Californiaaaaa here we coooommme...

Okay, here we go, the major blog catch-up begins (grab a comfy chair and a caffeinated beverage:)

McKinley and Mommy needed a day of pampering, so we went to get manicures and pedicures before our trip to California. McKinley LOVED the pampering, and looked so cute in her pink Glitter Toes pedi!
Over Memorial Weekend we went to California for my sister Amy's wedding. It was BEAUTIFUL, and SO much fun!
Congrats Amy and Brett!!!McKinley LOVED all of the fancy fun wedding details :) - she followed Amy everywhere, and thought it was SO cool that she got to wear the same outfit as Amy's other neices!The wedding lunch was so yummy!And my kids were SO well behaved, as you can see :)Amy looked amazing, and her hair deserves it's own post, it was fabulous! I LOVE the flower!Cutting the cake - they were SO much nicer than we were at our wedding :)The next day we enjoyed a day at the beach with my high school friends, and a BBQ afterwards at Natalie's cute house - however for some reason I have NO pictures of these events, only this one shot on the beach with Brittany and Ian in the background :( ooops! It was SO much fun to see everyone!Saturday we rode the ferry over to Balboa Island - the kids thought that riding on a boat next to cars was the coolest thing ever!McKinley posing :) She loved walking along the beach on Balboa!Daddy took the kids on a fun ferris wheel ride at the Balboa Fun Zone - you could watch sea lions pop up in the ocean from the ferris wheel!And no California trip would be complete without shakes at Ruby's on the Pier - YUM!

Fishy Tales

This is the story of a couple of sad little fish, and more kid moments :)

We attended our ward service auction a couple of weeks ago where our kids insisted on catching the real live goldfish swimming in the kiddie pool. McKinley named hers 'Tarsa' (she likes to make up names?). When I asked Mason what his fish was named he said "he's a daddy fish, daddy's don't need names, they are just called daddy". Naturally. Well, I knew these fish weren't going to make it too long, but I figured a few days, right? Well, we went straight to Wal-Mart, bought fish food and a bowl, and put them in their happy home. The next morning the kids ate breakfast watching the fish swim around, they were so excited about them! Well, by lunch one of the fishies had decided to 'take a nap' and wasn't so much swimming anymore. The other one would swim to the top, then float to the bottom, swim to the top, then float to the bottom, until finally he came to 'rest' at the bottom of the bowl. I debated running out to the store when Matt got home to replace the fish before anyone noticed that they weren't 'waking up', but decided that it was a good opportunity to teach them about life and death. I prepped myself for sad tears and explained to the kids that the fish were not alive anymore, they had died and gone to fishy heaven. I tried to discuss this all very carefully and sensitively. Well, apparently my kids weren't too attached to these fish because when I told them that we would flush them down the toilet they were beyond thrilled! It was the most exciting thing they had ever heard! We flushed them down and they told me we could just get some new ones another day. So much for learning about life and death. We will work on the grieving process some other day. For now, every time Mason goes pee-pee in the potty he tells me he just peed in fishy heaven :). You can't say I didn't try!

Today I told my kids if they were really good listeners on our errands we could stop at the pet store and get some new fish. By the end of our list of errands I was WIPED out. I had forgotten about the fish promise, of course. We began to head home when McKinley said "Mom, are we going to get our new fish?" Not REALLY wanting to turn back around and make yet another stop, I said "we'll see" hoping that would appease her and we could do it another day. But instead she said "Mom, that's what you always say. Whenever you say "we'll see" you always figure out "no". :) She's right, dang-it. So, we went to the pet store and we purchased two female beta fish (since the females won't eat each other, and since the pet store guy said that beta's will live a lot longer than goldfish - we can hope :). Off on another fishy adventure. This time McKinley named hers 'Sweetie' and Mason decided this one isn't a daddy fish, so his name is 'Stinky'. I asked him why he named his fish 'Stinky' and he said "because he smells like fish." Of course - duh. Oh, and did I mention that this makes us the proud owners of two fish, one dog, one cat, a husband, and two children? I think we can officially call our house a zoo!

This one was a few weeks ago, but still makes me laugh :). We were outside playing and Mason went inside to go potty. He was in there quite a while, so I went in to see what was taking so long. He was just coming out of the bathroom and jumped when he saw me. Bad sign.

Me: Mason, you okay?

Mason: yeah

Me: What were you doing in there?

Mason: I don't think me want to tell you

Me: Why?

Mason: I maybe didn't flush anything down the toilet

Me: You did or you didn't flush something?

Mason: Me don't want to tell you

Me: What did you flush

Mason: I maybe didn't flush the white lids down the toilet (the white lids are the caps that cover the bolts on the bottom of the toilet)

Me: Mason, did you flush the white lids down the toilet?

Mason: Me did, but me not going to tell you, okay?

Me: (trying not to laugh at my 2-year-old telling on himself, I would never have noticed they were missing!) Mason, let's go look okay?

We went into the bathroom and sure enough both lids were gone, and we had a talk about not flushing anything down the toilet. I hope the fish didn't confuse him :) In conclusion, if you come to my house and notice that the white lids are missing, now you know why.

Again, I am PROMISING pictures next week! Thanks for checking in on us - all two of you! :)

Some kiddo-isms

We have been SOOO busy lately that I have (sigh) seriously neglected the blog. I have pictures from my sister's wedding, my niece's wedding, California, Orlando, hiking, 4th of July, and so forth to upload, but just no time. We have youth conference, family stuff, and crazy chaos in the coming week, but I should get to it next week... I hope... I keep telling myself things will settle down but they never really do. Here are some funnies from our kids lately:

Matt took the kids on a hike up Cottonwood Canyon while I got some work done one Saturday.
McKinley: (pointing to a river) That's a river, Dad.
Matt: Yep, you are right.
McKinley: Jesus got baptized in a river. He got baptized by John the Baptist.
Matt: That's very good, you are right.
They continued on for a ways, then sat down by the river for their picnic lunch. All the while apparently Mason had been considering the previous conversation.
Mason: (looking at Matt) Dad, that river is moving WAY too fast for Jesus!

During our Orlando trip McKinley was all over my newly-wed niece's husband. She would giggle and smile and 'flirt' with Ben. At one point we ended up driving to the pool while the boys walked over. While we were driving over McKinley looked out the window and saw Ben walking and said in the girliest voice "OOOOoooh, there's my boooyyyfriend."
Me: Who are you talking about?!? Which one is your boyfriend?!? (assuming she meant Matt or Mason since she makes them be the 'prince' when she plays princess)
McKinley: Beeeennnn is. He's my boyfriend.
Me: Oh no, it starts this young?!?
Once we got to the pool I told my niece, Amanda, about what McKinley had said.
Amanda: McKinley, who's your boyfriend?
McKinley: Ben!
Amanda: But I thought Ben was my boyfriend!
McKinley: Well, we can share!
Ben was pretty okay with that!

There are oh so many more, but I have got to run, so more stories and pictures to come! Thanks for checking in even though I never update!!!

The kiddos, you know that's the only reason you actually check our blog :)

Best friends! They crack me up, they are so funny together!Mason marches to his own tune, he will NOT smile unless he really wants to!McKinley is such a princess! She LOVES to pose for photos!This is Mason's choice of photo-faces :)We LOVE Thanksgiving Point! These were all taken at the Tulip Festival in May.Fountains at the Gateway - preschool field trip (May)Riding Trax to the Gateway - preschool field trip (May)

Tulip Festival again - yes, I was there :) The kids LOVED running through the flowers!

The devious duo :)

McKinley's first manicure and pedicure :) Sorry, this photo was on my phone, McKinley got a glitter toes mani-pedi for my sister's wedding, it was so cute!

That was a quick photo update of our last couple of months, check back for pictures from my sister's and my neice's weddings soon, as well as recent projects and more updated pictures! Thanks for looking!

Date Night Fun

We LOVE our date-night co-op! The kids are so much fun, and we love that we can plan a date every Friday night (except once a month when it's our turn to tend). These are the kids in our co-op. That night we had bought Bolt and the kids were SO excited to pop popcorn and watch it! I have NEVER seen 7 kids under 5 years old sit so quietly, they are so cute!

You might be a redneck if...

hahaha! I am officially literally a redneck! Aside from the literal aspect, I am pretty sure that going to Walmart in my sweats to buy yard-sale supplies qualified me as a redneck already. We had our annual neighborhood yard sale last weekend (a special thanks to all who participated and helped to organize it, I think it was a big success!) and some genius (me) thought that after an entire winter of no sun I could stand outside on a very sunny spring day from 6:30 am to about 3 pm WITHOUT sunscreen - OUCH! This photo was actually taken about 5 days later - yeah, I am an idiot! So, on to bigger and better things: us lately!

Lately, as you know, I have been a MAJOR blog slacker! Life has been so busy! We have two family weddings this month, I am ALMOST finished coaching at the rec. center every morning, taught preschool for the last time this year (yea!), my mother-in-law had surgery to remove tumors (keep her in your prayers!), and have tried to find time for my little family. Just to give you a snapshot of a week in the life of us, here was last week: Monday - coach at rec. center, run out of gas on the way to rec. center (no warning light on the gas gauge this time :), husband pick me up and take me and the kids to coach (left my car at church parking lot), surprise 30th b-day party for a friend *to remain nameless*, work on a guestbook scrapbook for my niece's wedding until midnight. Tuesday - coach @ rec. center, lunch, teach preschool, bank, grocery store, clean house, bead/purse/jewelery party at my house until midnight. Wednesday - coach, run wedding errands, grocery shop, bank, pick up checks for work, get home, 5 minute shower, head to Bountiful for my niece's endowment (thank you a millions times over to Janette for watching my kids for so long!!!), dinner with family, pick up kids, put them to bed, unload groceries from the car (yes, they were still in there), go to bed after midnight. Thursday - coach, lock my keys in my car, wait for Matt to bring me spare keys, race to preschool field trip that I was in charge of and arrive 30 minutes late, come home, 5 minute shower, pick up desserts at Costco, head to Bountiful for my niece's bridal shower (so fun!), run errands on the way home, unload car and throw in a load of laundry, go to bed at 1. Friday - coach at rec. center, car breaks down at a red light on a one-lane VERY busy main street on the way to rec. center, get pushed barely off the road by some nice guys, wait for Janette (again, thanks a million!) to pick me up, watch 4 cops drive right by my as I stand by the side of the road with my hazards on (remind me again why I pay my taxes so that I can be 'served and protected?!?), a business associate of Matt's drove by and happened to recognize me, pulled over (by then I had been standing on the side of the road for about 20 minutes!), and towed my car to a church parking lot, caught a ride with Janette, coached, caught a ride home, car-shopped online the rest of the day, did laundry, did dishes, tended 7 kids for date-night, went to bed after midnight... well, you get the idea, life just doesn't wait for me to catch up! So, needless to say, no time for blogging, but next month everything SHOULD slow down and I will catch up. In the meantime, I enjoy stalking all of you! Check back soon! :)

Happy Easter! *photo overload, beware!*

We had such a fun Easter Sunday with the family!

The kids had a fun Easter egg hunt

So seriousMcKinley is such a little mommy, she kept stopping to help Mason find his eggsTyler, McKinley, and Mason after the egg hunt - we tried to take this picture like 5 times, but every time we got the kids posed Mason got so excited that he jumped up and his eggs went flying out of his basket. He refused to pose for the picture again each time until his eggs had been retrieved :)
Checking out their treasures :)Grandma and Grandpa with the kiddos
Family photo - just to prove that we were there :)
Grandpa catching a ride on Kinley's trike :)
Tyler, I think it's time you moved on to a bigger bike :)
After the egg hunting we walked around the St. George templeGrandma, Grandpa, McKinley, and Mason
Family photo - Easter 2009 (again, just to prove we were there :)
We all went to a delicious brunch at the Entrada country club, where the kids got to meet the Easter Bunny! McKinley LOVED the Easter Bunny, but Mason wouldn't go ANYWHERE near him! He said he didn't like him :)
McKinley and Mason LOVE their cousin Tyler! Tyler helped them put stickers on their Easter pictures - they had so much fun playing with him all weekend!
On the drive home Mason wanted to wear Matt's ballcap - he wore it the whole way home. McKinley fell asleep the second we got in the car (busy weekend!), but Mason stayed awake and make faces at us and jabbered for most of the drive. I love my silly boy!

More St. George FUN!

Although the weather wasn't great, we managed to have a great time!

McKinley striking a pose :) Sweet ride!We biked over to a little park, the kids had fun swingingMcKinley kept begging to go higher and higherAfter the park we went swimming (no photos available :), then got dressed and went to the movies to see Monsters vs. Aliens (very funny movie :). McKinley LOVED itMason didn't quite make it through the movie :) Poor little guy was tuckered out. He even slept through dinner at Outback.

Slot Canyon Hiking

We took a short trip to St. George over Easter weekend with Matt's family. We arrived a little earlier than everyone else (they were on their way home from CA stopping in St. George for the weekend, we were a little more eager to get there than they were :). Our friends (the Rose's :) happened to be in St. George for the weekend with their family, so we tagged along for a fun hike through a slot canyon in Leeds (? somewhere near St. George?).
Matt and the kiddos - McKinley loved playing in the water barefoot - Mason wanted nothing to do with it :)Matt and McKinley above a little waterfallMatt and Mason above the little waterfall - how beautiful is that? It was a gorgeous hike, thanks for the invite guys!

Super Little Savers

Not that we think we do it the best or only way, but this is how we have decided to teach our kids about money. Just thought I'd share (and mostly document for journaling sake :)

Job charts - I made these using simple unfinished magnet boards from Robert's crafts, a ruler and permanent marker, and cheap magnets. Each week they choose their jobs (we turn them upside down, so they don't always get the jobs they want, but they are things that need to be done). I made magnets for things such as make beds, put clothes in wash, set and clear the table, brush teeth, get dressed, clean up toys, take out trash, feed the dog, etc. They LOVE to do their job charts as part of the nightly routine (right after they brush their teeth). For each job they do each day they get to place a magnet on their chart.
At the end of the week (Saturday night) they get a penny for each magnet on their chart (usually around 50 cents a week - yeah, they'll need a raise soon, but to them 50 pennies seems like a lot right now :). They each put all of their pennies into their little piggy banks (this is their favorite part!). The piggies started to get pretty full (McKinley's broke, I had to super glue it!), so I took them to the bank (with their piggies) and we opened their savings accounts. They got to watch the teller dump their pennies out of their piggies into the coin counting machine. They thought it was SO cool!And they have the receipts to prove it, they are officially super-savers! :)

My Little Monkeys

These kids just make me laugh! They each have their own funny little personalities, and I LOVE it!

They always fight over who gets the black chair at dinner (if you have ever been to my house, my kitchen table has 6 different chairs in different colors :). This particular night they decided (on their own) to share the same chair. They actually ate their whole dinner practically falling off of the chair, but they thought it was SOO funny :)

Typical Mace face :)McKinley wrestling with Monty - they both love that dog!Mason's new 'camera smile' :)

What can I say, without them, life just wouldn't be as fun!

Rather good advice, both literally and metaphorically...

"The formula for a happy marriage? It's the same as the one for living in California: When you find a fault, don't dwell on it."
-Jay Trachman