May Day

I can't believe it's May! You always hear about how fast time flies, but honestly, it's speeding up everyday! Our ward activity went really well. I was really nervous about 6pm when it started and only 40 people were there. But, by 6:30p (not sure if it was a misunderstanding about what time it started, or just Mormon standard time) we had 70 people there! I'm still waiting for pictures from our volunteer photographer and will post when I get them.

But, I had to post what I saw the other day when I walked into my room. Great motivation to keep scrapbooking! I have been so lax on doing their books, but the kids love to have the hardcopy to browse through. It was so fun to look back to their births and forward. I'm so blessed!

Also, with our sudden jump to 80+ degrees here, the girls put up the water slide and spent all day for 3 days on it, until it got a hole! UGH! This is a 'toy' we cannot do without. Hopefully it's patchable as we haven't even started summer yet! Amanda and Sydney are seen here getting off the slide (and posing) and Amanda's friend, Hanalee is about to slide.

Brandon put one foot in the COLD water and decided the slide wasn't for him this day. Here's one of his favorite activities...driving his car.

And FINALLY, we got Sydney to let us pull out her front top tooth. We have been working on this tooth for over a month. For those of you who know Sydney, you know that she has an especially stubborn temperment and REFUSED to let us pull it. Well, out came the threats last night to call the dentist to get a shot and have her pull it out. This tooth was seriously dangling and she wasn't brushing her front teeth at all. So, after about 2 hours, she came to me and asked me to pull it out. We dabbed the orajel on her gums and with one very minor pull, out it came! Yippee! That prompted the call to Grandma Arveseth at 9:30pm to share the news!

We have a new niece!

Darin & Kat had their little girl today. Sydney, Brando and I went to the hospital as soon as we could. She is darling! Sydney LOVES babies and didn't want to stop holding her. And the golden question, "Are we going to have another baby in our family? Can we?" was non-stop all the way home (a 45 minute drive mind you!). Congrats D & Kat & Zach! She's soooo cute!

On another note: it's stress week here. Among other things, Mike and I have the ward party this Saturday. It's our first since being put in as Ward Activities Chairs here. We did this calling in our last ward, also. We have great commitee and are having a Fiesta themed party for the adults, complete with Latin dancing, pinatas and a chili eating contest. However, we had our first panic phone call from the food committe tonight~Emergency meeting set for tomorrow night! This calling is a fun one and we enjoy it, but the whole week before an activity is filled with stress!

Now add that to normal work, school, life, church, (and I'm being a hostess on Saturday morning for the Utah Heritage Foundation tour) stress and we will definately be glad when we get through Saturday! Pray for us!

One last note: If anyone knows Mike, you know how he feels about his cars. Well, last week, Brandon took a rock to the Caddy! I keep meaning to get out and get a picture, but it's been too late when Mike has gotten home. Anyway, at least the scratch was limited to the front side panel and I have to say that my hubby was so under control! I was so proud of him. I thought for sure he would lose it, but he didn't even raise his voice! I'm proud of you, babe! I'll post a picture soon so you all may share in our pain......(it's a good thing Brandon is cute!)

And still more

Oh, I forgot to put our kid's official Easter Sunday morning picture on the last post. Here they are all dressed up and ready to go to church. This was the best picture we could get this morning since they were already hopped up on sugar and wild! They are beautiful kids and we love them so much! (Ok, and even the dog looks cute in this picture!)

More Easter Stuff

Sydney & her friend, Abby

I kind of feel as if we have been celebrating the bunny part of Easter for a month! We had our neighborhood Easter egg hunt last Saturday and we had kids in each of the age categories this year. Luckily, someone smart puts this on and has the groups go at different times (as opposed to all at once), so we got to spend time with each of the kids on their hunt. Then, we ran to my brother, Dan's, for their annual Easter egg hunt.
Gibson kids at the hunt....Sydney & Brandon are right in the middle.

We weren't there long when we got a call that Amanda was ready to be picked up (earlier than we expected) from the birthday party she was attending at the Lion House. (This is a fun party for 8 year olds....all of Amanda's little friends have done this party. Including ours, she has been to 6 since October!). So, we made a mad dash to downtown to retrieve our gal. So many activities that hopefully the kids were able to enjoy and not feel rushed.

This weekend was the big move across country for my baby bro and his family. So, we stopped by to see their 2 week old baby boy and he is SO cute! So much dark hair that my sis-in-law has already styled it with hair gel. I told him he looked like a cute Elvis baby. (sorry, I didn't get pictures).

Monday, we got to bless Chase. It was fun because my Dad is a new bishop and was 'officiating' the blessing at his own home. We blessed Brandon at home and it was so wonderful, peaceful and we were surrounded by family. Blessing Chase was much the same way. I felt bad because Mike had left earlier that day on a business trip and couldn't be with us. Such is life. But one of the best parts of my week was walking in on Brandon 'reading his scriptures'. Now I know this looks staged and it really wasn't and I know he really doesn't know he was reading the scriptures, but it was a nice glimpse into the future of our son obeying the commandments (we are hoping!). By the way, here's a cute moment with Brandon that never ends....he is obessed with wearing his shoes and his coat everywhere. He loses it if we take them off, even in the house! With the warmer weather last week, he was even outside sweating like crazy and wouldn't let me take the darn coat off! So, I have hidden the coat! Right now he is sitting on my lap, looking at this picture and screaming about wanting this coat!

Chugga chugga choo choo!

Today, Brandon and I went with Sydney on her preschool field trip. We went to S&S Railroad. It's this little pretend train station that some guy who is in love with trains (sound familiar Dad?) built right by his house. He gives rides on a big train, and then has a bunch of model trains. One set is a just smaller than one you could ride and quite impressive. The train ride we took was not that great, but the kids loved it. They also have a little park that we sat and ate popsicles (sugar free and her teacher said...I'm not crazy, I'm not feeding 20 preschoolers sugar!), the kids played on the swings and climbed all over a play train. I'm sure this is the last preschool fieldtrip I will be taking with Sydney. Hard to believe she will be in Kindergarten next year. Brandon joined in like he was one of the big kids and I think Sydney thought it was fun to have her little brother along...

Pistachiooooooooh

So, my family loves pistachios. When we bring out the mondo bag we always get for Christmas from G&G Arv, the kids go crazy. They are like little birds waiting for Mom or Dad to open the nut and give them the treat. Today, our very independent and bright, (almost) 2 year old decided that he could open his own pistachios...and he did! Cute moment, Brando!

We had the Grandpa's up for dinner tonight because both the Grandma's are out of town helping new babies. We had a fun time and the kids love to play and tease their Grandpas. We really enjoyed General Conference this weekend. I'm always a little sad when it's over and I really look forward to getting the Ensign so I can study the talks. Plus, I think we all feel a little more fulfilled after listening to the prophet and apostles.

A couple of weeks ago, the girls begged us to sleep on the air mattress. It was even a school night, but we gave in. They had their own little sleepover in the family room. They watch half a movie and then went right to sleep! Funny how the little things will make them so happy!

They both said they fell off the bed at some point during the night, but they still loved it!

Hard to believe we are into April already! Yesterday, Mike and worked hard in the front yard. We even edged and mowed the lawn. We bought 3 trees for the front garden and some flagstone. Luckily, we are supposed to get a little rain tomorrow, so we won't be able to work outside! Ha, ha. I actually love to work in the yard, but lately it seems there is so many other things to do, that taking on the yard this early feels a little overwhelming. I am excited to get my vegi garden going this year. I used to think that putting in a yard would be fun because we could do things exactly how we want them, but it takes forever to do it yourself. I also have thought of changing some things that are done already....like pouring more concrete! What it all boils down to is $$$$. I keep telling myself...it's a process or a journey (without a destination)! When we get the trees planted and the flagstone set, I will post a picture.

Catching up!

Wow! It's been so long! I'll try to catch up in a brief summary...We went to St. George with Westenskows & Laws and kids. We have done this quite a bit with these families and always have a great time! It weather was wonderful! Usually mid-80's. It didn't feel that hot. Mike got out on his bike and had the greatest time and said that if I wanted he was going to buy me a road bike (it must have been all the endorphins from the fresh air)....so we went to our fav local bike shop and picked me up a bike. It's so different than my mountain bike and we are thinking the frame is a bit small....so I haven't ridden it more than around the block, but it's a nice bike. We are going to check with our fav local bike shop here to see what their opinion might be. I'm excited to start riding it. Anyway, we were able to go to Fiesta Family Fun park where we all got drenched on the bumper water boats. The kids LOVED that because you had a water gun on your boat that could shoot very far! They thought it was so hilarious to get their parents. They always love the go-carts. This is the first year I got to ride them as I wasn't pregnant or having to stay with a small child on the sidelines. It was fun. Brandon kept up with the kids and had a blast. We enjoyed riding the Laws' 4-wheelers behind the house. You can go forever and the kids were always begging to go. We also went into Zion's Park and although we didn't get a big hike in this time, we had a good time at the river. The kids were knee-deep in the water even though it was REALLY cold. Brandon had a blast throwing rocks into the water and now has discovered how much fun rock hunting can be. He is constantly bringing me his new found rock treasure. His eyes were as HUGE as his smile when he found a BIG rock. Definately a cute moment.

We LOVE to go St. George and would love to move there! We feel so blessed to be able to use Mike's parents house down there. It makes for a fun, inexpensive family vacation that we can take often.

While in St. George, we got Mater groomed. He was such a dust mop! When the groomer brought him out, she told us that we wouldn't recognize him and it was so true! It was hard to see any familiar markings. Then, she kept calling him a 'she' as in 'she is so cute' that I had to do a quick check of his anatomy to make sure we did have the right dog!

Mater & his stylin' new do....

This week in preschool, Sydney was learning about the letter 'W', so for show & tell she wanted to take worms. Not gummy worms or a picture, but real worms. So, she and Daddy went out one night looking for worms. They found four little victims, put them in a plastic container, complete with air holes and Sydney carried those things around like they were her little babies! After preschool the next day, I told her that her worms were looking a little parched and maybe she should return them to the wild. She just thought they needed a drink and put some water in her container. This, of course, drowned the worms and after much convincing by me, she took them out into the garden. When they weren't moving, she got a stick and tried to move them back into their container home saying she didn't care if she had dead worm pets, she wanted them back in the house. Well, that's when Mom has to put her foot down and say no dead worms in the house. So, she went and called Daddy and told him that Mom was mean because I wouldn't let her have her dead worms and so now they needed to go on another worm hunting adventure. Classic cute Sydney!

Finally, yesterday we had our annual Grandma & Grandpa Easter Party. Every year we go for dinner (or this year lunch) and then the dads hide the Easter eggs and the kids go crazy looking for them. This is the first year Brandon really got it and he was so fun to watch! G&G always spoil the kids. We missed having Steven & Hillary with us this year. Mike and Steve always had creative ideas for hiding eggs for their Mom once the hunt was over. They would take the plastic eggs and deposit them all (at least a hundred) in the washing machine, or in pockets of their clothes hanging in the closet, shoes, medicine cabinets, etc. No such fun this year. We did have fun with Scott & Kellie's chocolate fountain and making dessert. G&G introduced the kids to the Bunny Hop which Brandon LOVED and never stopped hopping around (probably mostly because of the sugar). The kids love this party and we are grateful to Mike's parents for making such great memories for our children.


Doing the Bunny Hop!

and last but not least....we have a new nephew! Evan & Jamie had their little boy on Friday. Chase was 7 lbs 14 oz and we hear has thick dark hair that you can comb already! My parents went back to see them and also to help them move. Evan is not longer going to Guam as he has a newborn to little to travel overseas and is going to Seattle instead! Another place close to our hearts. When I was 5 we lived there for a year. My Dad loves Seattle, but Mom wanted to move back (that's the story I remember), so we moved back to Utah. Anyway, my parents are going to help them stop here so we all can see Chase and I think have him blessed here, and then help them get to Seattle. What a fun time in our families...and there are more babies on the way....not from us (unfortunately), but a lot of the sis-in-laws are preggers!

Feels like SPRING!

What a great day! We came home from church and the kids immediately went to the backyard and played croquet! Then, Dad went out and they played on the playset while I made lunch. We had a little picnic in the backyard complete with Ding Dongs for dessert....which the girls will model for illustration purposes!

We also taught Mater how to go down the steps...such a big accomplishment for a little puppy. He's doing much better about not using the carpet as a potty. We are crossing our fingers.

Little Brandon on the swing. If you look above his right eye you can (almost) see where he was glued together. Mike took off the steri-strips yesterday and it's looking pretty good.

It was such a nice afternoon to remind us that sunshine is just around the corner! We had such a great time last summer playing, having our meals on the patio, playing soccer with Amanda, putting up the waterslide, seeing our fence go up, using the wheelbarrow to haul 10 or more loads of bark into the play area, boating, camping, and being a family. With Brandon being older this year, I'm sure we are up for much more fun. All this from one beautiful, sunny day!

Unloading the pictures from the camera, I found a few pictures from last month. The first is of the kids 'riding Daddy's horsey', a fun little game the kids made up years ago. If you look closely, you can see Mike under the kids. They sing the 'horsey, horsey' song and jump on his back! It's always a good game to get Mike out of bed on the weekends!

This picture is of Sydney learning to play the piano! She got really excited as Amanda was practicing and wanted to learn a couple of songs. We pulled out a pre-piano book and she has learned about 10 songs! She was so excited to show Daddy when he got home!

Then, because Brandon has to copy everything the girls do, he gave it a shot!

Cute moment from Mater...I thought it looked like he was smoking a stoggie! He loves these chew bones. Freaky dog eyes in this picture. Too much smoking.....
Mike and I were able to do an overnighter for our anniversary this weekend. Our anniversary is tomorrow....15 years! Unbelievable! We stayed at Grand America (and didn't sleep well because the bed was uncomfy!) and went to dinner at Ruth's Chris...where we got caught in the $6 bottled water scam and actually had 2 bottled waters ($12 on water! Ugh!)! We just laughed! We got to shop a little and see a movie. It was just a nice, relaxing weekend that we don't usually get! Thanks to Roger & Cozette for taking our kids overnight and for my parents for tending Mater. I can't believe it's been 15 years. It really is a strange feeling to look back and see how far we've come. Amazing to see all the we have been through and a wonderful feeling to know how blessed we are! Mike is truly my best friend. He was from the moment I met him. I just always knew we'd be together. He is an answer to my prayers and I am so lucky that he loves me. He's given me the most beautiful children who are the sweet little lights in my life...and I can't see my life being any better than it is! I'm living the dream!

Flashback

Cute picture of two little angels! My girls' first birthday party after moving to our new house. We combined the parties and took them to a riding stable. Sydney was turning 4 years and Amanda 7 years. Rachel (sitting behind Syd) was probably almost 3yrs. What a fun day! But, as I saw this picture again, it just reminded me what a great time we had with my cousin, her kids, and Aunt Kay when we lived at Grandma's little house in Draper. Nothing compares to playing with your cousins and we had the greatest opportunity to spend lots of time together. Kay tended Rachel & Mitchell once a week and my girls lived for that day. We lived down a private lane and there weren't any kids close enough to walk out and play with. A huge adjustment from living in our cul-de-sac. Aunt Kay is still my girls' favorite and we couldn't have made it through the hard 7 months of building without Kay & Bud, Staci & her kids. I know Heavenly Father was watching out for us and knew what we would need during this time....family.

Oh, Brandon....

So, I'm using an older picture (Oct) of when Brandon broke his collar bone (see the yellow bruising)... because I forgot to take a picture of him tonight with his current war-wound and I'm starting his list of injuries! It's so crazy how kids end up getting hurt. Tonight, after we went to Market Street (yum) for dinner, we went to wash the car. Since there was a bit of a line, Mike suggested letting the kids out of their carseats to play while we waited. Leave it to Brandon....he was climbing over the seats (one of his favorite games) and starts screaming. Somehow he banged his head and came up bleeding! Once we could clear the blood, he had a small cut right on his forehead above his right eye. It was small enough, but deep enough that we decided to have a doc check it out. The big sisters were freaked out and really got upset hearing him cry....I thought that was sweet. We ended up getting it glued (a nice alternative to stitches) ignoring his protests.....the kid is tough and it took Mike and me to hold him still. Poor little boy. But, soon the trauma was over and he was more interested in finding the 'ruff, ruff' (dog) in the book we were reading. I told Mike I was sure this won't be the last time the boy will need to be glued back together! I just hope they are all this minor.