Look at these cuties!

We love our kids!

Birthday week for Sydney!

Let me just update you on the birthday week festivities for Sydney! It all started on Saturday, when GG Arvy came to Kville to watch soccer games. Since they are going to be out of town for Sydney's birthday (they love to vacation this particular week yearly), we decided to have an impromptu birthday party. I baked a cake, we had some lunch and Sydney got her favorite obsession as a gift: WebKinz! And not just one....Three! Immediately, she had to 'adopt' them on the computer and loves, loves, loves them. As a side note (and for journaling purposes), on Saturday night the kids went with my parents to Garrett's first birthday party at Rog & Cozette's. Mike & I went to our high school reunion committee bbq (events will not be posted, but I will tell you about them if you ask!). Thanks for taking our kids GGGib. Sunday, we had a little family birthday lunch because we had picked up the Backer's cake on Saturday (do to scheduling conflicts). We bbq some steaks, had potatoes and ate cake all before church! (After church we went to Scott & Kellie's for Renae's bday celebration. We have A LOT of family birthdays this week-thanks for a fun evening S&K-and I also took the world's best piece of sheet cake which was a hit). Monday, we had GG Gib up for dinner and Skookies (we are burned out on cake now). Sydney loves the littlest pet shop animal and immediately had to 'adopt' her on-line, also. We were ok with her playing on the computer because after her SCREAM of joy that left us with minor hearing loss. That girl can scream....Here she is in mid-scream!
Did I surprise everyone but Grandpa? Thanks for smiling, Papa!

Tomorrow is Sydney's actual birthday! Tomorrow she will get her family presents and celebrate at school. Then later this week, she will have a combo birthday party with her BFF, Abby. I will post that later as it should be a fabulous event!

So, I thought I would just leave this post with Seven Things I Like About Sydney! (Sounds like a song, huh!...Darin, that's Miley CyPRUS, in case you were wondering).
1. Sydney's smile! She can light up a room and is a beautiful girl with hair like spun gold!
2. Sydney's kindness. Especially with kids younger than she is. She LOVES babies! And she wants to hold them forever. She was especially good at this when Brandon was an infant. She makes friends fast and loves spending time with them. 3. Sydney's imagination! She makes up the best games and throws great parties! She is a very creative fashion designer with her own portfolio. Ask her, she'll show you. She sleeps with all her stuffed animals on her bed. There is hardly room for her! But, she doesn't want any of them to 'feel bad' so she gives them all a good-night sleep.
4. Sydney's determination: She is strong-willed. But as we have seen her grow-up, we see how that is working to her advantage. She is a great reader, good friend, and works hard at all her activities. I even saw this as she walked to the bus stop in the pouring rain this morning (her older sibling would have been begging for a ride-oh, she actually got one, but that's another story). Sydney gave a talk in Primary this week. Normally, she gets so scared that she only gets through half of her talk, and then breaks down in tears. This week, she gave her whole talk...all by herself and not one tear or nervous thought! Way to go, Syd Syd! 5. Sydney's love for family: Sydney has always been a Mama's girl and I have really come to appreciate it. She LOVES her Daddy and gives him the best hugs! She really loves Amanda and looks up to her (although the sibling fighting is alive and well between them). I know that these sisters will be close forever (Lucky girls). And Brandon is Sydney's baby. She always makes sure he is taken care of. She LOVES her grandparents and cousins! 6. Sydney's Curiosity: Sydney loves to learn new things! I'm sure if she had a better mother, she'd be quite the well-rounded child! She always wants to help me cook....even if she gets to put in just one ingredient. She constantly asks questions and won't settle unless it's a good answer. 7. Sydney's Joy for Life: Sydney loves life. She is always going. She wants to always be with people. She is a very important part of our family and we are so glad she is our girl!
We Love You!
Happy Birthday, Syd Syd!

Father/Son Bonding

Three years and roughly 4 months ago, we welcomed our little Brandon into our family. On that day, Daddy took the girls out and bought their new baby brother a couple of presents.

A storm trooper and R2D2 stuffed dolls. Seems little Brando decided to come to Earth on the same day the last Star Wars movie opened. I just thought it was cute that Daddy had found some cute boy, soft toys that a baby could eventually play with and not poke his eye out.

Fast forward 3 years and roughly 4 months later when Mikey asks me tonight if I remember loving these movies as kids. He said he always wanted the girls to really like these shows (they are indifferent), but he loves that Bubba is obessesed with Star Wars!

And that they can hang out at night and watch guy shows.

Here is our nightly ritual:

Brandon: Dad, let's watch Star Wars!

Dad: Ok, which one?

Brandon: The one with the scary guy and the one guy.

Dad: With Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker?

Brandon: Ya

Then, they watch.

Then, Dad falls asleep.

Then, Brandon watches the rest of the show

unless I turn it off because he needs to go to sleep

and I want my spot in the bed back!

May the Force be with You!

Easy way to help out!

Hi friends! I just wanted to pass this along in hopes that you can help out. I think with the economy the way it is, charity organizations will start to suffer. My Dad works for Operation Kids (OK) in Salt Lake City. It's a great organization that raises money for children's charities. It is a not-for-profit organization and they are always looking for ways to increase their donations.
A super easy way is to have people like you and me, use the yahoo search engine called http://www.goodsearch.com/

It works exactly the same as the other search engines, you just need to specify that the charity is Operation Kids (I have only had to do it once, but check to make sure each time you use it). For each search, GoodSearch will donate a penny to Operation Kids.

It seems like a small thing, but pennies can add up fast.

And it's free for us!
I attached part of my Dad's e-mail. Thank you for helping out!
GoodSearch.com
Operation Kids is now a charity represented on GoodSearch.com. We encourage you to use GoodSearch.com, the Yahoo-powered search engine, for all of your web searches, as we receive a penny every time you do a search! Simply select "Operation Kids" as your charity on GoodSearch.com and then search the web just as you normally would. Or, click this link to get started: http://www.blogger.com/

Additionally, you can do all of your online shopping through GoodShop.com, the online shopping mall which donates a percentage of each purchase to us! Hundreds of great stores including Target, Gap, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Macy's and eBay have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you'll be supporting Operation Kids!

I love when I can donate to a charity and not use my money! Everybody wins!!!!!

Boys and the Porcelain Throne

Update on Brandon's potty training. He's finally decided that he knows how to pee in the potty! YEA! He does it most days frequently. He does NOT want to try #2. Patience. I've decided that while he's in the house, he wears underwear. Cross your fingers.

We are teaching Brandon to sit while he's learning the potty process. It has definitely cut down on the mess, but I have been wishing that it was the norm for boys of all ages to sit! Here's why:

Brandon has 2 friends over right now. One friend needed to potty. I asked if he needs help...he says no. I check the bathroom once he's finished. I think he was playing SPRINKLER! There was pee EVERYWHERE! Not just around the potty vicinity, but over by the sink and door...WHAT? I'm wondering if he knew there was a potty in the same room! So, there I was, cleaning the same bathroom that was scrubbed yesterday. Yuck!

That reminded me of another time the kids had a friend over. He went to use the potty. This was the same bathroom which we kept the puppy's kennel in. Apparently, the kennel was of some interest to said boy because there was pee all over the kennel and not one drop in the toliet! Another fun clean up...I just took it outside and sprayed the heck out of it and then Lysol'd the heck out of it.

I know we are just getting started and we are up for a lifetime of 'sprinkers'...I'm saying a little prayer right now for all those who clean up pee! Amen.

Tagged!

Ok, I got tagged by Alisa to go around my house right now and take pictures of things in it....here it goes...no photo editing applied:

Brandon rockin' out
Brandon's room...just keeping it real, folks

My bamboo plant that was present from the Baumanns when I graduated from the U. It only likes the kid's bathroom. It gets sad and starts to die when we move it. (It's the only plant in our house right now!) Maybe it likes to look at itself in the mirror!

By the way, the bathroom is clean! I cleaned it 5 hours ago!

I still love my china hutch and my beautiful dishes! Actually, I love my dining room although we don't use it every week.

Here are the cookies I baked for the girls for after school. Here are the cookies I burnt while running around the house taking these pictures!
My desk...cleaner than normal.

My office...'Piano Studio' teacher chair, little fan on the ground, stacks of music books and in the background-the awesome theory laptop computer!

Sydney's school assignment. I thought it was so cute. You should see how big she drew my bosom...but I love the itty bitty waist!

Shoes...someone ALWAYS has shoes out...these just happen to be Brandon's.

And this just sums it up:

On my wall by the garage door

Now, I tag Mom, Makell and anyone who hasn't been tagged! Have fun!

a little update

Ok, I think the washing machine and clothes are A-OK. When I dried the 'diaper clothes' there was a TON of lint, but everything smells downy fresh!

I love KSL Classifieds...can I just tell you?

I just spent 2 hours cutting up raw chicken....yuck! (Food storage item that we got through church-40 pounds of chicken, but I was surprised at how much I had to trim before putting in Ziplocs and into the freezer. Glad that's over).

For those interested in Amanda's Nutcracker performance, I have a little info...Tickets are $6 and $9. Performances are Thursday, November 20th, Friday, November 21st, and a matinee and evening performances on Saturday, November 22nd (also the UTAH v byu game-Mike is shocked that the ballet school would schedule the Nutcracker on game day).

From what I understand, tickets get filled according to how many you sell...so that means if too many people want the Saturday matinee, the dancer who has sold a higher quantity of tickets gets priority, while the dancer who may have only sold her allotted 15, would possible not get tickets for that show (but would get tickets to another show). So, you may want to give me an optional performance date in case we get bumped. I hear that if you want to come Thursday, you will probably get them for sure (the hard one to get is the Saturday matinee). Just e-mail me or give me a call. Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest!

Have a happy day!

LemiShine

Ok girls...since you enjoyed my diaper drama so much, I would tell you where to get LemiShine, but I can't remember where I got it. It was probably at Albertsons, Wal-Mart or Target. Look in the aisle with the dishwashing detergent. Good Luck!


Update: My washer looks ok this morning...I just put in the load of diaper gel clothes...
cross your fingers!

Never try this at home

Guess what I did today? I washed a disposable diaper! I think maybe it was left in a pair of Brandon's pants and put in the laundry basket. I highly discourage you from washing disposable diapers....WHAT A MESS!

I took all the clothes that were in that load outside to shake the gel beads (or whatever those squishy things are) loose from the clothes before I wash them again.

This action COVERED me in gel beads....so much so that I had to take a shower!

I am now in the process of washing my washer. I'm going to try my favorite, LemiShine! I use this in my dishwasher whenever the glasses start looking cloudy. My friend says you can use it in your washing machine, per her repair man. I figure if those little gel beads are stuck in the 'holes' we could have some problems. So, I'm bringing out the big guns! (That would be the LemiShine).

(I was excited to find that The Pioneer Woman also uses and loves LemiShine!)

I'll let you know how everything turns out!

One more update

Marathon blogging...what are you going to do? Sydney got to go to DATC for a birthday party and get her nails and hair done! She came home with this DARLING hairdo...apparently it was the best hairdo as the other girls didn't get such glamorous hair! So, Sydney wanted a photo session.....I have to say, she sure looks cute!

Brandon's first day of Preschool!

So excited! Brandon first day of preschool with Miss Cindy

Brandon could not wait to go to school like his big sisters! For the first week of their school, he kept asking me, "Where do I go today, Mom?" The day finally arrived and he wore his backpack around the house from the moment he got dressed (not long after getting up) until we got in the car to go to school. When I picked him up, he had a huge smile on his face and said, 'That was FUN!"

Spencer and Brandon on the first day

He did have a bad day at school this week. I guess he thinks that he has a chair that is his. When one of the kids took it, he got upset. The teacher tried to explain to him that we share and he could sit somewhere else for the day. Well, he got more upset and pouted the rest of school. When I asked him how school was when he got home, he said bad because his teacher wouldn't let him sit in his spot. About an hour later, his teacher called me to explain and apologize and she was worried that he was mad at her. She said she would try to make sure he gets his spot each day. I told her that we have probably spoiled him too much and that he needs to learn to share, but I appreciate her willingness to work it out!
Oh my.....

St. George for Labor-less weekend

Since we hadn't been to St. George in awhile, we decided to spend Labor Day there. We really relaxed.....maybe a little too much! We did go to Tuachan for the first time. We saw Big River. It was good and the kids loved how they flooded the stage to make a river. It was a long show, however, and by the time it was over, only Amanda remained awake in the kid department! Then, we got in the car and the fuel light was on. So, we sat as the parking lot cleared so that we wouldn't run out of gas at Tuachan!
We took the kids swimming at the bubble. We ate out a few times, but mostly hung out and relaxed and spent time together. Amanda brought Wayne Wolf from her class. He gets to go on vacation anywhere in Utah as Amanda will be studying the counties in Utah.

School's in....

I know...it's the 3rd week of school, but I'm just getting to the first day of school pictures. The kids were excited. Sydney was a bit anxious, but did well once she met her teacher. So far, the girls love their teachers. Amanda has had a bunch of homework every night...quite the change from last year. The kids look soooo much older to me this year. What happened to our babies?

Amanda in 4th grade!

Sydney

Sydney is in 1st grade. Doesn't she look at little worried? She was worried that she would miss me too much because she was gone ALL day now. I told her I would miss her, but school is fun and will go by fast. She didn't have any problems and now enjoys school so much!

Here are some celebratory cartwheels....Sydney needed a picture for her 'get-to-know-you' project of things she likes to do...