Linda's World

2010-07-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

9 months!!

Is he really 9 months already? I cant belive how fast time has flown by.

This little guy just makes my heart melt. I know that sounds so corny but is true.

I took some pics of him doing his favorite things: Sucking on his pacifier, smiling a cheesy grin, hanging with his brothers, and watching his favorite show, Team Umizoomi.

Greyson is a really good baby too. We just still need to work on the sleeping through the night thingy.

This little sweetie almost makes me want another one.........ALMOST!!!!!!! :)

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

2010-06-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

RAGING RIVER OF DEATH!!!!!!!!
So what once was these first 2 photos, now are the last 2 photos. With the rising temps this past few days, has brought down alot of snow to our little "creek" which is now a river!

It was quite the action last night and today. All of the neighborhood were out sandbagging homes, chunks of yards being swept away. There is even a house around the corner that is in serious danger of being ruined. If the creek rises anymore it is toast.

This creek is across the street from my house. It has been a fear of mine since we moved here and now it is scaring the crud out of me. Luckily I have scared the crud out of my kids and they are pretty aware of the dangers and stay away. It even overflowed into the middle of my street last night. We have had crews out and a bulldozor going non stop since last night pulling HUGE logs out of the creek so it doesnt clog the drainage gate. Good times.

Anyone want to go river rafting?????????")

2010-05-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

While the cats are away on their LOOOOVVE Vacation, the first born mouse TOTALS A CAR!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it? Less then 2 weeks after getting his DL he got into an "altercation" with a pole. Darn pole! Hate it when that happens.
Luckily he was not hurt, but will be on a driving timeout to learn a couple lessons. Poor guy. Just when I was kind of liking the fact that I had 1 less school pick up.

On another note, Dallin is done with his Eagle project. I am so proud of him. He really kicked butt to get it all done, and he did it all pretty much on his own. 1 down and 6 to go!! UGGGG!

2010-04-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics from the previous post. Blogger and Picassa hate me!! ")

2010-04-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

GIRLS NIGHT OUT!!!!!!!

I know! 2 posts in 1 day! I must be changing my slacker ways. Nah! Doubt it.
So last week I was able to meet up with new Brooke and Camille for a yummy dinner. We ate at at......oh I am having a brain fart and cant remember off the top of my head but it was in Bountiful and so good!

We had a great time. Camille was in town from Reno for a wedding. It was so good to catch up with these girls.
Brooke just had a baby a few weeks ago and was escaping without the little man. I am sure she enjoyed her "time out" hehe

Thank you girls for a fun and very fattening night. I am sure I will remeber the name of the restaurant as soon as I hit "post" :)

2010-04-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

POOR BABY!
This is what I got to see when I woke this little man up in the morning. He was swollen and puffy and looked like hell. It turns out he had some allergic reaction to something. He looks miserable , but you would never have known he was all gnarly looking by the way he was acting. He was his normal 3 year old self!! :)

2010-02-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

Grabby Grabber post pics

Sorry. I cant figure out what happened to the pics in the original post so here they are. GGRRRR! Picasa!

2010-02-25T11:09:00.000-08:00

Grabby Grabber

I grabbed the camera and forced myself one night to snap some pics of the little man. I never think about it and he is growing so fast I need to be better at capturing his sweet little face .

He is starting to grab things. You can see by his outreached hands he was going for my camera. Such a little technology lover.

He is finally getting little fuz on his big noggin and I am going bald. What is wrong with that scenario? I hate this part of Post partem. It is so thin around the temples of my head and the nastiness in my shower drain??--------sick and wrong. I was trying to make a mustache for Judsons class presentaion and my smart-alec little 13 year old told me to "just get the hair from the drain in your shower" Funny boy.

Well it is noon and I must hit the shower, while Greyson is sleeping.

PS It is already time for my annual girls trip. 1 week today and I am so ready. I am in need of girl time. So excited. Chris left me last weekend alone with the kids while he went golfing, so I figure if I can do it, he can do it....... :)

2010-01-11T17:29:00.000-08:00

NEW YEARS!

Here is a picture of our house guests for New Years. We had so much fun. We had my brother and his cute family, my mom and dad, and my sister and her girls come for New Years this year. It was cold, snowy, but we had a great time staying up way too freakin late and ate way too much junk. Good times!

The pic is of my brother blowing out his candles. He drove up 6 hours on his bday to visit us, so I had to make Maressas yummy chocolate cake with Oreo Frosting! I am sure it made the trip worth while. ")

2010-01-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

A few Christmas Pics................................

2010-01-11T17:08:00.000-08:00

I BLINKED AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED..........

I turned OLDDDDDDD! :)

2009-12-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

Greyson 11 weeks

Where is the time flying??? My baby is almost 3 months old. I though I would take a quick break from life and snap some pics of him.
He is so sweet. He has the cutest smile with 1 lone dimple on one of his cheeks. I tried to capture it, but the dang flash would startle him and he would stop smiling. I suck at using my camera. I need to take a few minutes and try to learn some of its features. No time to even pic my nose these days. I guess thats a good thing. I am sure you all can relate.

SOOOOOOO, who is done Christmas shopping???? If you are, please lie to me so I dont feel so bad! haha Just kidding. I am surprisingly almost done. Dallin is the last to buy for. What do you get a 16 year old boy??? Seriously. It is so freaking hard to find what he wants.

Well my delicious casserole(not) is almost done. I am so tired of cooking lately. UUUGG! Ok, hope all is well and everyone is enjoying the season that is Ipping by way too fast!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

OMG!

I HAVE BEEN MEANING TO POST WITH SOME PICTURES, BUT I AM LUCKY TO GET A LOAD OF LAUNDRY IN OR SOME RESEMBLANCE OF A DINNER MADE EACH DAY. HAVING A NEW LITTLE ONE IS VERY TIME CONSUMING, BUT OF COURSE I WOULDNT HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY.

GREYSON IS ALREADY 2 MONTHS OLD. WHERE DID THE TIME GO? OH, I KNOW, TAKING CARE OF 7 KIDS WILL ZAP THE TIME AWAY FOR SURE. I AM SITTING HERE ON A LAPTOP BOUNCING THE BABY WITH ONE LEG IN HIS BOUNCER. THAT IS A STANDARD AROUND HERE, IF I WANT TO HAVE A MINUTE ON THE COMPUTER. HE SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT, BUT IS CATNAPPER BOB DURING THE DAY. I GUESS I SHOULDNT COMPLAIN, I LOVE THAT HE SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT.

WELL I JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN. I WILL PUT SOME PICS ON SOON . I AM SURE IT IS BORING JUST LOOOKING AT MY ALL-CAPS POST WITH NO FUN PICS TO LOOK AT.

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT THANKSGIVING!

2009-11-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

HALLOWEEN AND GREYSONS BLESSING

Halloween was a great weekend. We had a ton of friends and family come to visit. It was also the weekend we blessed Greyson. We had Chris' sister and hubby here with her 6 kids and Chris' parents over. Holly also came all the way from London with Tristy Lou just to see Greyson! So awesome! We are so blessed to have such great family and friends in our lives.

Here are some fun pictures of the weekend. Hey! No wise cracks at the John Travolta blessing outfit. It has been through all of my boys and my sisters boys as well. Love it, now it is time to pack it away FOREVER!!!! So sad.

Everything is going great. Greyson is a great baby. He is pretty much a schedule follower. He eats about every 3 hours and has been sleeping through most of the night. Hallelujah! He is growing like a weed. I cant believe he is 7 weeks old!

We are going to beheading to Vegas for Tday. It is a first. Usually we stay in California for Thanksgiving, but since we are a few hours closer to Vegas we decided to storm my moms house for a few days. Good times and good grub! I will try really hard to get on my blog and post moor often I know I suck at it lately. Even though the baby is good, hey still demands my time and is the boss for now. I better enjoy it while I can.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and I am looking forward to catching up on some blogs. Take care!

2009-10-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

OK! OK!

Since I got my butt virtually spanked by some of you guys for not putting pictures of pipsqueak on my blog, here they are.
He is so sweet. He is a really good baby. last night he even let me sleep 5 hours in a row! Good boy........ He knows where his bread is buttered. hehe

2009-10-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

Favorite Things Party

A month or so ago I was able to go to Amies "Favorite Things" party.
It was so fun. First of all I was able to FINALLY meet some of my blogging friends for the first time. I met Amie, Melinda and Jill. They were seriously so nice. I felt like I had known them forever.

The party was a blast. Everyone that was invited was to bring 5 favorite things. They could all be the same or 5 different things and exchange them with everyone. You go home with 5 really fun items. There were more then 5 people at the party so we all drew names and the name you drew is the persons gift you got. Make sense? Remember, I suck at telling stories . All in all it was a blast, and the best part is that they all hate getting their pictures taken too!!! Love it. We decided to take a "behind the couch to hide or minimize your double chin" photo and it worked! No double chins! :) The last pic was me showing my Paris Hilton pose. You cant really say that Paris is famous for doing nothing. The girl can strike a mean pose! You cant even tell that I am 9 months prego can you? haha! Good times

Thanks Amie for inviting me. You are a great hostess with the mostess.......

Couch Pic L to R (Amie, Lori (Jills sis) Jill, Melinda, Me)

I hope you dont mind that I stole these pics Amie?

2009-09-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

The Moose is on the Loose!!

Hes here!!!!!! Greyson Parker Smith made his debut on Saturday the 26th. He was 9 lbs 1oz , 21 in!!! Big boy. I never dreamed he was going to be that big. I only gained 14 pounds and since he was 9 pounds I am already at my pre birth weight. Hehe. That wont last long. My slow, nasty non exercising metabolism usually kicks in and the weight will be creeping back up soon.

He is a cutie. I will take some better pics soon. My battery on my camera was dead at the hospital Grrrrrrrr, so no cute baby pics there. I will have to make up for it here at home.

This was by far the greatest birth ever!!!!! I could do this again, if i was guaranteed the same delivery! hahaha. I can just hear the groans and eye rolling at the thought of me popping out number 8! Mark my words! No more, Done! Finite! The baby factory is closed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As far as the birth story goes, I will summarize it and hope that you wont fall asleep at my sucky story telling abilities.

Saturday, Chris and Dallin went golfing. I was a little preterbed, well ok, alot at this thought, but it was nothing a little Sonic beverage couldnt handle. I was laying on the couch watching Pee Wee with the kids when Chris and Dallin walked in at around 4 pm. Just then I felt a goosh. I thought I was peeing my pants at first but when I got up, I quickly realized that it was my water breaking. Fabulous feeling by the way! NOT! This being my 7th, I didnt want to traumatize the kids with a home birth, so we headed to the hospital. When I got there I was only dialated to 3. They were nervous at how fast I may go so they did my I.V, then my Epidural and I was livin large and painfree. I was dialating slowly so they gave me some Pitocin ( didnt care because I was doped up) and I was starting to make progress and Bam! before you know it I was ready to push. 2 little pushes later and no episiotomy or tear and the Moose baby was out! All in all I was in "labor" for about 6 hours. Awesome!

Here are some pics for now. I know it is in the same collage format. I am sorry for that. When I use Picassa it wont let me upload more then 4 pics at a time. heaven forbid I have 6! I even managed to get the last and one of few pregnant pics of me. Chris took it Friday night, Good thing, or I wouldnt have had any!

I am off to catch up on some blog reading, while I have a few minutes! Hope you all are well!!

2009-09-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

So I finally got on to the computer! I made the mistake of downloading a couple of computer games to keep my bored kids from killing each other and now i can never get on the computer until late at night! Goood thing I am a night owl!

Here are a few pics of my house. I promised some of you a gander so I just did a few of my favorite pics. These were taken before we moved in and some of the rooms actually have furniture in them I know, shocking. We actually splurged and bought a few new pieces of furniture. this house is a bit bigger then our Calif. house so we needed to fill in some of the spaces. Not all, but a few. Gotta still have a "wrestle room" for all these boys!

So far things are good. Our ward is really nice. We have been here a little over a month so far and people are still bringing us goodies! So nice.

We have actually had some visitors too. My mom and dad came to help move us in, then a couple weeks later my mom and sister came and so did some of my cousins from Idaho for a fun girls weekend. Goodtimes. Last week my old babysitter/freind Ali came with her cute family for a quick visit. Tell me how old that made me feel? here I am popping out another kid and now the kids she use to babysit can actually babysit for her. Did i get that out to where it made sense? Probably not. Oh and of course, the Fishers were actually our first visitors. They came the day after we moved in. So, if you get the hint, we love visitors!!!

So I am on the downhill slide of the pregnancy. Freaky. It is just happening so fast. part of me is ready to kick the kid out. I am tired of feeling like an old cow with huge boobs (not the attractive perky ones either!) They headed south a LONG time ago. Contractions, blah blah you get the picture, but then I am so not ready for a crying baby, as sweet as they are. I am also really nervous for the pain. You would think that i could just go out to the pasture and pop the kid out in 5 seconds, but I know that it hurts like hell and that Epidural better be ready and waiting for me as soon as I get to the hospital!! :)

Well that is about it here. I will try to keep up with this more frequently. Not that I have much action to write about, but it is still a nice way to journal for me. Hope you all have a great night!

2009-08-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

AAAAWWWWWWW! (sniff, sniff)

I was going to post some pics of my house, but ran into this one instead. This was taken a couple months before we moved at a park day with some of my peeps in Calif. I have more fave peeps too not in the picture, but this was a few of them. I miss you guys!!!!!!!

2009-08-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

Hellooooooooo!

I am still alive. We made it to Utah and are surviving. We are still getting unpacked, but for the most part are settled in.
Tomorrow I am off to register 5 kids tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it. Such a drag.
The kids are doing well. They get bored and get totally on my nerves, but thank goodness for Sonic Diet Coke with pebbled ice for saving my sanity! hehe
I still dont have a computer hooked up so I am typing this on Chris laptop. I dont do very well using it so forgive me for sucking at typing tonight.
It is hard to believe that I only have a few weeks left of this pregnancy. I am not ready yet, but I am excited to meet this little dude. I am starting to feel like crap most of the time, contractions and aches and pains in every part of my body, but that is ok. I will survive.

Well I m off to bed. I will update more when I get my computer going.... I really need to work on my computer man. hehe

PS I have a new email address Linsmith7@gmail.com

2009-07-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

This is the cutest stuff. It is decorative packing tape. When I first saw it and heard about it I thought"what am I going to do with it"? I have used it to decorate envelopes and am going to use it to decorate packages. I even used it to seal up my Gap return (even though they didnt deserve it! :) They have all sorts of fun patterns to choose from. www.Tapeswell.com

2009-07-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

YOWSA! 28 weeks!!!!!

Ok so some of you were wanting a belly shot so here it is....... If you have a weak stomache or just ate lunch then turn your head away! hehe

I cant beleive how fast this pregnancy is going. It is scary and exciting at the same time. I have a lot going on this next month or so, so it will go especially fast. We are heading to our new home the end of this month! I cant believe that either. Who would have ever thought we would be Utahns! Not me-----ever. We are excited and oh so very sad at the same time. We are leaving great friends and a great town behind and are totally bummed.

Hopefully we will fit right in and the kids will feel at home. That is the most important thing. Well I am off to Bowens All-star game. They are in a playoff with a team that we played last night. The game went on over 3 hours!!!!

Just wanted to check in and let you know that I am still around, just super busy. take care!

2009-07-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

OH YES!!!!!! LA PLUME CREATIONS

Here is another fun item that I was able to try out and lets just say I have used it a TON!!! I love this necklace. Just ignore the flabby, wrinkly, and freckled neck and check out this adorable necklace. I seriously love it and it goes perfectly with everything. I checked out some of the other creations from La Plume and there are some really cool peices. Necklaces, earrings etc....

Here is the website if you are interested
laplumecreations@etsy.com

2009-06-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

So as I was telling you a little in my last post, I am in a super fun group. Brooke, this amazingly cool and disgustingly creative (I could go on and on) arranged for a group of us to test out /sample some really fun products. Then we blog about them. Kind of word of mouth advertising.

The first product I sampled and LOVED was these yummy Nothing Bundt Cakes. We sampled all of them and they are seriously so delish. After falling in love with the Red Velvet flavor, I went ahaead and ordered one for Chris for Fathers Day. It was so good and I had it decorated in the Golf theme, which really turned out cute.

I was so excited to find out that we had a store nearby in Dublin. I have seen them everywhere else I visit (Vegas, Utah) but am so glad it is here. I also think the store is so cute, you can see in this picture how cute it is.

I am really excited about this group and the fun products, some were interesting, some were funky, some were a little on the really?? side, but all very creative. It is amazing how many creative minds are out there busy making things. I just seem to be busy always making babies I guess. hehe

There are 6 total in the group. This is a picture of us chit chatting. I am the tubba in the black happily hiding behind Mandy.

2009-06-23T20:16:00.001-07:00

I KNOW! I KNOW!!! I suck!

I cant believe how long it has been since I have last posted. I just have not been in the mood. I also cant get my fabulous new camera to upload pictures onto my computer to post. Who wants to just read some random mumbo jumbo and not have a cute little boy or fun GNO pics to look at? Soon I will get my computer man to figure out the problem. I might have to to "pay him handsomely" to do it, but by golly I will get it done.

I cant even fathom that I am already down to double digits of my due date countdown. it is going so dang fast! I only have like 3 months left! EEEKKKKK!!! Am I ready to do this again? No, but I am excited to see this little guy who has made him momma a mean b****, tired, and eating everything in sight! I was suppose to have a Drs appt tomorrow, but it is postponed until next week...Hallelujah! I cant put off the dreaded scale part of the visit a little longer.

I will just put a few random things that we have been up to these past few weeks so I dont forget or to just bore you silly:

1. on the 2nd week of school being out........dark cloud is finally lifting from my house hehehe It hasnt been too bad.

2. took house off market and we are now just going to rent it. Hopefully that wont take a million years either!

3. Bowen made ALL STARS. Yeah! I love this on so many levels. It is fun to watch this age group play and it also keeps him busy with practices every day.

4. Dallin had High adeventure last week. Rough life of Rifle shooting, River rafting and water skiiing. Sign me up!

5. Bowen and Chris are both at scout camp :( Chris will be back on wed and then disappear again to Utah on Thursday) I am tired of being a travel widow. I dont know how some women do it with their men being gone all week! Stinks!

6. I leave Friday to go to Utah for a couple days to house hunt---alone...... how much does that bite??? it is a must though, especially when you have 6 kids and no Bbsitter. Hopefully I will be successful . Dont want to drag this out too long. Chris has found a few, so hopefully we will have it narrowed down.

Well that is about it. I am starting to bore myself! I also want to post about a fun group I am in. I will do that tonight, and hopefully have it up by tomorrow. Good times. A friend of mine, Brooke (need to put her on my sidebar) is the most fun and creative person I know, Seriously!! The kind of girl that I wish I had a pinky sized portion of her talent. Did that make sense? :)
She rounded up 11 products for us to sample and to review. So fun! I had taken pics of 1 of them, and of course, they are still stuck in my camera, GGRR!

Ok, now I am off to see what the kiddos are doing. A little too quiet in the other room if you aske me! :)

2009-05-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

ITS A.......................................................................................................................................................

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep! One more weenie to join the Smith clan! I am over the shock and I am just glad he looked healthy. Can you believe it????? I think Chris must have gotten hit in the groin area one too many times when he was a kid and it knocked all of the girl chromosomes out of his body. :)
I have run out of boy names, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.....................

2009-05-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

What will it be?? What will it be?????

As if I really need to ask! Tomorrow is the big day to find out the sex of what is making me feel like a giant fat pig every day. Seriously, I am having a hard time with this one. I have only gained 3 pounds so far, but feel like I have gained 20!!! UUUUUUGG!

I am so excited but nervous also. Of course the main important thing is that this little person is healthy and all is well, but a little vagina versus a little peepee would really be the icing on the cake. If it is a boy I am totally ok with it. Really, but gosh, you think that I have my share of boys, I dont want to be selfish and take all the boys... hehehe I will keep you posted on the outcome...

On to other things. I still havent uploaded any of the 5 whole pictures I have taken with my camera. What a loser I am. Here I beg and beg poor Chris to buy me a new camera and I still havent hardly used it or taken pics.

Mothers day was great. It started off with my cute boys bringing me breakfast in bed and all of my cute homemade goodies. I love their homemade gifts. So sweet. Chris bought me my favorite perfume that I have wanted and I got a fabulous dinner cooked for me. We had steak, chicken, baked potatoe, corn on the cob, mushrooms, and rolls yummy. Oh, and guess what??? I didnt take any pictures......can you believe it?

Well I need to get back to my many loads of laundry. Chris informed me that he has had no clean underwear for a couple days. Wjatever I doubt that. I have done a million loads and an finally done.....or until 8 people get their pjs on tonight and then I have another load or 2 to do!! Does this ever end??????? :)

Have a great day!

2009-04-24T11:46:00.001-07:00

QUICK UPDATE

Since I am just sitting here waiting for yet another Realtor to "preview" my house I thought I would update my poor, pathetic blog. I just feel like I have nothing too exciting to share, but I have lots of feelings that I could be journaling. I guess I am afraid of sounding like a huge Debbie Downer or a huuuuge Biotch! I guess I am. :) Might as well own up to it.

Lets see, since last, my mom came to visit. We had a good time. It was really hard though because it was my kids spring break the WHOLE time she was here. It was loud and a little crazy. It would have been nicer if we had some more time without the kiddies. We did get to escape with no kids a few times of course, but it still was a little loud and nuts. Oh well. My mom, Chris and I went in to San Francisco and saw Wicked. It was great ans she LLOOOVOED it. We took Bart in and she thought that was really cool to. I wouldnt call being "gleaked on" by some whacky stranger cool, but oh well. Nasty.

I know I should be post ing pics, but I havent uploaded them yet. I dont even know if I have anything excited to even upload. After years of whining about how much I hate my camera, Chris finally went and bought me a new one. have I used it yet?????? Nope! Loser. I will. It is just one more thing that I havent gotten around to.

We are down to the last few months here in the Bay Area. It is so weird. In a way I am so glad that our house hasent sold. It has given us this time to enjoy Ptown a little longer. I have been under a ton of stress though. Not feeling great with this pregnancy, Chris traveling and cleaning up after 6 kids is sending me to the moon. My poor kids have had to bear the brunt of all of my many moods. I hope they forgive me. The other day I was talking to Dallin. I cant remember what about but he said "yah, pretty much around 8 oclock every night you lose it" How sad. So true, but sad. I worry about that all the time. Are they going to grow up thinking their mom was a nasty hag all of the time? I am sure we all think that way.

Lets see, oh yah, another thing driving me to the nut house is my sweet Lawson and his voice. He is sooo loud and annoying. Drives me nuts. Driving in the car with him has been a real "treat" I find myself cranking up the volume of the tv or radio to drown him out! If anyone out there has watched Mad Tv and seen the character Stewart? He would sound exactly like him. Not good. He is still a cutie though and I wont list him on Craigs List just yet!

Ok, enough of my ragging on. Still no Realtor and I need to go dry my fuzzy ball of hair. He better show up or I will call him and give him a piecce of my mind, and in my fragile state, I just might! :)

Have a great weekend!

2009-04-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

UUUGGG! I am trying this again. Picassa 3 bites!

I have tried to figure out why the pictures keep disappearing from my blog. I am not smart enough I guess. :)
My mom and dad were wondering where the pictures were so here they are for those of you who are wondering who was in those blank squares in my last post. Its this cute little birthday boy Landon
Happy Birthday AGAIN Landon!

2009-04-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANDON!!!!!!!!!!

Today is Landons 11th birthday. I cant believe it has been 11 years. I remember this little guys birth like it was yesterday. Boy do I ever! He was my " I'm gonna come way too fast so you dont have time for an epidural and I am going to be your biggest baby" baby ! He weighed 9 pounds and no epidural. You think I would have stopped at 3, but noooooooooo, I am having a 7th, crazy.
But let me tell you, this kid was so worth it! I love him so much. He is so helpful and easy going. I dont have to ask him twice to do anything. He just goes and does it the first time. He never has to be reminded to do homework and rarely needs help. This is such a huge help when I have others that need me to nag them to death to get it done...

We are so greatful to have him in our family. Happy birthday Lanard Bananard!

2009-04-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYDEN!!

Today is Haydens 5th birthday. I cant believe he is already 5. Where has the time gone?
Hayden is so much fun! He cracks us up. He has always had such a funny personality.

When he was about 1 1/2 I wasnt sure he was going to make it to his 2nd birthday. He was into everything 24/7!!!! Nearly drove me to insanity if I wasnt there already. I remember every night putting him to bed and thinking to myself "crap! I have to do this all over again tomorrow. " Seriously on the go go go all the time.

Now he is just the best. We love him so much. Happy Birthday Hayden!!!

I think that July must have been a boring month for alot of people, because I know
ALOT of April birthdays!! ( wink wink )

2009-03-27T21:58:00.000-07:00

OOOOPS!!! I did it again!!

No, what you see at the right is not an illusion! I am knocked up again. Can you believe it??
Just when I thought the factory was closed, it snuck up and reopened on me . I had just thrown/given away all of my baby crap and BAM it looks like I am going to need it all again.

This seriously was a big shocker for us. I couldnt believe it. I had just finally felt "done" and ready to move on to the next phase of my life. Dont get me wrong, I am extremely grateful for my fertility and feel that this little baby is meant to come. Poor kid, it doesnt know what he is in store for! :)

I am finally starting to feel "human" again. This was a rough one. I usually get sick for the first few months, but this one knocked me on my butt! I had days where I didnt get dressed or move off of the couch. UUUGG! Not good when you have 6 little dudes to care for, house to keep clean, and all of that stuff.

I really am not a huge fan of Baby tickers, but I thought it would be comical to have one on my blog to shock all of you. Who knows how long I will keep it up. Maybe it will grow on me, who knows.

Well I am off to do some more laundry. I am still trying to catch up from my dryer being on the fritz last week. What a hot Friday night activity!

PS The Fishers told Chris and I when I was pregnant with Lawson, that we needed a T.V. in our bedroom.......................maybe we had better try that out...hehehe

2009-03-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

GIRLS TRIP

After Julie bugging me to death to post some pictures from our Girls trip, I finally am getting off my butt and doing it. I really wasnt in the picture mood this year. It just seemed like too much effort to whip out my camera everywhere and to lug the big sucker around (hate my camera). I sound really lazy, dont I? :)

We had sooo much fun. Every year we go to Irvine, Orange Co area. We meet on Thursday and come home on Sunday-----pure bliss, but it goes way too fast!

We just shopped----Every mall around, South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island etc..
Ate lots--------California Pizza Kitchen, PF Changs, Claim Jumpers Sprinkles( 2 times, Sees candy---oh the list goes on and on

This year we also slept as long as we wanted to, went to bed when we wanted to and just took our merry old time doing whatever we wanted----good times.
The onlybummer part was that I didnt find me 1 stinkin thing----NOTHING!
Very sad. I am sure I will make up for it later. Hehe

We go with the same group every year. I have known these ladies forever, well 2 are my sisters, so of course I have known them forever, but the other 2 are twins, Kathleen (funniest person alive) and Liz. They are freinds of Julies from her college days. I love this picture of the "old ladies" with their glasses. so funny. They kept telling us that when me and Laura turn 40, that will be us-----HELL NO !! I refuse to get old! We had so much fun and I cant wait until next year!!

Well I did my duty Julie, Now I am off to go eat some grub with my man. I am starving. I wanted to go earlier, but that dang daylight savings is cramping my style.... I feel bad dragging the kids in when it is still light outside---I know, I should win the nicest mother award. -NOT !

Have a great weekend!

2009-03-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

I dont know what happened to the picture in the previous post, but this is what was suppose to be there......technology Grrrrrrr!

2009-03-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

REALLY????????????

Has it really been that long since my last post????? The horror!!! I am officially the worlds suckiest blogger----------the title is all mine ladies!

Gosh, what is my excuse???????hhhhmmmmm! None. Shear laziness. My life has been crazy these past couple of months. Crazy! So many things have happened. I will delve into some of them an my next post. Not that anyone will return to check, but you never know, it may be worth it! hehe

I will just touch base on a couple of happenings in the Smith household.

1. Baseball season has started, which means practices, practices and more practices. Good times. I think I need to start charging my kids"fares" for being their taxi driver. As Andrea put it on a comment to me on FB---"You signed up for it!" haha loved it!

2. Dallin made the HS Golf team!!! Yeah for him---boo for me! Guess who gets to drive him to all of the various local Golf Courses??? ME! He is really lucky though. These are such beautiful courses up in the hills. I really dont mind too much, because the views are gorgeous!

3. This cute little 4 year old in the picture here learned to ride his bike! yeah! In less then an hour! He was so sad that one of his brothers took off his training wheels. Chris and I said, he will ride it in no time flat---and he did. He is a fast learner. It is so cute seeing him riding his little bike.

4. Landon is off this week to his Outdoor Ed. 5th grade trip. They are gone for 3 days. They go to a place off the coast called Pigeon Point. So lucky. Right next to the ocean. I miss him. He is my big helper.

5. Chris is still traveling. Not too bad, but it stinks when he is gone. Our house is still on the market---UUUUGGG !

6. This is the best happening so far-------my girls trip is coming up this week!!!!!!!! yeah! So excited. I cant believe it is already here. This year has flown by. I am so excited to just shop, eat, sleep and do whatever the hell I want for a few days. Did I mention how excited I was????????:)

Well that is about it. I will post more when I get back on Sunday. (If I come back) haha I hope all is well for everyone. I love that I can keep in touch with alot of you through FB. Right now it works for me. I can do it all on my Crackberry. Without ever getting off my fat butt! Have a great day.

2009-01-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

Finally I figured out my photo dilemma!! Well actually my cute computer genius did. I will have to remember to tip him well.! These are some of the pictures from our Vegas trip and Christmas.

We had a great time in Vegas. This trip we actually stayed with Chris's parents. His sister Dana

and her family are living with them right now, so we had 6 adults, and 12 children all under 1 roof! Crazy, but we all get along well and the kids had a blast.

We did some shopping, eating, visiting with family, movies, Chuck E Cheese, Shooting and visiting the Hoover Dam. UUUGGG! What a nightmare!! Hoover Damn scares the crud out of me! Seriously scares me. I had nightmares and panic attacks all of the night before we left. I had visions of kids leaning over too far and falling. I am happy to report that out of all of the 30+ family members that went, none took a sledding trip down the DAM..................................................

I cant believe that it is already almost Feb. Where in the heck did the time go? I thought for sure we would be in Utah by now, but this lovely economy is keeping us here in beautiful California a little longer. I am more then fine with that! This past week we enjoyed 70 degree weather------in January!!! Go figure. Well I need to go get some food on the table. I have been kind of lazy all day. Good times!

Here are some pictures. You will have to click on them to see thm bigger, not that they are exciting, but unless you have supersonic vision, they are hard to see. Also my computer is making me type goofy, sorry. I guess Blogger is getting back at me for bein g a FB traitor...hehe

2009-01-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

NOT GONE AND HOPEFULLY NOT FORGOTTEN..................................................................

It has been a hundred years since I have blogged. I have tried several times to upload my pics from our Vegas trip, but for some reason my computer is not letting me. I will blog more when I get those up. Who wants to read my post with no pics????????? Not me!

I have also been quite hooked on FB. I have been keeping up with a good chunk of my peeps that way, but will always be a blogger. I hope everyone is great! I will be back as soon as my pics are up. (my computer man, ie.. my hubby is on a "mans golf weekend" trip) He is back on duty the second he walks in the door! hehe Have a great weekend!

2008-12-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

Vegas Baby!!

So after weeks of ho-humming about if I want to go to Vegas this year or not, we decided that we had better go. blah blah! I am sort of dreading the drive, the packing the non-planning of events and so forth, my kids love seeing their cousins and Grandparents and so do I of course. It is just a pain in the butt. I guess I am just getting old and crotchetty. hehe

We had a fun Christmas. It was nice and relaxing and alot of fun hanging out with the kids--yes! I really did type that. No, I really do have great kids and enjoy them, I am so thankful for such a wonderful family.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and thank you for all of the cute Christmas cards. Dont think that you were off of the Smith Christmas card list this year, I just didnt get my act together in time to get a picture done. I am planning a family picture with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background sometime before we move. I think it will be a nice memory for the kids to have to remind them of our fabulous years here in California.

I will post some pics of our Christmas festivities when I get back. I of course will be keeping up with my blog reading and stalking thanks to my hubbys laptop, and for sure Facebook. So fun.

Have a great week!

2008-12-17T17:05:00.000-08:00

FUNNY LITTLE STORY.................

Well, not really, but I kind of thought it was. Now keep in mind I am the worlds suckiest story teller, so try to keep up. :)

A couple of months ago, I was getting ready to board a plane home from my Utah trip. I was finding my seat and had noticed it was next to a man who looked very familiar to me. I couldnt place the face, but I knew I had seen him before. ( I hate when that happens!) After a little while, I finally realized who he was. He was the husband of one of the many bloggers that I stalk. I mean serioulsy stalk. This chick has NO idea who the heck I am.
It was the strangest feeling. It is almost like you are sitting next to a celebrity of some sorts. I almost said something, but was afraid that he might call security on me or something for being crazy.
Ok, so I guess it really wasnt that funny, but I just wanted to write it down.........I owe you all a big Diet Coke for boring you to death..............

2008-12-13T17:03:00.000-08:00

Im still alive.... barely! I havent been much in a blogging mood or any mood lately. I am in a slump. I cant describe it, but I feel like a cross between Debbie Downer and Uncle Scrooge. That is a lovely image isnt it?

I should be more in a festive mood, but I am not feeling it, trying, but failing. HHHHHMMM! Oh well. On to more exciting things....

It has taken me a hundred years to post these pictures of our wild party with the Hales and the Bracketts. Christina and her cute family stopped in for a visit a few weeks ago, it was her bday to be exact. We had a great time. We havent seen each other face to face in many years, but it really didnt seem like it. Between my 6 kids, Christinas 4 and Rachels 5, we had quite the group of rugrats. The kids all got along great and we had a blast. Let just hope it isnt another 8 or so years until we see each other again!!

2008-12-02T15:39:00.001-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAWSON

I cant believe that my baby is 2 years old today!! Where did the time fly? He is the cutest stinker and he brings so much joy to our family. Everynight before he goes to bed he has to "hug" everyone. It is so sweet. He is the cutest little guy. We are not quite sure where he got the blonde hair from. Chris says he is still waiting for the DNA testing results to come back . Funny guy!! OH! Not that he doesnt drive us insane with his 24/7 naughty antics (watered down makeup bag, kitchen watered down with the sink sprayer, etc. etc..)

Lawson isnt quite the talker yet. Chris says that he sometimes feels like he is in a Lassie Show. He is jibber jabbering about something, we just cant quite understand him. I guess it is a good thing. It will prolong the sassy mouth and potty talking right?? :0

Lala, we love you, you bring so much love to our family. Happy Birthday!

2008-11-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

TWILIGHT MANIA

So a bunch of us crazy girls all got together and went to the 12:01 showing of Twilight. There were about 25 of us that braved the masses of teeny boppers.
Even though I was not crazy about the quality of the flick, I greatly enjoyed a night out with my friends. Good times!!!!!

Here are just some of my thoughts about the movie that irritated me:

1. "Climb on my back Spidermonkey"! Need I say more????

2. The hideous makeup and hair on ALL of the Cullens

3. The way Edward "sparkled" I would say he looked like he was sweaty

4. Why did the Cullens drive a JEEP? I imagined them driving a Porsche or Mercedes.

5. Jaspers "crazy" eyes. He kind of looked like he had rabies.

Ok, I will spare you my more of my thoughts on the movie. I did find it entertaining, but very cheesy. I would have to say my favorite part of the movie was when Edward was going in for the big mack-daddy kiss and told her to "hold still and dont move". That was rather hot.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Twilight. What was your favorite/worst part? Who did you go with? Did you brave the masses at the 12:01 showing?

2008-11-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

OH NO HE DIDNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh! How I sometimes want to sell boy number 6 on Craigs List!

Today as I was right in the middle of something extremely important-----------blogging! I was disrupted by the sound of running water. An almost 2 year old and running water are never a good combination... I opened the bathroom door to this!
This picture does not do the moment justice, but this is my makeup bag FILLED TO THE BRIM with freaking water! Oh how I wanted to scream, but instead I went and grabbed my camera and took this picture. I think the camera actually saved his life! hehe
Good thing I love this kid to pieces!

2008-11-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

RECIPE ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok! So last night I must have had a bee up my butt because I decided to put away the box dinners and frozen deliciousness I usually call dinner and make my family a "real" meal. I know, I am shocked also! I havent made this recipe lately, but it is a family favorite and trust me it is SO GRUB!!!! So put your diets aside and your calorie counters away, because this one is NOT low calorie or low fat, but so worth every fat roll you will gain from enjoying it. So here it goes and Bon Appetit!!!!!

Outstanding Chicken Dinner

3 TBS butter
1(8 oz) package mushrooms
3 cups chicken broth
5-6 chicken breasts
1-1/2 (10 oz) can of artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
3/4 c butter
3 TBS flour
2 1/4 cup of half-half
1 1/2 cup Parmesean cheese Not the green can!!) :)
1 1/2 tsp dried Rosemary (optional, I do not add)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Melt 3 tbsp of butter in skillet over med. heat and saute the mushrooms until tender. Remove and put in 11X13 baking dish. Add artichoke hearts to mushrooms in dish also.

2. Place the chicken in skillet and poor broth over it. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Add cooked chicken to baking dish, but reserve 3/4 cup of broth.

3. Melt the 3/4 cup butter in pan and wisk in flour until smooth. Gradually add in the reserved broth and the half-half stirring constantly until thickened. About 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add cheese, herbs, salt and pepper and add to chicken mixture.

4. bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for a few minutes to let sauce thicken. I serve with rice or serve with noodles.

Make sure you serve with some yummy crusty bread, because you will NOT want to waste one drop of this sauce. SO good.

This recipe makes about 6 servings.

2008-11-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

THIS BLOG IS BEING HIJACKED. KEEP CALM AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT!!!!!

This is Chris, Linda's husband, and I have hijacked her blog today since it is her birthday. Happy Birthday Linda, I love you!!

How did I hijack her blog? Let's just say it pays to be an IT guy. Sorry, dear you will have to be really nice to me if you want me to reset your password.

First a confession. I am a blog stalker. Is there a twelve step program for that? I never admit it to Linda but I do occasionally read her and some of her blogging buddies blogs. I think that keeping a blog has been rather therapeutic for Linda over the past year or so. Heaven knows if anyone qualifies for therapy it is a mother of 6 boys and wife to 1 borderline adult husband.

Here are some things I love about Linda:

- She is beautiful. For some reason she is pretty hard on herself when it comes to how she looks. I don't get it. She is HOT! Smokin Hot! (think Talladega Nights - Ricky Bobby)
- She is a pop trivia queen. If you want to know who was in what movie, which star is dating some other flunky, she will know it.
- Linda loves music. Whenever I get in my car after she has driven it the stereo is cranked and usually pumping out some top 40, hip hop who knows what. I swear that sometimes it feels like I'm married to a teenager and that is a good thing.
- Linda loves chocolate. I don't think love is strong enough word. I think that if I were made of chocolate, like in the Axe commercial, that would be a tough dilemma for Linda but in about a week she would be a widow.
- She is a social person. I say that because basically I'm not. She makes friends, good friends, wherever we go. She is down to earth and supportive. Great friend qualities.
- Linda loves her sleep. But only at the proper times. The proper times for her are from 1 AM to 11 AM. Unfortunately for her the rest of her life is not cooperating with that sleep schedule. On days when I'm there or she gets to sleep in there is hell to pay if anyone dares to make a peep or walk to loudly before 10 AM. Of course I'm exaggerating - but only a little. Our neighbors have a gardener that comes by on Saturday morning and sometimes he has the lawnmower, etc. going at 7 AM (way to early) and I think that if we had a gun in the house I would be posting about our periodic conjugal visits.
- Linda is an awesome mom. Especially lately when I'm gone for 3 days at a time. I do not know how she does it. When she leaves for her periodic girls weekends I put on a good show like it is no big deal but holy crap it wipes me out. She is tireless in keeping the house clean, us fed and clothed, being the WWF referee, keeping on the boys to get their homework done, etc... Linda you are the bomb. Totally amazing.
- Linda is the peacemaker in our relationship. Early on in our marriage it became clear that I was the one who would hold a grudge and be a jerk just to prove a point. Linda has always had a great ability to put the petty stuff off to the side and help us both realize what is important - us. That does not mean she is a pushover, she just has the ability to put pride aside and make the first move toward ending any squabble we may have. I can also truthfully say that in 17 plus years of marriage we have never had a big fight. Lots of disagreements to be sure but it is because of her that we have a very harmonious relationship.
- Linda is the greatest thing that has happened to me. I loved my mission, I love each of my children and I love the church but they all pale in comparison to how much I love Linda. (Notice I didn't mention golf? Truth be told I love her way more than golf too). We were engaged two weeks after we met basically because I knew she was the right woman for me. 17 years later I can't believe how lucky I am that she is my wife. Seriously, how many women would even consider, let alone be on board, with having 6 kids? If it were up to her I think she would even be OK with one or two more. I cannot imagine my life without her in it. The promise of being together forever with her is AWESOME!!!

Linda, Happy Birthday. If you look at the bio on this blog it says her age, 39. Hard to believe. I hope you have a happy birthday. I'm trying my best to make it one.

Love Me

2008-11-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

Why ask why????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Things I am thinking about at this moment:

Why does Lawson insist on taking his diaper off all day long?

Why do I have a headache for the 2nd night in a row?

Why isnt it bedtime (for the kiddies) yet?

Why isnt my house sold?!!!!!!!!

Why do I want to attack my kids Halloween bags for candy?

Why do I have to turn 39 this week???????? Where did the time go???

Why do I always have a huge pile of laundry to do??

Why is my computer so slow? Helloooooo, I am married to an IT guy!!!

Why am I so addicted to Facebook?

Why did Obama (or as Hayden calls him- Jomamba or Omama) win???

Why am I making this stupid list instead of doing my dishes? :)

AAAAAHHHH! Alot off of my chest, I do feel better now.

2008-10-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

A WHOLE LOT OF NOT MUCH.....................................................

I have been smack in the middle of a serious bloggers rut! I try to think of something exciting to post about, but my mind goes blank. I feel that I am just going through the motions of life and I am trying to stay afloat. I am in no way saying that my life is bad at all. It is just seriously in chaotic mode and I dont see it slowing down anytime too soon.

It doesnt help that I am a single mom during most of the week. I am doing it all and all by myself. I know, go call the Wambulance, because I am totally whining. People out there have it MUCH worse then I do, but this is starting to bite the big one!! Our house still hasnt sold. Not a huge shocker with the economy the way it is. I am ok in the fact that it is keeping me here in California longer, but it is getting old and Chris is tired of the traveling. Oh well...

I was on one of my many trips to the Sports Park today picking up kids from football practice and my sweet little Bowen asked me what was for dinner. I told him the meager choices and he asked me when we were going to have REAL food for dinner. WHAT??? He wanted to know why I dont cook anymore..... Gee, let me ponder over that one........ Good thing he is cute. :)

Here is a collage of some of the events from the past week or so. It is pictures from our Trunk or Treat last weekend and from the Pack Meeting last night. Landon received his Arrow of Light. So awesome. Way to go Landon!!

Well I am off to try and get my kids to bed. I have been going to bed WAy too late and I need to stop. Waking up at 5:45 to get Dallin off to Seminary is not that pleasant considering I had just went to bed 5 hours earlier. Dummy! Goodnight!

2008-10-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

How do you spend your Friday Night Date night?????

Last night we had the chance to go and be street walkers for a day. It was actually alot of fun. There were about 35 of us and we got alot of support. Of course there was your occasional ice throwing, bird flipping and yelling, but all in all a good experience. We are all entitled to our opinions and I hope that I dont offend any of my blog buds out there. That is why we live in this great country, to have the ability to stand up for what we believe in.

Afterwards, we went to my favorite Indian Restaurant with Christine, Devin, Cheryl and Jim. Good times. Thanks Tristan for the yummy cookies and for letting me steal your photos off your blog! :)

2008-10-20T16:55:00.000-07:00

I found this picture on somebodys blog and I had to share. I thought it was pretty comical----ENJOY!

2008-10-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

Peace out!

I am out of here. I am heading to Utah for the weekend. I am so excited. I need this trip so bad! I am physically and mentally exhausted. I am in serious need of me time. I just hope that I come home to 6 kids still. Heehee. Lawson is into EVERYTHING! I kid you not. I cant explain just how into everything he is. Just in the past 2 minutes, I have gotten him off the counter, out of the garage and then I had to get him out of the bathtub where he just turned on the shower!!!! 2 minutes!!!! I just hope that Chris can keep his cool with him for the whole weekend. I am sure he will.

I am going to hang with my sister Julie and nieces and my parents. They are driving up to Provo today for my nieces bball games. I am just excited to shop and eat! Party!!

Ok, I need to get packing. I will check back when I get home--that is- IF I come home....... hehe

2008-10-12T00:23:00.000-07:00

The Haps...........

Since I am knee deep in a PMS episode and getting my butt spanked by the raging hormones of my Aunt Flo this month, I am going to just make this post short and sweet (hopefully) so I wont seem like such a Debby Downer. I have been so stressed and crabby lately. I feel like I am so crusty and mean to everyone. Sorry to those of you who have had to be around me lately..":0
So here are a few of the events and "happenings" in my neck of the woods.

Me and my hot man before our Anniversary date.
I always tease him that he looks like he is posing for a hostage photo.

This little stinker who kicks my butt on a daily basis. He is
killing me, but I love him to peices.

UUUGGG! I wont go into detail about this photo.
This was a "non-date" Homecoming Dance photo.
No he is not 16, and yes it is TOTALLY against our house rules
that you date before then. In my defense, there was a group of about 30 kids that all went
together. Does that work? We made it clear to this sweet little Amazon in the back of
this photo that it WILL NOT happen again until he is 16!!!!!
You would die if I were to show you what all of the girls were wearing!!!!!!!

GNO for Christine and Maressas Bday.
So much fun. We went to Tomatinas (grub)
and then some of us true party animals
went and saw Eagle Eye afterwards
Great time.

ok, I am going to take me some Advil for my
raging headache. Thanks Aunt Flo for another great
month! ;0

2008-10-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

DISTURBING DIAGNOSIS********

Today I went to my hairdressers for my "usual". After I sat down in her chair for our normal consult of what I wanted done. I was srprised by an intervention of sorts. She told me that I was in need of more then a trim. That my hair was getting too long??? What??? I told her that I didnt think it was THAT long. Now granted it is just past the middle of my back, but it doesnt feel that long to me. She told me that she thinks I have "longerexia" and that I needed help. She told me that my hair was weighing me down. Whatev! I was dying. I thought that was the funniest thing I had ever heard.

Long story short, I succumbed to the peer pressure and she did cut. It does look better. It is still plenty long, but just looks a little more healthy and fresh. Still I am mourning the loss of my precious dead ends.....

I am writing my story in hopes that I can help anyone out there that is suffering from the same illness as I. If I can help at least one person out there I will be happy. So for all you "Longerexia" sufferers out there. There is help!!!!

2008-09-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

COULD THIS REALLY BE MY KID?????

OH YAH!! He is my kid all right. He is not even 2 yet and is the biggest Yuk mouth like his mom. I went into the kitchen the other day and found this little boogar had gotten into the freezer, pulled out a spoon and started mackin down on my ice cream. He does this all of the time. I finally had to put a little kiddie-lock on the freezer to keep his paws off of the hard stuff. Now if only they made an adult-proof refridgerator lock for me!!

Another way I know this child is mine is because he is a Diet Coke monster also. I know you are all cringing and ready to call CPS on me for this. Dont worry, I never put it in his bottles-----YET. He is still young. There is still time to corrupt him. He can hear my Diet Coke can or bottle opening from a mile away and come running. If I get one from the Drive-thru, I have to hear "mom, mom, mom-----GINK GINK"! In the most annoying, nails on a chalkboard scratching voice-ever heard.

He can also tell when I am opening a fresh bag of my precious M&Ms or any other chocolate delectable that I am shoving in my pie-hole. Good thing I have now turned to the "special" new M&Ms in a box. I think I have tricked him--for now.

Good thing I love this kid!

2008-09-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

17 YEARS OF PURE BLISS

Can you believe that these 2 lovebirds are Chris and I???? I know, I know, I still look the same blah blah blah! Just kidding. Tomorrow, September 20th, Chris and I will celebrate our 17th anniversary. I cant believe how fast it has flown by.

I think that I have told the story about how Chris and I met, but I will tell it again so I can relive those fun days again..... ;0

It was may 1991. I was feeling like I was never going to get married. I was an old maid at 21 years old!!! Isnt that funny??? I really thought that. I would joke around that I would be so old and single that I was going to be going to the dances with Berlynn who was only 3 at the time!!!! What a dummy I was.

My mom told me one day that Ron (my BIL) had hired this new kids just fresh off his mission and that he was really cute. I rolled my eyes and said " Mom, I know everyone in Vegas and there are NO CUTE guys here" So caulky, I know. My mom would tell Ron that he needed to hook us up. (Ron didnt think that Chris was my type). Who knew I had a type? I was just willing to go out with anyone that had a pulse! :)

He finally did. He played city-league baseball and told Chris to go and he could "check me out" . Same thing for me, and boy did I check him out! He sat in front of me on the bleachers and I remember thinking to myself "he has such a sexy neck" I am such a perv! He still has a sexy neck by the way...... We all went out to eat afterwards and when we were leaving, he asked me out for later that week. We went out and had such a great time. He was so nice and fun to be with. Long story short, he asked me to marry him 2 weeks later and we were married 3 months after that!!! Good times, Good times!

It has been an awesome 17 years. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this man so much. He is a great father and husband. At the risk of giving out TMI, even after all these years and 6 kids later, we still have the fire!!! This man is HOT!

Hopefully I didnt bore you too much with all of the details, but it was fun thinking about it again.

Happy Anniversary Chris! I love you!

2008-09-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

What to blog about?????????

I have been racking my itty-bitty brain, trying to think of something to blog about. Nothing exciting comes to mind. I have been so busy reading everyone elses blogs lately. So many people have had some trying things happen in their lives, I should be very grateful that I am having such a hard time thinking of things to blog about. I have been so uplifted and blessed by so many people out there, it is amazing. So many sweet, kind and generous people out there, it inspires me everyday to be a better person. Thank you!

I guess one thing that has been on my mind is the many different emotions that I have been experiencing lately. I am one big pile of stress. This whole house selling and moving thing is going to send me on a one way trip to the nut-barn for sure!! We are so in limbo-land at the moment. We know we are moving, we just dont know when, or where? We have had to list our house at lower then what we paid for it--sucky! At least we are not upside-down on it, that is a blessing for sure, but it still stinks. Another big think that is hard for me is having to keep this house clean all the time! It is hard!!!!! On one hand it is nice that it is clean, but trying to keep up with a 22 month old is what is going to drive me insane. He is into everything. I have a lock on my refridgerator, locks on the cabinets, table moved out of the way so he doesnt use it as a step stool to the counter top. Today he managed to climb on the counter , and turned on the garbage disposal! Talk about a Heart-attack! Good thing he is a sweet little cuddle bug! That saves me from wanting to sell him on Ebay!! :)

I have to say that life in general is good. I have a great hubby and sweet boys. I have had to grow in many ways also this past few months, and not just size wise from eating too much chocolate either!! I have been the sole parent sometimes and it has been so stressful. 6 kids pulling at me in all different directions. Do I look like Gumby? I dont do well in those situations. I do know that having our family prayer faithfully at night has really helped me out. I am so thankful for that.

Ok! I am sorry to have rambled on and on. I bet you are thinking" dang, for a girl who had nothing to blog about, she sure has rambled on and on" ! Sorry

Here are some of the beach pictures from our Labor Day trip a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time!

2008-09-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

MY NEW BFF

Who ever said that Diamonds are a girls best friend was so wrong. I must say that diamonds are fabulous, but this is my new best friend lately.

I love it. It is the Eureka Quick up and it is cordless!! With having to keep this house clean 24/7 it comes in so handy. If I dont want to whip out my honkin vacuum (which just bit the dust as I am typing this) I can just grab this little sucker and BAM it picks up the cereal off my kitchen floor and it also does carpet. Yes, you heard me, carpet! Now I am not saying you can vacuum your whole house with this, but if the kids spill crackers crumbs all over the carpet, it sucks them right up. It is wonderful.

Thanks Jenny for telling my mom about it, so she could rave to me about it, so I could then buy it and rave to all of you about it!!!!!!!

2008-08-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

Do Caramel Popcorn and the beach go together?????????????

Uh! Yah!!! A group of people from our ward are going on our annual Labor Day weekend beach trip. We are heading to Half Moon Bay for a fun day in the sun.
Last year we had a blast and are hoping to repeat that this year. Who knows , it could be our last beach trip for awhile.
Very sad to think about that.......Anyhooooo, I wanted to make something yummy to take to the beach with us.
Not wanting to turn on my oven, since it is already hotter then hell here, I opted for one of my favorite childhood treats, caramel Popcorn.
I have great memories of my Grandma Lila coming over and making popcorn balls for me to take to school for my Bday treats. YUM! I am too lazy to form them into balls so I just lay it out on pans until it cools and then slap them bad boys into baggies. So GRUB!!!
I tend to love my popcorn extra gooey, but made them a little less sticky so nobody will get sand in their popcorn. I will post some pictures of our day at thebeach tomorrow. Have a great weekend!!!!

******TIP ALERT*****

I absolutely HATE grannie kernels in my caramel popcorn, so I found that if you put your popcorn into a paper grocery bag and cut a small hole into one of the corners, you can shake them all out.... hot dang!!!!!!! My teeth did a happy dance when I learned this trick!!!! I am sure that a lot of you pros out their already know about this trick, but some of you like me are a little slow at being clever. :)

2008-08-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

First day of school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you feel all of the excitment coming from all of those exclamations marks??? Good times indeed! Yesterday was the first day of school and everything went rather smoothly. Dallin was out the door first and this was the first day of being a big Sophmore. At least he is not a "Baby Falcon" anymore. I remember being called a "maggot" when I was a Freshman. Being called a Baby Falcon is nothing compared to maggot. As you can see from this picture of him, he looks less then thrilled at the photo-op.

The next group out the door was this cute little trio! My cute little 3rd grader aka "Sweatshirt child" (notice the sweatshirt even though it was warm outside this morning)???? UUUGGGG! I have to take a few deep breaths for sure.
Next is the always camera ready 7th grader. He was excited to see who was in his classes today. His one big bummer of the day was that he has 6th period lunch, which means that my poor baby has to pretty much go all dang day before getting to eat his always healthy lunch. :)
Last but not the least is my sweet 5th grader, big man on campus this year. My cute little scholar is always prepared and ready for the day. He never needs to be reminded to do his homework or anything else for that matter. I would be a gazillionaire if I could figure out what I did during my pregnancy to have him turn out so easy and mild mannered!!

And after all of those rugrats are out the door, who do I get to spend the WHOLE rest of the day with????????

These little angels!! Arent the cute!?? Even though I am trying to survive these days chasing after Messy Marvin and fighting the urge to go to my "happy place" and escape the madness, I wouldnt trade it for anything. I am trying to enjoy these days that I have them home with me. They grow up so fast. Pretty soon, they will all be gone during the day and I will have to do lunch and shopping with my freinds ALL BY MYSELF! Oh wait, that sounds pretty good actually...........HEHE

Well, I need to get back to motherhood. I have Back to School Night, dinner, homework, and Young Mens tonight. Good thing I have a tub of cookie dough in my fridge to get me through the night!

2008-08-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

Let the Countdown begin!!!!!!!

5 days 7 hours and 5 minutes until school starts! It seems like yesterday the dark cloud of Summer break was upon me and now it is over!!! It has gone by way too fast. I never thought I would say it,but I am NOT looking forward to school starting next week. Oh, I guess that is not completly true, I am getting a little tired of the fighting, the "Im bored" "what are we going to do today?", but not the homework and al of that garbage.

We have had a pretty good summer. It has been filled with baseball, Baseball Allstars, Chuck E Cheeses and camping with a little mumbo jumbo in between. Good times. This past week we met up in with some of our Fremont friends at Chuck E Cheeses. I have know these girls since I have lived in California. That is 12 years and 4 kids later. It was alot of fun hanging with them for the afternoon. I even let Landon take a picture with me in it!! That is big progress.....

My summer has also been filled with some stressfull and busy moments. Busy doing what you ask???? Busy getting ready for this:

Thats right, we are moving. Do you think that Utah is ready for the Smith family????? We might just turn it upside down! Chris took a job with a company in South SLC area. We are excited for the change, but oh so sad to leave our friends. We have been fortunate enough to have made some great friends out here. Friendships that will last forever, but it is will be so hard to leave.

Our house was just listed so who knows how long it will take to sell. With this crappy housing market who knows. It sucks! Hopefully not too long. I am so tired of keeping my house clean 24/7. I love that it is clean, but with 6 kids--------total headache!!!!!

So all of you Utah bloggers out there, I need you to pump me up about the move. My kids took it pretty well, except for Dallin. When we first told him, he called us "life ruiners" He said that we were moving to "freakville" I am sure he thinks that Utah is out in the boonies or something. He is warming up to it. He thinks that it is cool that Seminary is part of the school day and wont have to get up at the crack of dawn anymore.

Well I need to go get my rugrats to bed. It is going to be rough getting them back onto the school bedtime schedule. GOODNIGHT.

2008-08-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

BARGAIN!!!!!!!

I just wanted to share a bargain that I found at Bed Bath and Beyond today. Every once in a freakin blue moon, I manage to do something that makes me say "good job Linda".

I have had my eye for a few months on the cutest Quicksilver bedding at Bed Bath and Beyond. At 150.00 for a twin bedset I have found it hard to want to choke one down and spend 300. for bedspreads for kids! Boogars, bloody noses etc........ I dont think so!
After my annual womanly Drs appt. today, I headed to Bed and Bath to see what they had. I happened to find this cute, black, grey and white comforter set for 50 bucks! I then grabbed 2 decorative Quicksilver pillows that were discounted because they were out of the package and BAM!!!!! Instant wannabe Quicksilver knockoff!!! I bought 2 of everything and with my awesome Bed and Bath coupons I managed to only spend 140.00 total!!!!!

Go ahead and give me a virtual pat on the back! LOL

2008-08-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

LOVED IT!!!!!

A few of us girls went and saw this movie last night and we loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have heard so many mixed reviews on it but I would go see it again in a heartbeat. I loved the music. I have always been a huge ABBA fan and so many times during the movie I wanted to get up and shake my money maker (Not one part of my body could ever be a money maker, but you get it) I wanted to dance!
Pierce Brosnen was a little off but I thought he did a great job. If any of you are on the fence about seeing this movie---just go! You wont be disappointed.

2008-08-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

This weeks adventure-----or lack thereof

Friday I took the kids and drove 2 hours to Roseville to pick Judson up from my SIL Dana. She was nice enough to offer to take him for the week. She lives in Fernley NV so this was sort of a good spot in the middle to make the exchange. We decided that since it was a hotter then snot day in Central Cal., we would opt for an indoor activity. What do you think it was?????? That is right, one of my favorite places to go with the kiddos is Chuck E Cheeses. Oh I can already hear the dry heaving from some of you Chuck haters. LOL
It was fun. Well, the drive wasnt. It actually sucked. Who wants to listen to a baby crying the WHOLE time???? I could handle Lawson crying, it was the other kids that were driving me nuts. They were saying "shut him up" "why is he crying" blah blah blah!
When I finally got home I made Chris take me out for a quick bite to eat at our favorite Indian Resaurant, Havali in Dublin. It is so good!

Saturday we or I should say Chris worked his tale off in our backyard and running a ton of errands. He was one busy guy.

Today I am actually 2 kids less instead of 1. Dallin is still in Vegas and Bowen is at Scout Camp, so it is just me and the 4 other rugrats. We ran to Costco so that I didnt look like Old Mother Hubbard with her bare cupboards anymore.

Today after running to Costco, I told Lawson to go get his blanket. He went and got it and this is what he did. It was so cute. He just laid down and fell asleep. This is definitly a first and probably a last. He usually has a nap, but since he didnt get up until 11:30 this morning I was going to hold him off and put his butt to bed early!! No such luck. He instead is here under the desk with a toy drill, drilling my feet. He is my little shadow today.

Well I am off to attempt getting the kids to bed. They have been up for the past hour playing Mario Kart. UUUHGG! Heaven forbid they read a book or something!! Goodnight!

2008-07-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Not again!!!! What is wrong with me? I am a blogger slacker for sure! Too long between post. I am still recovering from our week of sand, beach and sun. I must say that the sun kicked my trash this week. My forehead looks like I have a fungus! It is an itchy, flaky mess! If any of you see me, I do not have dandruff!!!

We had a great trip. Good times with family and we really couldnt have asked for better weather.
Rather then bore you to tears with the details of the trip, I will just give you a quick overview of all of the action.

1. People in attendance: 9 adults, 20 kids

2. Activities: Beach, beach and more beach. San Luis Obispo Mission, Farmers Market, and Childrens Musium. Deep Sea fishing or should I say Deep Sea Barfing for some of the participants:) Many trips to Walmart and the local laundromat. A hefty sampling of Pismos finest Clam Chowder. A day at the city of Solvang to sample many Danish pastries.

3. Things I could have done without? Bees. An extremely whiny 20 month old. That same extremely whiny 20 month old sleeping in between Chris and I for a week! Sand galore in every nook and cranny of my kids body. Gross!

4. Injuries: Darcy slicing open her leg on a stroller during our pastry-feast in Solvang. She ended up needing 9 staples! Lawson deciding that the fire pit would be a fun place to put his little grubby hands during a fire! Luckily it wasnt too bad of a burn.

Well that is about it. We all had a fun time and made great memories. My kids said that this was the best Pismo trip ever. I am slowly getting back into the groove of things and I am sure I have so many blogs to catch up on. I hope you are all having a great summer. I cant believe how fast it has gone. 4 more weeks until school starts again-------PARTY!!!!!

I am sorry for yet another picture grid. It is the only way that I know how to post a ton of pictures..

2008-07-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

WE ARE OUTTA HERE.................................

We are off soon for Pismo Beach to go camping with Chris' family. I am waist deep in laundry and trying to pack for 7 people. Wish me luck. Hopefully I will remember to take lots of pictures of all of the action. I am sure you will all be waiting on pins and needles for that. :0

See you soon.........................

2008-07-17T00:20:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DALLIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes thats right ANOTHER birthday post!!! Just when I thought I was done for awhile, my alzheimers meds kicked in and I remembered the sweet boy who made me a mom in the first place!!!

15 years ago today I became a mom. It was so exciting! He has brought such joy to our family. Dallin is such a great kid. Even though we are ankle deep into the "joyous" teen years, he is turning into a great young man. It is so strange that he is as tall as me and I sometimes have to think "who the hell is in my house" when I hear his deep voice talking. Way too weird.

It is a little sad this year. As I had mentioned in my last post, Dallin is in Vegas right now hanging with family an earning some moula. It seems sad that he is not here with us, but I am sure he will be spoiled and have a great day!

Dallin is a great big brother. He is a very hard worker and always is eager to learn something new. He loves golfing ALMOST as much as his dad. He is a great cookie maker... .... he is part of my fat rolls reproducing problem.. :) We just love him so much!

Happy birthday Dallpal!

2008-07-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cant believe it has been such a long time since my last post! What is wrong with me? Oh, I know! Life has been pulling down my pants and spanking my butt bigtime!!! Sorry for the analogy, but I can think of nothing better to discribe my summer. It has not been bad, in fact we are enjoying it so far. No getting up early, homework etc... Good times.

I have been enjoying reading blogs and occasionally commenting (slacking in that department too). So many blogs that I have been reading though have been so depressing. I should say, depressing and also inspirational. It has really been reminding me how grateful I am to be a mother and to not take advantage of the time I am with my kids. Some days I am ready to ship them to Guantanamo Bay for some shaping up..: ) kidding, of course, but I try to hold them a little longer, kiss them often and try not to be my usual "queen yeller", but at least I am trying.

We have been busy pretty much this whole summer with Bowens ALL-Star games. They have been going non-stop. They are fun to go to and gives us something to do, but it is getting a little old.

This week I am busy getting ready for our annual camping trip with Chris' family. This year we are heading back to Pismo Beach. I love it there. It is so nice. It gets a little chilly at the beach, but the kids love spending time with their cousins, and I love that they are off playing and out of my hair!! Hee hee...

It has also been a little over a week that Dallin has not been home. He is in Vegas for a couple of weeks working for Chris's dad doing landscaping. Poor guy. It is hotter then hell there, but he is loving the fact that he is getting paid and he is getting spoiled by his grandparents. My parents especially are spoiling him. We miss him around here, but it is a good experience for him and we will be seeing him this weekend. It is also his 15th bday this week. Yes that is right---ANOTHER bday post!! I think I said I was done with bdays until mine and Lawsons at the end of the year, but I was wrong. How could I forget the sweet boy who made me a mother????

Well I am off to another game. Sorry for a post about nothing. Hey isnt that what made Seinfeld famous????? Have a great day!

Here are some of our summer happenings..........

2008-07-06T19:58:00.001-07:00

Judsons big week.............................................

Here are a few pictures of Judson birthday. We had a great day. Judson invited a few friends to his party. We went and saw Wall-e. I would want to call in Snooze-E. Kind of a bore for me but the kids loved it. We then went back to the house for some pizza, cake and ice cream. Good times and a big holla for me that I am done with birthdays until mine in November and Lawsons in December. Yeah!! Very exhausting for me all of these parties! I am sure that you are tired of all of my bday posts also. :) I guess thats what I get for being so dang fertile around the wintertime! heehee.

Judson was also baptized yesterday. Such a great day. We spent the day finishing up our paint project. We decided to paint our front entryway and all of the upstairs hallway. Big project. Dallin worked on a little bit of painting throughout the week and we just cranked it out on Friday. Saturday night he was baptized and then we had some friends over to the house for some yummy food afterward. It was a lot of fun. Lots of kiddies running around having a great time. I have so been off my diet this weekend. Time to crank it up and get back to "operation gut reduction" tomorrow.

Well that is it for now. I will be back to post later about all of my thrilling summer escapades.. NOT! Who wants to hear about all of my shopping trips to Costco, Walmart, and everywhere else with ALL 6 KIDS!!??????? Thats right, all of them want to go with me everywhere I go. Thats ok with me. I better enjoy this time while I can. Soon they are going to think that I have the plague and not wnat to be near me. So sad. Have a great night!

Kevin, Jayden, Judson and Ian at WALL-E

Ghetto cake. Dont look too close at all of my mistakes.

My 2 handsome men

2008-07-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

SHOUT OUT*******

My SIL has joined the "darkside". She has finally after months of stalking started her own blog. She is alot of fun and I am sure she would love to meet all of you awesome ladies. So pop on by and say hi!
I am not savvy enough to figure out how to link her but she is on my sidebar under JENNY (SIL).

2008-07-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

Like, the best day ever!!!!

Today I took Dallin to the Drs for a checkup. It is so weird for me to think that I have a teenager who is now as tall as me!! He has grown 4 inches this year so far. Crazy! Anyway, I was talking to the nurse and I was telling her that "my baby is growing up so fast" and she told me "you look too young" , "almost like sister"!! YES! All those years of being made fun of because of my lovely albino skin has paid off! I look young enough to be my sons sister.....HEEHEE.

Although it made me feel good, I am now coming to the realization that this poor girl is in desperate need of glasses!!!!!

2008-07-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today July 2nd is Judsons 8th birthday!! I cant believe it has been 8 years since this cute little spitfire has joined our family.
It is a special birthday. Saturday he is going to be baptized. Very exciting around here. He is especially excited to get his own set of scriptures too!! He is usually carrying around some old ghetto looking bag with an old set in it, but he doesnt care. So cute.

Judson is a sweet boy! OOOHHHHHH!!! He has his moments indeed!! All of you that read my blog have heard me blog many-a-times about my difficult "sweatshirt" child. He has given me many reasons to want to turn to some sort of substance to get me through the school mornings!! ;) but what would my life be without these challenges? :)

Judson loves his brothers and loves to be included in everything. Judson loves to play baseball and video games. He is a good helper and brings such joy to our family!

We are going to take a few of his friends to see Wall-E and then have pizza and cake. Easy shmeezy!! That is the way I like it.

We love you Judson and are so proud of you! Happy Birthday Juddy-bud!!!

Judson loves to have his pictures taken!
When he was born, he had fluid in his lungs and had to stay an extra couple of days at the hospital. So sad to see him all hooked up.

Loves his brothers.

2008-06-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HOT MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know what a totally annoying post title, but it is so true!! Today June 30th is my sweeties 39th birthday! UUUGGG! When did we get so old?????
I am not going to name 39 things that I love about Chris. I am too tired and my brain is not capable of such a function right now but I LOVE THIS MAN!!! He is such a great husband and father. This is the man who has given me 2 girls trips this year so far!!! How lucky am I ? He is such a hands on dad. I for sure would have shut down the baby factory a LONG time ago if he wasnt.

We dont have anything too exciting planned for his bday. I was going to make him his annual dinner of Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry Crust, but it will have to be postponed for one more day. We just found out that Bowen has an All-Star game tomorrow. I am going to make my very first German Chocolate Cake for him. I hope it turns out. I hope he has a great bday. I am sure he has a golf game plotted out already! :)

Happy Birthday Chris! I love you!!

2008-06-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

I AM BACK FROM ARIZONA

It has taken me a few days to get back into the swing of things after my fun trip to Arizona. We had a blast even though I had to leave the comforts of my California weather to endure the Hotter then Hell Arizona temps!
It was a weekend of shopping and eating swimming (yes my big butt fianlly made its swimsuit debut!) Hideous, I may add, but at least I did it.

Here are some fun highlights of my trip:

Sleeping in until 10:30 almost every morning!

Eating some yummy food

Gorging ourselves on Paradise Bakeries GRUBALICIOUS Cheesecake brownies! The best ever.

Shopping till we drop! Holy cow did I do some major damage at the malls? I dont know what came over me, but lets just say I had to buy a carry on bag to haul some of my loot back home!

Spending time with my sisters and their cute kids.

I also got to meet Michelle and her beautiful daughter Sarah, Julie (aka crazymoma) Janie (aka Hot moma) at Pf Changs. We had the best time. They were so easy to talk to. I was SO nervous meeting them. My stomache was all knotted up and my hands were shaking. Weird, but that feeling didnt last very long. We even ended up closing the joint down. We are such the partiers!

I also scored some fabulous gifts from Julie and Janie. They were so sweet to bring us each a pair of cute earrings that Janie made! and some of my favorite Soap from Julie. Thanks girls!

Now I am back home to my sweet family and I am so lucky that my man let me go on 2 girls trip this year!!! I guess I will have to pay him back some how!!!!!!!! (wink wink)

Well I need to go and do the dishes. Cinderella is back!!!!

2008-06-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

SUMMER FUN DAYS********************

Well here it is day 3 of summer vacation and I am happy to report we are all alive and I am still of sound mind :) We have actually had a great time so far. Dallin and Bowen have been gone since Saturday at different campouts. Even though I have missed them it has been kind of nice just spending time with the 4 younger ones.

Monday we went to our favorite summer spot----Chuck E Cheeses. I am sure all of you are gagging right now, but it is a great spot to cool off and hang out. Maybe you guys should give the Northern California Chucks a try, maybe ours is extra "special".. HEHE
We also headed to our neighborhood pool for family night and had the Fishers come along and chill with us. I have to say that it was mighty chilly that night to go for a swim, but the kids didnt seem to mind. They had a blast playing all sorts of games with Chris. My kids were asking me if I was going to go swimming with them and I was like H--E-L-L no! I wouldnt want to scar my children for life. I did buy a new swimsuit, but it is not going to be for public view that is for sure!!

Tuesday I took the kids to Walmart to pick up a few things and then we went to our friends the Gollmers house to swim. This is a favorite summer activity to do. Tiffany is always so nice to invite us to her house to swim. She has such a gorgeous backyard. We call it the "Gollmer Grotto." It was very relaxing minus the fact that I have an annoying 18 month old who is constantly trying to plunge in the pool. Very scary! Tuesday after Chris got home from work I went and had my nails done and I even had my nasty, dry feet prettyed up. Oh they were so gross and now they look fabulous!!!!! We also went to Costco. I loved the fact that I didnt have to cook dinner that night since we enjoyed a big greasy hot dog and pizza for dinner. Delish!! I dont know why I take Chris with me to Costco, my bill ALWAYS triples when we go together. They did have 72 hour kits there. They had a 4 person kit for only 83 bucks. I think that is a great bargain since I dont have to put it together myself. :)

Today I am just home with Hayden and Lawson. Jud and Landon are at scout day camp for most of the day. Very quiet around here. :)
Dallin should be home soon from his High Adventure trip. They hiked to the top of Half Dome at Yosemite yesterday!!!! 16 miles round trip! Way to go guys. You would have had to rescue me by helicopter about 1/4 of the way up!!!

I am also trying to get things organized for when I leave tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!! I am so excited get away for a couple of days. It will be nice to have a little break.

I am also excited to hook up with Michelle, Crazymoma and Hotmoma this weekend. Very fun. Well I am off to get me an In and out Burger. I love their Double Double protein style with a large Diet Coke! Could my day get any better????

2008-06-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

I just wanted to wish my wonderful dad a happy Fathers Day!!!
Thanks for being the best dad anyone could ask for. I hope you have a great day.

We love you!!!

2008-06-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

Can you see it?????? Look again and you will see this storm-a-brewin over California .........................

Yep! The party is over this time tomorrow :) Tomorrow is the last day of school here. OOUY VEY!!! What am I going to do to entertain my 6 little munchkins?? I dont know. If the last 2 weeks have been a sample of what lies ahead, I am doomed! There has been quite a bit of bickering and alot of "Im bored" ALREADY........... Can believe it??? We will survive. I know that the first few days or so are the hardest usually. They are creatures of routine and when that is gone, they go bonkers.

One thing that will help me to survive this first week is knowing that they do have scout stuff and some have camping trips planned this first week. I also am OUT OF HERE next week for a girls getaway. Yes, again. I know, I am very lucky. My sister Julie is heading to AZ again to visit my other sister Laura. (I guess I am not good enough to come visit here). I am very excited. It will be fun. I havent been to Lauras house in 5 years. I am planning on even getting together with some blogging girls. Too fun. If anyone is in the Az area of Gilbert and around there let me know. Well I have a Pig stye of a house that is in major need of attention. My house has been neglected lately and it is really showing it. Have a great night and dont forget to pack an umbrella tomorrow, the storm will be BIG!!!

2008-06-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone??????? It was my little cabooses second day of Nursery yesterday. (sniff sniff). It is so sad and joyful at the same dang time. They made these cute little hats for all of the kids. He looks like Dumbo. I love it! Where did my baby go????
Pretty soon he will be sassing me and wreaking havock with my mental stability. LOL

2008-06-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I dont know why the schools cram a whole boatload of activities the last 2 weeks of school, but they do. These past 2 weeks we have finished up the last of the baseball games-----Yeah!, attended team parties, had school musical programs x2 scurried around finishing final projects---nothing but Last Minute Larries around here. It has been crazy! I feel like I am on Speed! Oh well, nothing but fun and good times.

This past weekend we had a fun GLO Girls Lunch Out. Brooke (sidebar, but private) came into town with her cute family to visit. They moved to---where else but Utah last year. It was fun to see them. A bunch of girls all got together at PF Changs and had a great time. It was so fun to visit with her and Camille, who came into town from Reno just for the lunch!!! How about that? What devotion! :) Besides the service being sort of sucky, it was delish! I had to ask for my Diet Coke refills several times! NOT GOOD...

Friday night we all got together at the Sportspark and hung out with our families. It was a great night of visiting and LOTS OF GOODIES, which I proudly did not partake of. Even the yummy Chocolate Texas Sheetcake that Michelle H. brought. Shame on her for tempting me so!

Well that is about it. I feel like I have been on severe overload. I am sure I am not different then anyone else around. This is the last week of school and I am having such mixed emotions. There might be a dark storm cloud brewing over Northern California on Friday---:) Watch out..................

Oh and thanks for the kind advice and words regarding my "funk" . I am way better and I am sure it was just my nasty hormones wreaking havock. All better and done, at least for 30 more days! Yeah!!

Judson in his Famous American Musical program.

How could a mother not love a chocolate covered mug like this??

2008-06-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

What is wrong with me?

I feel like I am ready to lose my marbles!! I have been feeling so overwhelmed and almost depressed feeling lately. I could probably rip somebody a new one at the drop of a hat. I cant pin point what the problem is. I am sure that it is my good old Aunt flo who so nicely came to visit me today is the reason for my "funk". I have been snippy to my kids, my man and strangers........... Maybe I should go buy me a case of Pamprin or Midol to see if that helps. :)

I am so glad I have my blog to express vent out my frustrations. It is hard to get any sympathy from a house full of men who dont share the same body parts as I do :)

Ok I am off to try and be patient to a 7 year old potty mouth who is throwing a hissy.... good times!!!

2008-06-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

DO YOU SEE THERAPY IN THE FUTURE FOR THIS POOR KID????

Poor Hayden!! Last week was his pre-school Mini Indie. It was so cute. They had a little track all mapped out for the kids to ride their bikes around on and they even had 2 cops on motorcycles there to lead the way. Along the path were little stations set up for their use. One was a "wash" station, another was a "fix-it" station and then they had a "gas" station. Really very cute.
Well, I being the ding-bat mom that I am, forgot to bring his helmet!!! Hellooooo, we live in freakin California, where you cant even THINK about riding ANY bike unless you are wearing a helmet. A nice mom in his class said that she had an extra one we could borrow and of course it was PINK!! So funny. At first Hayden told me "I am not wearing dat, it is for guls" After a little discussion, he relented and here is my one and only time I will ever see one of my children in pink! :)

2008-06-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

WHAT THE????????????????????????????????????????

This was snapped a few days ago at my lovely neighborhood gas/rip-off station. I think I am going to go buy me a Yugo or something that wont force me to almost takeout a loan to buy gas.

2008-05-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOSH!!!!! This is the 3rd feakin time I have tried to post this. It keeps on deleting what I have written. I am going to go bazzzzerk on this computer!!!! Here it goes again!!!!!

I am back!!!
We just got back from our long camping weekend. We go every year to a campground off the coast called Gualala. It is so beautiful there!! We go every year with a HUGE group from our old ward. We had a great time. The kids were off doing their thing the whole time and we were able to catch up with old friends that we havent seen in awhile.
The group that we go with totally pimp out their campsite. It has a microwave, hot running water, a refrigerator, Otis Spunkmeyer oven for the oodles of cookie dough they bring up and a nacho machine that goes 24/7! We eat good! Our menu usually consists of ribs, turkey, abalone fresh from the ocean and tons and tons of snacks and goodies. Lets just say that my diet totally went to hell in a handbasket this weekend. That is ok, my fat rolls were getting lonely.

It is great to be back in my nice warm bed and away from those pesky mosquitos. My kids have quite a few bites, but I managed to only get 1 or 2. I guess my blood isnt good enough for them. :) I have been doing a ton of dirty, campfire smelling laundry. I think I have done at least 9 loads so far. It is so gross.

Well I had better get back to my BFF, the washing machine. I also need to catch up on my blogging. I am sure that someone is knocked up or something exciting has happened out there! :) Have a great day..

2008-05-22T00:58:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY BOWEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is my sweet BoBos birthday. It is such an exciting year for Bowen. He entered the 6th grade this year. Tonight he went to his last 11 year old scout meeting and will officially be in the YM program. I cant believe it. He will also get to go to scout camp this summer. Bowen will also receive the priesthood. I am so proud of him and the choices he has made.

Here are 12 things about Bowen

1. He is a very loving brother.
2. He is quite the jokester and loves to make you laugh.
3. He gets "asked out" all the time by those trampy 6th grade girls. LOL
4. He was only 5 weeks old when we made our journey out here to CA
5. He is great at pretty much every sport he plays.
6. He LOVES to weasel out of his chores and homework.
7. Spends about 20 minutes in the morning on his hair--UUUGG
8. Is kind to everyone.
9 Very loving and always makes sure he tells us he loves us before he goes to b ed.
10. Has lots of friends and is very social--a little too social, his teacher told us at open house the other night. :)
11. Very competative.
12. Is the family peacemaker.

I love this kid so much and I am so happy to be his mom. He has his moments where you want to bust his chops, but for the most part he is a great boy.

Happy Birthday Babalooo......................we love you!

Today we are taking him and some friends to go see Indiana Jones. When he found out it was coming out on his bday he was so excited so we are going to fight the mobs and hopefully it will meet everyones expectations.

Ok so on another note, what did everyone think about AI tonight? I really thought David A would win, but I was hoping that it would be David C. Who were you voting for????????

These are not the pictures I wanted to use, but I couldnt get my scanner to work.

2008-05-20T17:36:00.001-07:00

NEW RECIPE and A SMALL RANT

What would my post be like without a small rant involved? So, I have noticed that some blogs have tickers. There are your "baby tickers" , "pounds lost tickers", "days until our trip to Hawaii" tickers, you get the idea. Well I came across a realy doozy the other day and I wanted to share it. I came across a "Days until my kids are out of school" ticker. What??????? Who is counting that down????????!! Surely it has to be that she is trying to be prepared for that fateful day, and shes not excited about it right????? Help me out here. Now dont get me wrong, I really do enjoy my kids and it is not like I dont have at least 2 kids home with me at all times during the day, but I love having a few hours a day where they are out of the house. Six children home for 3 months is a handful!! I AM excited about not hearing "I need help on my homework" or "I have a big project that I have known about for 3 weeks that I am just now getting started on and I need supplies for"!!! for the next 3 months....... and of course the not having to get up and get kids off to school every morning. HHHHMMMM! Maybe that ticker wasnt such a bad idea! I guess I just have mixed feelings about it all, but I better get over it because we only have about 4 weeks of school left here..........

Ok, on to the recipe. As some of you know, Holly and I belong to this food prep group. Once a month we take turns coming up with recipe that we can put in our freezers for easy cooking nights. It is a great group and fun to try new recipes. This is one of the recipes that we had and my family and I really liked it. Here it is...

Zesty Ginger Tomato Chicken

2-3 pounds of skinless legs, thighs or breasts (whichever you prefer)
2- 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1 TBS Fresh grated ginger
2 TBS quick-cooking tapioca
1 TBS fresh cilantro or parsley
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all of the ingredients minus the chicken and mix well. Place in slow cooker, then add the chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3. I serve it on top of rice. So good!!

This is a great recipe to make ahead and freeze. Just pull it out of the freezer and put in the crock pot! Easy Sunday dinner.

I hope you like it. ******Tip***** If your kids dont like small chunks of tomatoes, (like mine) then I would try using crushed tomatoes instead of the diced. Just a thought.

Well I am off to Bowens baseball game. Only 2 more games left of the season. Have a great night.

2008-05-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

This is what I feel like.

UUUUUUGGGGG!!!! It is hotter then snot here!!! (yes Christine, snot can be hot!)

We are having a little "hot" spell here and I am not handling it very well. I feel sticky, sweaty, smelly and just downright nasty. I grew up in Vegas so you would think I could deal with this, but no. I am a HOT MESS here.

Ok, enough complaining. I am very blessed to live here in the bay area, where you "pay out the wazoooo" for good weather. I hate when people tell me that, but it is true. We have pretty mild temps here for the most part, so I shouldnt complain on the days that we are roasting but the heat and I are bitter enemies.

Ok so onto other things. My sister Julie is visiting my sister Laura in AZ this week. They are planning a blog lunch today and I am so excited to hear how it went. I am so jealous. I am the one who got Julie into blogging and now she is meeting some of my blogging buds in person. So fun. All I have to say is there had better have been some cameras-a-flashin girls!

Well I had better start dinner. You know it will be something easy and not involving any ovens! :) Have a great day!

???? What is the weather like where you live?

???? How do you deal with the heat?

2008-05-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

MOTHERS DAY and boring post # 2 :)

I had a great Mothers Day this year. My boys were on their extra best behavior, which always makes me happy. They wanted to get up and make me breakfast, but we have 9:30 church and to have to get up any earlier then I need to does NOT make me happy. We compromised and they made me lunch. Church was wonderful. During Sacrament meeting all of the youth and men got up and sang "There is beauty all around" It was beautiful to see all of those priesthood holders up there singing for us. I even scored a nice nap after church!
Chris gave me gorgeous roses and and a plant "that I cant kill" for my kitchen window. We will see how long it lasts. I can barely keep my children alive, let alone a plant!!!! LOL
We then headed to Hollys for our traditional Mothers Day celebration. Then men planned out the whole yummy menu. We had shrimp, Tri-tip sandwiches, salad and a whole boatload or appetizers. So good. They even made us huge chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches. Yes, I did partake of the dessert. How could I have resisted? I didnt want to hurt anyones feelings...... I am always thinking of other people. LOL
I am so grateful to be a mother. It is what I always wanted to be. I never let a day go by thanking my Heavenly Father for giving me such sweet, wonderful boys. I hope all of you rockin moms out there had a great day also. You deserve it!

I just couldnt resist this picture of Lawson in his new duds. I thought he looked so dang cute, but Chris said he looks like a psycho clown. I also have to laugh at Chris in this picture. I always tease him that he looks like he is posing for a police lineup or something. His pictures dont quite show his hotness.....")

2008-05-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

FATHERS AND SONS CAMPOUT/GNO!!!

Every year our ward has its Fathers and Sons campout on the weekend of Mothers Day. This year Chris took 5 out of 6 of the boys. How awesome is that?? Chris has a "no diaper" policy and wont take any child unless they are potty trained. I am going to kick it into high gear to get Lawson potty trained for next year. :) Well see. That might be pushing it, but I will definitly try... After Chris left I had Catherine come babysit Lawson. A bunch of us in my ward got together and went to Cheesecake Factory. My sald wasnt that great but my "6 carb" cheesecake was to die for. So good! They really do have it there. It was so fun not having to entertain my little buddy while I ate, and I was even able to do some shopping. Good times! I then headed home, put Lawson to bed and enjoyed a nice evening with "Stacey and Clinton" and some of my other shows I havent had time to watch.

Chris made it home with all of the boys alive and well by noon. It was a great start to the weekend. I already posted about my hot movie night watching Robert Downey Jr. in Ironman. So good. Go see it, you will see an entertaining action flick and also see some cute ,buff ,eye candy. :) I will post about my great Mothers Day later. I didnt want to be a huge bore all in one post, so I will spread it out for you in to 2 posts........ ")

2008-05-11T00:42:00.000-07:00

Chris and I went to see Ironman tonight and we really liked it. Tell me I am not the only one out there that thought Robert Downey Jr. looked GOOD in this movie..................Mmmmmm!

2008-05-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

I AM DROWNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not really, but I couldnt think of another title of this lovely post. I have been having that feeling though, like I am drowning--in life. Things are just so crazy busy around here, that I feel like I cant catch my breath. I am always on the go, go, go and it maddens me. I am not the kind of person who feels the need to be involved in everything or their kids going every which way. When those times do happen I go batty! I am a slow life lover, I wouldnt say that I like to be dormant, just not ALWAYS in my car. I am sure that my little old neighbor across the street gets dizzy watching my car go in and out of the driveway all day.
I am sure I am not any different then anyone else.

I have also been slacking on my personal goals big time! I am sure that is another reason I feel like I am not handling my stressful life very well either. I have a strong testimony that if you really try and work hard on your spiritual goals in life, your temporal life will go more smoothly. HHMMM! You would think that would be a no brainer for me, but I am a little dense. I would much rather unwind, watching The Hills or Top Chef or any of my other bevy of crappy tv choices. My priorities are a little jacked up for sure! I am a constant work in progress. It really helps me to write this down, that way I have solid evidence of all of the things I nee d to work on. On a good note, I finally got my recommend renewed. I washed mine like A YEAR AGO and havent gotten it renewed yet. Now I have and My man and I have a date next weekend to finally go to the temple I am very excited!

Ok I will move on. I am still going strong on my diet----for the most part. Judson and I were able to go with Holly and her family last night to the Oriales and As game. We were able to sit in the Netsuites. So cool. We were right on the floor behind home plate. We could see all of the cute players close up! Did I just say that? Ooooops. I have to say that I have a hot man at home, but some of those boys are pretty cute, jailbate, but cute! Anyway, we were able to order and eat anything we want-----and I did. I was good at first and had a salad but then dang those nacho s looked tasty and of course some popcorn. Oh well, so it will take me a little longer to get into my thong bikini this summer. No biggie. We had a great time last night. Being the brainiac that I am took my camera, but forgot to load my photocard back into my camera. Duh!

Ok, so another thing, I am SO going to the Blog party next year! I am so jealous of all of your photos and posts about how much fun you guys had. Count me in next year for sure! I am going to have to do some heavy duty smooth talking and "wifely duties" to talk my man into being able to go on 2 girls trips next year. Just kidding. T-M-I I know. Have a great night!

2008-05-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

WEEKEND WIDOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This weekend Chris' brother Michael came into town for a golf weekend. HHHMMMM! You could imagine the sheer depression and sadness that Chris went through when he realized that he HAD to show his brother a good time and golf all weekend! Yah right. So pretty much it is me and the kids today. I am glad that he gets to spend some time with Michael but a little bummed that he is not around. Oh well, I get to go out tonight and see Baby Mama with some friends, so I shouldnt complain too much. Nothing else has been going on around here this week that has been blog worthy. I guess that is a good thing. The diet is going ok. I am still alive and best of all my family is too! I havent gone into psycho sugar withdrawals :)

Chris, Michael, Dallin and Hayden before they went golfing this morning.
See the sadness in Chris' face?

Random picture, but isnt he cute???

Judson and his new haircut. He wanted it to be a little mohawky, and he siad that he wanted it to look like Jake F. Pretty comical.

Well I am off to fold some laundry and change a poopy diaper. Party on!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

So last night I was watching Top Chef (one of my favorite shows) and one of the chefs told a knock knock joke. It is silly, but it gave me a good chuckle for a few minutes. I hestitated posting it, but I think that it might bring a little smile to you, especially if you have kids. I am a cruddy joke and story teller, so hopefully I cant screw up typing one! Here it goes...

KNOCK KNOCK.............Whose there???????? SMELLMOP............SMELLMOP WHO??????

Did you get it?

HINT***** Say smellmopwho fast and see what it sounds like.

2008-04-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

GOOD MOTHER MOMENT............................................................................................

I just wanted to share with you one more reason why I deserve the Mother of the Year Award.

Chris and I took seperate cars to church today, but we left at the same time. We were on our merry way and me being the speed racer that I am zoomed up to Chris and noticed that he only had 4 kids with him. I did a quick scan through my car and I only had 1 kid in my car. I came to the quick realization that I had left ..........................................................

This sweet little face at home-----------------AGAIN! Yes, this would be the second time that he has been forgotten. So bring it on..... you know I deserve it!!!!! :)

PS Judson on the right was left, not the baby. I think that if I were to leave the baby, I would just go ahead and have myself committed to the loonyfarm!

2008-04-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

LIQUID GOLD BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You cant really tell from this cruddy picture, but this is 48 ounces aka 6 cups of Homemade Hot Fudge. MMMMMM! So dang good. Tonight is the final Road Show Performance for our Stake and the kids are having a party afterwards to celebrate.
I offered to make my Hot Fudge Sauce to go over brownies and ice cream. So good. I was licking the pan afterwards and I think I am officially in a sugar induced coma! I am getting my sugar fix in this weekend before the big "D" day Monday. UUUUGGGGGG!
I am ready to shed a few pounds. My jeans are starting to fold over when I bend over. Do you know what I am talking about? I am sure all of you skinny minis out there dont. Oh well!!

It has been a crazy week. I am pooped!! I feel like I have been on taxi driver overload. "take me here" "I need be here at this time". That is my pet peeve. I hate to be overscheduled. I love to live life at a even pace. I guess it is only going to get worse as these kiddies get older.

My back is feeling a little better. I have been to a Chiropractor a couple of times. I am not sure if he is helping, but at least when I go, I dont have any kids hanging on me and I am getting massaged and relaxation for an hour. I only feel like a whiner after I have been sitting for awhile and it is time to get up. I feel like I am 90 years old!!! It sure has helped me appreciate my health a little more. Speaking of health. I got a call this week from our life insurance company wanting to schedule me a physical appt. I was like "what the"???
I called Chris to ask him what was up and he said he was upping my amount. Should I be scared? I told him that usually when that happens, the wife ends up dead or missing!!!! Too funny. I am sure he just wants to make sure he has enough money if I die to hire a HOT Swedish nanny. I think I am going to put in my Will that he can only hire a yucky, old lady with moles to help him. I am bad, I know.

Well enough babbling. I hear my sweet little Dennis the Menace waking up from his nap. I better button down the hatches before I get him out. :)

Speaking of hatches..........What did everyone think of Lost last night????????? I swear that the writers are all on some crazy drugs when they are writing the story lines -----Whacky!

2008-04-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

I AM BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! I cant believe tht it has been this long since I have blogged. I have been sooooo out of the loop this past week. My mom, sister and niece have been here and I also had a freaky injury. So freaky. I am not sure how it happened, but I tweaked my back out on the day they came! Talk about a bummer. They probably think I staged the whole things so they would have to be my slaves while they were here.
It all started last Thursday. All was honkey dorey during the day with me cleaning and getting ready for them to come. I got uin my car, headed to the airport to pick them up-all still fine. I get out of my car-still fine and then I go to help with their luggage and KABLAMMMM! My back decided to take a vacation and not let me know. I hadnt even lifted anything, I had just bent down slightly and I couldny go any farther, I could barely walk back to the car to drive home. So weird. I have NEVER had any kind of injury before. I have been in pain for the past 5 days The first few days I could hardly move. I felt like I wanted to just crawl in a whole and die pretty much. I felt so bad for my company. Each day it has gradually gotten better. Today I am getting around good, it just really hurts when I bend and pick up things or turn. BITES!!!!!

Ok, I wont bore you any more with my old lady body stories anymore. We did have a good time together. We shopped and ate and listened to Two 4 year olds fight and bicker alot, but we had fun. I managed to get around. I was hopped up on my moms Celebrex and Motrin for most of the time and tried to keep up with them. Here are some pictures of the past week or so. They are of Landons Bday and my moms Bday, Chuck E Cheese, Tomatinas (Yum) and Hana Japan (yum) . My big rump even managed to get in a few pictures-----Diet day is Monday. I am going to start up the Adkins diet. Oh how I am dreading it, but just trying to keep my yapper shut and not eat is not working, so drastic measures will have to be done :( Wish me luck and I hope I dont go postal that day. I might need some words of encouragment to keep me sane. LOL I am excited to catch up on blogs. It has been hard to sit down for long periods of time so now that I am feeling better, I am sure I have alot to catch up. I am sure someone is knocked up or something exciting has happened. Have a great day!

2008-04-17T00:12:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANDON!!!!!!!!!!

Today is my sweet Landons 10th birthday. Can I just tell you how awesome this kid is? I am so lucky to be his mom. Landon is such a great helper. I can ask him to do anything and he will go above and beyond what was asked AND without busting my chops about it to. He is a sweet brother, great student and a good friend.

I was teasing him a little tonight telling him about when he was born. I told him that he needed to be extra nice to his mom since he came zooming into this world so fast, I didnt get to have any of my "happy drugs", otherwise known as my best friend the epidural. I had Landon about a half hour after I got to the hospital. I was begging for an epidural right up until the last minute, but no go. He was even my biggest baby at 9 pounds!!! Can you say ouch?????!!! He was well worth the pain. I feel so blessed to be his mom and to have such sweet boys.

Happy birthday Lan-Man!!

So today I have been running around like a raging lunatic. My sister Julie and my mom are coming into town tomorrow and I have been cleaning this sty. On top of all of the cleaning, I have been making dinner, hauling kids here and there and making 36 jumbo M&M cookies for Landon to take to his class for his Bday. Chris pretty much went straight from work to YMs so it has been one looooooonnnnnnnggggggg day. I am feeling mighty haggard. Well I better get to bed. I will keep you posted on all of the partying that will be going on this weekend while they are here! LOL

2008-04-13T20:35:00.001-07:00

"CULINARY CORNER"

So, since I am tired of seeing my big butt and hooker heels everytime I get on the computer, I decided to post something new. Not a whole lot has gone on this week. It has been the same ole same ole around here so I am going to post a recipe instead of my weekly play by play.

This recipe was served to us several years ago at a RS dinner. I loved it and have been making it for my family ever since. They love it!

Chicken and White Sauce

3-4 chicken breasts. (I use breast tenders)
1 jar of Classico Alfredo Sauce
1 package of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup of sour cream
2/3 cup of milk ( I put it into the jar of Alfredo and shake it around to get all of the sauce out. I know clever)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil

Mix all but mushrooms and chicken together until well blended. Add mushrooms and then pour over chicken. Bake at 350 until bubbly and chicken is done. It all really depends on what type of chicken you use. We serve it over rice.

BAM! There you go. Easy and yummy. I hope you like it as much as we do. There is a reason why I suffer from "Dunlop Syndrome" Where your belly dun lops over your jeans. I enjoy the cream sauces baby!

2008-04-09T00:27:00.000-07:00

I am finally posting pictures of my 4 inch hooker heels and my "good butt" jeans. I wouldnt go as far as saying that they make my butt look good, but they do help it look a little more perky. Yeah for spandex!!!!

I cant believe I am posting pictures of 2 of my worst body parts. I have a saggy hiney and Fred Flinstone toes. Good thing they are both covered up.

On a happier note I am happy to report that Lawson is finally on the mend. He is feeling better and I dont have to whip out the mop so much to wipe up all of his snot. EEEEWWWW! It is seriously so gross. Well I am off to bed. I am such a night owl. I am going to pay the price for my bad habit someday I know it. Good night...................

2008-04-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

GOOD WEEKEND??????!?!!!!!!!!!???????

Well at least it started out that way. Friday was a fun day. It was Lucas' 4th bday. Hayden and Lucas are best buds and one day apart. We went bowling and to Chuck E Cheeses to celebrate. You know how much I love Chucks!! Friday night we had a GNO. It was our friend Tiffanys bday. She is the big 4o!!! I know--old:) I am glad I am not even NEAR that yet!! LOL We went to out to eat and some of us went to the movies afterward. It was alot of fun and very nice to get out and socialize with the girls.

Saturday went to hell in a handbasket and mighty fast. I was excited to kick back this weekend and enjoy conference, but instead, I pretty much stayed in my pjs and held a sick little man all weekend. No, not Chris! Lawson had a fever all weekend. Figures, isnt that the way it always goes? Fine all week and them BAM! out of nowhere comes the plague! So like I said, I rocked and held him ALLLLL weekend long. I have snot and drool all over my clothes to prove it!

He has been hopped up on Tylenol and medicated with LOVE. AAAWWWW, how sappy. It wasnt too bad actually. I rather enjoyed cuddling with what is probably my last baby. (sniff, sniff).

Sunday, again much of the same. We all just hung out and watched conference and enjoyed each others company. Did I really just say that? I wouldnt go that far. There were times, when I wish I could just send them all outside to roam the neighborhood to get out of my hair. :) Chris made some yummy cinnamon rolls and homemade pizza. It was so dang good. Conference weekend is very fattening at our house.

I did enjoy what I could hear from the speakers. There was a moment when the kids were not being very reverent and I had to leave the room to get something. I remember thinking to myself "why am I even trying to watch it, I cant even hear anything they are saying" I then went back into the room, just as Brother Ballard was speaking. Did you just LOVE his talk?? It was wonderful. I just soaked in everything he was saying and my kids were actually listening at that point also. I cant wait for the Ensign to come out next month so I can read it.

Today I took Lawson to the Drs and just as I suspected--Double ear infection. He is now on antibiotics and hopefully going to be his usual self again soon. Well I am off to have some of our after FHE treat. It is a chocolate malt. Oh, my gosh, I actually typed chocolate male instead of malt. HEE HEE good thing I caught that. I think I smell a diet in the near future. Ihope everyone has a great night!

I know, long, boring and no pictures. Sorry.

2008-04-03T00:08:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYDEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is my sweet Haydens Birthday. He is 4 years old, I cant believe it. He is such a funny kid and so full of personality. He is always cracking us up. He hasnt always been that way though.
Many times has that kid been in the drivers seat of driving me crazy!! He has been my budding artist on most of my walls, tables and anything else he can get his hands on. His weapon of choice is never anything washable either. It is always Sharpies and crap like that. He could untie, unscrew, and undo anything, at such an early age too. I hate to admit this, but there were so many days when I dreaded getting up each morning. It felt like Groundhogs Day everyday!! All I seemed to do is follow him around from one mess to another!! UUUGGG! Thank goodness he has mostly outgrown that phase, and I now have Lawson who is taking over that job! That will be another therapy session for later !!:0

Here are 4 things about Hayden:

1. He has almost every line of the Cars movie memorized. He has seen that dang movie over and over again, but he loves to re-enact it every day! He lines up his cars on the table bench and acts out the first part of the movie. Maybe he is a future Matt Damen.

2. He LOVES LOVES LOVES to pray! He wants to pray all the time and never give anyone else a turn. Sometimes the others dont care, but he needs to share the blessings dude!

3. Loves to go to " Depot Home" ( that is what he calls Home Depot) with Chris. He loves to go anywhere with dad. Mom is chop liver when he is around:)

4. Hayden loves his brothers. He follows them around everywhere and is always saying "good job" or "can I help you" . Very sweet.

I feel so blessed to be his mom, he brings so much love and spunk to this household. Happy Birthday Haymaker!

2008-04-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

HELP!!!

I wasnt going to post today due to the fact that I am on my deathbed today. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like a Mack truck had parked on my face! Not only parked on , but ran over, did a few doughnuts and peeled out on my face. I dont know what the problem is but the point is, I feel like crap!!!

I have had a challenging few days. I need to get it of my chest. My kids are driving me nuts with all of thier bickering. They have been so snippy with each other and so dang sassy. I have been smothered by a baby with a nose, face and eyes full of boogars. He is so clingy and ornrey. Good thing these days are few and far between, but last night I was ready to run out of the house and do some SERIOUS retail therapy. :) I have not felt like doing any cleaning, cooking or anything domestic either. I am in a funk for sure.

Well, I know this was a dorky post, but I feel a ton better getting it off my chest. I am sure that my funk will pass. It seems like they come every few months. Is anyone else feel like this at times? I am sure you do. I would love some good advice. I know, I have not had a Diet Coke today. Maybe that is it!!! Have a great night!

2008-03-31T17:09:00.001-07:00

I'M ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Barely. I survived Spring Break. I never thought I would, but I did. I have missed blogging and I am very behind. Chris' sister Dana and her 5 kids came to visit us for the week. That is alot of kids in my house! They all get along great, but it was a little nutty at times. Dana and I managed to get away without kids a few times. We went shopping at a few places and then to the mall a couple of times. Very fun.

For some reason, they would not go outside and play. Drove us crazy. It was a beautiful week, but no, they would hover around the computer, play Guitar Hero or just run around like a screaming bunch of Banshees, oh wait, that was us. No we had a fun time, really. My MIL and FIL came on Thursday and Danas husband Richard came to join the fun on Friday. So in case you lost count, that is 17 people in my house!!! '

Saturday, we all took the kids to the movies. SOme of us went to see 10,000 BC and the rest of us went to see Horton Hears a Who. Very cute movie. I would have rather of seen The Other Bolyn Sister, but I dont think that I would be eligible for Mother Of the Year if I took the kids to see that movie, now would I?

Later that night all of the adults went to dinner. It was fun to get out and spend time together without a bunch of cute snot nose kiddies in our faces.

Today I pretty much have been doing laundry up and out the Wazoo and cleaning up. I also went to Target. I was having some withdrawals from that place. I think they missed me also! It was very nice sending the kiddies out the door this morning. It was NOT nice getting up so dangh early though! After a week of sweet slumber, it was very rough rolling my rump out of bed. I for sure was not Miss Merry Sunshine this morning. Very crusty indeed.

Well I need to get going on dinner. I am going all out today. We are having some nasty dinner in a box for sure! I have not gotten my cooking wings back! Have a great night.