Some things that made me happy this week....

1. So You Think You Can Dance!!! WOW! They are amazing! I love this show, but I loved watching them in person even more. When the season started I didn't think I was going to love it. I've had a hard time loving it since the Allison/Ivan pair up (they were my all time favorite and I still watch them on You Tube.) But by the time the season was over I was sold by their dancing. It was a fun night out with the girls and I haven't stopped dancing since!





"the bed dance" AMAZING! Kherington and Twitch.





Twitch and Comfort. This was one of our favorite
dances. Kade loves dancing to this song.



All time favorite of the year. Katee and Will.
My two favorite dancers of the season!

2.Taking a hammer to my tile and breaking it, piece by piece. I know there are people out there that don't even have floors and I should be grateful for the one I have. But believe me, I've lived without "a floor" for about 4 days and I much preferred having no floor then my tile floor. For anybody that has been to my house you have probably tripped on a loose piece of tile (sorry for that.) Well Wednesday I walked into the kitchen to start making dinner, and that's what happened to me, I tripped on the tile, and I lost it. I grabbed the hammer and started going to town. Mike quickly joined me. I think this might have been one of the best days! Starting tomorrow we will have somebody come in and start laying hardwood down.






3. I am ready to hibernate for the winter. I have spent 2 days this week making strawberry jam. We also made a batch of strawberry/peach jam that turned out pretty good. This is a MUST before winter comes around my house. My Grandma always had homemade strawberry jam and because of this my family and I have become jam snobs...only homemade will do! Brayden came home from school and was so happy! He hugged me for ever and thanked me over and over for making him jam. Now we are officially ready for winter.

Since we had some leftover strawberries, I decided to make myself a strawberry pie. I was going to take a picture but we (as in Mike and I) devoured it before I could. Strawberry pie is comfort food for me. I have memories of my Grandma and my Mom making Strawberry pie. mmmm! I love strawberry pie!

4. We went on a drive the other night. Both Brayden and Kade had strep throat and nothing would keep them happy so we just decided to drive. We ended up driving up by the mountains to look for deer. Brayden ended up spotting about 10 deer. The first thing Kade did when he saw them was get out his little finger gun point it at the deer and yell "ping ping!" My little brother has been hunting a lot and I think been teaching him a few too many things. I love seeing the deer, apparently my kids love trying to kill the deer.

5. Grey's Anatomy. It's BAAACK!!! Not only is it back but the season of show's are back. We were able to sit down tonight with the family and watch our favorite, The Amazing Race. I love being able to cuddle up on the couch with treats and blankets and a good show to watch.

Birthday Today

My kids love holidays, they always run into my room after they wake up bursting out, "Happy....." Today was no exception. However, they weren't celebrating the first day of fall like some might think. They were celebrating Grandpa Bill's birthday. They weren't able to pick up the phone and sing him Happy Birthday, and they won't be able to give him birthday spankings. However they still will be making him birthday cards, we went and bought him a BYU flag, and later we will still go visit him, and we will be going to his favorite place to have ice cream....Leatherby's (he always loved a good bowl of ice cream!) We are sad that he's not here but we are going to celebrate his life that he had, even if he's not here to share it with us. Happy Birthday Bill!

Busy, Fun Weekend

I have been working really hard on building my food storage but I have also wanted to learn how to do some things for myself in case I ever need these skills. I went and bought a bunch of yummy peaches and decided I wanted to learn how to can them. My good friends Krista and Sherri came over and we made a day of it. My stove took so long to heat up, it took so long to get those 2 big pots of water boiling. It was a fun day though, we had lunch together, the kids played and I finally have joined the "canning club." I swear there is a little secret club out there. When I went to buy all my jars and lids and stuff all these women at the store were all the sudden my secret little friends. They saw the jars in my cart and and smile at me and say, "Oh your canning today, what are you canning? I canned tomatoes yesterday." I got that from like 3 or 4 people. One women told me where to go to buy my stuff because she had already been to 2 other stores to check out prices. So if you ever want to join the "club" let me know it seems easier to do it with someone else...and a lot more fun.






I also made a REALLY yummy peach cobbler tonight with my peaches. And it was super easy. Thanks Krista for the recipe. Hopefully it's ok to share

Peach Cobbler
Poor 2 bottles of peaches in the bottom of a 9x13 pan with juices
Sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon and sugar on top of that
Pour a white or yellow cake mix on top of that and then pat it down so it's moist from the juices.
Melt one cube of butter and pour on top
Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top again

Bake at the same temp. that cake mix says to bake at. I cooked it for about 35 min.

Friday night Brayden had a soccer game. He is loving his team and enjoying playing so much. Kaylee has made some friends with the players little sisters and Kade just enjoys being there and stealing the players balls and kicking them around while they are playing the game. During the game Kade stripped down his shirt and put on Brayden's sweatshirt. It is so fun to watch them and see how much they have learned so far this year, some of these boys are so good!

Saturday morning I decided to have a yard sale. I have accumulated so much stuff and I just couldn't bear just taking it to the D.I. I had so many baby boy clothes, a double stroller (that I had barely ever used.) I had a bunch of really good pants that I can no longer fit into, we had a weed whacker. I talked the kids into clearing out their toys and they got to keep the money that they earned (they made about $20..they were ecstatic!!) So I decided it was yard sale time! I enlisted the help of my friend Brandi, who did some advertising for me, we borrowed some pre-made signs from another neighbor. And we were set! Overall we did pretty good. My goal was to make enough money to buy a new desk and I hit my goal! The kids were funny once the traffic died down they stood on the corner and tried to drive traffic towards our house.






Mike is all gung ho for a yard sale next year. He wants the circle full of people saleing things. He says the yard sale thing is addicting. He's gonna have give aways and music and everything. So start saving your "junk" because believe me, people will buy it!

Saturday night we had the opportunity to go to the last Real game that will be held at Rice Eccles Stadium. We have had a lot of fun memories at the games there, but we are excited for the new stadium. It was cold and rainy but we enjoyed ourselves (even though we didn't stay til the end.) Have I ever mentioned that Mike is weird about staying until the end of things??? Brayden was a little bugged by it, just like his Grandpa always was.

Sunday I had sharing time. My topic was Heavenly Father knows me. He will answer my prayers in ways that are best for me. I was excited for this topic because I feel like I have had first hand experience with this especially this month. I have had an overwhelming feeling that my Heavenly Father is watching out for me and that I can turn to him for anything. The problem is trying to get that into the head of little three year olds who would rather be playing with their neighbor. I wish so bad I could have left Sunday making each one of them realize this. But what was I expecting? Here I am 27 and I just barely truly recognizing it for myself. It's a good thing I'm not their only teacher, I'm not the only one that has to teach them this, they have a lifetime to learn this. If they could only grasp this concept now, their life would be so much easier.

Made in China

Mike was talking to the kids about scarecrows. He said, "Do you know what the purpose of a scarecrow is?" And Brayden responded, "Yeah, the farmer's use them to scare the crow's away." And Mike said, " So, where do you think they get their name from." And Kaylee said, "Probably from China! Everything's Made in China!" It was so funny!

Belonging

While getting ready this morning I overheard Kaylee asking Brayden a random question but it's made me think a lot.

Kaylee: Brayden, do you ever feel like you don't belong?
Brayden: Why would you ever feel that way?
Kaylee: I don't know, Just wondering if you ever felt that way.

That was all their was to their little conversation and then they both went on to doing their own things. But I have been left thinking about it all day. I'm glad that my kids have each other and feel like they can trust each other to talk to each other. Her question just shocked me. She is surrounded by so many people that love and care for her, she has lots of friends and she is so outgoing. I thought to myself, "How could she ever feel like she doesn't belong?" Then I began to think that their are probably so many people out their struggling with this that I probably would never know about. People that I think have so many friends, but inside feel so alone. I know their have been so many times in my life where I feel like I just don't belong and I have felt like I just didn't have anybody to talk to about it. But nobody else knew I was struggling with this. So to anybody that is struggling with this I'm sorry. You're not alone.

Here is something that I have found very comforting: While you’re working on all of this, don’t forget your Friend from Galilee, the one who proved the depth of his friendship by giving his very life for you, and who says, “Ye are my friends.” Tell him of your need. Ask Heavenly Father in the name of your Eternal Friend to help you find the other friends who are looking for you. And ask him to sustain you until you find those friends. (Q&A: Questions and Answers,” New Era, Sep 1988)

I looked out my window...

I looked out my window and what did I see? A bright red leaf on my little oak tree!

This is officially my first leaf to change colors, I'm so excited! I love fall. I love being able to open up my windows and get a nice breeze and get some fresh air in my house. I love the crisp air, being able to wear long sleeves, I love the rain (especially the smell,) I love making soup on a chilly day, I love getting ready for Halloween, I just love this time of year!

"I FINE!!"

About 1:00 am we were woken up to Kade crying. I went to get him and much to my dismay, their was throw up everywhere. I grabbed him and took him to the toilet and he immediately started telling me, "I OK. I FINE!" He didn't want me fussing over him. I cleaned up his room and Mike threw him in the tub. But unfortunately the throwing up continued through out the night. We made ourselves a comfy little bed on the couch for the two of us. But every time I tried to catch the throw up in the bowl he would yell at me (even between hurling) "I FINE!" He didn't want anything to do with the bowl and he didn't want it in his face. He was so funny and so insistent that nothing was wrong with him.

We stopped and got Cafe Rio on the way home from the temple last night and he quickly indulged himself in it....it's his favorite. So I'm not sure if the Cafe Rio upset his stomach (Mike and I were both feeling sick as well) or if he has a stomach bug. He finally stopped throwing up around 3:00 this afternoon and seems to be feeling much better. But after no sleep last night I am ready to go check in for the night! But if you ask him- He's just FINE!!!!

I tried taking pictures of him last night while he was sleeping. I loved laying next him watching him sleep. But the flash on my camera was so bright it was making him so mad! He was just so precious, at least while he was sleeping.

Learning to Let Loose....

I have the type of personality that likes to have a plan, even if the plan is just to hang out, I need to know the plan. I think I drive Mike crazy sometimes because I'm always asking, "What's the plan?" I'm not the type of person that can just fly by the seat of my pants, if it's not in "the plan" I have a hard time doing it. We are pretty rigid in our daily schedule. We do our "stuff" in the morning, have lunch, We nap around 1 or 1:30 for about 2 hours and then we have time to go play for a little while before we have to start dinner and do soccer practice and stuff, and then the kids are in bed by 7:30.

Well, Friday morning we had a slow morning, and nothing was planned for the day. It was the kids last day being off track and a beautiful day. I absolutely didn't want to just sit around all day because we would all go crazy. I decided that our daily schedule was going out the window (This is big for me, when I talked to Mike, he said, "you did what?") I packed the kids in the car made a lunch and we went up to the Copper Mine. They had fun looking at all the big tractors. Kade kept saying "Whoa man!" They were intrigued with the big holes in the mountain. Brayden thought it would be fun to be able to take a dirt bike up the mountain.

After we did this we went over to my dad's house to help them get ready for a party and let the kids run around a little (they were more of a distraction then help but what can you do when you have to drag around 4 kids. ) But why I mention this, is because it was a big step for me. I went during Kade's nap time, and it didn't even bother me. I didn't even attempt to nap him that day...and surprise!!! We all survived! Really he hasn't been napping anyway, he just lays in his room and plays with a car or something. So it wasn't that big of a deal.

Also, a while back my Dad asked Kaylee if she likes to stay up late and look at the stars. Kaylee looked at him really weird and said, "Why would I do that?" I got to thinking I'm not sure if my kids have even seen the stars. I put them down so early it's still light outside. So Kaylee has been asking me if she can stay up and look at the stars with me. So Friday night after we put Kade to bed Brayden, Kaylee, me and Mike layed blankets down in the backyard and went star gazing. Kaylee loved it and was mesmerized by all the stars.

So overall we had a good day even though I didn't make any plans, no nap, and the kids stayed up way past their bedtime.

Evaluation

Lately I've been spending a lot of time evaluating myself, my life, my kids, etc. I don't like to do this because it always leaves me feeling a little depressed. I think naturally as humans we tend to be harder on ourselves then we should be, but I do have a purpose in doing this. My main goal is to find the areas in my life that I can make more fulfilling and make me a happier person. When you wake up day after day and just go through the motions of each day, it becomes so draining. It's amazing if you look at each area of your life and see how you can better it, it seems like things don't seem so difficult after all. I've spent a lot of time on my knees praying for additional guidance, and I am grateful that my Heavenly Father knows me and knows exactly what I need at exactly the right time. He does answer our prayers.


One area that I want to focus more directly on is the way that I blog, I know this sounds kind of weird. I started up my blog about a year ago and I am so grateful for all the documenting of life that I have been able to do, but it's not enough. Looking back their are periods in my life that are seriously a blur to me, I really wonder if I was present during those times. One of those times was during Kaylee's first year of life. I really don't remember much about it, I really don't have many pictures either. This makes me so sad. I really don't know what happened to me during this time. Another area that is kind of a blur to me is this past year. I think back to a year ago and it makes me sick to think a year has past, I'm not sure where it has gone. I am so grateful that I have had my blog to document what has happened. But I haven't documented it well enough. Honestly, in 20 years I am not going to care that Thanksgiving Point was packed and crazy when I went. I want to remember all the moments, and feelings of the things that are happening while we are doing those things.


Here are some of the things I want to remember in 20, 30, 40 years....


*When Brayden gets excited he rubs his hands together, His butt cheeks squeeze together, his face scrunches up, and he squeels with delight.


*When music comes on in the car all three kids start jamming. Brayden loves getting down and he thinks hip-hop is so cool.


*I love the theatrics they put on at dinner time. They can find such delight in anything they do. Even if it's putting cucumbers on their eyes, a pot on their head, or giving themselves a fat lip by shoving food in their lip.

*I love when Kade wants to get one of us out of bed he will sit and blow on your belly until you decide to do what he wants. And usually the other two will join in with him. He doesn't usually do a very good job at it though because he is giggling so hard.

*I love that each of my kids want special "tuck me in time" with me, even if Dad has already done it. Some nights it may drive me crazy because it takes so long, but it gives me an opportunity to talk with each one of them, read with each of them, sing with each of them, and snuggle them. I wouldn't trade this time for anything.

*I love that when I try to punish Kade and put him in his room he sits their quietly for a minute and then sneaks out quietly and then gives me a sly smile and a really loud "TA-DA!" Like look at me I'm out of my room! He is so hard to get mad at!

*I love the random ways Kaylee will fall asleep at night. She usually will come out of her bed at least 8-10 times before she finally falls asleep. She will try to talk me into coming to bed with her and then we have found her in some funny positions when she finally crashes for the night.

*I love taking walks with the family. I love the excitement on Kade's face when he gets to ride his new bike when we go on our walk. I love our neighborhood and being able to stop and talk to people along the way as we are walking. I love that my kids love our neighborhood and the people in it. Enough in fact, that when we stop to talk they welcome themselves into their home and help themselves to their food (Sorry Krista and Brandi. Kade sure enjoyed it though!) It's a little embarrassing but I love that they feel comfortable enough around people and love these people enough that they can just do what ever around them. This is a quality that I don't have so I'm glad my kids have it. Even if it means stealing peoples food.

*I love the funny things my kids say. They make me laugh all the time. Here are some things I don't want to forget.
Kaylee thinks I should wear headbands more often, but I told her they give me bad headaches. So she said she would start praying for me that headbands won't hurt my head. She said she thinks Heavenly Father will help me with that one. I love that EVERY single night that she prays that she prays that my headaches will go away. Oh the faith of a child.
*The other night Mike and I were going out and she wanted to know what we were doing for our date. And I asked her what she thought we should do. She picked out an outfit and said that I should wear it because Dad would walk in and say I would look Hot! And then he would take me dancing and maybe if I was good he would take me to dinner and then to Leatherby's and then we could go shopping. And then she said we could come home and snuggle together. Then she proceeded to ask me if Mike and I gave each other lots of kisses when we went to bed together....HUH?!? She caught me off guard with that one. Her husband better watch out!!

Kade followed me around the house the other day with a gallon of ice cream begging for me to let him eat it. His excuse was "It's my favwut (favorite) I wuv (love) it!" It was so dang cute. The problem is that he is constantly finding junk all over the place wanting it and he says, but I wuv it! I also love the way he says "Yesh." (yes) He says it to everything but he says it so funny. He is also very proud when he goes potty and gives me play by play about what happens in the toilet. Like "I just Fwart." and "it's coming." and "one more." I know too many details but he really just makes me laugh all day.

Brayden is just funny now that he is getting bigger and starting to use bigger words. He is constantly saying everything is awkward. I'm not really sure he knows what it means but I think he heard somebody else say it. He wants an ipod and wants to listen to his "own" cool music. I think he is just trying to figure himself out. I can't believe he is getting so big!

So here are just a few, OK so a lot, of things from our world. Hopefully I can stay on top of documenting my feelings and the things that really matter in my life. I hope one day I can look back and be happy I took the time to do all this. And when my kids are big and grown I will be able to remember their little chubby faces and the way they said all the little funny things to me.