually get something out of it without kids.
My mom, sister and sister-in-law and all their kids came down and we took all the kids out to Gardner Village to see the witches. It was a fun time and the my kids enjoyed going with someone other than mom.

Shaleigh rode the pony's at Gardner Village. I think this was the highlight of her trip. She loves animals of all kinds and I always find her watching the Animal Planet.
On to Halloween. The kids had a blast. Tanner was a "Dead FBI Guy" again.Shaleigh was a Baby again.Landon was a cowboy.He loved having a mustache drawn on his face and he is still asking me to put one on!! This year, Tanner and his two buddies went out trick or treating together so Chad and I took Shaleigh and Landon out trick or treating. They all had fun!

November

November was a VERY BUSY month. Being the Relief Society Coordinator (Enrichment Leader)I survived my first Wacky Wednesday (in place of Super Saturday). This was a very time consuming activity but it went really well and I was really glad to see it end too.
Tanner worked really hard and earned his Webelos badge in scouts in November.
No we don't usually wear suit and tie and nice Sunday dress to Pack Meeting but Chad and I was also attending a Bishopric Training that night as well and had to sneak out for Tanner to get his award. See, we are busy people!
Thanksgiving came and we woke up Thanksgiving morning to Landon having Croup! We still ventured to Logan for Thanksgiving dinner but I of course forgot my camera and we have no pictures. It was a fun day other than the croup though.

December

I can't believe that it is December all ready. The month has gone really fast. We started the month off with Tanner getting his braces off.This is the day Tanner got them on.This is the day he got them off. He now has a permanent retainer on the bottom and a retainer on the top that we are constantly reminding him to put in. His teeth look great and now the retainers will do the job until all his adult teeth come in and then they will reassess him and he will probably end up with braces on again for the second phase.
Shaleigh had her winter dance recital last week. We started her with a new dance company in the fall and this was the first time performing with them. The dance company put on a production of "A Christmas Carol" (their version). It was so good and Shaleigh did an awsome job. Since we have switched her, she has learned so much more than what she was learing with the old place. She is going to be a killer dancer when she gets older. I did not get any pictures of her dancing because they had the lights way down and had asked that no pictures be taken with a flash. So I turned my flash off but my camera has a bright green light that flashes when the flash is off so I didn't want to be asked to leave because I was distracting the dancers. But I did get pictures of her at home before the recital.
One of the activities that Shaleigh was able to do in school was build a Gingerbread house. She could hardly wait to get it home to show mom and dad her house so that she could eat it. So we quickly took pictures of it and now it is gone.

We are all doing good. Tanner and Shaleigh are now off track until the end of January and are looking forward to playing in the snow. Hopefully it won't melt for them. Landon loves having them home even though they pick on him quite a bit. Everyday lunch time he asks if it is time to go and get the kids. He will ask me three or for times until it is time to go. I can't believe that he will be going to Primary in January. Where has my baby gone? I ended my third semester back in school with 3 A's and an A-. I was very happy with that and really couldn't believe that I did so well. Those grades really make me realize that as hard as it is, I can do it. It is very rewarding. And the best news of all, Chad has passed 3 of his 4 CPA tests! We are so happy for him and proud of him for all the hard work he has put out there toward his goal of passing the test.
Wow, that was quite the update. Hopefully, I can keep up better and not get so behind. Until next time, Merry Christmas!!

My Favorite Things

2009-11-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

Love this!

Guess What!! Shaleigh Finally Lost A Tooth!!!

2009-08-23T21:08:00.004-06:00

Shaleigh is so excited. She has finally lost her first tooth! I think that she is probably the only one in 2nd Grade who had not lost a tooth. The funny thing is, her permanent tooth has already grown in behind where the baby tooth was.

Happy Birthday Shaleigh!!

2009-08-11T01:00:00.001-06:00

Shaleigh turns seven today. She has been so excited this year and has asked and asked about how many more days since the boys' birthdays. Shaleigh is so fun to be around. She is all girl and loves to paint her fingernails and toenails. She is a big help to mom with Landon and especially loves to help in the kitchen with dinner or making a treat. This week at school, she is the celebrity of her class. They are doing this instead of celebrating birthdays. So really, her birthday gets to last all week because the whole week at school is all about Shaleigh. She loves to be the center of attention! Happy Birthday Shaleigh!

First Day of School

2009-08-05T16:31:00.006-06:00

Our summer has ended and school has started. The first day of school was on Monday, July 27. That six week break really flew by fast. Tanner said that he was ready to go back because he was starting to get bored. Shaleigh only wanted to go back so that she could see her friends again. She is the only girl her age on our street. There are two others but one is 11 and the other just turned 5. So she doesn't play too much with them.
Tanner is in the fifth grade!! He was really surprised by the amount of homework he has had. This is because in fourth grade his homework consisted of 20 min. of reading and studying spelling. This year he has been lugging home a huge math book. He isn't usually too happy about this but I just keep telling him to get used to it because from here on out, it is only gonna get harder. He don't believe me!
Shaleigh is in the second grade!! She has really grown alot since she started kindergarten. She was excited to have her friends mom as her teacher and to have that same friend in her class!! She, too, has homework. Just not as much as Tanner. It is a bit harder to get Shaleigh to work on her homework. She would rather do anything but homework. She is a very good student but thinks that once you leave school you are done. No more.
Landon gets to stay home and be my buddy. He doesn't go to school for a couple more years but he does get to go stay at the neighbor's while mom goes to school (I go back in 3 weeks!). He is a character! He loves to play the Wii and can beat everyone at golf.
Aren't they just the cutest? But they sure do look like they are up to something!

Fun on the Slip N' Slide

2009-08-05T16:23:00.003-06:00

As I mentioned earlier, my mom and dad gave Tanner a Slip N' Slide for his Birthday. Tanner and the other two kids have had so much fun on it. It has two sides so that they can race. It is so funny to watch them. Landon is the funniest. He won't slide down, most of the time he will just walk down the side on the lawn and let the water cool him off. When he does decide to slide down, he has to turn the water off so that he is not getting hit in the face with the water. What a kid.

Bear Lake 2009

2009-08-04T15:15:00.002-06:00

This year we headed over to Bear Lake for the annual Olson Family get together. Every year Chad's grandma sends everyone in the family over to Harbor Village for a few days. It is so fun. We haven't gone for the last few years so we decided that it was time to head back. We had so much fun hanging out at the pool all day and going out on Rex's boat for a couple of hours. All three kids went in the tube behind the boat. Yes, even Landon, my then two year old. I think this was the highlight for the kids.

Tanner also got to go golfing with all the dads. He loved it. I pretty much just hung out at the pool and of course got sunburned. It was so nice to just relax and not worry about what I needed to do at home.

Happy 12th Anniversary!!!

2009-08-01T01:00:00.000-06:00

We were married twelve years ago today. Wow, that sure has gone by fast. We have had so much fun together and many good times.
Here's to many more years!! I love you Chad. Thank you for all that you do for me and for our family and THANK YOU for putting up with ME!

The Boys' Birthdays!!

2009-07-25T16:48:00.011-06:00

Tanner turned 10 on July 20. This year we took him shopping the Saturday before for a bike. He is getting so tall, it was time for a bigger bike.Because school starts on Monday, he also got some new shirts to start the school year off with.
After dinner, we celebrated with cake and icecream. This year, Tanner wanted a Basketball cake. So I did my best.

Landon turned 3 on July 23. He is growing so fast! He has been wanting a wagon for the last few months now. Whenever he would see someone with a wagon he would say, "I want a wagon for my birtday."
He also got a skid lid (helmet) for when he is riding the scooters. When we were shopping for the bike for Tanner we tried the helmets on Landon. The helmets in his age range, 3-5 years, were too small. So we ended up with the 5 and up helmet. He was born with a big head and it is still big!
For Landon's birthday cake, he wanted a baseball. So I went to work again.
Grandpa Goldie, Grandma Jerri, Ashley, Braelynn, and Macie all came down on Thursday night and we celebrated both the boys' birthdays. It was a good time. Tanner got a Slip N' Slide and some money and Landon got a learning computer thing. They both love them.

Glad the boys had good birthdays.

Happy Birthday Landon!!

2009-07-23T12:22:00.003-06:00

Landon is three today! He is such a fun little kid. He keeps us on our toes and has us laughing all the time. He is so silly. He is not afraid of trying new things. Happy Birthday Landon!!

Happy 10th Birthday Tanner!!

2009-07-20T10:17:00.003-06:00

Tanner is 10 years old today. I can't believe that I have a kid that old! Tanner is a very good kid and a great helper to mom and dad. He is Landon's best bud. We hope that you have a Happy Birthday!

Shaleigh's Dance Recital

2009-07-03T16:24:00.008-06:00

Shaleigh had her dance recital a couple of weeks ago. She did really good and was really excited to be there. This year she has been in a Cheerleading class and a dance class. She really loves cheer. Since I was a dancer myselft, I am so glad that she loves dancing. To watch the videos, just pause my music on the right hand side.

Good Job Shaleigh!!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

2009-07-03T16:02:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago, we took our family to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. It was a neat experience for the kids to be able to go inside.

Because we live in this temple district, we have had the opportunity to serve in the temple for the open house. A few days after we took the kids through, Chad and I were asked to be guides in the Sealing Room. We were the couple that spoke to the visitors about the temple and about how we are blessed to be sealed together so that our family is a forever family. It was a very neat experience. Chad was able to serve in one of the tents working the projector for the video presentation and I was able to go and be an usher inside the temple last week. I am glad that we have had the opportunity to do this. It has been been a great blessing to be able to serve.

Finally an Update

2009-06-09T21:24:00.008-06:00

And a long one at that. I really don't have an excuse as to why I haven't updated this for a while. But now I have an excuse. For our quarterly enrichment meeting tomorrow night, we were asked to talk about blogging, journaling, family history, etc. so I am showing how to set up a blog. So I thought I had better get it updated just a bit and then hopefully add some more when I am doing my "very short" presentation. So here goes. In April, Tanner had his Pinewood Derby. He was so excited for it. We worked on his car and got it all cut out and painted and when we went to have it weighed, it was just barely short of the 5 oz. maximum weight so we decided that it would be just fine. We got to the race and his car did not do as well as he had hoped. He was kind of disappointed but he handled it pretty well. May flew by. I had finals the first week in May so I was pretty busy studying for those. I finished off the semester with a GPA of 3.85!!! I was so excited. I don't think I ever did that good in High School. I guess growing up and having to pay for school yourself really changes your outlook on things. So I finished my first year back in school and I think that I did very well considering I am married, have 3 kids and all the other responsibilities that come with those. It has been a very hard thing but I don't regret it and I know that when I am finished, it will all be worth it. Tanner received his Bear badge at Pack Meeting in May. He is doing really well in Scouts and really likes it. He will be going to Webloes Day Camp for two days in July and can hardly wait.Tanner and Shaleigh will be finishing school on this Friday. They are on Track A so they are the first track to go off for the summer. They got put back on Track A for next year so their summer will be cut short when school starts again on July 27!! The end of the school year brings lots of activities. Last Thursday, they both earned the Distinguished Cub Award. This award is given to those students who complete a list of items pertaining to their grade throughout the school year. The list gets longer and harder as they get older. We are very proud of them for their hard work this year. On Friday, Shaleigh had her 1st Grade Program. Her class sang five different songs and they also had a readers theater and each student had a part in the readers theater. She is the top reader in her class and she did so good. That is all for today. I still have more to update and Shaleigh's dance recital is next week so I will have that next week too. Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday!!

2009-05-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today is Chad's birthday and we want to wish him a Happy Birthday. We love and appreciate all that he does for us. We hope you have a great day! WE LOVE YOU!!

Easter....Finally!!

2009-04-19T19:05:00.006-06:00

Well, Easter came and went and here I am, blogging about it a week later. What is new! The kids went up to Logan to stay with Grandma Karla on Thursday so we colored Easter eggs on Wednesday. No one here eats them, so we only did six. I know, I am a mean mom. But they had fun doing the couple that they each got to do.

I have always wanted to make an Easter dress for Shaleigh. So I decided that this was the year to try. I started making it over my spring break. Between my classes and everything else going on, I finally finished it the Friday before Easter. I think I did pretty darn good for it being the first dress I have EVER made.

Here are the kids after church on Easter.

Spring is Finally Here!!!

2009-03-23T16:45:00.004-06:00

But what is with this snow?! My tulips and daffodils have been growing through the dirt for the last couple of weeks now. Last Thursday my daffodils finally flowered. I was so excited.

I was on Spring Break last week for school so I didn't do too much with school. I decided that since the weather was good, we were going to play. So when Tanner and Shaleigh came home from school, we spent the afternoons outside. It was so nice to just sit out there and not freeze! It was warm enough that I even let the kids wear their shorts on Friday. I loved it!!

We had all that fun last week and then we wake up to snow today! And it has snowed all day long! I hate it. At least I am back in school and have homework to work on now. But hey, it can't last forever can it?

The 6th Photo Tag

2009-03-23T16:29:00.003-06:00

Finally something to blog about! It has been a long time and I have been so busy with life and school that I haven't really had anything to blog about. Until, I was tagged by Carol. This was actually kind of fun to go back and look at pictures.

Rules: Go to the pictures folder on your computer
Choose your 6th file
Choose your 6th picture
Blog about it.
Tag 6 more people!

This picture was taken the first part of December. Chad was in California for work and I had just finished finals. So I had decided that since the weather was still fairly warm for December, I would take the kids to Gardner Village for the Elf Hunt. As we were walking across the bridge, there was this duck out swimming in the pond. I had to take a picture because I thought that it was pretty cool and the kids wanted me to take the picture.

I tag Michelle, Jen, Mindee, and whoever else would like to do this!

Braces and Basketball

2009-01-31T16:19:00.004-07:00

Tanner got his braces on Tuesday. He was so excited to get them. I don't quite understand why? Must be a kid thing because I was excited to get mine way back when too.

We are also nearing the end of the Jr. Jazz Basketball season. Tanner has had a fun time and has done really well this year. He gets better and better each year. He wishes that he could play year round. When the snow is gone, you can usually find him at the neighbors shootin' hoops. He loves it.

My Albertson's Shopping Trip

2009-01-10T21:19:00.003-07:00

A couple of months ago, my neighbor had a coupon class that I went to. I thought everything that I learned there was a great way to work on food storage. But then the Holidays came and I got way too busy to do what needed to be done to shop with my coupons. So now that Christmas is over, I decided that I needed to buckle down and get busy on my couponing and food storage. Albertson's had a great sale this week and I think I did an awsome job for my first time doing this.This is what I bought:
5 40 oz. boxes of Bisquick
3 boxes of Hamburger Helper
5 Tubs of Betty Crocker Frosting
7 Boxes of Betty Crocker Instant Potatoes
5 Boxes of Trix
4 Boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios
3 Boxes of Golden Grahams
2 100 Calorie Packs
2 On the Go Crystal Lights
1 24 Pack Arrow Head Water
1 6 Pack .5 liter Diet Dr. Pepper
For all of this, after using coupons, I spent a total of $30.22 and saved a total of $106.74. I was so proud of myself.

As for everything else we have done this week since the kids have been home and off-track, we have been visiting Orthodontists. Yes, Tanner is in need of an Orthodontist. We visited 4 different Ortho's and they all said that the problem is the same but they all had different ways of taking care of the problem. That makes for some serious thinking things through. So because I was there once and Chad has the 'good teeth', I decided to take him to the Ortho that is going to go about it the way that my Ortho took care of me years ago. So the next step it having 3 teeth removed and braces put on the top and bottom 4 teeth. So in the next few weeks, Tanner will have the braces. Shaleigh also got to have her first trip to the Eye Doc. She has been having headaches off and on since July and they have gotten really bad that last few months. So she had her eyes checked that they are perfect. So now we are headed to her Pediatrician to hopefully figure out why she has headaches so bad and so often.
And, with Chad being in the High Council, he gets to speak at different wards throughout the stake once a month. This month, he is assigned to speak at the Boys Ranch and guess who he wanted to take along with him? You guessed it! His wife. So on top of all the Dr. visits this week, I have been preparing a talk. Well kind of. I was working on the topic he gave me all week but I decided that it was way over my head and I was having a really hard time with it so I changed the topic and I am speaking on something else. Don't worry, I approved it first. I will be glad when that is over with tomorrow.
Two and a half weeks before the kids go back to school and I start back on Monday. Let the fun begin.

Sledding Fun

2009-01-02T21:34:00.007-07:00

The kids have had so much fun the last couple of days playing with the neighbor kid and sledding down their snow piles. It has been pretty warm here the last couple of days so they don't really get that cold. I still don't know how they can go out and play in the stuff.
I wasn't about to go outside, so I took these pictures from the front window.

They may be doing a lot of this next few weeks since they are now off-track until JANUARY 28th. Yes, I did say January 28th. Between Christmas break and being off-track they will have been off for over a month! I will be crazy by the time they go back.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-02T21:18:00.003-07:00

Okay, so I am slow. Again. Christmas was great this year. We celebrated Christmas the Sunday before with my family up in Logan and had a family party with my mom's side of the family that same night. Christmas Eve, we headed back to Logan to have Christmas Eve with Chad's family. I forgot to take pictures of the kids opening up their P.J.'s but I can't blame it on not having my camera with me. I had it, I just forgot to grab it. The kids were all so excited that they were opened in no time. Christmas morning brought the snow storm. We woke up to no power. The kids actually woke up just as the power went off at about 6:30. The smoke detectors beep and I think that is what woke them up. So we told them to go back to bed and see if it came back on. By 7:30, it was still not on. So the begging began. We ended up being the "Meanest Mom and Dad Ever" because we made them wait until the power came back on. We made them wait because the blowing snow had covered the windows and it was pretty dark inside the house and we were freezing. The power came back on around 10 a.m. They survived! We stayed home again this year and cooked our turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and the works. This year we invited a couple of people over that Chad home teaches. Only one of them came but it was a good time. Between Santa and Grandpa's and Grandma's, I think the kids got everything they wanted. Chad and I also had a great Christmas

Shaleigh's Christmas Dance Recital

2008-12-19T20:23:00.004-07:00

Here are some pics of Shaleigh's recital last night. We were pretty far back and couldn't get a good video this time.
Sorry for the blur. We tried. Shaleigh loves her Cheerleading class. She is the smallest one in her class. She said that she was really nervous and was shaking the whole time she was up there because she was afraid that they would drop her. I had that same worry myself. She did a very good job with both dances.

As Promised...

2008-12-14T14:53:00.004-07:00

Landon wouldn't see either one. He said they were scary. Maybe next year.

Reindeer and Gingerbread House

2008-12-10T21:06:00.006-07:00

Every year, Harmon's has Santa and his reindeer come for a visit. This year the Grinch joined them. The kids really wanted to go so I took them over instead of going to the mall.

They got to have their picture taken with the Grinch and with Santa but they have not been sent to me yet so I will post those when they come.
Chad has been gone to California for work. We usually go up to Grandma and Grandpa's in Logan for the weekend while he is gone but since we were so busy with Dance and Basketball games and a sick Landon, we just stayed home. So to pass the time on Sunday, Tanner, Shaleigh and I built a Gingerbread house. The kids had so much fun doing this, that I think we just may do this every year. Landon fell asleep on the couch so he didn't get to help.

And Dad, this one is for you! Shaleigh got part of her dance costume on Saturday for her upcoming recital. She put it on and wanted a picture taken so that Dad could see.

And, one last thing. I MADE IT THROUGH MY FIRST SEMESTER BACK AT COLLEGE!!!!! I just took my last final this afternoon. I think I did pretty good considering this time around I am married with 3 kids. Now I can catch up on everything that was ignored that last two weeks when all I did was study.

Elf Hunt at Gardner Village

2008-12-05T21:12:00.002-07:00

We had so much fun at the Witch hunt at Gardner Village, we decided to try the Elf hunt. We went right after school on Friday so it wasn't too crowded and it wasn't too cold. The kids loved it!

Landon's Hair Cut

2008-11-20T19:56:00.007-07:00

On Tuesday night, I decided that it was time that Landon got a hair cut. It was getting so long in the back. So just before bath time, I took him up to the bathroom and stuck him in the sink. I usually cut his hair using the #3 on the clippers. So I procede to cut his hair. When I finished, I called for Tanner to bring me up the vacuum so that I could suck up the hair. Well Tanner started yelling at me to come down because something was wrong with the vacuum. So I asked Shaleigh to please stay in the bathroom with Landon and watch him very close and make sure he didn't touch anything. By this time, I had used the other set of clippers to do his ears and neckline. So she agreed with me to stay with him while I run down to see what was going on with Tanner. By the time I got back with the vacuum cleaner (1 minute later), Shaleigh was nowhere to be found and Landon is still in the sink. Guess what he was holding in his hands! You got it! The clippers! He had turned them on and tried to cut his own hair. So he now has two bald spots on both sides of his head and small racing stipes on one of those sides. I just about died. So I ended up pulling out the other set again and did my best to fix the problem. Now he is pretty much shaved. I used the #1 to just about the top and I left the top part with the #3. If was summer, I would have just shaved him bald. Lesson learned for me! DO NOT LEAVE CLIPPERS LEFT PLUGGED IN WHEN LANDON IS NEAR!!
You can't see this first one very well in the picture but you sure can just looking at him! And just for another Landon funny. I was down in the living room listening to a lecture the other day when Landon went upstairs to play the piano. He was just a singin' away. It was so funny. So I snuck upstairs and grabbed the camera and got a little video of him. It is not too long because he caught me! It was so funny. He does it all the time but he keeps his eyes open because he knows that I will one day catch him again. You will need to pause my music so that you can hear him.

Halloween

2008-11-04T15:03:00.011-07:00

OK, so this is a few days late. I have been busy and have been running here and there and everywhere. So here we go!! Halloween was great this year. It was so nice and warm, I loved it! In the morning Landon and I went to the kids' Halloween Parade at the school. The gym is lined up with chairs and the students parade around in their costumes. It is pretty crazy and there are usually so many parents there so you need to get there early to get a seat. Landon has not been a fan of Halloween this year and has been totally freaked out by everyones costumes so I was not sure how he would be at the parade. He actually did really good until Tanner came by. He really didn't like Tanner's costume this year so when he came by, he freaked. Other than that, everyone else's costumes really didn't bother him.

Halloween costumes ended up being pretty easy this year. Tanner dug through my moms stuff and found this really ugly mask that was Ashley's and took it. He also wanted to be an FBI guy so he just put them together and called himself a "Dead FBI Guy". He has me make a FBI badge for him.
Shaleigh wanted to be a "Baby". This worked out really good because she really needed new PJ's.And Landon didn't really care. So I went to the DI and found some white pillow cases and cut them up and wrapped him up like a mummy. What a joke that was. I couldn't get the strips to stay on so by the end of the night they were down around his ankles. But he didn't care. I was out working on picking up the leaves out back and this is how Chad looked when he came to help. Needless to say, Landon did not like it and ended up in the house.Notice where Shaleigh is in the background. Do ya think she was gonna climb the fence again!?
They all had fun. We took the kids Trick or Treating with the neighbors again this year. Actually this was the first time that went with them. Landon and I only made it a couple of block and then he was ready to be done. It was so nice out. I was seriously wearing capris and a jacket (which I really only wore half the time). It was great.
On Sunday I was called in to meet with one of the Bishops counselors. They released me from Cub Scouts. Yes, they finally released me. After serving 4 years in Cub Scouts, I think it was about my turn. But now, I get to be the Enrichment Leader. I don't know which is easier. It won't be bad though.
Yesterday, Landon had ANOTHER accident. He tripped and hit my Entertainment Center. So we had another trip to the doctors office. They were able to glue his forhead this time. So since December, Landon has had one set of stitches and has been glued back together twice. All on his forhead and eyebrow. I am sure they are going to start questioning me about this.

More Fun in the Leaves and Gardner Village

2008-10-30T21:41:00.005-06:00

Since all the leaves have been falling pretty quickly now, the kids and I decided that we had better get out rake them up in a pile and play before we take care of them all this weekend. So of course, Mom is the lucky one to rake and the kids play. They sure do have a fun time in leaves. Tanner of course thinks he is too big to play in the leaves now but I made run and jump just once so Landon could see the fun and join in too.Look where I found Shaleigh again!Just what am I gonna do with her?!

I have been hearing a lot about the witches at Gardner Village so this last weekend Chad and I took the kids out for a "Witch Hunt." You can get a list of different witches online and then go and locate them. They loved it. Only problem was that we went on Saturday afternoon and there was so many people there. It was NUTS!! I think next year, I will take them during the day in the middle of the week while they are off track. I seriously could not believe all the ladies that were dressed as witches. People are pretty creative. This was our first year doing this so it was quite the surprise. It was fun and I think that we will make it a tradition.

Tagged by Michelle

2008-10-30T10:45:00.003-06:00

7 THINGS I CAN DO:
*scrapbook (when I have time)
*pack a suitcase (I have gotten pretty good considering how much Chad travels)
*dance (only when no one is watching)
*cook
*fall down the stairs (yes, I am a clutz)
*fix a flat bicycle tire
*spend money

7 THINGS I CAN'T DO:
*whistle
*go a day without a diet pepsi or just plain soda
*crochet
*throw a football (according to Tanner, I throw like a girl)
*play the piano, let alone read music
*fix a flat car tire
*golf

7 THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY HUBBY:
*he is a good dad
*his willingness to provide for our family
*he is very helpful
*his willingness to keep the kids so that I can go do things
*his looks
*his determination
*his confidence in me doing well in school

7 THINGS I ALWAYS SAY:
*Go to Bed!
*Get back in bed!
*Landon, get in YOUR Bed!
*Hurray, or we're gonna be late!
*Stop fighting!
*Tanner, quit looking at Shaleigh!
*Oh, Crap!!

7 THINGS I LOVE TO EAT:
*candy
*pizza
*chili
*Chinese
*Ham and Cheese salad w/1000 island dressing from Fredrico's (Oh, how I miss that!)
*diet pepsi
*treats
*Did I say candy?

7 FRIENDS I TAG:
*Anyone who wants to!

Off-Track Fun!!

2008-10-17T16:48:00.010-06:00

The kids have been off-track for the last three weeks. It can get frustrating trying to find "fun" things for them to do when they are home. They either don't like what I suggest or want to do their own things outside with their friends or of course watch TV.

Last week we took the kids to Grandma's cabin at Bear Lake. Since they were off track so we thought that it would be a good time to get away. We left on Wednesday and got back later Saturday night. On the way there, we went through Evanston (not my most favorite way). While driving that way, we saw these antelope. The lake was bluer that I think I have ever seen it. This is a picture that I took as we were headed up the hill towards the cabin. I thought it was pretty amazing. It was pretty chilly while we were up there but Grandma Karla still took the kids out for walks. Grandma got lots of pictures of them out on their walk since I didn't go. I stayed back and studied. So now I just need to get some from her. On Friday afternoon, it stated to snow off and on and by dinner time, the snow had really started to fall. I think that it snowed most of the night and by the time we left on Saturday, the roads in the canyon were pretty slick. Even though it was cold and yucky, we still had a great time away from home.

This last week, the kids made bats from sugar pumpkins. I got this idea from a girl in our ward. They loved it. Thanks Brandi for the great idea! They had a great time painting and by the time they were done, Landon had been painted! I wish I had gotten a picture of this but I wasn't thinking of pictures at the time. I just wanted him to get in the bathtub and get it all off. When that was done and taken care of, we had a black ring around the tub. Sorry, no picture of this either. It was a mess but the kids had a great time. This is the finished product. Tanner is afraid that they will get stolen or smashed so he makes sure they are brought in every night.

Today, I went outside and raked what leaves had fallen off the tree. Before I mowed them up, I thought that Landon would like to play in them. He had no clue. It was funny. I think Shaleigh had more fun than he did.
I hope the kids had a good time while they were off track but I sure am glad that they go back to school on Monday so that we can get back to our normal routine.

Oh and one more thing, guess where I found Shaleigh this afternoon! What a STINKER!!!

Tanners School Project

2008-09-22T22:26:00.004-06:00

Over the last couple of weeks, Tanner has been learning about Utah. One of the things that they have really been concentrating on is the Indians. So with that came the project. He was sent home with a list of about 25 different items relating to the Indian era. He was to choose one of those items or something else if he could think of something else, and make a replica of that item. He chose to make a Teepee. I was not sure how I was going to help him construct a teepee so thanks to Google, we figured it out. Here is the finished project.
The project was due today and of course when we were ready to leave this morning, the wind started blowing and it started raining. Just our luck. We got it there all in one piece. He came home this afternoon with news that the teacher gave him an A+. Dang, we're good!

Climbing Higher

2008-09-17T21:50:00.014-06:00

At the Elementary School the kids are able to earn a "Climbing Higher" award each year. Each student earns this award for different reasons, a reason that the teacher recognizes them for. In Kindergarten they were given a penant with the school name and logo on it and then every year after that, they get a paw print pin to go on it.

Tanner received his the second week of school. He was given his award for "Being a great first week helper".

Shaleigh was given hers today. Her teacher recognized her for "Moving up a reading level".

We are so proud of our kids for their accomplishments at school. Good job guys!

Oh Where, Oh Where, has my Little Boy Gone?

2008-09-17T21:50:00.013-06:00

We have been having a hard time keeping Landon in bed at night. He DOES NOT want to go to sleep. I have tried cutting down nap time and I have even tried no naps. But he just does not want to go to bed. He used to like laying in bed playing with the kids' Game Boys so I have been giving one of them to him to play that he will get sleepy playing. This is no longer working either. I think he just likes to spend time with Mom and Dad. He always ends up downstairs with us on the couch until he falls asleep or until he is starting to fight it. The other night, we were so tired and were not going to stay up any longer with him until he was ready to fall asleep. So we took him up and put him in bed and told him to stay there. Well just before falling asleep, I decided that I had better go and check on him. He was not in his bed! This is where and how we found him.

I just don't know what to do with him! He is such a crazy kid and has us laughing most of the time.

Tanner's Egg Drop

2008-09-05T15:38:00.005-06:00

Today was the Egg Drop for the 4th Graders. When Tanner did the egg drop in 2nd Grade, his egg did not survive. This year he was determined to have his egg survive.
Here is the egg being dropped and falling to the ground. It didn't sound like it hit too hard but I was taking the picture and not paying close enough attention.

After all the eggs were dropped, each student went and picked up their packages and went to a table where a couple of teachers were guarding the sissors and opening packages for the kids. I was gonna take my own pocket knife and get it opened up myself but I didn't think that was too great of an idea. They probably would have hauled me away
Did the egg survive? I know the suspense is killin' ya Yay!! IT SURVIVED!!!
Now we know how to package Shaleigh's egg next year!

Yearbook Yourself

2008-09-04T12:04:00.008-06:00

This is hillarious. Tanner is so gonna get me for this. Check out the site and try for yourself!
http://www.yearbookyourself.com/
19641976
19821990
1996

Back To School!!

2008-08-21T21:38:00.006-06:00

I have decided to go back to school. What am I thinking?! I guess it really didn't hit me until I went and picked up what I need for class today. I had decided that I want a real good job when my kids are all in school all day so I decided to look into my options. Well my only thought was to finish my degree that I started before I got married. Back then, I wanted to be an Accountant. After putting Chad through school and living through Tax Seasons, I quickly changed my mind. So as of now I am thinking of Family Finance. Sad thing is, I am pretty much starting over. I didn't finish out my last quarter at USU and you know what happens when you just quit going. You got it, you flunk! So this has been quite the process to get back in. I had to reapply and then because of what happened 11 years ago, they wanted me to write a letter stating why I should be accepted back to Utah State, what I have been doing all this time and what I will do differently. Hello, I have been growing up!! So on Monday, I will be starting online classes through Utah State (wouldn't go anywhere else, what can I say, we are Aggies at our house!).

Happy Birthday Shaleigh!!

2008-08-11T09:32:00.003-06:00

Today is Shaleigh's birthday and she is 6. Already. I can't beleive how time flies.
This is Shaleigh at 1 1/2 months old. Her blessing day.

Shaleigh's 2nd Birthday. My how she has grown!

Typical Girl. See what I have too look forward to?!

This picture is for the embarrassment. Gotta throw those in once in a while.

This is Shaleigh back in January. She has grown up so much. She is such a fun little girl and always keeps us on our toes. She is in first grade and is loving it. She loves her teacher and always wants to be with her friends or on her bike. Happy Birthday Shaleigh. We love you!!

Happy Anniversary!!

2008-08-01T07:29:00.008-06:00

Chad and I have been married for 11 years today. I can't believe that it has already been that long. It has been the best 11 years.

I saw this thing about your man on another blog and wanted to put it on my today.

My Man
1.What is his name? Chad
2.Who eats more? It depends on what it is. Chad can for lunch and dinner but I can when it comes to treats.
3.Who said I love you first? I'm sure it was Chad.
4.Who is taller? Chad - Just a little bit.
5.Who is smarter? Chad
6.Who is more sensitive? Me
7.Who does the laundry? Me
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do. Even when we are somewhere else. I just can't sleep the other way.
9.Who pays the bills? Chad - Hey he is the Accountant
10.Who cooks more? I do, but Chad is the griller a great help on Sundays
11.Who is more stubborn? Me.
12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Not Me!
13.Who has more siblings? Chad - He has 2 sisters and 1 brother. I have one of each.
14.What do you like to do together? Fun things with the kids, movies at home on the couch when the kids are in bed.
15.Who eats more sweets? Me for sure.
16.Guilty pleasures? Chad loves to Golf and has a couple of little "Golf Wannabes" at home just waiting for their turn to go with Dad.
17.How did you meet? Well, we knew a little bit of each other in high school but we were both dating someone else. When Chad came home from his mission, I was working at Wal-Mart in Logan and he ended up getting a job there as well. At the time, I was waiting for a missionary to come home. We got to be really good friends and one of our friends told us that we needed to go out but we had a problem. By that time, Chad was my supervisor. So I asked to me moved to another department so that we could go out but no one would ever move me, so after about a month of asking, we just went out. And, the rest is history.
18.Who asked who out first? Chad
19.Who kissed who first? Chad kissed me first, on the second date, which was the night after the first date.
20.Who proposed? Chad did.
21.His best features? He has many. He is HANDSOME!
22.What is his greatest quality? Chad is a very good husband and dad. He thinks alot of us and always puts us before himself. He is very understanding and always has good advice for many different situations.

Happy Anniversary Chad! I Love You!

Happy Birthday Landon!

2008-07-23T09:27:00.003-06:00

Our baby turns two today! It is hard to believe how fast time flies. Landon is such a fun kid and we love him tons!

Happy Birthday Bubba!

Happy Birthday Tanner!!!

2008-07-20T00:00:00.001-06:00

Today is Tanner's 9th Birthday. So I decided that it is time to embarrass him. Here are a few pictures that I found of Tanner.Tanner at 3 Months
Tanner's 2nd Birthday
Tanner at 21/2. He was so silly.
Tanner's 5th Birthday. We celebrated his Birthday at Bear Lake that year.
I was looking through my pictures and came across this picture. I had to do a double take. I could have sworn that this was Landon. They are the same age in this picture and I think they are pretty much identical. So funny!
And this is Tanner now (well, a couple of months ago.) He is so grown up! Tanner is a very good kid and is so helpful at home. He is Landon's best buddy.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANNER! We love you!

Kids Pictures

2008-07-13T18:14:00.004-06:00

This is the picture that is currently hanging on my wall.

You might wonder why I don't have a picture of all three kids hanging on my wall. It is not because I have not taken pictures off all them together. I promise, I have. I just have not had one made big enough to match the family picture on the wall. But guess what! I do now. I just got them back and now Landon can be on the wall with the other two!

Aren't they the cutest three kids you have ever seen?

Summer Fun

2008-07-10T18:42:00.005-06:00

This week Tanner and Shaleigh have been staying up in Logan with Grandpa DelMar and Grandma Karla. Landon is lucky enough to stay home with Mom. He has gotten a little lonely. Although he is probably loving the fact that he is not being picked on all the time. He was really good on Monday but by Tuesday, he started doing different things for attention. For instance, he would go up to the kitchen or the sitting room and start crying. So I would go up there to see what was wrong. Nothing was! Once I got there, he would laugh and want to show me stuff. Everything is "look"! On Wednesday, I told him that we would go get some lunch. Well I had gotten online and ordered a Cafe Rio salad. As we are driving down there, he spotted ARBY's! Then that is all I heard. From the backseat Landon was yelling, "Auby's, Auby's". It was funny. And then I pulled into the parking lot where Cafe Rio is and there is an Arby's. He was so excited. Poor Landon didn't get to go to Arby's though. He got to have a Quesadilla. Oh he was MAD! Today, I took him outside to swim. He loved playing in the water.

Shaleigh's Dance Recital

2008-06-25T14:37:00.001-06:00

Field Trip and Awards

2008-05-30T17:02:00.004-06:00

Wow. This has been quite the eventful week. Shaleigh went on her field trip to Hogle Zoo on Tuesday. She really wanted me to go so because Landon couldn't go on the bus, we got to follow behind. First off, they went to a park to eat their lunch. Shaleigh requested she take a Lunchable for lunch so I packed one for her and for Landon. Then off to the Zoo we went. I thought that I would be smart and head up before the bus, get parked and get the stroller unloaded and packed with our drinks and treats. So off I went. I got there and headed to the back to park where the busses get to park (I was also told to park here since I was with the field trip.) So I am headed into the parking lot when a Zoo Worked stopped me and told me that I could not park back there because it was for the busses and construction vehicles only. So I turn around and take off down to the main parking lot, unload everything and go to wait in line. I still had not seen the bus come by so I thought I was doing pretty good. I finally get inside the gate and hurry to the back to meet the kids. As I am heading back there, I keep passing other groups from our school. So I thought, "Great, I will run into them any minute!" Wrong!!! I spent the next 45 minutes looking for her group and trying not to make Landon miss seeing the animals. I was so frustrated and I just knew that Shaleigh would be mad when I finally found them. Lucky me, she could have cared less. So by the time I found them, I was only able to be with them for 30 - 45 minutes before they had to load the busses. It was a fun time. Landon really liked the elephants and kept laughing his "crazy laugh" when we saw them.

Tanner finished his requirements in Cub Scouts to earn his Wolf Badge. He worked really hard and received his award on Wednesday night at Pack Meeting. We are really proud of him for this accomplishment.

And last but not least. Tanner and Shaleigh worked really hard this year at school and they both earned their Distingished Cub Awards. There are many requirements that need to met to earn this award.

We are so proud of both of them for working really hard this year and earning this great award.

Our Baby is Growing Up

2008-05-27T18:22:00.005-06:00

Last week, we put new carpet in the bedrooms. As you all know, when you lay carpet, everything needs to come out. Well, the crib had to be taken apart to get out the door. The poor crib has been moved so many times from one child to the next, from one apartment to the next, from one bedroom to the next, and so on. Well, after so many moves, the screws and such had started to become stripped. So we decided to move Landon out of the crib and into a "Big Boy Bed." Mom, of course, was not so sure about this since Landon is the baby and the other two were over the age of two when they made the move. Landon won't be two until the end of July. But we did it anyway. It actually has not been too bad. He has transitioned over really well and we don't have any problems with him coming out at bedtime. The best part is that I don't have to lay down by him for a while like I did with the other two. It is great.

As you can see, we cannot go to bed without the "Bob Bob" pillow and blanket. The Spongebob blanket is actually Tanner's but Landon took it over and if he doesn't have it on him at bedtime, he lets you know how mad he is and won't give up until he has it. I really need to get him his own.
Next up, Potty Training. But not for quite a while!

Happy Birthday Chad!!

2008-05-16T00:15:00.002-06:00

Today is Chad's Birthday and since he is away in San Diego, we just wanted to send a surprise his way.
We love you Chad and we hope you have a GREAT Birthday. We can't wait to see you tonight!

Package in the Mail

2008-04-25T16:00:00.002-06:00

Today when the kids got home from school, we found a package in our mailbox. They love getting mail and when they saw that it was for them, they went hysterical. Funny thing is, Landon had a hold of the package and he was not going to give it up. Finally, they got it away from him and opened it up. Grandpa and Grandma had sent them some new crocs for the spring and some sandals for Landon. They were so excited and put them on right away. We had socks and shoes scattered all around the front porch. Landon also had to have his new shoes on too. Thank You Grandma and Grandpa for the new shoes! We love them.

Kindergarten Nursery Rhymes

2008-04-25T15:50:00.006-06:00

Today, Shaleigh's Kindergarten class had a Performance of Nursery Rhymes. Parents were invited so Chad, Landon, and I ventured over to the school for the Performance. The class performed various Nursery Rhymes and sand some songs while Mr. Mednick played his guitar. They had a good time and they did really good. Shaleigh was the "Spoon" for Hey Diddle Diddle. I really wanted to do a video of one of the songs they sang, but of course, the battery in my camera did not have enough juice to get more than this.

Sorry about the video but at least you get a small taste of it.

Landon - The All-Star!!!

2008-04-12T00:06:00.003-06:00

Pinewood Derby

2008-03-26T21:01:00.007-06:00

Tonight was the Pinewood Derby in our ward. Tanner had a good time and was a very good sport. He spent time looking online trying to find the perfect car and decided on a police car.

On the first run he did, he got to race his two friends, Marc and Dylan.

At the end, each scout received an award for their car. Tanner got the award for the most Patriotic.

Tanner did not win a trophy for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place but he said that he had a lot of fun and that is all that matters. We are very proud of his good sportsmanship.

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-23T15:57:00.002-06:00

Ouch!!

2008-03-21T13:28:00.006-06:00

The other day the kids had gone outside to play. I was outside for a while with them but Landon was just not feeling to great so we went back inside. Tanner and Shaleigh was outside playing with the neighbor kid and they actually seemed to be getting along pretty well! This is very unusual because the neighbor is very mean and can do no wrong (through the eyes of his parents!). Anyways, I was sitting here holding Landon when I heard a clunck. You know the sound of a crowbar hitting the cement. And then Shaleigh screaming. By the time I got to the door, she was crawling up the steps. So I tried to calm her down to see what had happened. I guess the neighbor threw a big metal thing (see picture below) on her foot. According to Tanner, he held it up over his head and threw it. So this was no accident. By the time she got her sock and shoe off, her toe nail was purple. And it looked gross.

So I took her to the Doctor the next day and he put her in a walking boot and ordered X-rays. The toe is fractured and I guess it went through the Growth plate. Wonderful. So she gets to wear the very stylish boot for 4 weeks. Good thing she is off track till the middle of April.
Here are some pictures of the damage.
The first pictures was taken the day after the accident and the second picture was taken 3 days after.

How Fast Are You?

2008-03-12T21:34:00.002-06:00

I found this cool thing and wanted to see if I was still as fast as I was way back in school. Well, I think I did pretty good. I was only off by 3 words!
Take your chance at it and have some fun!

69 words

Speed test

My New Toy!!

2008-02-20T21:47:00.006-07:00

Yea! I got a Cricut. Chad got one for me for Valentines Day. I was so excited. I finally got it today. I actually called and ordered it before Valentines Day but the lady I got it from was never heading this way. She was going to bring it to me the day before Valentines Day but got stuck in the snow storm and called and said she was turning around. So I had to wait. But I finally got it!! Guess what I have been doing tonight. Yep, I have been playing with it. It has been fun so far and I can't wait to find more time to play with it. Hopefully, I will get more scrapbooking done. It will also be very helpful with school projects for the kids. Tanner was watching me tonight and mentioned that it would have been nice to have when he did his poster on Argentina before Christmas. Oh well. Next time it will be COOL.
Chad is a great husband. He works so hard for me and the kids so that we can have the things that we need and some of the things that we want. He is a great help to me and is a great dad to the kids. We love you very much and miss you tons!
Thanks Chad for everything! I Luv Ya!

Tanner's Valentine Box

2008-02-20T21:41:00.004-07:00

Tanner wanted this to be posted on the blog so his Grandma's and Grandpa's could see what he took to school to collect Valentine's in. He won a "big" candy bar for the most creative box. Thanks to Mom for that! Did Mom see any of that candy bar? Nope. I really hoped he didn't eat it all himself at school but he assured me that he shared with his friend. Thanks Tan for not ruining the diet.

Jr. Jazz 2007 - 2008

2008-02-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

Basketball season ended on Saturday. Tanner had a good time playing and improved quite a bit. At the beginning of the season, Tanner's team did not have a coach so one of the mom's volunteered her husband to coach the team. He told me that he had not coached before. It showed. Anyways, I just told Tanner to do his best and to have fun. At the end of the last practice of the season, the coach promised the boys that they would win the last game. I was pretty upset with this. I didn't think that it was right for him to make promises that he could not keep to 8 year old boys. As he said this, he turned to the parents and crossed his fingers saying, "We can only hope." I couldn't believe it. Needless to say, they did not win. They only won one game the whole season and Tanner felt pretty bad. He kept asking me why he always gets stuck on losing teams. How do you answer that!?

Here are some pictures from this basketball season.

This is Tanner and his Buddy Kody.

You can't see this very well but this is trophy that they earned this year. Tanner say's it is the best one yet.

Tanner's Trip to the Dentist

2008-01-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Tanner showed me that he had a tooth growing up in his gums above one of his molars that was not even loose or ready to come out. So I asked around and found a dentist that was highly recommended. So I took him in to have it and another tooth that had lost a filling and then broke off looked at and hopefully fixed. The dentist came out to talk to me about what he had found and told me that the tooth needed to be pulled out so that the other one come come in the right way. He also recommended pulling the broken one out. So being the mean mom that I am, I told the dentist to just pull them out and get it over with. Well, when he was done, he came out and told me that the dentist asked him if he wanted one or both pulled that day. Tanner told him to just pull one. So he just pulled one. I guess he will have to suffer again. Anyways, I loved Dr. Duke and I am glad that we went to him.

Shaleigh Says the Funniest Things

2008-01-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago when Chad was in California, I let Shaleigh have a friend come over to play. They had decided that they were going to play like they were at a movie theater to watch a movie so they had me pop some popcorn and they were sitting on the couch watching a Princess movie. Well Chad had called to tell me that he was heading to the airport to come home. When I hung up Shaleigh wanted to know who it was. So I tell her that it was Dad and he was going to the airport to come home. Here is how Shaleigh and her friends conversation went:
Friend: "Where is your Dad?"
Shaleigh: "In California."
Friend: "Did he go to Disneyland?"
Shaleigh: "No, he went to California."
I was laughing so hard and had to explain to her that Disneyland is in California. I guess we need to get out more.

Another Shaleigh Funny. Chad had gotten two tickets to the Jazz game last week. The week before that he took Tanner to the Jazz game for his Jr. Jazz night. Shaleigh was pretty upset that Dad never takes her. So when he was given the tickets, I told him that he should take Shaleigh since she hasn't been able to go.
So on their way down to the Jazz game, Chad was asking her who her favorite player was. She said that she didn't know. So he began naming different players to which her answer was always, "No". So he then asked her why she wanted to go to the game. Her response was, "To see the Cheerleaders!"

Christmas 2007

2008-01-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

Better Late than Never!

We had a great Christmas this year. We went up to Logan on Sunday to have Christmas with my family. Mom cooked a yummy dinner and then we opened presents with my family. Of course, this part is what the kids look forward to and beg for through out dinner.

Landon discovered how to open presents long before Christmas when I found him under the Christmas tree opening presents that were, of course, not his. So he know what to do come Christmas. He had a good time. Grandpa Goldie and Grandma Jerri gave Shaleigh Baby Alive. This is what she really wanted. Sorry Tanner, we didn't get any pictures of you at Grandpa and Grandma Jensen's! Don't know what happened there.

The next day we headed over to the Anderson's. Chad and I went into to Logan to grab some last minute items. Shortly after getting back, the snow began to fall. It fell and fell and fell. At one point, I began to wonder if we were even going to make it back to our house for Christmas. Santa couldn't find us up there.

We then headed over to Jenny and Jon's house for Christmas Eve. We enjoyed soup and scones for dinner. Perfect for all of the snow! Then a game was played and the kids got their jammies. We got the kids changed and decided to head for home since it had stopped snowing by then. What a ride! The roads were pretty slick but we made it home just in the nick of time for a visit from Santa.

Christmas morning at our house was fabulous. The kids slept in until about 8. How lucky was that! I think the kids were pretty happy with their loot.

Tanner got some Golf Clubs and is excited to go golfing with Dad in the spring. And of course, he got the "stuff" that he needed.

Shaleigh had been asking and asking for "Race to Mall". I had not clue what the heck this was. So one day while we were in Target, I had to have her show me what it was. So she asked Santa for one. Guess what! She got it. And let me tell you what a pain that thing has ended up being. It ended up being much bigger than I thought and it cannot be moved unless it is taken apart. Then of course once it is taken apart, she begs and begs to have it put back together only to play with it for a whoppin' 5 minutes. But she loves it. I guess that is what counts.

Then there was Landon. I don't think he really cared about what he got for Christmas. He would take the paper off of the presents and then play with the boxes. This year he got a basketball thing that he can "slam" if it is low enough. I think Tanner plays with it more that he does. Oh well, he is learning what to do with it, right?

Yes, Landon is wearing Shaleigh's headband! What a NUT!

And I think the best present they got was a ????????????????????

Yep, you guessed it. A Wii!!!

Shaleigh's Dance Recital

2007-12-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

Shaleigh had her 1st dance recital on Saturday. She was so excited. I think I was more nervous than she was. When she was all finished, she asked when she could dance in front of people on a stage again. She loved it. She did so good and I was so proud of her. She keeps asking if you dance is on the blog yet. So here it is.

Landon's Accident

2007-12-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

So we were able to experience our first set of stitches on Monday. I was sitting down in the family room at my computer working. Landon and Shaleigh had brought down her table and chairs and was sitting at the table coloring. Shaleigh was actually not teasing Landon. Anyways, Landon had decided that he was done coloring and walked up to the kitchen. Shaleigh had followed him but she was still being nice at the moment. The next thing I hear is Landon hitting the wall hard and him screaming. Then Shaleigh yells, "Mom, Landon is bleeding and you don't have any bandaids!" So I run up the 3 stairs to the kitchen to find Landon with blood running down his face. So I grab him and clean him off and get him calmed down. Then, I call Chad. I didn't know what to do. I called my Pediatrician and they told me that they wouldn't look at it because the cut went up and down and the scarring could be bad. They suggested I take him to Primary Children's Hospital and then that way we could see Plastic Surgeon. So when all was said and done, he was sedated and sewn back together by a Plastic Surgeon. One stitch on the inside and three on the outside. Poor kid. But I do have to say that watching him come out of sedation was pretty funny. The best thing was that the kids were so worried about him all night that we had no fighting or teasing all night. But the next day when they knew that he was OK, it all started up again.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

2007-12-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to send a quick note and let everyone know that I am sorry I didn't get Christmas Cards out this year. I made an attempt. Chad was out of town for work and so I thought that I would be able to get the kids over to Wheeler Farm for some cute pictures for cards. That didn't go to well. As you can see in the pictures, the kids were not too thrilled.

This was the first picture I took. This picture was taken in front of a pretty cool looking wagon. I would tell Tanner to squat down a little so that I could see him and Landon would squat, too. It was pretty funny.

This was the nightmare picture. I, being the mean mom that I am, made the kids take off their coats (just for a minute). Shaleigh was ticked. And as you can see, so was Landon. He wasn't going to stay there. He didn't care if he had his coat on or not. He was NOT going to be in a picture. So, another failed attempt.

This pictured ended up being the best one. No trying involved. In this one they wanted to look at the ducks and geese. So as they were standing there being good, I snapped a shot. Yes, there are moments when the kids are not fighting. Not long after the kids got over to the fence, all the ducks and geese came over to visit. This scared Shaleigh and she was ready to go. We had to keep Landon from sticking his hands in the fence. The kid has no fear!

I guess I could have put this picture on our cards this year, but you wouldn't know it was from us. So anyways, this is what you get this year.

2007-11-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

Tanner was Dracula, of course. Shaleigh was "Red, Red Riding Hood". Risa's mom made this costume for Risa to wear when she was little. It has held up this long (a very long time) and Shaleigh got to wear it this year. Landon was a little clown. This uniform has been passed down from the other kids. He didn't go out trick-or-treating, but we dressed him up anyway to hand out candy to the kids that came to our house.

This is a shot of Shaleigh's costume parade at kindergarten. The afternoon kindergarten had their own parade because the rest of the school had the parade in the morning. Tanner did not want his mom to come to the morning parade, so there is no picture of Tanner in the parade. You will notice the guy in the front dressed as a cowboy. He is Shaleigh's kindergarten teacher, Mr. Mednick. He has taught kindergarten for several years and has been at the school the kids go to since it opened 10 years ago. We have had parent teacher conference with him and he really does well relating to the kids and not so much with the adults. Anyone we talk to about school asks who their teachers are and when we tell them that Shaleigh has Mr. Mednick, they all have excellent things to say about him. We are happy that Shaleigh is in his class.

This picture is to show you Landon dressed up as a clown, but also to show you that Risa had her hair all cut off. She found someone on one of the morning talk shows who had their hair done this way and she really liked it. So, she talked to a lady in our ward who is a hair stylist and she cut it pretty close to the picture that Risa showed her. The best part . . . . she only charged $10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't think Risa has been able to find someone to cut her hair for less than $25 since we moved to Salt Lake, so I think she will go back to this lady. The lady also told her that if after a few days Risa didn't like it or wanted more cut off, etc., to just come back and she would fix it for free. What an awesome lady.

Risa also carved pumpkins with the kids one night that Grandpa Goldie and Grandma Jerri had bought for them when they came to visit over our Regional Conference weekend. Risa dug all of the seeds out of the pumpkins and we rinsed them off really well. We let them dry overnight and Risa found a recipe for pumpkin seeds. When I came home from work the next night, Risa had them all baked and salted. They were really good and we ate them all!!!

Sleeping time

2007-11-10T21:10:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, Risa had gone to enrichment. As usual, we began to wonder if Risa was coming home. This particular enrichment was given by our bishop and he was talking to the women in the ward about how to protects their homes and families from pornography. Anyway, I had told the kids several times that they needed to go get in their beds (Risa has the responsibility of tucking them in every night and they won't go to bed until she does). After awhile, I decided I should take Landon up to his bed and as I headed up the stairs, I could see that Shaleigh's bedroom light was on. I was a little ticked at her that she was still awake because it was about 9:30 PM. Well, as I got to her doorway, she was in this position in the picture and I really thought she was just trying to hide from me so she didn't get in trouble for still being awake. However, she was fast asleep . . . . It was pretty funny.

Tanner had done what I asked him to do . . . . There's always a first for everything!

Landon was just put in bed, so he was still awake. He is really good though to always go to bed without having to be rocked to sleep or anything. We have been really lucky with all of our kids with putting them in bed and they go to sleep on their own and they sleep all night long!!!!!

Our Family

2007-10-06T14:03:00.000-06:00

I know that this is pretty much "scrapbooking" online. I really can't believe that I am doing this. But, one of the guys at work introduced me to his blog because his sister had moved to Hawaii and wanted to keep up with the comings and goings of her family while she is away.
I thought this would be a pretty good idea since our families live SO FAR AWAY (so they say) in Logan. Hopefully, this will give them something to look at once in awhile to see the new things that our family is involved with.
This will definitely take some "getting used to". I know that it will probably look funny for awhile until I learn how this works.

This is Tanner. He turned 8 this last summer (July). He is into sports, sports and sports (I think he is probably related to his dad). He plays soccer in the summer and basketball in the winter. He has tried baseball, but decided he likes soccer better. He rides his bike and his scooter with his buddies when he is not playing sports. By the way, he hates homework and reading and that is much of the battles that we have with him.

This is Shaleigh. She is five now. Believe me, she gets this excited over almost anything. She got these "Dora" crocs for her birthday and she wears them everywhere. She goes to kindergarten and she really likes it. However, she doesn't learn anything there because when we ask her, she says, "Nothing." It must be pretty boring in kindergarten!!! Shaliegh loves dancing and tumbling. She has just begun lessons and I know I'm a little partial, but she is pretty good after only a few lessons. I think I am more surprised than anything that she can actually do any of the steps or moves.

And, this is our caboose, Landon. And I mean CABOOSE!!! You can tell from this picture why he is the end. He just turned one in July. He walks everywhere and can have any cupboard or drawer cleaned out in about five seconds. He goes up and down the stairs 400 times each day. I'm surprised the kid has any fat on him. Luckily, he has only had one bad tumble down the stairs. He got down the first two, but there were eight more that he took the fast way. He only cried for a few minutes and he moved all of his limbs, so Risa figured he is OK.

Tanner and Shaleigh are practicing cartwheels here. This is what really surprised me about how much Shaleigh has learned at her lessons. As for Tanner, well, see for yourself . . . . . . .