Busy!

That is what you could call this beautiful fall month of mine! Busier than I would like to be that's for sure. We had another fun time with Grandma and Grandpa for a week. They started out in New Mexico to watch the famous hot air balloon festival and when the balloons couldn't take off because of the weather they were out of there and took a detour to Santaquin. A 600 mile detour to be exact. The kids really love when they come and who wouldn't they get tons of attention, love, tickling, kissing, long walks, hiking, donuts, ice cream, hugging, rides to school in the Corvette, card games, and much more. They are so good to travel all the way up here to see the kids. (they really don't care to see us, it's all about the kids.) They were also nice enough to take us to dinner before they left at Market Street Grill. Yum! Jesse and I would go there for our birthday's because it was so yummy (and I always received a gift card from my employer) but since moving to Santaquin we haven't been there since. I think that I said, "this is so good" about 50 times. I could have gone home after the Clam Chowder. It's always a good time when the "Whitney's" come in town! I would love to show some of the fun things that we did like, hiking the "Y", (this time Dylan passed gas on the "Y" OH, his Dad is teaching him young!), the Haunted Provo River Cruise, (nothing to write home about), the many trips to the fruit stand, (I'm still not sick of squash or peaches), but someone (Jesse) has lost the camera. Sad.

Here we go~

First:
We had our first annual "End of Summer Party" We had so much fun this will be a long tradition. Who knew pizza, 10 bucks of plastic and a bottle of baby oil could be so much fun!



Second:
Another visit from Grandma and Grandpa is always great. We all went to Snowbird to attend Jesse's cousin John's weeding reception. It was a beautiful reception up in the mountains. It was a really nice dinner party and I think I promised the kids to be on their best behavior and the reward would be donuts. My kids will do anything for a donut! Of course they were perfect! I love this photo of Sophie and her Grandpa, you can just feel the love between them.


Third:
My sweet neice Princess Shaylei got married to her Prince Steven in the SL Temple. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun. It was so special to have our family in the temple to share in her special day. My camera was in my purse the entire day and do you think that I snapped one photo??? NOPE!
Fourth:
We had our first "official" sleep over with friends. They had so much fun and they actually went to bed at a reasonable hour! The kids with Mason and Jacee!

Fifth:
For the 24th of July we had a chance to stay in my friend Jackie's condo up at the Gateway. It was a lot of fun, the kids had the best time in the fountains. It was great to walk out your front door and be in the middle of an outside mall. Thanks Jack!

sixth:
The first day of School. My wonderful boy started second grade and I still can't believe it. He was so excited!He has two teachers, they team teach and at first he was a little nervious to have two teachers but now he LOVES it. They are great! Then my sweet Sophie started Kindergarten, I know give me a moment....She was SUPER excited to go to school and to be close to her brother. Her classroom is right around the corner from his and she loves it! I just went to SEP's and Sophie's teacher Mrs. Esquerra said that the best part of her day is when Dylan comes to pick her up and both of their eyes just light up when they see each other. Ohh!




Seventh:
On Labor Day we left and headed to Montana to Uncle Scott's wedding reception. We were sad that Uncle Dave and Daddy could'nt join us they were working but, that meant that Aunt Lynnie and I could ride up together which was one of the best parts of the trip. Just chattin with my sis and the kids completely entertained by their sweet cousin Kenadie was a perfect way to spend 8 hours!! Uncle Scott was nice enough to host all of us at his home. We all camped outside of his house, it was a big "Shuman" rondavue. I think I laughed the entire weekend, between my sister and her girls it was a riot. I also think I saw my kids once a day and that was at night, they played with cousins all day. Super fun! We went to a beautiful lake and Dylan once again amazed me with his Kayaking skills, he loves it. I was a little nervious the whole time because the water was freezing and if he fell in I was perpared to turn on my past lifeguarding skills to save him...Great Memories!





Eighth:
The kids had a wonderful oppurtunity to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa in Arizona. They just can't stand to be away from them for too long aren't they the best. Jesse and I took them half way to Page, AZ. I cried when we left and about five more times until we got home. Then I cried after I would talk to them on the phone every morning. Ohh and then again at night when I went to bed...They had a wonderful time swimming, playing with cousins and just getting spoiled for a week. Jesse and I felt like we were dating that week. We planned something every night to keep us busy. We went to the temple, dinner, hiked the "Y" (I know, I couldn't believe that Jesse would do that but he did. He spit on it a couple of time just to note), dinner with cousins, movies, and much more! It was a great week all around!
Not a great photo of us all sweaty and hot but I had to prove that we did it!
Ninth:
We had a great summer again we are so blessed to have wonderful fun memories with family. Ok, this post took me all day! Note to self, don't go four months without posting AGAIN!!!!

I'm Back Baby!!

Sooo much to post...all Summer and half of Fall! I hope that I can remember it all! Finally back to civilization with regular internet instead of dial-up! What were we thinking? More tomorrow!

Magic~

We were lucky to get to go to Disneyland this year with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jim, Aunt Ottie, Gregory and Ryan. We had a great time! We spent the first two days of our vacation at Newport beach. We secretly wish that we could have stayed there a couple more days. The kids loved the beach and the ocean it was their first time to see the ocean. Dylan sat down maybe once, he was in the water even though it was freezing, he was digging in the sand constantly, and running with his cousins, he loved it. My little Sophie played in the sand all day, finding shells, filling up buckets with sand, she loved it. We stayed at a wonderful house on the peninsula it was two blocks from the ocean and right on the harbour. It was beautiful! Jesse and I rented beach cruiser bikes and rode the boardwalk and around the entire peninsula. My hiney was a little sore but that might have been the highlight of the trip we had so much fun! We stopped at the pier and I had a frozen banana my new favorite treat! Yum! We also at at the famous Crab Cooker! Fantastic the best shrimp and scallions that I have ever had. (My mouth is watering just typing it!)

Next stop Disneyland! Disneyland is nastalgic for me, some of my favorite memories as a little girl were at Disneyland. It makes me smile and get emotional when I see my kids there. I feel that I have come full circle. My Mom and Dad always made our trips to Disneyland magical. I hope that Jesse and I did the same for our kids. We got to stay at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. It was really nice to be so close to the park. When you walked into the hotel you could smell suntan lotion so yummy. We spent five glorious days at Disneyland and California Adventure, daddy thought that three was enough but I could have done it for seven. :)

Jesse and Dylan soaked on Grizzly River Rapids!

Sophia with the "real" Cinderella! I thought that she was real too. Her voice was amazing and she asked Sophie where she was from and I said Utah and she said (in the best Cinderella voice ever) "Did you ride your horse and carriage all the way here? What a long journey you have been on!" I got goosebumps and Sophie was in Princess heaven! So fun!



Dylan loved Grizzly River Rapids, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Soaring over California and Buzz Light year. Sophie loved Tea Cups, Dumbo, Monsters Inc., and the Toon Town Roller Coaster. She went on Big Thunder but about half way through she started to cry (she didn't like when it went dark!) My favorites were the Churios, The Screamer, Big Thunder and especially Soaring over California. It's my favorite and Jesse's too! Dylan went on anything, which surprised me a little he is usually so cautious, I think that having 2 older boy cousins helped a little. We loved watching the parades and fireworks and the kids especially loved the water slide at the hotel. What a wonderful week we had with family. Ohh, if we could only be on vacation all the time. Back to work! :(

Mother's Day Belated and Sophie's Graduation

(We look like two Vampires! I think Dylan had the flash on!)
We had a great day on Mother's Day! I think that I get it from my mom but I decide that on Mother's Day you don't have to go to church. So my sweet husband made me blueberry pancakes and eggs. He makes the best eggs! Then he fixed us lunch for our picnic to Scofield Reservoir. We love the drive there, but it was a little too early in the year there was still snow and it was cold. But we enjoyed ourselves anyway. Then we rushed to my sister's house and had a wonderful dinner with my mom and sis and the girls. We love Aunt Lynnie's house and she is a wonderful cook. The classic line of the day was given by Dylan himself. He said, "Mom so when it's Father's Day it will be just like normal because you do everything anyway!" Thank you Dylan! Jesse just laughed and really didn't know what to say. We all know that he does a lot of things that they don't see. ~wink~ We had a fun filled day, there is nothing better than a fun day with family. They Rock!

Next:
Sophie's Graduation!

Ohh, my sweet, shy girl! We got to her graduation a little early and she said that we might be a little too close if we sat in the front row. You know the kids that wave like crazy at their moms and dads. Well Sophie isn't one of them. Every time I waved at her she hurried and turned away and smiled. She was so bashful it was funny. I, as always, cried and got emotional. I don't what it is about their programs but I loose it every time. I think your mind floods with memories, wishing they were small again, wishing that I could turn back time. At least I'm not alone my hubby is there right along with me. Ohh! We checked Dylan out of school so that he could join us, and he was so proud of his sissy. Next stop of course Sophie chose Fat Jack's for pizza. This girl loves her pizza and ever since Jesse and I are eating a lot better, she doesn't get to go there anymore. We are so proud of Sophie and we can't believe that Kindergarten is around the corner. ~sniff, sniff~

Ironing~

I busted out the iron and the ironing board this afternoon and Sophia was completely fascinated with it. Can you tell it has been a while since I have ironed. I have maybe ironed a dozen things since we have lived here (3 1/2 yrs). She wanted to know everything about it, how it made the clothes flat, why is it hot, why am I doing it, everything. I am a huge fan of wrinkle releaser can you tell? Note to self, bust out the ironing a little more often so that my daughter will not be so fascinated with it.

What is my deal???

I can't figure out why I don't blog anymore? Is it the new dog? Is it work? Is it the kids? Is it just life? I really need to be better. The memories are slipping away....
A couple of things before I forget.....
- My baby girl turned 5 on April 4th....I never thought that she would would be my baby, I always thought that there would be more, so this birthday made me really sad.
We had a special time with both sets of Grandparents to help us celebrate. Sophie wanted to go to Fat Jacks and then eat cupcakes, and we did just that! She is such a sweet girl, I love her so much!
- Little Ricky Bobby is cute, but I have a two year old running around the house.(He is biting my feet underneath my desk as I'm trying to type, little baby teeth hurt!) The potty training is going ok, (I say the with some hesitation) My last potty training experience was with my Sierra (a Lab) that had only two accidents in the house in her entire life! So little Ricky is a big adjustment for me.
- Sophie likes to tell me what letter or number Ricky's poop is in the shape of. Usually "L's", "J's" or "7's" it's good to know.
- If you spend just a tiny bit of time with Sophie and Ricky you will know that they love each other completely. It is so sweet.
- Jesse won the Biggest Loser Competition! I'm so proud of him he lost 52 pounds in 12 weeks! Impressive I know. He is the most self motivated person that I have ever met. I remember telling him about this competition and I said I think we need to do it and he said "If I'm doing this thing I'm going to win it" and I knew he would. He worked so hard and really did awesome.
- Ohh, and I won the 2nd grand prize. I lost the most inches. 16 and 3/4 to be exact. I thought it was pretty cool that we swept the prizes. Don't ask us what our little town has given us, they are a little slow with the rewards. ;)
- For Spring Break Jesse and I got away for a couple of nights to St. George. Grandma and Grandpa were coming in town so we decide that we had free babysitting and we were out of here. We had a blast hiking around Snow Canyon State Park. The scenery is amazing. We hiked all but one trail in the park. (We think we are all in shape now) It was so nice to get away with my best friend. I had wonderful pictures, but I forgot the memory card...nice uh!....
- Grandma and Grandpa were as always the hit for the kids. I told Jesse that I think, and I know that Grandma and Grandpa can make our kids laugh better than we can. Even when I do my funny dance in the kitchen, it holds nothing to Grandma and Grandpa. My kids are so lucky to have such wonderful sets of grandparents that truly love them unconditionally. I am so grateful for that.
- My Dylan is so smart, he is a math whiz. He is now dividing, multiplying, and adding stacks of numbers like crazy. I am so proud of him. He comes home from school with little rewards everyday because he has been such a great kid in school. He is awesome!
- I love General Conference. It makes me so proud to be a part of this church and to be a part of such a wonderful thing. Jesse and I were traveling on Sunday down to St. George and we had the chance to listen to conference in peace with no kids or dog to distract us. I have to say I totally recommend this. I really got a lot out of conference and we both felt the Spirit so strong that we pretty much cried for the full two hours. What a neat car ride.
- The puppy has now crashed and is no longer biting my toes! Ya!
- I need to do better in a lot of things. Sometimes as a mom I feel like I live day to day with a constant list. I always make time to do something fun with the kids but I always plan it. I think that I need to work on not always trying to complete my list for the day. I felt so guilty today while I was doing the dishes Sophie asked me to look at something and I caught myself saying, "ohh ya that's neat" and I wasn't even looking at what she had to show me. I need to be better.
-I love my kids so much! I'm so blessed each day!