If You Wanna Snoop Us...

catch up

2012-01-20T08:18:00.001-08:00

The next four posts are new... enjoy!

The three week vacation

2012-01-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

For the holidays we ended up taking a three week vacation. The first week, we spent christmas in rupert. I dont have too many pictures of that adventure. But we had a lovely christmas. The next week we headed back to Cache Valley because Aunt Chelsea was coming up as well as Nana and Papa.

Since we were driving south we decided to meet up with Erin. She suggested going to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. That place is AWESOME! If you live in the area you must go there. The kids LOVED it! They have lots of areas where you can do different interactive things. They even have a medieval area with dress ups and a stage, life size chess and a bunch of other things. The kids spent most of the time there.

Addy even got to participate in a play. She was a rabbit in the three little pigs.

Then we headed to Cache Valley. We had a delightful time. Mom and Dad and I met up with Neil (one of dads BFFs) for dinner at this place. It makes me laugh... logans only rootbeer brewpub... lol!

After that we came home, picked up Daddy and headed to California. While there Addy got to hang our with Scarlett! She is this little cutie pictured below. (also known as my brothers daughter)

Other highlights of our trip are posted below...

Addy gets to build a bear! This is a tradition we started. Three means building a bear.

Giving her a heart.

Giving her a bath

And of course she needs princess attire!

Meet "Tota" Addy picked out the name all by herself!

Kaden at the LEGO store.

Then we hit up the aquarium.

This diver really liked Addy... he kept waving at her.

lunch break at Bubba Gump... this place was probably one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at.

Feeding the birds. I dont know what happened to the picture of Kaden, but he had one on his arm! This picture is right before it bit Addy because she was trying to grab it... sigh...

Kaden found a white peice of paper and figured out that if you moved it back and forth the seal would follow it. This is another child trying it out.

We went up to Ft. Rosecrans so that we could visit Great Grandpas Grave as well as let Kaden do the Jr. Ranger program at Cabrillo natl. monument.

Nana got a year membership at the Discovery Center. This place was awesome. The kids LOVED it.

the pin wall... this is Kaden in case you cant tell...

Kaden and Addy

in this cave was a video of a dinosaur. Addy kept running in and out pretending to be afraid... it was hilarious!

Addy and Kaden both got to lay on a bed of nails! Kaden was nervous, but true to form, Addy just wanted to give it a shot... no healthy amount of fear in that girl...

And last but not least! Emily and I went rock climbing at a rock gym. They had these "caves" that were pitch black you could try out... you had to army crawl through them and it was pretty crazy but super fun! Must do again!

Winter highlights

2011-12-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Look at my handsome men! Kaden has this problem, he keeps growing. He is getting crazy tall and he grows out of his pants quicker than I can keep up. The latest casualty was his church pants.

After thanksgiving we headed to the sales and they had this suit on sale. Kaden looked at me and said "mom! If you get me this i can look like Daddy and when I can wear it when I get baptized." And HOW exactly am I supposed to resist that logic?

Just a little Addy love

We went to Cache Valley and met up with Emily for her birthday! We love Emily! Even when she looks like this... LOL!

Some more Addy love.

These are some of my awesome young women! We had an activity where we played Just Dance. It was hilarious and awesome. ;)

Thanksgiving and After

2011-11-29T07:15:00.000-08:00

This year my in laws generously agreed to spend Thanksgiving at our place. It turned our pretty great I think..

The kids and I made place cards for everyone. And a trip to the dollar store yielded our centerpiece. In my family, growing up, my Gram always made sure that there were little touches to make things special. In memory of Gram I tried to make this holiday season special in those little ways. It was really fun.

Here is my Gobbler. I used the Pioneer Woman method and she turned out delightful! I haven't made a turkey since college so it was a fun experiment.

One of my favorite new traditions is after thanksgiving shopping. This year my BFF Erin came from Utah and my two sister in laws stayed after thanksgiving. We all headed out at about 8:30. At 9 we decided to get over to wal mart and check out the lines. That turned out to be a good idea. After three hours in line We got this beauty! I love our new TV! We also got a Wii, some movies, another 19" TV, some games and a few other little items.

The day after thanksgiving, in Rupert, they always have a lighting of the square and fireworks. When we are in town we like to get over there. The kids loved it this year. And while it was fun, I will say... it was FREEZING this year.

Here is Addy watching the fireworks. Such a cutie.

November

2011-11-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

So... November was fun. We have a problem in my family, we call it genetically high butt crack. It means that all jeans seem to show crack. Ms. A seems to have inherited this as well... poor girl! It is also called "showing us your Chelsea"

I love this picture. One night, when James got home from work, they all sat down and watched a movie on netflix... they love daddy!

Then we have Ms. A's birthday! YAY! Girlie turned 3... and what a cute little three year old she is! Daddy for her this princess outfit and she had to wear it shopping... so this is what a princess wears shopping, right? ;)

Christmas List Update

2011-11-15T13:25:00.001-08:00

Got Photoshop! :)

Cinderella

2011-10-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

When I asked Addy earlier in the month what she wanted to be for Halloween I wasn't surprised when she said a princess. I WAS a little surprised when she said she wanted to be Cinderella. Mostly because everyone knows her favorite princess is sleeping beauty. ;) So I thought for sure we were making a sleeping beauty costume. But no, Cinderella. Which was fine because I had seen THIS and knew i could do it.

So Here is our little Cinderella. It really was too perfect for her with her long blonde hair and her great love of all things princess. she has been WAITING to wear this. She told everyone at the trunk or treat that she was "Cindalella."There was much twirling and prancing. We even found some "Glass" slippers. We cant wait to see Nana and Papa so she can wear this to Disneyland.

Kaden Turns 7 and we celebrate LEGO style!

2011-10-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

7! I cant believe it!

I LOVE doing parties! It gives me the chance to be creative and have fun with the kids. However, its also a lot of work. So I decided a few years ago that we would just do friend parties every other year. This was the year.

For Kadens Birthday he wanted a LEGO party. So I set to work looking for ideas. I found a TON! However, I didnt have the time to do everything I wanted... so I selected a few and it was penty.

First we have the "cake". It is actually rice krispies. I just made a large batch and smooshed it into the pan till it was brimming. Once it had stiffened up I was able to cut it into the perfect sizes for lego blocks. Then it was a matter of playing with them until I found the right setup. The nubs on top are marshmallow halves that are frosted, frozen and then put on top. Easy Peasy... but a little time consuming to get it all together.

Next, I wanted to do chocolate lego men to give to the kids. I had envisioned making bag fulls of these, but I found that food coloring and chocolate are not best friends, so I only made 4 for each kid.

These are the baskets. My mom found these LEGO creator party packs and sent them up. It was PERFECT! The kids each got to make a LEGO car or plane and it was a booming success.

Kaden invited his two girlfriends to the party so we had to have some LEGO girls too... ;)

The choco man up close

This was one of my faves! I saw these HERE and loved them, however, they were no longer available where she got them and I cant afford to pay $20 each anyway. So I used my handy dandy freezer paper trick and made me some LEGO man T-Shirts for each kid. Kadens had a 7 on it since he was the birthday boy. Total cost was about 2.10 per shirt. Thank you walmart!!!

Here is Adds sporting the girly version.

Here is the birthday Gang...

This is Kaden and his best buddy... they are weird...

Here they are eating my cake... it was bitter sweet to see it die, but it was delicious. I had never had frosted rice krispies before... its yummy!

Heres the scoreboard for the guessing game. They had to guess how many LEGOS were in the jar. Kaden was WAY off....

This was the pin the head on the LEGO man game... It was a big hit with the kids. Even if there was some cheating that had to be monitored.

And here they are with their cars and trains.

We had a lot of fun tonight and I am soooo grateful that Kaden has chosen such great friends. They are super good kids!

I cant believe he is seven. It makes me feel sad, and proud and happy all at the same time. One more year until he is baptized... I feel so much responsibility and love for this little boy! Happy Birthday Kaden!!!

9-11-01

2011-09-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

I feel like I cant let this day go by without honoring it. I keep thinking about how the world, the country, me... how we have all changed in 10 years. I was talking to my young women about 9/11 today and its weird to think that they were 4-7 years old then... I feel old!

Ten years ago I was a freshman at Utah State University. When the towers fell I remember feeling afraid. We had been talking not long before that about how there were boys we knew who had pachriarcal blessings that stated that they would be serving their country instead of a mission. Emergency preparedness, last days prophesies... it was all so abstract until that day. You feel invincible when you are 18, but not that day. I felt very far away from the people I loved and very scared.

Classes were canceled and I don't remember exactly what I did. I know I donated blood and spent time with my dorm mates. The strongest memory I have is that I remember that at a devotional we sang "Be still my soul." And at pretty much every meeting for the next couple of weeks actually.

To this day I love that song and it always makes me remember 9/11. Strangely it doesn't bring back the tragedy... But instead the love, patriotism, faith and peace I felt in the aftermath. The realization that no matter what happened in the world around me, I could be at peace and be whole. I feel blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know my Father loves me and if I live my life worthily, he will bless me and never leave me comfortless...

I remember...

I remember we are stronger than we think

I remember that ordinary people can do extraordinary things for people they don't know

I remember that patriotism is not dead

I remember that our faith is stronger than our fear

I remember that God loves me and this great nation and will not leave us...

I hope this has been a great day for everyone and that we have all remembered the lessons we learned that day.

Thought of another one!

2011-09-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

I thought of another one! I have been wanting a really great picture of the San Diego Temple. And I found one I LOVE! So this is what I want... but without the printing in the top left corner

You can get the JPG

HERE

And have it printed on 16X20 at costso or something.

Christmas List 2011

2011-09-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

Its that time of year... This year I have some big items on my list, which means I will probably have to get them for myself or hope my hubby cues in. Which is why I have the list on the blog!

Cannon Rebal Xti

I have been wanting this camera for a while... and now I am putting it out there! GIMME IT! :)

Photoshop

CS3 or better

My photoshop was lost when the computer died. I had CS3 and really loved it so I would be happy with that version.

Fun animal rings like the ones HERE

My kids at school LOVE the turtle one I got there!

Willow Tree "Gentle Animals of the Stable"

(If no hints are dropped I will be obtaining this for myself. :)

Thats all I can think of right now. But If I think of anything else, Ill let ya know! :)

8 Years and Counting

2011-09-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

Warning... This is a long one

So... once upon a time, A girl and a boy decided they liked each other enough to spend eternity together. So they got themselves hitched. Somehow, 8 years later, I am still married to my very best friend. Our anniversary was actually a month ago, but I am just now getting around to blogging about our trip.

We decided, probably about 6 years ago, that every other year we wanted to do something really special for our anniversary. Its so easy to get caught up in life and forget about each other, so we try to relaly make it a priority. This year we lucked out because James had to do an audit, so that pretty much paid for our trip out to San Fransisco!!!

Doing an audit meant that we spent the first two nights in Vaccaville, Ca. Which was fine because they had some awesome outlets there and I got some school shopping done for this kids. I also found this little peice of home...

After I dropped off James at the audit I saw these in the air, so I stopped to check things out and got to see them take them down. I thought about taking a ride until I checked it out and found out the price tag! WHEW!!! Its pretty pricy!

On the way back from the audit we discovered this little Gem... The JELLY BELLY FACTORY!!! James wanted to take a tour but the line was crazy!

That night we headed to Napa for dinner and a little sight seeing. It was so beautiful and peaceful there! We ate at this swanky resturaunt and the food was AWESOME... mmmmmmm I have never had a pork pasta... but i wish I could figure it out.

The next morning we decided to hit the Jelly Belly factory one more time to get some jellybeans for our home teacher. Lo and behold.... no line for the tour! So we went...

Here we are looking sexy in our hats!

Then we headed to SF. This is the bridge we for a 29 dollar ticket on becuase we didnt know about the toll! DOH!

The next day we went to the WInchester mansion. No one seemed to understand why this lady did all this weird stuff in her house... but I totally get her! If I had all the money and time in the world I would totally do all this weird stuff to my house!

On the way back we decided to take the road less traveled. We saw these beautiful mountains off to the side, so we got off the freeway and explored! We ended up driving into the clouds! It was amazing.

For dinner, we had an earthquake sunday at Ghirridelli Square. I secretly only had two scoops and made James eat the rest. ;)

Side note... this guy has been around for a long time scaring people. A couple of years ago when we were in SF for my brothers wedding he scared the PEE out of me and look... he is still there!

The next day we did alcatraz and peir 39 and fishermans wharf and the golden gate bridge and chinatown... I didnt get a lot of pictures though of those. But it was great! Here is the Golden Gate herself...

The next day we met James aunt in Sonoma for brunch. It was so great to see her and it was such a cute little town! My hot chocolate was seriously just melted dark chocolate though! SOOOO thick! We also picked up fruit from a stand. I forget how AMAZING the fruit in California is... This cherry is like a plum!!!

When we got home it was pretty obvious that our kids missed us! Addy had to reintroduce James to all her toys. ;)

We had an amazing time! I feel so blessed to be married to such a great man. We had so much fun together and I am so glad we have the ability to get away like this just the two of us. We didnt get a lot of time together before we started our family and so its fun to just be a couple again sometimes. I seriously cant believe it has been 8 years already!!! Only two more years to save for our caribean cruise!!!

(and a SPECIAL thanks to the in-laws who made this all possible by babysitting!)

Birthday Pictures 2011

2011-09-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have tried, not always with success, to have pictures of my kids taken every year. Not always on their birthday, but sometime in the last half of the year. Since the weather has been great, i decided today was the day!

Last year we had a good friend do our family pictures and since they were so amazing!!! I didnt want to do new ones. That being said, and our budget being nonexistent, I took matters into my own hands.

My sweet friend loned me her excellent camera and we went to work. I wanted to do some bright fun pictures this year and I think I got them! Here are my favs. If you want to see the rest you will have to head to facebook.

Workin Girl

2011-08-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

I know its been a ridiculously long time since I have blogged. Our computer crashed and so it has been at the computer hospital, otherwise known as our home teachers house! But we have it back and are VERY happy!

A lot has happened this summer. Mostly lots of FUN! But One cool thing is that I got a job as a Family Educator with Head Start. I know that a crazy ton of people are having "thoughts" right now... So just to put your mind at ease...

1. I should be home when Kaden gets off the bus most days and I get all school holidays and breaks off. Its awesome!

2. Addy is obscenely independent and social. Due to this fact, I think she will actually thrive being with other kids. And I have found a really awesome friend in the ward to watch her for me, who I trust implicitly.

3. Without going into details, I really felt like it was time for a change and this felt SOOO right.

And finally...

4. Yes, we did pray about this decision... a lot! and feel that it is an answer to prayers. Some people seem to think they have the right to receive revelation for our family, but luckily, that is our right alone. :)

Now that I have dealt with Naysayers...

I am SOOOO excited! I have been working for two weeks and I LOVE it! I do home visits for my caseload and get to work with kids and families. There is a lot involved, but its a very family friendly job and one bonus is that I get to work with one of my great friends! Everything seriously fell into place so perfectly for this, that I have no doubt it is right for us right now.

Wish us luck as our family enters into this new adventure!

Lots of Love!

The Bonds

How are Summer is Shaping up

2011-06-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

If recent activity is any indicator, I think we are going to have a great summer!

For Memorial Day we usually go camping. We LOVE to camp! But this year it was looking a little too crappy for camping so we decided to forgo that option. The actual day was beautiful! So we loaded up the kiddos and went looking for an adventure. With gas prices being so high the last few years we have not done as much of this as we used to.

We have not explored the Hagerman area much so we headed there. First stop was the alligator farm. There were about 6 out and about. The kids thought that was awesome. :) Like James bed head? ;0

There is an alligator right behind them in the water

Then we wandered through the windmill farms. These things are HUGE! We went on some cool roads and saw a bunch of birds and rock-chucks.

After that we went to lunch in Hagerman and hit the fossil beds, Oregon Trail and the National Monument offices so that Kaden could get his Junior Ranger badge. If you havent heard of this program and have a little kid, you should look into it. It has been so fun for Kaden!
Here is the website!

Then last week we hit the park and library for the first time this summer. It was such a BEAUTIFUL day for it!

And then Thursday we met Dad for a costco dinner

This morning I found Addy like this... How the heck did she figure out how to watch a movie on my IPOD?!

A little boy and his savings

2011-05-26T09:38:00.001-07:00

A couple of months ago Kaden began begging for a pair of Heelys. If you have no idea what these are, dont feel bad. They are shoes that have wheels in the heels. Once you figure them out you can either walk or skate on them. They are actually pretty neat. But they are a little pricy. I figured we could get a pair for around 30 if we shopped the sales. But that is still WAY more than I pay for shoes for my kids.

We have been trying to teach Kaden about money. He gets an allowance and has to do his chores every day in order to get all of the allowance. Usually he spends it all pretty much as soon as he gets it though. In order to teach him about saving money we decided to strike a deal. If he would earn half the money we would pay the rest.

He was not excited about this but agreed. The kid has been amazing. He would do ANYTHING for a quarter extra! Hahaha! He would still be a couple of weeks away from his goal though if not for working at grandmas house last weekend. He got $4 for that, so he finally will have enough money for his shoes on Saturday!

We are so proud of him! He has been so diligent at saving his money and paying his tithing. At first it was really hard for him to give up some of his money in order to pay tithing. We had a nice chat about that though one day, and talked about how Heavenly Father will bless him if he pays his tithing. After that he was willing to pay and was so proud to hand his envelope over to the Bishop.

We love Kaden so much! I cant believe how grown up he is getting! Here is a glimpse of the shoes he picked out on Amazon today... (They wouldn't have been my first choice, but hey... whatever floats his boat!)

I am a child of God

2011-05-18T06:59:00.001-07:00

A friend posted this video on Facebook. It is so sweet and simple. I cried through pretty much the whole thing. (Keep in mind I am a crier)

Captain Jack and Aurora

2011-05-10T07:58:00.001-07:00

We have a mouse problem around here. Living right next to a corn field, they feel like our place is a great wintering grounds. In the past they have confined themselves to the yard. But this year they breached the barrier and ended up in the garage. When we first moved here, we tried three different times without success to get kittys. They ran away or were stolen. :( So we gave up. But in light of these new developments we are trying again.

Meet Captain Jack Sparrow and Aurora. Can you guess whos is whos? ;) Addy is in LOVE! I am having serious problems keeping Aurora and Addy apart. These kittys will be strictly outside cats and poor kaden will have to have limited contact due to his allergies. But hopefully this fall we will be mouse free!

Dont worry... after snapping this picture, I promptly saved the kitties life.

A Wicked Good time!

2011-05-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

After a VERY long time of wanting to see this Broadway show.... This girl FINALLY got her wish! I bought my tickets over the phone so I wasnt sure where our seats were exactly but the guy said that even though they were near the top they were still good seats... guess where we were....

See how there are many people in front of me... but no one behind? Yeah we were in the very last row... but does it look like I cared? No way! They actually were still pretty good seats!

I went with some pretty awesome ladies! My aunt Wendy...

And my best buddy Erin and her awesome mom! Look how Erin is doing what Erin does... messing with technology

This was our Elphaba... Christine Dwyer and I was in LOVE with her voice! SOOOOOO much better than the girl on the CD!

Pre show...

Me and my buddy!

And this is how excited I was after! I seriously LOVED it! If anyone wants to make me ecstatically happy... take me to a great musical and I will love you forever!

I loved it so much I bought a sweatshirt! And a keychain.... There went all my babysitting money this week!

And we topped the night off with a shake. Wendy got us a hotel room and all in all it was such a great girls night! I couldn't have spent it with more fun ladies! THANKS SO MUCH!

Laundry Room

2011-05-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Head on over to the
Craft Blog
to check out the laundry room remodel!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

The next couple of weeks are going to be awesome and crazy for us! My baby sister is getting married! But... since we are going to be gone and its stake conference next weekend anyway... I broke out the kids Easter outfits early and took these bits of deliciousness for you!

We hope you have a delightful Easter and that you remember the true purpose, which it to remember the joyous resurrection of our Savior. I am grateful every day of my life for the infinite sacrifice of His atonement and death and the miracle of His resurrection and all that it means for me and my family.

Happy Easter!

Rapunzel

2011-03-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting for tangled to come out! We never saw it in the theater, but heard great things about it. Addy is in love with all things princess. For her final potty training reward she picked out the Tangled barbie. So I knew she would love the movie. And she does! In preparation for watching the movie together I made her a Rapunzel dress and I'm sure you can guess what she has been wearing all day! :)

Wrestling

2011-03-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a video for the fam of Mr. Kaden wrestling. He loved it in the end! I'm so glad he had a good experience. You can tell he didn't quite know what he was doing. I think its pretty entertaining.

The princess, the potty and the hair

2011-03-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

So... hows it going you ask? Pretty awesome! Miss A only had one accident the first day at the very beginning and one last night while I was at YW... (dang Daddy) ;) This is pretty much how she has looked the last 2 days. we have cuter panties for her once I feel better about things.
And check out the hair... I cant believe how long it is getting. One of the nice parts about that is that we get to try out some fun hairstyles!

I picked up one of these awesome little tools which was a story in itself. I am in love!
This is what we came up with for today!

You might wonder how I get her to hold still... A, I am lucky and she likes to have her hair done. B, I let her play with all the stuff in the sink, like this spray bottle.

Potty Training

2011-03-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Today it begins. Honestly she should be potty trained already. She has been ready and trying to potty train herself since around the time she turned two, but there has just been so much going on between then and now that I didnt want to tackle it.

But now we are ready! Armed with jelly beans, foam glitter stickers and squinkies (if you have no idea what these are... hang on and I will tell you) we embarked today on the adventure of potty training Miss A. She is doing AWESOME!

Here's how it goes.
(I did this with Kaden, except we used matchbox cars and sports stickers.)

Every time Addy goes potty She gets a sticker to put on her chart and a jelly bean. The 5th time (when we get to a big flower) She gets a coin for a squinkie.

These are the aforementioned squinkies... Addy loves them and they work out to be half the cost of the matchbox cars I used with Kaden. :) I also got this teapot though, which probably evens the score. But I loved it! Its so cute! She gets a coin and you put the coin in, turn the knob and out comes a squinkie encased in a little plastic ball. She loves getting them and opening the ball to see what she got. Its a pretty fun process.

How do I love thee?

2011-02-21T19:22:00.000-08:00

More than I can count! This picture reminds me why i wanted to be a mom. If you get past the whining and crying and poop and barf, this is what you get. And this is pretty awesome. I have two kids who genuinely adore each other and I feel truly blessed!

In other news... Miss A (also known as princess in our house) is so good about letting me do her hair. Probably because I have been torturing her since the day she was born. And this is what we came up with for sunday. I LOVE it! Thank heavens I got a girl right? ;)

Like how she is on her princess phone in this one? hehehe!

A face to die for

2011-01-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

So maybe not this one...
(not his best looking day... but he wanted me to take a picture)

But how about this one?!

I know! How can you resist her!

New Comfort

2011-01-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

I have been on the lookout for anew comforter for over a year now. Its been so hard to decide. I LOVE the clean white look in my bedroom because it feels peaceful and celestial.
(when i clean it) So i was looking for white.

After so long i finally decided i just needed to make a decision. I decided to go with the quilt look as opposed to a duvet cover (which is what i had last time and now hate), or a comforter. You will see my favorite part later!

(This isnt the best look of my bed but you get the idea. I will post better pictures when i finish my room makeover... hopefully soon! Im not happy with the blue in the room. Its too dark. Im thinking about repainting it lighter. What do you all think????)

This is my favorite part about it. In the twin falls temple you see flowers that look like this ALL OVER... so seeing it in my quilt just made it that much more special!

A Birthday Date

2011-01-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

The camera is recovered! And with it was some serious birthday cuteness... I know i know... its been forever and this is old news. But I dont care.

For Addys Birthday she had a hot date! It was also her betrothed's birthday the very next day! So they had a lunch date. And where else do 2 year olds have dates... But McDonalds!

Here she is... looking all cute for her man

Let the fun begin. They had the place to themselves pretty much and they had a pretty good time.

This is the goodbye kiss... Teeheehee... arent they adorable! I love these babies... I cant believe they are two now!

Eh

2010-12-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

So I feel bad about my lack of blogging! But I cant find my camera and I hate to post without pictures because we all know pictures make everything so much more interesting. :)

But I feel like I should update anyway. We are gearing up for Christmas around here. I have been crafting up a storm for Addy and her cousin. Everything I make for her I feel like I should just go ahead and make 2 since Tylita is the same age... So they will be spoiled this year! I would post pictures but... like I said... no camera. Oh well.

In less than a week I will be home. Today it was pointed out to me that home is here... in idaho. But in reality I have two homes... I am just that lucky! My parents house will always be home to me. So WAH HOO! And I cant wait to see my sisters. We are jumping in a new sister while I am home... that should be fun! Thats about it. I will post pictures if I ever find my camera... :(

G24

2010-11-24T06:41:00.000-08:00

This will be my last Gratitude post, since I will spend tomorrow enjoying friends and family. Today I am grateful for all the many blessings in my life, but most especially the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I feel immense gratitude for the knowledge and blessings I have been given in my life as I have striven to do what is right and follow Gods commandments. I am also grateful for the forgiveness and love I have found as I make mistakes along the way, because I am most definitely not perfect.
I know it is true and I have no idea where my life would be without it.

G23

2010-11-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for this little guy!
Meet the newest addition to the Bond Clan. This is Keagan Stratford Bond. He joined the ranks today and isnt he cute! He reminds me a little of what Kaden looked like. I will have to dig up a picture. His mom did a great job getting him here, although it sounds like it was a long and difficult journey. Good work Brad and Jenni! And we cant wait to meet him!

G22

2010-11-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for snow shovels. Really good snow shovels that make the job easier. I would be more grateful if we had a snow blower but i guess that is not the point of this whole thing... ;)

G21

2010-11-21T06:24:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for my sweet husband! He is my best friend and the love of my life. I am grateful that I get to share each days trials and triumphs with him, that we loved each other enough to be married in the temple for all eternity, that he is SUCH an amazing father, that he honors his priesthood and has such an amazing testimony.
He is a good man and I am grateful that he chose me.

G20

2010-11-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for this amazing kid! He sure does brighten our day. The reason I am especially grateful today is because most of the time we feel like we are teaching our kids. Or sometimes beating our heads against the wall TRYING to teach them. And sometimes they show us the way.

That happened today. We were out shoveling our driveway this morning and he asked if we could shovel our neighbors driveway too. (He is in a wheelchair) I told him we were in a hurry and maybe we could do it later. They have a teenager who could do it. Then James and I went on or way. A few minutes later I look over and Kaden is shoveling their driveway all by himself.

I almost started crying right there. It only took the three of us a few minutes to finish what he started. I told him how proud I was of him and gave him a huge hug. I love this kid to the moon and back... and then some...

G19

2010-11-19T18:31:00.001-08:00

I am grateful for the cabinet I just put together. We dont have very much cabinet space in our home, although it isn't horrible. I have been wishing we had a pantry, which does no good since there is no place to put one in the house. So instead, I found a great cabinet that we can use in between the living room and kitchen! It now holds all our caned goods and crackers etc. Freeing up space in the kitchen for all our other crap! :)

YAY!

G18

2010-11-18T08:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Adelynn Jean!

Two years ago we got our miracle. We had hoped and prayed for so long... and she has been everything we could ever have hoped and prayed for. Today I am immensely grateful for Addy. She is a blessing in every sense of the word.
A little about Addy:
*She LOVES her babies. She carries, pushes, rocks, dresses, undresses, changes diapers, puts them to bed in random places. She LOVES her babies!
*She LOVES all things princess! She got a princess barbie for her birthday and she loves her "pincess bahbee" She loves "Pincess Moo-mees" (movies) (Im getting pretty sick of the ones we have and she doesn't even watch them for very long hehe)
*She is on the go ALL the time!
*She loves to be pretty but also likes to get dirty.
*She is our "pink tornado". She can make a mess like you have never seen before.
*She talks. Kaden was putting a few words together at this age and we were so excited! She is having complete conversations...
*Her favorite song is twinkle twinkle little star. A lot of times if we are singing something else she will insist we change songs.
*She loves her brother. If she wakes up before him she cant stand it. She will go to his door and call his name until he wakes up and comes to play with her.

We had a family party for her on Saturday so today will be pretty low key. Pictures to follow. But I thought you might enjoy these pictures of her first days.

Christmas List 3

2010-11-17T09:13:00.001-08:00

A new under the counter can opener... that works and is good... :)

G17

2010-11-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for James' job. Glanbia has proved to be a great company to work for and has given James the ability to provide for his family and the promise of a great future for his career. I am so happy that my husband has been able to find work that he enjoys and a place where he is happy.

Christmas List 2

2010-11-16T14:02:00.000-08:00

I would love some fun knee high socks. Since its winter I need knee high socks to go with my boots or else they fall down into my boots... :)

G16

2010-11-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful that we finally paid Addy off!

I called yesterday to find out what the balance was on our Health Care Finance account was because I knew we were coming to the point where it should be paid off soon. And the amazing woman told me that we had paid it off 2 months ago!!! I have been overpaying! Geeez! So now we are getting a nice little refund check and that bill is gone. I feel so relieved! And now she is ours and they cant repo her... hehehehe

G15

2010-11-15T07:06:00.000-08:00

Im grateful that Addy is potty training herself! Seriously? Who does that? I love this kid. A couple weeks ago she decided she wanted to go potty and she did. She isnt super consistent and if she is playing or distracted she will have an accident, but we are on the way! This is a picture I snapped when she and Kaden were having a little potty party...

G14

2010-11-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

Im grateful for my kids friends. They are great little friends who they love and love to play with! Because we only have two and they are spaced so far apart, it is nice to have friends for them to play with.

G13

2010-11-13T07:32:00.000-08:00

Im grateful for supportive extended family. No matter what crazy ideas I might have my in laws all go with the flow. And most importantly, they raised a great man who is a good father and worthy priesthood holder. For that I will be forever grateful! They are a great support to us and we love them so much!

G12

2010-11-12T07:42:00.000-08:00

Im grateful for my calling! I love my young women and I am so proud of them for their efforts to do good in their lives. They teach me more than I can ever teach them. Love you girls!

G11

2010-11-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Veterans Day! Today, and every day, I am grateful to the men and women who serve our country. These are the veterans in my life, and I am deffinitely more grateful for them!

First, my Daddy! We are a Navy family for the most part. He served in the Navy as a young man and is currently serving in the Army Reserves. Love you DAD!!!
This Handsome guy is my brother. He is currently underwater somewhere serving in the Navy on subs. Wherever you are, thanks little brother. Love you!
And this is my Grandpa. Never met the man, but he made the greatest sacrifice. Our family, especially my father, paid a heavy price for his service... but I am grateful anyway.
Good thing families are forever.

G10

2010-11-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for snow. I grew up in sunny southern California and while I sometimes miss the temperate weather, as a general rule I LOVE having 4 seasons. Every winter I am ready for the snow, but I must admit, when spring comes, I am MORE than ready for it to leave. ;) Today we had out first snow! It didn't stick, but it was still fun to see those big fluffy flakes falling from the sky with the promise of moisture, and beauty.

I love snow!

G9

2010-11-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for new sheets! I LOVE new sheets. We have only had one set for a while and its a little annoying when it comes to wash day to try to make sure that everything is back on the bed before bedtime. So we got a SWEET deal on some 1200 thread count sheets and I have been in heaven! I love me some soft new sheets!

G8

2010-11-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

Im grateful for our garden! We got so much yummy food from it! But I think the best part is that we have been able to work together as a family on it. We plant and care for and harvest it together and I have good memories of the time we spend working our little plot. This year Addy was helping us harvest the corn and decided the fallen stalks made a great bed for her babies... hehehe... we found one buried when we went to get rid of the stalks later.

G7

2010-11-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for my Home today! I am coming back to it after our vacation and it is always so nice to sleep in your own bed and be surrounded by everything that is familiar after a vacation. I love our home and the life that we are making here.

G6

2010-11-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am grateful for a dishwasher today. I love going to my grandmothers and spending time in the kitchen as a family working together to do dishes and clean up by hand. But I REALLY love that I dont have to do that EVERY day.

G5

2010-11-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

Today I must be grateful for my Grandmother. Today is her 80th birthday and we are visiting her in Oregon. She has been an inspiration and a steady force in my life.
Happy birthday GRAM!
I LOVE YOU!

G4

2010-11-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today I am grateful for car DVD players. We are traveling to Oregon and without this little miracle of modern technology I would probably go crazy. I dont know how my mother and father did it back in the day... :)

G3

2010-11-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

I am grateful for a car today! Today I am signing the paperwork for my very first car loan and even though its not my dream car, it goes over 35 mph so I am very happy!

G2

2010-11-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

Today I am grateful for my family! We aren't perfect. We are so far from perfect it is probably ridiculous. But we are perfect for each other. We fight and laugh and hold grudges and forgive. And life is so much better with them in it! I cant wait to see them tomorrow!
(Hopefully someday I will see my brother again if he ever comes to the surface long enough to visit.)

Grattitude 1

2010-11-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas and especially Christmas music! Which I am currently listening to. But I want to make sure I dont leave out this month of thanksgiving. So I am going to try to think of something every day that I am obscenely grateful for. :)

Today I am grateful for modern miracles. Two of my very best friends have the same disorder I do and one is having her baby as we speak and the other just found out they are expecting. I am so grateful that the Lord hears and answers our prayers!

Good luck KL! LOVE YOU!

pumpkin Carving adventures

2010-10-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note about our pumpkin carving this year... Kaden was NOT impressed. While he was initially excited to carve his own pumpkin, once we got to the guts removal the luster wore off...

Adelynn, however, LOVED it! She dug right in and even after we finished, she still wanted to get more guts out... HAHAH! We love these kids! All in all it was a fun family night. :)

Kadens Room Remodel

2010-10-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to finish Kadens room for months. We switched up his room and James office so that when the time comes we will have enough room to stick a baby in there... Someday... not soon. :) Anyway. I had a hard time getting motivated to to anything about it after the switch. I was working on redoing three rooms. A little too ambitious I think. But I finally did it! It has taken a while to get everything finished, but Its ready. So here is a look!

First... the PLAID WALL! I love how it turned out. I am going to do a tutorial on my craft blog. I learned a lot while doing this! It isnt perfect but just dont look too close. It was a lot of fun and I have my friend Jen to thank for all her help with this one! Kaden picked out the colors for the walls and while I was a little skeptical i like how it turned out.

My Uncle works for a city and I asked him to keep an eye out for old signs they didnt need anymore and he came though like a champ! This combined with some hooks for his stuff and a project display board and we were golden!

I got the idea for this from THIS BLOG and it was the perfect solution for our latest dilemma. Kaden always brings home papers from school that he wants to keep and they end up all over the house. So now we put them here and when we are tired of them we chuck them or save them in a more permanent place.

I got Kaden this chair from IKEA a while ago. It had a plain canvas cover on it and while it is a GREAT little chair, it was kind of ugly. So I took an extra pillowcase and some black binding and recovered it. Super easy and fast!

In his old room we had these framed pictures of cars in blue frames so they got a paint job and some new home made art.

I just loved these round rungs from IKEA... again. Love that place! They were only a couple bucks each too!

Heres how things look looking at his bed.

And heres the view of the other wall. These were some galvanized buckets from... IKEA... :) I punched holes in the buckets and screwed them into the wall with anchors. He stores all sorts of treasures in them.

Christmas List 1

2010-10-25T09:19:00.001-07:00

The annual Christmas list.. :) For use of mainly my husband. But for all to see. I would like new white bedding... something along these lines from target... but anything white and pretty will due.

More to come...

Boys

2010-10-18T21:15:00.001-07:00

To be honest... When we found out we were having a boy I was scared. I cried a little. Dont get me wrong. I was happy and excited, but boys scare me. And I still am a little baffled most days on what he needs and wants.
But I ADORE this kid!
And I love having a boy. The other day we had some of moments while waiting for the bus with his buddies. We had a blast. They were so funny and cute. So here's a taste of my boy loving morning!

Week 3

2010-10-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

Its recycle week! Im super excited about my craft! Go vote... can you tell which is mine? ;)

Here

Go Voting

2010-10-11T08:35:00.000-07:00

Week two is costumes and its close to impossible to be anonymous when my sweet babys i peeking out at you! hehehe. Have fun and
VOTE HERE

Week One

2010-10-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

Week one of this round of
So You Think You're Crafty
has begun!
There are so many great crafts so shoot on over there and vote for your favorite one! Maybe it will be mine! hehehe

A boy and his hair

2010-10-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Now that Kaden is in school he likes me to do h is hair every day in a different style. Since he is a boy with short hair there are only so many options for him. So we have 4 basic options...
Daddy Hair (parted on the side and combed over)
Mohawk
Side Mohawk
And pictured below...
Sonic hair...
Hahahah! Love this kid!

In other news... A couple weekends ago we were out and about in Twin Falls and decided to do something fun as a family. I remembered a friend telling me about a roller rink in town.

Now... When I was in elementary school our school got a discount at a roller rink on a certain night every month, so my siblings and I would go roller skating every month. Its a super fun memory I have of my childhood.

So we decided to try it out... I busted out my mad rollerblading skills and James clung to the side... BAHAHAHA!

We discovered that Kaden has inherited his fathers natural grace in this area. But he was braver than his dad. He fell about a hundred times, but by then end he wasn't flailing quite so much and I was pretty proud of him. When James was in charge of Addy he made sure to hold her hand the whole time. After a while I took her and let her go to see what she would do... She is a pro! Didn't fall one time... so we know where she got HER natural ability! It was so much fun. We will have to do it again.

What have we been up to?

2010-09-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

Well... we built a fire pit in the backyard... :) Fall smores here we come!

Addy got some sweet new kicks... because her feet had a growth spurt dang it!

Addy has developed an intense love of babies...

and... we are bringing back the side pony...

Thats about it for now...

OH!

And I am sewing like crazy... got my groove back! Check out the craft blog for more... :)

I need your advice

2010-09-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

Im taking a poll on what color to paint Kadens main walls... so shoot on over to my
CRAFT BLOG
and let me know what you think.
THANKS!

And he's off!

2010-09-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a bitter-sweet day. My baby headed off to kindergarten.

No tears were shed because, to be honest, we were both ready for it. Kaden was so excited! All morning he kept asking how long until he got to leave for school.

We held off on school shopping until we went to California a few weeks ago because Kaden LOVES tony hawk clothes and I wanted to get him some for school. (Thanks to Aunt Em for getting him hooked on that) So he is totally decked out for the year in tony hawk! Hopefully he doesnt decide he hates it or he will be naked. But I think he looks SO cute!

We went to McDonalds for Lunch in celebration of his first day, and then I drove him to school. He will be in Ms. Halls afternoon class. And he loves her so far. In fact, he has a little crush on her. I think she will be GREAT for him because she seems to be very nurturing and he is kind of a sensitive kid.

One of the reasons I picked afternoon kindergarten is because they bus both ways. I feel like there is no reason for 50 parents from the neighborhood to be driving to and from school every day when there is a bus available. :) Plus, he is so excited to ride the bus with his friends! So here he is standing in front of his bus line... bus number 2! And I LOVE these shoes!

He got to ride the bus home from school and I was a little nervous that he wouldn't get on the bus, or get off at the right stop. I shouldn't have worried because there were so many kids from our neighborhood that were there to help him remember. The bus stops right by our house so we walked around the corner to wait for brother... and Addy was so happy he was home! She missed him.

A lady in our ward said she wished she had a camera to take a picture of all the moms waiting for the bus. We must have been a sight to see... hahaha. But here are all the neighborhood kids making the crossing. The bus driver makes them wait until they are all off the bus, and then they all cross together.

All the kindergartners who ride the bus got a bus tag for their backpack so that the teachers on duty can help make sure they get to where they are supposed to be. THANK YOU JEFFERSON! That eases my mind greatly!

Here's Kaden and his buddy Josh. They are in the same class together. Someone said they feel sorry for their teacher... and I tend to agree. These two are quite the pair! But Im glad he has a friend to ride the bus with and hang out with.

While we were so ready for this day to come it was just a little sad. Its hard to believe that this amazing young man is the same boy who snuggled in my arms almost 6 years ago as a tiny baby. :( He is so intelligent, and inquisitive and funny. He will do great things and I am proud of him for stepping so bravely and confidently into this new beginning! We love you Kaden!

I think I might be crafty... ;)

2010-09-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

Im Auditioning for this blog contest! This is audition week and if i survive then every week during the contest I will come up with another craft and the readers have to vote on them. Pretty fun! I dont have the huge blog following that some of these ladies do so I need your votes!

take a look and be sure to vote! Can you figure out which is mine? if you have seen my recent room remodel preview on my blog I bet you can!

www.soyouthinkyourecrafty.com

Is this week over yet?

2010-08-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is how I feel today... I am flying solo this week and even though its only Tuesday I am feeling it.
We had dentist appointments for the kids today and it was disastrous! It began hopefylly...
Kaden whined a little about being afraid of cavities but I thought I had assuaged his fears. That is... until we got back into the office. Then he commenced SCREAMING and CRYING about how he is afraid he will have sugar buggies and they will hurt him. I am desperately trying every tactic I know to calm him down and convince him that everything will be ok.

Meanwhile... I figure that Addy is in such good spirits that she should do fine first... WRONG... once they come at her with the X-Ray film she freaks out. Apparently the hygienist is new and keeps trying to get the film in Addys mouth for like 10 minutes as she is writhing and crying... Flash over to Kaden who is still having a melt down in the other chair... Then another hygienist comes over and informs ours that Addy is so little they dont usually do X-Rays on them... nice...

So Addy is set free... She stops crying but is doing that thing where they are still teary and trying to catch their breath... So I decide to hold her for a minute. This is when I realize she is poppy and it has leaked out all over her pants and onto ME! Nice... So we make a run to the bathroom to rinse everyone out. I have no extra diaper since I have used my extra already so I leave her commando and pray she can hold it for a while. PS... I still have poop on my shirt...

Kadens turn in the chair... I sit behind him and have to practically DRAG him into the chair. He is still FREAKING out. I am completely embarrassed and losing my patience FAST. We finally pry his mouth open and somehow get the X-Rays done. Now both my children giving those shuddering post sobbing breaths. I look like the worst mom ever.

They end up putting us in the "procedure room". I assume this is because we are taking too long and freaking all the other kids out. Finally the dentist comes in. He tells Kaden he has no cavities... which makes him happy. All tears cease and you would think going to the dentist is an every day occasion. He is chatting up the dentist and having a grand time showing him all his teeth...

Then Addy is up again... FREAKING out... AGAIN... but we get the nitty gritty over with. The kids get a ball and we are out of there as fast as I can get us out. The rest of my day has gone pretty similar... I hope I can survive until Friday...

Baby in Braids!

2010-08-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting for this day!
Addy has always had a lot of hair and thankfully it is curly, which disguises the fact that it has always been pretty mulletish... I was able to do a little braid a few months ago, but yesterday I noticed that the sides of her hair were finally getting long enough to do this...

She is just so perfect!

7 Years

2010-08-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

Then
Now

7 Years ago I married my best friend. He has been there by my side through the most difficult and the most amazingly beautiful times. It may not have always be easy, but I feel blessed because those times have been few and far between. I love him more than I can ever express and I hope he knows it. He has given me the two most beautiful children and the promise of eternity together.

I cant wait to see what forever brings for us!

Sad News

2010-08-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

After spending a great week in California with my family I came home and was able to relax for a day. Then we received the sad news that James grandfather had passed away quietly in his sleep. We lived with Grandpa for about 6 months while our home was being built. So we had some time to grow close to him. While he had his quirks, he was a great man and will be missed by those left behind.

When we told Kaden he broke down and has had a bit of a hard time with it. He loved his grandpa "honkfrees" and misses him. I have to tell you a funny story about this. While it starts our heartrendingly sad, just hang in there... it gets funny.

We were driving to grandpas house one of the days when everyone was there... here is how the conversation went.

Kaden: "Mom, I wish I died too so I could be with grandpa. I miss him."
Me: "Sweetie, I know you miss grandpa but he is happier now and you are too young to die and go to heaven."
Kaden: "why is he happier in heaven and not here?"
Me: "Because he gets to be with Grandma Adele. He missed her a lot. And his body wasn't working very well and that made him sad"
Kaden: "Why wasn't his body working very well?"
Me: "his heart and his muscles were getting old"
Kaden: "what was wrong with them?"
I'm getting frustrated with questions at this point
Me: "Its complicated sweetie"

Kaden gets really mad at this point and starts yelling

Kaden: "No it isn't! You just lie all the time and say that because I ask so many questions!"

Now I'm laughing and thinking he must have heard this from one of his aunts who are always telling him things I dont want him to know.

Me: "who told you that?"
Kaden: "No one! I just started to figure it out lately!"

HAHAHA! He is such a smart kid! So I explained about heart attacks and atrophying muscles. And then he said OK... and has seemed to be fine since then. He was just a little sad at the burial when he had to say goodbye... Here's a picture of that... :*( Poor little guy.

Im so grateful for our little girl. She is always bringing a smile to everyone's faces even in sad times!

This is a picture of Grandpas 9 children. The youngest is only 9 months older than James!

There were 57 of his children, grandchildren and Great Grandchildren there. Everyone was able to make it and we had such a great time together. I know Grandpa was looking down and smiling.

Water Park

2010-08-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

Im running a little behind blogging so it might take me a while to catch up. :)

James family had their big reunion this summer and one of the things we did was go to a water park by our house. I have passed these slides SOOO many times and never have been able to find out who they are or how much or anything but I finally did! And we had so much fun! We had the place pretty much to ourselves and the kids had a blast!

I made Kaden go down the big slide with me and he hated me for it! But then later he wanted to do it again. HAHAH!

Funny baby

2010-07-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Addy can count to three!

I dont lay claim to being as good a teacher as I should be to my children. But I try the best I can. So today was a very satisfying day for me. One of the things we like to do in the mornings is lay in my bed and the kids come and we play around. I throw them onto piles of blankets and pillows and flip them onto their backs. I will say "one, two, three!" and then flip them.

This morning Addy comes to bed and climbs up with me. Gives me a big hug around then neck and says "mo funny mommy! un two tree!!" She wanted me to throw her on the bed. SO CUTE! Love this girl!

Customer Service rant

2010-07-27T15:52:00.001-07:00

So I got our Internet bill this month and the price had gone up 10 bucks a month... That is not cool with me. And there is a new Internet company in town that is charging 20 a month.
(We dont live within their tower so we cant get them yet... but they will have a tower here soon!)

Anyway... armed with this knowledge I was speaking very politely with a young man who told me there was nothing he could do for me. I explained that we like quest and would like to be loyal to them but there was another company that would be much less to go with. (although this was a little bit of a bluff since we wouldn't be able to switch for 9 months) He put me on hold... came back and said sorry... there was nothing he could do for me.

This put me in a bad mood... Mostly because going to school in a college town where most people worked in customer service I knew this was a lie. I got a little witchy and told him that he was making it really hard for me to stay with them. That we had been with them for 7 years and the least they could do was cut us a break to keep us. He then put me on hold... again

Then i get on with the manager. She says she can take 20 a month off my bill... AND up our Internet speed from 1.5 to 5! WOOT WOOT!

And he said there was nothing he could do for me... LIAR!

You should wear pants when 4 wheelin!

2010-07-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

You will understand my title later... but for now...

We were invited to go camping with some other families this weekend. I knew that both of these families would probably be 4 wheeling and dirt biking. We have neither of these toys. But our wonderful Grandpa Humphereys does! And he graciously let us borrow the 4 wheeler for this trip so we could max out our fun... and we did! I have never been 4 wheeling in the mountains before and I think I have a new addiction!

We first went on a family ride. 11 kids and 6 adults on 7 vehicles... it was dirty and fun. But at one point (right after Addy fell asleep) James hit a rough patch and we rolled the 4 wheeler with all 4 of us on it! Luckily no one was hurt too bad but me. James protected Ads and Kaden was tough. I was the lucky one who got to use my body to keep the machine off of my little family. So my knee got twisted and banged up. Pictures at the end.

Then the dads went on a ride... a LONG ride. It was a little unfair as the moms ride wasn't nearly long enough since we had to be back to make dinner! BOO... but after my initial slowness as I figured out how to shift, steer, and brake the thing... I took off and it was some of the best fun Ive ever had! Thank you Jamie for being patient with my learning curve.

Finally we went on another family ride. ALL babies fell asleep so some members had to turn back. James and Addy and Kaden didn't go so I was solo on the 4 wheeler and offered to take one of my friends older girls. We had a blast! But towards the end we hit a slope I couldn't maneuver and so opted for the ditch next to it thinking that would be the lesser of the evils... unfortunately there was a huge boulder I didn't see so we went flying... me putting my body under another kid resulted in more leg injuries. But the kid came out unscathed! So all is well.

All in all I had to much fun! And am so glad we were invited! Thanks Jamie! You re the best!

I LOVE THESE WOMEN!
(like my mustache... and can you tell who was leading? since she is the only clean one?)

Celtic Woman - O America

2010-07-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

James uncle, Bryce emailed this to me and it was amazing. I was in tears listening to this. It reminds me that we all come from immigrants who longed to come here so badly they were willing to sacrifice so much and how grateful I am to be an American.

FEED THE PIG!

2010-07-20T14:31:00.002-07:00

This year is our 7th anniversary. James and his brother Brad got married about 8 months apart. Im sure that my in laws loved that. But we will be having our 10th anniversaries pretty close together. We decided to take a Caribbean vacation together for our anniversaries. Brad served his mission in the Dominican Republic and its a big resort place so thats where the start of the plan begins. Since we arent exactly rolling in it we got this little guy at the dollar store to motivate us and all our spare change will go in his belly! I think three years is a reasonable goal to save for this. But we will see!

So if you are ever at our house and feel some change jingling in your pocket we wouldn't discourage you from feeding our pig... hehehehe

Love your choice...

2010-07-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

LOVE this quote! Its from a talk by Thomas S. Monson in 1988. And there were never truer words in my opinion. You have to make the choice every day that the person you married is worth the fight to make it work. James and I have a pretty awesome marriage, I think. But it isnt perfect and I CHOOSE him every day.

I am so grateful I chose him the first time. And I am grateful every day that I get to choose him again and again.

If you want one I might love you enough to make one for ya... ;)

Jewelry Box

2010-07-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

I made me a new one... head to the craft blog
HERE
to check it out!

4th of July

2010-07-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

I love the 4th. We have a long line of military servicemen in our families. Both my grandfathers served. My Father and Father in Law served, and my little brother is currently on a submarine in the ocean somewhere. I love this country and I love the men and women who sacrifice so much for it. (especially the aforementioned men) I consider myself to be a very patriotic person and so this holiday is so fun for me! We spent the weekend in Cache Valley with my grandma and aunt and uncle. AND! My sister was able to come too! WOO HOO!

Before I go one... first. A couple of weeks ago Kaden asked me if we had any American clothes. I told him we wear American clothes every day and he said NO... American clothes are red white and blue... so of course for the 4th we had to wear our American clothes... hehehe

Here is our weekend in pictures... enjoy!

(this is the elusive and rarely photographed creature... ROB!)

Addy made me really nervous with these... she was a little wild. But grandma can handle it apparently.

Funny story... My moms family are the Bairs... and there are 4 kids. So they have these wooden bear cutouts. 2 big ones and 4 little ones representing their family. The bear whose head Addy is currently sitting on is my mothers! HEHEHE and she did it over and over. Apparently Nana makes a comfortable seat.

She started doing this all on her own a few weeks ago. She blows her nose very well.

Chels and I realized we had never climbed a tree... so we had to remedy this situation.

Kaden learning to skateboard. he got the balance down, now he said he needs to learn how to steer. He is a very determined child.

I dont care what anyone says... i think a baby in a bikini is ADORABLE!

And then the croquet ensued!

And a parade

(If any of you have seen Jeff Dunham... I love these little clips Addy has. They remind me of Peanuts hair... so I call her peanut head when she is wearing them!)

Chronic Cryptic Tonsils.

2010-07-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

I have had a sore throat for the last week or so. I get sore throats often so i usually take som ibuprofen and get over it. But I finally decided to go in. Resigned ot getting another dose of antibiotics. I saw a different doctor this time and after a look at my tonsils said they need to come out. Bittersweet for me. Bitter because i hear that having them out as an adult is HORRIBLE. But sweet because I have known this was coming for a long time and have just been waiting for doctor confirmation.

I have "Chronic Cryptic Tonsils." When you get tonsilits a lot you can develop them. They are nasty looking buggers. You can google it and find a lot of nasty pictures (I thought I would spare you that) but essentially this is the definition

"The tonsils contain many small pockets and infoldings called crypts, which can trap small food particles and other debris. This can produce small, white stone-like particles called tonsilliths, composed of bacteria and dead cells, which are foul-smelling, can prolong the infection, and may cause a mild, intermittent sore throat. "

So I have had this lovely condition for a while. At least since second year of college... And I have more and more sore throats. Some people have this and dont have to have their tonsils out but mine are getting more and more enlarged and swollen. The doc said it is aggravated by my allergies and that is my current problem. So he has me on flonase to bring down the swelling of my nasal passages and adenoids which should reduce the pressure on my enlarged tonsils... Hoepfully it works becuase i cant hardly swallow right now. UGH... But anyway. Hopefully sometime in the near future we will get this done. I am hoping to hold off till next year. But we will see. Fall may prove too much to handle.

Fun Huh?

Great Adventures

2010-07-01T14:37:00.001-07:00

Kaden, Wendy (My aunt) and I have been on a great adventure! Wendy took us to Glacier park! We had so much fun! I have posted my pictures on facebook but I will post a few here. Cant do a lot because it take blogger forever to upload.
If you want to see the rest head over to THIS link

Lookie lookie!

2010-06-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

So I have been a little discouraged the last couple weeks because I haven't been losing. I hit my pre-pregnancy weight with Kaden and I guess that was kind of my plateau weight. But I have been hitting it hard lately and I think I broke through! Because check out my weight ticker! That's right! Almost 30 lbs... I might have to break down and take some pictures for y'all...

Shoes

2010-06-11T16:38:00.001-07:00

If you know me at all you probably know that I dont like to wear shoes. At all... this said... Ironically apparently one of my first words... maybe even my first (I dont remember) was shoe.

Addy has developed a love affair with shoes. She loves them. Especially pretty ones. I HATE the idea of spending 10-15 on shoes for a little girl who will only wear them for a few months. Especially when you need 3 or 4 pair. And sadly I do love cute shoes on her so I always cry a little inside when I have to compromise on cuteness for frugality. So I had the idea to just look on ebay and see what they had.

JACKPOT!

13 pairs of shoes for $30 including shipping. And they are all name brand cute shoes. Not that name brand matters to me all that much as long as they are cute.

They came today and Addy is in love! So cute! She has been into them all afternoon having me change her shoes every few minutes. "OOOOH! SOOS! SOOS! OOOH!" Now she has a pair for every outfit! haha!

Memorial Day

2010-06-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

Last year we began what I hope will be a tradition with the Bond family because it has been a blast! This year we did it again. We went to the black pine area to go camping. Not only is it beautiful there but we have found lots of fun stuff to do as well. This year we went on two hikes. (I use this term loosely because it was more vertically scaling two mountains. exhausting but fun) And two mountain biking adventures/misadventures. We had a great time together!

Here we are on the drive. I LOVE our little family!!!

When we first got to our campsite, there was a crappy old fire ring. I told James that it was a boyscout fire ring and to watch and see how the relief society does a fire... and so while we were waiting for the rest of the crew to show up I created this! I think I want one in my backyard! Its so pretty!

This was a mini hike we took before everyone else arrived. We borrowed this from some friends and we LOVE it... so i am snooping eBay to find a good deal on one.

Kaden, for some reason decided that he has to take this dino on our camping trips...

On day three all the women were having nasty hair so we set up a salon for hair washing

During some down time the daddys took the little girls up and down the road on their bikes. They LOVED it. And Addy ended up falling asleep.

This is us at the top of the second mountain climb. It was so pretty. We ended up at the ridge of this string of mountains. If we hadn't been so tired we might have walked a long further but blazing a trail is tough work! You can see how red my face is... DANG MY COMPLEXION! I got a nice burn.

I am really grateful that I have been getting in shape. This trip was so fun because I was able to participate in all the activities and I was in good enough shape that it was actually enjoyable for me. Although, our last mountain biking misadventure was pretty rough. My father in law gave us bad directions and it ended up being quite the trip. I also learned that you need a REAL mountain bike to go mountain biking!

Visit with the Sista

2010-06-04T08:11:00.001-07:00

My sister has been living in Utah for a few months and she finally had enough vacation to come and see me! We had a great visit although I didnt get many pictures of her... But I did her hair, which looks amazing by the way. And we hung out. I miss my sisters! So it was nice to spend some time with her. Hopefully I will get to see my other slacker sister someday soon! Love you both!

This is just a cute picture of the pink tornado eating decorative rocks... But she looks cute doing it...

Haircut pictures...

2010-05-26T09:35:00.001-07:00

So... a lot of people said how good i look in those haircut pictures... My chin is down so i have a double and im bending over so my fat shows... hahahah! But thanks. I will post better pictures when my family pictures come in. :)

Babys First Haircut

2010-05-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Kaden and Addy both were born with a lot of hair. Kadens was a little more curly to start. That combined with his long curly eyelashes had everyone telling me what a beautiful baby girl I had. So when he was a few days old I cut it. Taboo for some... I know. But i really just trimmed up the sides so they wouldn't hang over his ears. Then of course when he was 5 months it all fell out. But I always kept it cut shorter on the sides. So his first haircut wasn't that big of a deal. Fast forward to Addy.

I have been to afraid to trim her hair because of her beautiful curls. But lately it has been looking a little scraggly by the end of the day. So today was the day. We got out the scissors and trimmed it up. Not much, in fact you can barely tell. I mostly just trimmed enough so that the scraggly random hairs were even with the rest. And its still curly! WOO HOO!

Here she is after I cut a little on the left side of her hair.

After a while she discovered a new body part! HAHAHAHA!
Of course... Chelsea had to capture it on film.

Happy 18 Months

2010-05-20T14:26:00.001-07:00

Addy had her 18 month check up today and she is growing like a champ!
Height - 95th percentile this suprised me because i thought she was short)
Weight - 75th percentile (again i was surprised because i thought she was a little chubbs... :)
Head - 99th percentile (not surprised at all!)

She is adorable and really lights up our lives.
She makes the funniest faces which showcase her pint sized attitude
She loves her big brother and calls him "Buba"
She climbs... all over and her newest tick is to free fall off of things so she is a daredevil too
We call her the pink tornado because she is the HUGEST mess maker I have ever seen
She strings three words together
She says LOTS of words and mimics even more (I should keep a list but I dont)
She loves books. She will sit and read with me endlessly
She likes to lay in bed in the mornings with me. She pulls up the covers and just hangs (this is new and I LOVE it!)
She loves her babies! As evidenced below she loves to take them everywhere. Even to bed with her lately.
She squeals... the bane of my life
She dances and its so cute I can hardly stand it!
So of course you can see that we dont like her at all right?

(If you are a Clayton or Voelker girl... does this dress look familiar? It should which is why i bought it! Looks like the ones Jeanette made for us!)

Venting

2010-05-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Ok... I need to vent a little. Im pissed...

Why? I have been subbing at the high school this year. I LOVE it! It has been a great experience and I have especially loved subbing for PE. But today sucked. Partly because I got chewed out by someone because they failed to do their job and so they are passing the buck to me. But mostly I am pissed because a really sweet girl was verbally attacked today and bullied and the bully is probably not going to have to answer to anyone for it because of this same person. What was said to this girl was particularly offensive in my eyes and because it is being judged by a man i doubt he sees how damaging it is.

So I am pissed...

Working it out...

2010-05-06T04:57:00.000-07:00

I decided to put this out there partly to hold myself accountable. Im doing so well and I want to keep it up. Maybe if I blog about my progress thus far it will make me stick with it.

About two months ago I saw my doctor and we talked about my PCOS. Its been really hard to manage my weight because of the insulin resistance that often comes with it. Im pretty good at maintaining, but whenever I have had a major event in my life (like the freshman 15, and 2 babies) I add some pounds and cant seem to get them off. Last fall I went on a crazy diet and was working out consistently and didnt lose much at all over a three month period. It has been so frustrating for me, especially knowing that if i could lose weight it might be easier for us to get pregnant when the time comes.

After talking about it for a while he said he wanted to run some tests and then in a month see me again and put me on some medication that would help. I have been on the meds for a month and I have been training for a 5K and I AM DOING IT! I cant even believe it. Over the years I am so used to working hard and seeing little to no results that I am shocked.

I feel like for the first time in my life i have power over my body. I am telling it what to do and it is actually listening. For so long i have felt pretty powerless as to how my body worked (all the infertility struggles) that it feels great. At first the running was HORRIBLE and i thought there was no way I was going to be able to keep it up. But it is getting easier. I finally figured out how to breathe which helped a lot... hahaha! It still sucks and I have NO love affair with running. But in combination with the medication it is working so i am going to keep at it.

When I was pregnant with Kaden I gained a LOT of weight and this morning I got on the scale and saw a number I hadnt seen since I was pregnant with him! Which is sad. I have 5 more lbs until I hit pre-pregnancy with Kaden and then I want to lose at least 15 more before we try to have another baby.

I am proud of myself!

Catching up

2010-05-04T09:40:00.001-07:00

My sister is much displeased with me. She said I need to put up pictures of my kids instead of crafty crap... so here we go...

The last month or so we have spent quite a few weekends at the in laws... Addy and my MIL share a love of goats! Her first sentence was "wheres a go?" or wheres the goat. I got it on video but you can barely hear her because of the wind... so here she is with one of the goats.
I need to look through my scrapbook because there is a similar picture of me looking through a fence at cows when I little. Of course here she is looking at the goats.
While I was working my boutique James had primary care of the children. I had Addy all dressed up so she could be my little model until dad picked her up after work Friday. By the time I got home she was already in bed. The next morning this is what she looked like! Still wearing the same clothes and her bow... Dad didnt even put on Jammies on a cold night! She looks like she has been partying too hard.
I got this fabric a while ago to make an apron. It still needs work but I whipped this up the other night... LOVE it! I saw one similar a while ago and thought... that wouldnt be too hard to replicate. It wasnt but I need to fix the top a little. Its a little big.
Mr Kaden decided to cut his own hair last week. Took a chunk from the front and cut it off at the scalp. So we had to shave the rest. Good thing he is a boy or i would have cried.
Dont worry... its an unused diaper... she brought it to us and on a lark i put it on her head... She LOVED it as you can see! HEhehehe! Love these kids!

Things are going well here. We are happy and healthy for the most part and looking forward to an awesome summer full of fun! We have lots of plans and cant wait! I will try to remember to bring the camera along for our adventures but I am famous for forgetting it so dont hold your breath... ;)

Old Friends

2010-04-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

So as I have been crafting like mad I have been having random thoughts. One of my best friends from my younger years is having a baby. I am SOOOO excited for her. But life is going to change for them. Mostly in the very best ways. But that got me thinking about how grateful I am for my oldest friends. (oldest meaning I have known them for a long time) I think it is a blessing to have people in your life who really and truly know you. Because I am more than the mother and wife i am today. I am still that insecure giggly little girl, and crazy teenager and carefree college student. Its all a part of me. And my friends now mostly know me of my settled homeowner years.

I find that when I am with my sisters and my old girlfriends they bring out all those other girls too. I miss them. They already know all the bad stuff and the good stuff. We have been friends through thick and thin and so I know that if there were ever a problem we would get over it. I wish to the very core of me that I had at least one of my old best friends that lived closer. But I am content with the occasional visit and phone call. (Especially the most recent visit from North Carolina!)

So if any of my girls have the itch to move I recommend Jerome, ID... just so you know! I love you all no matter how far or how long its been. MUAH!

And all my newer friends... don't worry... someday we will be old friends too! And I love you just as much for all the ways you love and support me right now! I post about you another day... ;)

On a trip to hollywood... In search of Brittany Spears House... also experimenting with an electric shaver to shave Emilys legs on the drive... Lots of good times with Katie (on the right)

And here are 6 of my favorite girls... despite the look on Chelseas Face...

Sigh

2010-04-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

So... this is not a cute picture post. Just an update on me if anyone actually wants to hear about me instead of my kids... ;)

Im exhausted! I have had my first sinus infection... Woo hoo! And on top of that I have been working like crazy to get ready for this boutique. (which will be awesome by the way!) Add to that two rambunctious kids who have been trapped in the house all winter and are stir crazy and you get a tired mama. Addy has proved to be the biggest and most creative mess maker i have ever encountered... For example...

Yesterday she got into my new box of tampons... unwrapped every one of them... and threw them in the toilet... Nice huh? James thought it was the funniest thing ever and had to call everyone to tell them. I have also been finding them all over the house.

So this means a messy house. But we are getting by and James is so supportive. I couldnt have asked for a better man. Life is insane sometimes but i wouldnt trade my life for anything.

Tooth Lost!

2010-04-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

Warning... slightly graphic images!

A few weeks ago Kaden bit into an apple and said that his tooth had been hurting him ever since his buddy pulled something out of his mouth... so i checked in there... not thinking much of it. I really didn't think he was old enough to be losing teeth yet. Lo and behold his tooth was very loose. As well as the tooth right next to it... So ever since then we have been trying to get him to let us pull it out. No luck.

Tonight I told him that the tooth fairy might give him more money if he let me pull it out. (Bribery... I'm not above it) So he agreed to let me give it a try. So i slipped a little floss around it and yanked.... the tooth went FLYING across the room. After searching the carpet we found it! I was a little worried to be honest! I cant believe it came out. I photoshopped this picture so you could see the picture better and it made it look really yellow at the gums... it doesn't really look that bad. And I promise... i make him brush every night! Hehehe... so now i am off to make a tooth fairy pillow!

Flyer

2010-03-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

In her Easter Bonnet... or dress... :)

2010-03-30T15:53:00.001-07:00

This year I made the kids matching outfits... It was a lot of fun! And i think they turned out really cute... So here they are... how handsome is this kid! :) I couldn't get really great pictures due to the gusting wind outside and the lack of cooperation from the little girl involved... but you get the idea and I will try again this Sunday.

We have a great nursery leader who is letting me bring Addy in early since she is such a terror in Sunday school... how cute is this! Luckily I just happened to have the camera in my purse.

Facebook Fans

2010-03-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

Sooooooo... If you want to see sneak peaks of the items I am going to have for sale at the boutique... you need to make sure you are a fan of Mom on Craft

HERE

That is the ONLY place I am going to be showing them beforehand and the posts will be private so you have to be a fan to view them.... :) Its going to be awesome! So lets be friends!

Before I was a mom

2010-03-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

Someone sent me this and I LOVE it...

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom