The Names Family

{Family Pictures}

2011-03-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

I thought I had already posted my favorite pictures from our family photo shoot, but I was wrong...unless I snuck them into another post. Anyhoo, there is actually an interesting story about this particular day and I was so amazed that we got so many great photos from this sitting.

We scheduled this sitting on Isaac's birthday. David had the day off and it was one of very few that my super-talented cousin, Lindsey could schedule us for. The few days prior were stormy and this day started good, but quickly turned very windy and we knew that a bad storm was coming. We went to This is the Place park and it was so overcast and stormy. Lindsey sat us down and took a few pictures, and then the wind blew in. So, it was a crazy sitting and Eli didn't want to cooperate at all, but I must say that even though we got rained out, I couldn't be happier with the end result.

Photo credit to Green Apple Photography

{The BYU Game...Pictures By Isaac}

2011-03-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

Another year, another season of BYU football. I gave David the camera the day of this football game and told him to be sure to take pictures of Isaac. He thought it'd be fun to have Isaac take pictures instead. Here are a few of his best shots.

David...5 o'clock shadow and all. Actually, it's a few days of not shaving...details...

???

No comment...

Look...a hand!

The smoke after the cannon

Nice trick

I love this one!

Ha, ha!

Go Cougars!

{Kennecott Copper Mine}

2011-02-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

For a Cub Scout Pack Meeting we took a trip to the Kennecott Copper Mine. It was the first time I'd been there and I have to say it was pretty impressive. Isaac loved the giant tires and looking over the railing at the gigantic hole in the mountain. The enormous trucks that use these tires are pretty incredible.

Isaac tried to move this tire for about 5 minutes before he accepted that it was too heavy.

{Soccer & Lagoon Day}

2011-02-26T17:06:00.000-08:00

I signed Isaac up for soccer for Fall 2010 and Spring 2011. It was his first time ever playing, and it took a while for him to like it. By the end of the season he loved it. Since at this age they don't have any set positions he took it upon himself to be somewhat of a goalie--never mind that a couple of times he assisted the ball going into his own goal rather than preventing a score. Ha, ha! But he did have a few assists and finally a score of his own. That goal was the best ever and I'm so proud of my little boy.

I took two pictures of the whole season. Yep, only two pictures. I really need to have a conversation with myself about my parenting responsibilities.

Isaac is #8

Swarm of bees...

LAGOON

We took advantage of Tyler's work Lagoon day this year--as we have the past few years. It was awesome to see how much Eli loved the rides. The kid has no fear. Isaac is now old enough to go on the Colossus, Roller Coaster and even Wicked--and believe me he LOVED them. I think I screamed more than he did. He was a good sport to go on some of the kiddie rides with Eli even though the big rides were the most fun.

Isaac's favorite color is green so he loves this picture!

Little pilots.

I think he's trying to be a monkey...?

Eli loved the train

This was his favorite ride!

This ride went to the top and dropped them and Eli loved it!

Can't handle the excitement in Dylan and Eli's expressions.

{1st Day of School}

2011-02-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

August 3rd was Isaac's first day of Kindergarten. Wow! It was such an emotional day for me--not to mention an adjustment waking him up, feeding him and dressing him all before 8:30am. I am determined to have myself and Eli ready before school each day, too. Luckily, David was off of work this week and was able to go with us for Isaac's first day.

We didn't know that one of Isaac's classmates from preschool would be in his class, but James is. Yay! These two boys are the best of friends and are two peas in a pod.

Isaac and James

Isaac was so excited to start school.

{Isaac's 6th Birthday}

2011-02-25T14:48:00.000-08:00

For Isaac's birthday this year we decided to have a Pirate themed party at the Living Planet Aquarium. It was a ton of fun. We invited family and friends and partied in the sunken ship private party room. It was one of the coolest party rooms I've ever been in--with a huge aquarium lining one wall, wooden tables and under-the-sea murals it was awesome! We had pop and pizza and super-yummy cupcakes for dessert. Then Isaac opened his presents and we were then taken on a tour of the aquarium. We stayed for several hours, exploring all of the tanks and areas. Happy birthday, big boy! Love you so much!

Eating cupcakes and watching the fish...what could be better?

Isaac was so happy with his presents!

So was Eli.

Just what he wanted.

Silly Eli, with a goofy expression.

Check out that snake!

He did this a lot!

Branigan and a very excited Beau.

This was the first time we've seen the penguins. They are so cute.

Eli doing his own thing...

Crazy driver.

{Independence Day}

2011-02-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

On the 3rd of July David took Isaac to the Riverton Carnival again--a yearly tradition. He and Isaac got back in time for the BBQ that my backyard neighbor, Lauren and I put together with a few of our other neighbors and their kids. It was fun! The boys always want to play in Lauren's yard with Cannon's toys--apparently they are way better than our toys.

Eli loves doggies!

Eli was totally soaked by the end of the evening.

Testing the waters. Note the obsession with carrying crayons.

After the BBQ we went back to the carnival to ride on a few rides and watch the fireworks. Eli loved them. We kept him strapped into the stroller so he couldn't escape in the darkness, but he decided he wanted to lounge with David. After the fireworks I took the boys on the Ferris Wheel. I love Ferris Wheels, but Eli kept trying to stand up and climb over the back of the seat. Scared me to death. I'm surprised I didn't pass out from the fear I felt just thinking him falling out. Scariest. Ever. EVER!

Wow!

Just chillin'

What was I thinking? Longest ride of my life.

Wheeeee!

Of course Isaac had to ride on the train.

On the 4th of July--a Sunday this year we invited my Dad and Rondi, Tyler, Dolly and kids, Zach and our friends/neighbors Lauren, Brian and their kids Cannon and Lincoln over to do some fireworks. But, before that we had some super yummy Tres Leches cake that I made with whipped cream, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries decorated to look like a flag. I'm impressed with my creative culinary skills.

Mmmmmmmm!

Grandpa Brad and Grandma Rondi trying to keep Eli warm while we watch fireworks.

From left...Isaac, Cannon, Dylan and Jonathan.

It was a little breezy and cool, so there was a little difficulty lighting the fireworks. Tyler and Zach are getting close...

The lighting crew.

Jonathan with his sparkler.

My little brother, Zach, with Isaac.

{Camping, Parties and T-ball}

2011-02-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

I've decided that blogging is a lot like cleaning...it's easier to do if you stay on top of it. I've been thinking about it a lot, but haven't been motivated to do it due to the 6+ months of catching up I have to do. So, I'm going to be condensing each post in hopes that it will allow me to catch up somewhat before I get eternally distracted, again.

After Eli's birthday party last year Isaac wanted to have a camp out with daddy. So, David set up the tent in the living room and we pulled out the Smore's maker and the boys had a night together under the stars...well, under the roof, under the stars, anyway.

The following weekend was my cousin's son Karson's birthday party. He's actually only 1 day younger than Eli and since I babysit him one day a week my boys just love to be around him. The party was at my Uncle Luke and Aunt Bonnie's home in South Jordan. It was an Elmo themed party and so much fun! BreeAnn did a fabulous job on the decorations and the delicious cupcakes!

Isaac did T-ball again this year, and I took two pictures . Yep, only two pictures...we'll discuss my failures as a mom later, thank you very much.

{Eli's 2nd Birthday & Angels}

2010-10-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

June 19th ended up being a VERY busy day for me. Eli's 2nd birthday was on the 18th, so we decided to have his party on Saturday the 19th since we were going to rent a bounce house for the day. But before the party I had my 4th 5K of the year to run. It was called Running With Angels and the race was on paths of the beautiful gardens at Thanksgiving Point. Let's just say that this was the toughest race so far. Staying up until the wee hours of the morning trying to finish making the decorations and favors for Eli's party didn't help my stamina, but neither did the hills and uneven ground we were running on. I ended up walking more than half of the race--no need to wear myself out completely before Eli's party. It was cool, though and I'm glad I did it.

That same afternoon we had Eli's Curious George birthday party. In a poor attempt to save money I decided it would be fun to make all of the decorations for the party and sorta make the favors. I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with my skills. In total I made 20+ invitations, I personalized the favor pails with the name of each kid attending the party--they included bubbles, play dough, Curious George pencils, Curious George books, and candy--I made cupcake toppers and an awesome birthday banner thanks to my handy Cricut. My dad brought over his canopy so we could have some shaded seating and I decorated with red and yellow table cloths. We served pizza for the kids and chicken salad croissants for the adults with fresh fruit and vegetables and lots of cold drinks. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I only took a few pictures with my camera and they are crappy, but my neighbor got some great ones that I will post when I get them.

After the race

The cupcake 'cake'.

The personalized pail favors for the kids.

It makes me mad that this is so dark, but this is the whole set-up showing the banner and everything.

Eli opening presents

Help from big brother, Isaac

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELI!

{Fun In The Sun}

2010-10-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

In June my wonderful backyard neighbor, Lauren, invited us to play in the water in the backyard. The boys had a blast! They love playing with Cannon and all of his great toys. It took Isaac a little while, but he got the hang of running and sliding on the slip-n-slide. Later that day we had a Ward BBQ at the splash park in our neighborhood. Isaac loved every minute of it, but Eli was too intimidated by the shooting water to dare go in. He still loved watching it spray, though and LOVED playing on the playground.

Isaac and Cannon playing in the Sand/Water table

Isaac and Cannon on the Slip-n-Slide

Little Eli. Since he has no body fat the poor little guy was shivering most of the time.

Observing from a safe distance.

Loving the playground

{Memorial Day}

2010-09-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly, but surely getting caught up on my blogging. It's a lofty goal, but I am confident that I can get it done in the next few weeks now that my phone and computer have worked out all of their issues with each other!

This year, on Memorial Day we visited the cemeteries, like we do each year. This year we started at Daddy-Daddy's grave. We lost him last September so this will be a new addition to our usual visits. The battery on my camera died, so I didn't get any photos of that stop, but it was really cool. We met up with Branigan, Julie & Beau and Tyler, Dolly, Jonathan & Dylan at the cemetery and waited for my Dad and Rondi, who brought pizza and drinks since we hadn't eaten. Don't judge us for eating and having a nice little picnic--even though the signs said not to. We were hungry and had a long day ahead of us.

Next we went to Lakeview Memorial Cemetery in Bountiful to visit the graves of my Mom and Jarrod. It was beautiful as usual, and my dad made it look even better when he whipped out his trimmer and edger, fired it up and went to town on the grass around the markers. I'm sure that no one noticed the humming of the gas-powered machines on this peaceful day. Hee, hee! My Grandma and Grandpa Jefferies joined us later and we had a nice visit. Memorial Day is always an emotional day for me. I miss my mom so much. I still catch myself reaching for the phone to call her and ask her about a recipe or to tell her about something happening in my life. And Jarrod...I mean, who wouldn't miss him? Even though I had my doubts while growing up, he was a pretty great brother and I miss his loud laugh and control-freak tendencies. He was a fabulous uncle to Isaac and I'm sad that he isn't here to know Eli. Here are some pictures of our day...

Jarrod's marker--with the golf ball that Eli kept wanting to play with.

My Mom's marker--thanks for making it look so great Rondi and Dad!

Jonathan and Dylan playing 'tag' and Eli escaping--his usual Method of Operation.

Sweet Julie standing by the cars where little Beau was napping.

Tyler and Grandpa Jefferies

Rondi, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Jefferies

Jonathan, Isaac and Dylan

{Murray City Fire Department}

2010-09-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

Back in late May I was able to take Isaac to a fire station in Murray. They let him climb all over the trucks and push the siren. We also got to eat hotdogs and potato chips with the firemen. It was a great day--even though it was chilly and rainy.

Next to the ambulance

The front of the fire truck

Driving the fire truck

Checking out the hoses and levers

{Last Day of Preschool}

2010-09-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

The last day of Preschool this year was a "Circus" day. All of the teachers and directors were dressed as clowns and they had balloons everywhere! It's sad that my little Isaac is growing up and will start Kindergarten this year. He really liked Mrs. Ketterer and all of his preschool friends. He learned a lot and we are thrilled that he was able to attend such a great preschool!

Isaac and Mrs. Ketterer

Isaac and his blue balloon

Isaac and Mrs. Romig

{Party Like You're 90!}

2010-08-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

On May 15, 2010 we celebrated my Grandpa Jefferies' 90th birthday! It was a fum BBQ in his backyard with all of the cousins, Aunts and Uncles. The kids were able to run around and play and we were able to eat some great food!

Rondi and Grandpa getting ready to open some presents!

The family running and playing in the GREAT yard!

Cute Isaac

{Mother's Day}

2010-08-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was crazy again this year! I love it though! After early-morning Church we went to Brunch with my family to celebrate Mother's Day with Rondi, Julie, Dolly and me. We decided to try the Gathering Place at Gardener Village this year. We ended up having to sit outside--which wouldn't have been a big deal if they didn't have a cute little stream running through it making my kids go nuts if we tried to make them sit and eat. It was beautiful though, and I have to thank my dad--Grandpa Brad--for making the sacrifice of sitting facing the sun so that the kids could be in the shade. It was a gorgeous day.

We then went over to David's mom's house for a nice dinner with the family. There were a lot of kids running around and Isaac had a blast! Eli wasn't sure what to make of it, but we had a good time. David and the boys gave me a beautiful necklace with Isaac and Eli's names engraved with a charm of their birthstones attached. I LOVE it! Here is a picture of a similar necklace since I didn't take a picture of mine. We gave both David's mom and Rondi their own necklaces with the names of all of their grandkids engraved on each of them. Happy Mother's Day to all! I can't tell you how grateful I am to be a mom to Isaac and Eli. I can't imagine my life without them. They bring me so much joy and love. I love you boys!

This is similar to my necklace--although mine have a green and purple birthstones and the names of my kids on them. Love it!

Dolly, Dylan and Jonathan

Julie and Beau

Eli with a soul patch of chocolate--yum!

{Little Fish}

2010-06-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Isaac started swimming lessons again in April. He did two sessions this year instead of three because poor Eli was having a hard time watching. By the end of the 45 minute class he was miserable and I was trying everything--even candy--to try to keep him happy. All he wanted to do was get in the pool with Isaac. Poor guy.

Isaac LOVES swimming and he is a lot better than last year. I'm so proud of him. I feel like of all of the sports a kid could be involved in, swimming is the most important because it can save their lives. Not that Isaac is a great swimmer at this point, but he is getting better and better all the time. Here are the pictures I took of swimming this year.

Last day of session 1. He got to go on the big slide.

Class time.

One of Eli's better days. This was before he decided to start throwing his toys and binky's in the pool--I'm sure he thought, "If I can't get in, at least my toys can." LOL!

I SO wish this pic wasn't so blurry! I LOVE this expression. I wonder what he was thinking?

{The Big Race}

2010-06-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Back at the beginning of the year I let some friends convince me to run a 5K in April as part of the Salt Lake Marathon. A 5K? Me? Now, I know what you might be thinking...have they seen how out of shape Tara is? Funny. I was thinking the same thing. Blah. So, I sort of recruited my cousin BreeAnn to undertake this challenge with me, and I have to say that I wouldn't have been able to do it without her. We motivated each other and it was awesome. My best buds Kelli, Jen and Lori were running too, but Kelli did the FULL marathon and Lori and Jenn did the HALF marathon. I am telling you--what an incredible experience watching them all come in. I also have to mention that my rockstar sister-in-law, Julie kicked some serious butt in the half marathon as well! Anywho, here are photos of the BIG race. I was terrified and even though I didn't run as long as I'd hoped to, I still got my best time for going 3.1 miles. Yay, me! Next year I'm gonna do the half marathon. There. I said it--now I have to do it!

Oh yeah, the night before the race Lori, Jen, Kelli and I had a pasta dinner party. We had super yummy food and Kelli made the awesomest (is that a word?) cupcakes I've ever seen! They looked like spaghetti and meatballs!

BreeAnn and me waiting at the starting line.

Still waiting.

Off we go!

Right after the race--please excuse the red and shiny faces--we just ran our first 5K!

My 'girls'. Lori, Kelli, Me and Jen

The spaghetti cupcakes.

{Easter 2010}

2010-06-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Easter this year was a lot of fun. Even though I was terrible at remembering to take pictures of everything (like the boys in their Easter church outfits). The night before Easter we colored eggs. Yeah, we waited to do it until after Eli was in bed because we just knew it would spell disaster if we attempted to let him 'help'. Maybe we're bad parents for leaving him out of this part of our Easter tradition, but we would rather call ourselves smart for doing it. You can form your own opinion. Hee, hee! Anyway David and I pretty much let Isaac color them all. We had to do a BYU egg--it was a requirement, and I think it turned out pretty cute. It's hard to draw a Y on a while egg using a white crayon, but I have skills.

Easter morning Isaac found all of the hidden Easter eggs before Eli found them and decided they were balls. We had to help Isaac a little, but he did awesome. Then we let them open their baskets filled with candy, video games, books, toys and snacks. Oh, and Isaac's new swimming goggles--see pic below. We topped the day off with a wonderful Easter dinner at David's mom's house. Mmmmm. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, too!

{Birthday}

2010-04-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

On March 27th we celebrated my dad's birthday. We met my family at a restaurant called Smash Burger in Draper to eat together. We had never been there before, but had heard really good things about it so we were excited to try it. I have to say that it was fabulous, in my opinion--especially the flash-fried veggies. Mmmmm.

After eating we went to a playground at a cute park in Draper. I'm not quite sure how Branigan and Julie knew where this park was, but it was perfect for the kids. It was the first time that Eli had ever been on a swing since most of the parks by our home don't have swings. So, I put him on one right when we got there. He LOVED it! He was laughing and squealing--it was great. Little Beau loved the swings, too. Isaac ran over to the slides with his cousins, Jonathan and Dylan, then they eventually ended up on the swings, too. It was a little chilly, but overall a great Spring day. After we played at the park we went to Cold Stone for some ice cream. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Eli going down the slide--he loved them

Grandpa Brad pushing Isaac on the swings

Eli being a 'big boy'

Cute little Beau with his daddy, Branigan. How cute is that picture? You can see my dad and Isaac along with Tyler holding Dylan in the background.

Jonathan with Grandma Rondi and Julie (looking like a super-model) in the background.

David and Eli--I love how happy Eli looks in this picture

Eli swinging high, and SO happy.

{Cheerios}

2010-04-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

Eli loves Cheerios. Every time I turn around he is trying to get in the pantry to get more Cheerios. I finally just gave him the whole container. He loved it and thought he was such a big boy. Note: If you come to our house and want Cheerios they may or may not be contaminated with Eli slobber. Most likely not, though, because later that day Eli, ever so kindly, dumped the container of Cheerios on the floor. Thanks, Eli. A whole container of delicious Cheerios wasted.

{Valentine's Day}

2010-04-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

I know it's a little late for posting about Valentine's Day, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Ha, ha! If it weren't for technical difficulties with my camera this would have been posted over a month ago, so there. Valentine's Day was pretty sweet this year. David hates Valentine's Day, so I'm not going to even talk about him. Is there a name for people like that? I mean, a Grinch or a Scrooge for someone who dislikes Christmas, but what about Valentine's Day haters? Anyhoo, I got up early and placed wrapped gifts for everyone on the table that I decked out with a pink table cloth, red paper plates and cute napkins with hearts on them. I planned to make pink pancakes and strawberry milk for breakfast with fresh strawberries. Mmmm. So, the boys woke up, opened their gifts--books for both and crayons and coloring book for Isaac. Nothing big, but enough that they were thrilled. Then I was off to make breakfast. It was delicious, thank you very much.

Isaac with his book

Eli opening his gifts with the aid of the Valentine Grinch

Another shot of the boys with their loot

Strawberry milk served in an adorable cup that my awesome Cousin, BreeAnn gave me for Valentine's Day. At least somebody loves me. =)

The pink pancakes

{Viva, Las Vegas!}

2010-03-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be posting a little out of order--I still have Valentines Day to post about, but like I said in my previous post, I'm having issues uploading pictures from my camera. Dang it.

We went on a road-trip to Las Vegas on March 11th. The drive this year with the boys wasn't nearly as bad as last year, thank goodness. I didn't want to repeat Eli's 5 hour screaming fest or Isaac's biting into a glow stick and getting pink glow fluid in his mouth. That was super-scary for me--I was pretty sure he would die from it. Anyway, we arrived in Vegas on Thursday night and pretty much went to bed--or tried to, that is. Eli figured out how to climb out of the play-pen and wouldn't stay in bed. He had a rough adjustment. I ended up having to cradle him and bounce on the edge of the bed until he was totally asleep--45 minutes later, I would be able to finally put him in the play-pen and he would sleep through the night. Naps were in a similar fashion, although by the third day there he would just go sit on the king-sized bed, watch Elmo and fall asleep on his own. Worked for me!

The weather wasn't very cooperative. It was windy and chilly all but the last two days we were there. So, the boys only went swimming twice. Bummer for them. We still went to the playground, though. We also took them to the Freemont Street Experience--a first for me, we saw the dancing fountains at Bellagio, and we even took a ride on the monorail from the Luxor to Mandalay Bay--Isaac was in heaven. It's a good thing that my dad was smart enough to bring the Wii, because we spent a lot of time in the condo because of the weather. It was still a great trip and we look forward to next year.

Here are many, many pictures of the trip. I wasn't able to upload any from the pool where the boys went swimming, but there are plenty of others.

Isaac playing the Wii--this kiddo rocks at Bowling

Eli jumping on the bed in the master bedroom

Eli at the playground

All of us at the Bellagio, waiting for the fountain show to start.

Grandpa Brad and Eli

Isaac at the Conservatory in the Bellagio

Eli chillin' on the ride home. Thank goodness for portable DVD players and Elmo!

Isaac loved the drive--he's the best, until he would bother Eli.

Isaac took my picture while I was trying to feed Eli some yogurt. He insisted that it post the picture on here. Blah.

{I'm Back}

2010-03-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize for being absent from the blogging world for a while. I have had a lot going on, and not much free time to keep things updated. I hope to post at least two updates this week, but I have been having issues with uploading my photos onto blogger for the past couple months. So, please bear with me and as I have time this week I will surely update you all on the goings on in my world.

Love,

Tara

{Jarrod}

2010-01-26T13:09:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorite photos of Jarrod (with Bran and Julie). It was taken at Black Angus restaurant where we all had dinner in celebration of Jarrod's birthday. He's holding a box of golf balls that Branigan and Julie gave him after they had given him one of their wedding gifts as a gag gift. It was really funny, but after that we all knew that Jarrod loved "stuff".

Two days ago marked 4 years since we lost Jarrod. It is so hard for me to believe that he has been gone that long. I can picture him like I just saw him yesterday and the memories are still so vivid in my mind. Words can not express how grateful I am that we were able to have Jarrod in our home for nearly two years before he died. It brings me comfort to know that even though Jarrod never had children of his own, he was with David and me through the end of my pregnancy with Isaac and was almost a 2nd dad to him during his first 18 months. The second Jarrod would walk in the door from work he would ask me where Isaac was. If he was napping Jarrod would get all grumpy and, most of the time, he would sneak in Isaac's room just to watch him sleep. He loved him so much--an Isaac loved him, too. I loved them both.

Sometimes I find myself repeating some of the last conversations I had with Jarrod in my head and I want to change things that I said to him. I wish that when he expressed fear over the upcoming bone marrow transplant I wouldn't have told him not to worry and that everything would be just fine. If I had said he shouldn't do it would he have waited? Probably not, but I hate that I acted so sure that everything would work out exactly the way it was supposed to. The saying is 'plan for the best, but expect the worst'. Yeah, I didn't expect the worst--the worst never crossed my mind. But, here I sit with no older brother, missing him so bad that I can't stop the tears as I type this. I wish he were here, living with us like he was supposed to be. I wish he had married and had a family of his own. Little OCD Jarrod's running around, not getting a blade of grass or speck of dirt anywhere. I can only imagine how great that would be and how much we would tease him. I miss you, Jarrod.

{Mom}

2010-01-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the 3 year anniversary of the death of my mom. I had a long conversation with an old friend yesterday about the deaths of both of our Mom's. I can't help but feel that there was more I could have done for my mom in the months before her death. I know that her dying was not my fault and that she is now in a much better place, but I feel sadness in having had the relationship we did in the few years prior to her death. I felt like the mom, much of the time, and that I was trying to take care of her instead of the way it ought to have been. In my heart I always hoped that she would go back to the mom I always knew growing up, and it has been so sad for me to realize that my 'real' mom never came back, even though there were glimpses of her occasionally. It breaks my heart. I try as hard as I can to just cling to the memories of my childhood and of what it was like to have a mom take care of me, but it's hard at times.

I can't warn people enough about the dangers of addiction and I'm constantly sharing my experiences with others about how my Mom's addiction affected my life and the lives of my entire family. It's difficult knowing how much she struggled and how alone she must have felt, suffering with this horrible disease. But, no matter what, I'll always love her and miss her.

Mom and Me--June 2001

{Christmas Day}

2010-01-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

Don't judge me. The only pictures I took on Christmas were on Christmas night. So, I didn't get any pictures of either of the boys opening presents on Christmas morning. I did get video of the whole thing, though, so I'm not the worst mom in the world after all. Ha, ha!

Our day was crazy, as usual. We got up and opened presents. Eli got a kitchen set and he wasn't interested in playing with anything else or opening any presents because the kitchen was way too much fun. Oh yeah, and no lame jokes about kitchen sets being for girls--there are more famous men chefs than there are women. Anyway, so Isaac was thrilled to open Eli's gifts for him. David's dad, Jerry came over for breakfast--I made french toast with cinnamon burst bread from Great Harvest--super yummy, as well as eggs and bacon with orange juice to drink. We exchanged gifts from Jerry and put Eli down for a brief nap while we got ready for the day. Next ,we went to David's mom, Jerilyn's home for a fabulous lunch/dinner. We exchanged gifts there, and then rushed to the Becerra's (Juan and Lisa's) home to visit and exchange gifts with them. THEN, we had to get home and pick up the mess from the morning in time for my family to come and visit/exchange gifts. We had about 15 minutes to pick up before people started showing up. We at super-yummy panini's, shrimp dip with chips and fresh cut veggies--plus, more that I can't remember. Mmmmm. We all got our matching jammies, too! Love them! Everyone ended up leaving quite late--around 1:30 or 2:00am. We were so tired, but it was a fun and exciting day.

Here is our little basketball team of grand-boys. Aren't they so dang cute? Isaac with his three missing teeth (he lost the top one the week of Christmas). Isaac is holding Beau, who's loving the piece of celery he's munching on. Jonathan is holding Eli, and Dylan is on the end. Love these boys! You have to click on the picture for a close-up to really appreciate how cute they all are!

Love it!

{My Little Brothers}

2010-01-12T17:22:00.000-08:00

I know that I haven't quite caught up on my blog postings yet--I'm getting close, though! But, I wanted to throw this post in today because I can barely contain my excitement. The older of my two youngest brothers is coming home from his mission to Cuernavaca, Mexico--TOMORROW! Holy cow, I am so excited! Whew. Zach was an awesome missionary and had a lot of success bringing new members into the Church. I'm so proud of him. So, I thought I'd share some pictures of Elder Zach Becerra in Mexico. For those who can't see the family resemblance he is half Mexican--a product of my mom's marriage to my step-dad, Juan--he's the best! You should have seen the reaction of some of Zach's friends when he introduced me as his sister years ago...um, yeah, they don't come any whiter than me. Hee, hee!

Go, Cougars!

CALLED TO SERVE

Now for my youngest brother, Caleb (he's 13 years younger than me). He went into the MTC last Wednesday, January 6th, 2010. In a few months he will be heading to the Argentina, Buenos Aires North mission. Yeah, I know, he and Zach missed each other by a week. Luckily, their Stake President is making arrangements for Zach to have a very brief visit with Caleb at the MTC so they won't have to go a full 4 years without seeing each other. Caleb is my little buddy. He would come over just to hang out, or to help me with the boys if I had errands to run or meetings to attend for my calling as a Webelos leader. I am gonna miss having to kick him out at 10:00 so Juan wouldn't be worried about him driving home late. It was hard dragging him away from the video games. Ha, ha! Anyway, here are a few pictures of my baby brother, Caleb. I'm sure gonna miss him!

{Sleigh Bells & Cookies}

2010-01-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve I took the boys to Jorge and Debbie Becerra's house for their annual Christmas party. David never makes it to this party because of work--unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday. So, imagine my surprise when my phone rings at 6:30pm and it's David telling me that he's done with work! What? That never happens so early on Christmas Eve! So, David made it to the party after all (I convinced him to come in his uniform and at least get some food before going home to shower). So, everyone was excited that he made it! He got some delicious homemade Mexican food in his belly and then took Eli home, showered with him and got him to bed, while Isaac and I stayed for the Christmas program--Isaac played one of the wise men. After getting home Isaac and I made chocolate chip cookies for Santa and then we read a Christmas book and listened for Santa's sleigh bells. We truly heard them and Isaac was so excited he was frozen in place. Too funny! David and I were up until 3:30am wrapping gifts and getting everything just perfect for Santa to come. I love Christmas!

{Visiting}

2010-01-10T13:24:00.000-08:00

This year my Dad, Rondi, Isaac and myself were able to visit cemeteries and place little Christmas trees on the graves of Jarrod, my Mom, Daddy Daddy and Bruce (Rondi's first husband). I didn't anticipate the amount of snow we'd have to remove at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery in Boutiful. We spent quite a bit of time trying to uncover the headstones (thank you, Dad) and Rondi is a pro at anchoring the trees to the ground so they wouldn't tip over which was quite a feat with frozen ground. My camera wouldn't work to take a picture of my mom's headstone, but I was able to get one of Jarrod's, Daddy Daddy's and a photo of Rondi decorating Bruce's little tree. I was having major camera issues that day. It was freezing cold, but totally worth it. I bought some battery operated lights to put on all of the trees next year if we are able to go again.

Jarrod's

You can't see it well in this pic, but the base of this tree is a red Santa boot, totally fitting for Daddy-Daddy

Here is Rondi trying to stick flags in the frozen ground at Bruce's grave. It got a bit dark, but it was cool to see how many other graves had trees on them--a lot of them with little lights.

{Gingerbread Train}

2009-12-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

Isaac told me that he really wanted to make a gingerbread house this year. I kept trying to avoid the subject because I knew that I would get stuck doing it with Isaac observing and telling me where to put stuff. SO, I surprised even myself when I walked into Harmons for garlic, noticed this gingerbread train kit and bought it. I'm a sucker. I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for the fact that it's a train! My little Isaac is obsessed with trains. I can't even tell you how thrilled he was when he saw it and knew that we would be putting it together. Needless to say, I ended up putting it together while Isaac told me where to put stuff. He wanted it to look EXACTLY like the picture on the box. No pressure, right? I think it turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself.

Isaac wanted to take the train to bed with him and was devastated when I told him he couldn't. Silly boy!

{Programs and Parties}

2009-12-23T14:49:00.000-08:00

On December 11th we had a very busy day. Isaac had his Preschool Christmas program that morning at 10:15am. It was so cute! We were sitting up in the balcony and the lighting wasn't great, so all of my pictures of the performance turned out pretty dark. It was great, though, and Isaac said his part very well.

Later that afternoon I took the boys downtown to the FBI office for their children's Christmas party. Juan had invited us and we were happy to find out that my Cherolyn and the girls were there, too. Isaac had fun eating jello and brownies, sitting on Santa's lap and making a cute little train out of candy. Both boys got some cars and cute little toys from Santa, although Eli was terrified of him.

Next was our ward Christmas party a few hours after the FBI party. They had a great meal and Santa came to visit AGAIN! Isaac was beyond thrilled. David came home in the middle of the party and since he wasn't planning to go, he picked up Eli from me so Isaac and I had a little quality time together. It was a VERY busy, yet fun day.

Isaac at the preschool program.

Isaac on Santa's lap at the ward party.

Santa entering the party--the kids went wild!

Isaac's car from Santa

Eli and his truck

Isaac and Santa at the FBI party.

Here are the cookies that Isaac decorated

And the little train he made from snickers, peanut butter cups, gum drops and m&m's.

Isaac stuffing jello in his mouth

{Biggest Fan}

2009-12-23T14:44:00.000-08:00

I thought this was too cute to not share. While watching the BYU vs Utah game the boys and I put the tree up. I kept yelling and cheering during the game and it would surprise Eli, but the second I smiled or cheered he would get the happiest little look on his face and he would clap for me (yep, he's wearing an adorable BYU shirt). He was obsessed with this little step-stool the whole day. He kept climbing on it just to sit and be proud of himself, then he would get down. What a silly guy.

{Happy Belated Thanksgiving}

2009-12-12T10:28:00.000-08:00

We had a nice time on Thanksgiving. We went to Grandma Names' house first and ate a delicious meal! I have to admit that I look forward to Jerilyn's cooking every year for the holidays--she's a great cook, and there is something about the Names Thanksgiving dinner recipes. Mmmmm. Anyway, we ate and visited and lost track of time...as usual. We had to rush home to put Eli down for a short nap while I cut up vegetables for my food assignment to take to the Jefferies dinner.

The Jefferies dinner was held at my aunt Sherrie and her boyfriend Mike's home in Highland. It is a gorgeous home--not kid proof at all, but beautiful! The food was great! Eli loved playing with his little cousin, Beau, who is only 6 months younger than him. He had fun going up and down and up and down the stairs, and he loved his first taste of candied yams. Isaac had a blast playing with his cousins and watching Ice Age in one of the spare rooms. It was a great day.

Eli 'helping' Beau. He was rocking him in the carseat and then he would stick his head really close to Beau's and smile. Beau was just fascinated with Eli.

Grandma Rondi with Beau and Eli. SOOOOOO cute!

Isaac and Grandpa Brad

Grandma Rondi and Isaac.

{Pumpkins}

2009-12-09T15:03:00.001-08:00

This year we carved only two pumpkins. We haven't been able to convince Isaac to carve his own. He thinks it disgusting and doesn't want to touch or smell the inside of the pumpkin. Well, even if he won't do his own he still dictates to us what he wants the pumpkins to look like. The ginormous pumpkin in the picture was grown by David's dad in his garden. It was pretty awesome. It was perfect for having David carve Alvin's face from Alvin and the Chipmunks. I didn't have very good lighting for the first picture. The other pumpkin was Eli's, but Isaac wanted me to carve it to look like the face on the plastic pumpkin we have our Halloween candy in to give to the trick-or-treaters.

{I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home...}

2009-12-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

I think one of the cutest things Eli does is demand that David hold him immediately after walking in the door from work each day. Eli just stands there and squeals until David picks him up and holds him for a while. Sometimes that isn't enough, and Eli follows him around the house until he can get just a little more daddy-time. On the day I took these pictures David had already held Eli for a bit and was trying to eat his dinner. I guess Eli thought that David needed a little help. Aren't his tiny legs the cutest? I love this boy!

{Finally, Halloween}

2009-12-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...I'm getting behind on my posts, again. UGH! On October 30th Isaac's preschool had a little costume parade. It was fun to see all of the cute kids marching around, totally confused. Isaac decided he wanted to be a Knight this year because Eli was a dragon. Cute, huh? Next year he said he wants to be a Daddy Truck Driver, aka a UPS Driver. Hopefully we will be able to find a costume for him, or maybe we will just have one made. Anyway, Isaac loved Halloween this year!

{Cutest Boys in the World}

2009-11-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

I might be biased, but I think I have the two most adorable boys in the world! I had my very talented cousin, Lindsey, take some photos of the boys a few months ago. It took me FOREVER to pick my favorites to order because I loved so many of them. I had been so worried about having Eli's picture taken because he is a little on the serious side and I wanted smiles. He had started teething the day before, was drooling everywhere, had little red cheeks and a fever. But, we got to Wheeler Farm, sat him on the grass and he was all smiles. It was Isaac who ended up being the challenge. He kept running off and making goofy faces--the little stinker. Here are my favorites of the day. Thanks, Lindsey!

Photo credit to Green Apple Photography...

{My Special Day}

2009-11-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

On October 24, 2009 I received my endowments at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan, Utah. It has been a long time coming, and I am so happy that I finally did it! It was an incredible experience, and I have never felt so happy and peaceful in my entire life. I can't wait to go back! Tomorrow evening I will be going with part of my family to the Jordan River Temple to attend a session while my little brother, Caleb, receives his endowments in preparation for his mission. He has been called to the Argentina, Buenos Aires North Mission and will be leaving on January 6th. My other little brother, Zach, will be returning from his mission in Mexico on January 13th. I am so proud of them.

Thanks to all who shared in my special day--it means the world to me that you were there. The picture below is of some of my family after the session. I feel bad that I didn't get pictures with everyone who came for me, but many of them left right after the session ended. Thanks to BreeAnn for providing the camera--I can't believe I didn't take mine!

In this picture, from left to right...Branigan, Julie, Brad, Rondi, me, Grandma Brown (my mom's mom), Sharlene (my mom's sister), Grandma McDermott (Rondi's mom), Rachelle (Rondi's sister), and my cousin, BreeAnn. Love you, guys!

{Tunnel Time}

2009-11-03T19:54:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd share this video of the boys that I shot when they were playing in the pop-up tunnel back in October. I wanted to post this on the "Tunnel" post a few days ago, but I couldn't figure it out. Isaac is loud (as usual) on this video, but Eli was having so much fun and Isaac's giggle is the BEST!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

{Fire Station}

2009-11-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I took Isaac and Eli on a playdate to a Fire Station here in Riverton. We went with several ladies from our ward and their kids. It was very cool. First, we were taught about what to do in an emergency and what to do if your house is on fire. Then, it was time to see the fire truck! Isaac was so excited! He got to go inside the fire truck, and see all of the buttons. They even turned the siren on! It was so loud--of course Isaac had his ears plugged. Silly boy!Then, all of the kids were given little fireman hats. Too, cute! Little Eli was a good little guy, checking everything out from the comfort of his stroller, drink in hand. It was a fun day.

Isaac 'chillin' on the ambulance bumper.

In front of the fire truck.

Isaac inside the fire truck.

Isaac with the firemen.

Eli looking up at me from his stroller.

Eli with his drink--enjoying watching all of the other kids.

{Tunnel}

2009-11-02T10:35:00.000-08:00

Isaac has the coolest pop-up tunnels. He found them last month and decided that it was time to introduce Eli to the joy of crawling through tunnels. So, Isaac brought them out and I untied them and WHOOSH--they opened. I saw Eli's eyes get really wide and a huge smile land on his face. He was thrilled! At first he didn't quite know what he was supposed to do, but after watching Isaac go into them, he followed right behind. He loved every minute of it, and I loved every minute of watching my precious boys play together and love each other.

{Go, Cougars!}

2009-10-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again--well, it has been that time of year again since the beginning of September, but who is keeping track? I know that I am behind, and it's killing me to know that I am over a MONTH behind. Yikes! So, David's dad has season tickets again this year to the BYU home games. Isaac has been so excited to be able to go with them. It is his special time with David while Eli and I stay home. I bought him a cute BYU shirt that is two sizes too big--hoping that it will last more than one season this time! He looks so cute and even though he doesn't really understand what is going on, he LOVES it. And so do I.

I love this picture of David and Isaac at Lavell Edwards Stadium.

Funny how Isaac posed for a picture with Lavell Edwards without his knowing...cute!

Isaac with his sign in front of the cannon that he HAD to see after the game. I'm pretty sure it's his favorite part of going to the games--hearing the cannon after each touchdown.

Messing around with the cannon.

{Making a Splash!}

2009-10-05T13:29:00.001-07:00

HOLY COW! I can't believe I am so behind on my blogging! So much for the new computer helping out with my procrastination...UGH!

It dawned on my this morning that I hadn't posted anything about Isaac's birthday party at Cowabunga Bay on August 22nd. We had to keep pushing the date back because of the rain, but this turned out to be a great day to go. This post in going to show what a lousy mom I can be--at least in the picture-taking department. It was Isaac's party, but I only took ONE picture of him, and it was a bad one! I got several picures of Eli, however. I guess that's good. But, I didn't even take a picture of the private cabana we were in, the balloons and birthday crown that Isaac was given, or the yummy pizza, drinks and ice cream sundaes we consumed. **SIGH** We had a great time, though! Here are a few of the pictures I did take...

Grandpa Brad and Eli. Eli loved the water. He went around the lazy river with Grandpa tons of times and he didn't want to get out!

This is David and Isaac (the only picture I took of him that day).

Grandpa Brad, Eli, Dolly, Jonathan and Dylan all in the lazy river.

David and Eli going down a kids slide. David was trying to block the water from going in Eli's mouth.

I can't tell by that expression if Eli liked it or not, but David sure did! Hee, hee!

{Hee, hee!}

2009-09-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

I have decided that Isaac is the funniest little boy I have ever met. Maybe I'm a little biased...regardless, he cracks me up! So, last night I decided to make a spur-of-the-moment trip out to Bountiful to get some peaches from my dad's parents. They had picked the majority of the peaches from their tree and offered them to me to bottle. Yes, I know--how domestic of me. We were also planning on taking a birthday gift to Juan, and to stop by my dad and Rondi's house to drop of some stuff for a baby shower we will be attending this week. Anyway, I had just made some biscuits to go with dinner and Isaac and I shared one before leaving. It was the first time he had ever tried a biscuit, and he LOVED it. As soon as David got home, Isaac and I headed out on our little adventure. We were about 5 miles from home when from the back seat of the car I hear...

Isaac: "Mom?"
Me: "Yes, Isaac?"
Isaac: "Mom, are you thinking about that biscuit?"
Me: I chuckled and said, "I am now."
Isaac: "It was sooooooo good." --big sigh
Me: "It was soooooo good, huh?"
Isaac: "Yeah. It was sooooo good--it was better than garbage, mom!"
Me: "Er...uh, thanks, Isaac."

{It's About Time}

2009-09-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well...I'm happy to report that we finally bought a new computer. After months of it not working, getting repaired, working for a week and then breaking down again--we finally have a brand spanking new computer. This will make my life much easier, and hopefully I can stay up-to-date on my blogging! Yay!

{Park City}

2009-08-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

I decided that since David had last week off of work we needed to do something fun together as a family. This was David's last week of vacation for the year, and Isaac was starting school that Friday, so I thought it would be our last chance to do anything before the craziness of Fall and Winter begins. All day Monday and Tuesday David was digging up some grass and sprinklers where we are having cement poured for a sidewalk to our man-door on the side of our garage. He had to re-route the sprinklers so they wouldn't be buried under the cement. He was working hard, so I called my dad and asked if we could use his Park City timeshare for a day or so, knowing that we had to be home by noon on Friday to take Isaac to school. He checked it out and booked us for Wednesday and Thursday at the condo.

So, off we went on Wednesday afternoon, following Isaac's 5 year check-up and shots at the doctors office. The poor little guy was limping for two days because of the shots. The plan was for us to chill on Wednesday night and then go to the Alpine Slide, Alpine Coaster and zip line on Thursday. When we got there Isaac was so excited. We decided to each get an all day pass for unlimited rides on everything and it also included mini golf, rock wall, trampolines and several small carnival-type kid rides. Yahoo! We had a blast! David and I switched off riding the slide and coaster with Isaac while the other stayed with Eli. David and I each also rode the zip line once (Isaac didn't weigh enough to go on it). I took Eli back to the condo that afternoon for a nap, taking the diaper bag with sunscreen in it with me--oops. Poor Isaac got so sunburned. Anyway, Eli was a good little boy even though he was stuck in the stroller the majority of the time, and the rest of us had so much fun!

David and Isaac waiting for the chair lift.

Isaac on the Alpine Coaster sled with me on our way to the top.

Going up the big mountian on the Alpine Coaster.

David and Isaac going down the Alpine Slide.

Isaac and me at the end of the Alpine Slide.

Sunburned Isaac. Doesn't he look so cute in David's hat?

David on the zip line.

Poor little Eli--he was such a trooper.

{Dinosaurs!}

2009-08-24T14:33:00.001-07:00

We have been pretty busy lately, so I am a bit behind on my blog posts. I'm going to try really hard to catch up this week! I'm such a slacker!

Here are some pictures of Isaac, Oakley, Aspen, Slade and Vanessa at The Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving point.

Isaac and Oakley digging in the wet sand--trying to create new land.

From the left: Isaac, Oakley, Aspen, Vanessa and Slade

Isaac digging with Oakley in the dry sand--trying to dig up dinosaur bones

Posing with the T-Rex skeleton

Two weeks ago I took Isaac and Eli to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. We met my good friend, Vanessa and her kids there. It was pretty cool. Isaac LOVED it. Eli, not so much. Poor kid gets stuck in his stroller everywhere we go, it seems. He loves to run around and climb on stuff, and I just can't have him doing that when there are so many people and so many things for him to destroy. Anyway, it was a fun day for Isaac to see Aspen and Oakley (his favorite girls in the whole world), and it was great for me to be able to visit with Vanessa.

{Freebies}

2009-08-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

This week I got a special delivery. Back in June, on Facebook, I had entered a giveaway for a set of personalized plates from a company that I am a HUGE fan of. It's called Em Tanner Designs. She was giving away a set of 4 plates with the last name as well as first names of the family members on them. I entered the giveaway, and was the WINNER! Yippee!

This is what is so cool about this company. First, Em is very involved with her customers, and especially her Facebook fans. She gives discount coupons to her fans, and does giveaways just for the heck of it. She answers questions and asks her customers and fans what kind of products they would like to see on her site. Second, these plates are a brand new addition to her products and were only available in one color. She emailed me with my coupon code for the free plates, and asked for a photo of the family. When I responsed I asked her if there was a way for me to change the colors slightly (I think they were teal, tan and black in the stock photo). I wanted them to match my kitchen color scheme a little better. She not only gave me these plates for free--original cost with tax and shipping was $89.90--but, she added red instead of teal, just for me! AWESOME!

{Isaac's New Bike}

2009-08-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Isaac on his new bike that he got for his birthday. He LOVES it! It was a lot of fun to surprise him with it when David got home from work (notice him in his 'browns' in one picture). It was torture for me to not tell Isaac that it was in the basement, knowing that we needed to wait for David before giving it to him. We took Isaac outside right away and let him try it out. He thought it was great!

I'm not sure why this picture is so dark...sorry.

Isaac--when he first saw the bike sitting in the Living Room.

{Happy Birthday, Isaac!}

2009-08-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

This is a long post...Isaac's birth story and all...Happy Birthday to my little guy!

Isaac in the hospital nursery

Me and my precious little guy

Daddy and Isaac--still in the nursery

Isaac and me--December 2008

David and Isaac, Father's Day 2009

Today is Isaac's 5th birthday. WOW! I can't believe he is 5 already! We are planning on just having a nice relaxing day at home, since we will be having a party at Cowabunga Bay on Saturday with family. I made him a special breakfast this morning, and now he's counting down the hours until David gets home so he can open his presents from us. He's gonna be really excited. We got him a new big-boy bike and helmet. We found a bike with mostly green on it, which is his favorite color. I can't wait to see his face!

Since I shared Eli's birth story, I thought I'd share Isaac's as well--hope you don't mind. I found out I was pregnant with Isaac on November 21st, 2003. It was and interesting day--we had been at the hospital with David that morning and found out that he had kidney stones. Big ones, that ended needing surgery to help break apart. I had been feeling kind of strange and knowing that we had been trying to get pregnant I had a feeling that I was. It was still on the early side to get an accurate test result, but when we got home I took a test anyway and saw the faintest of lines on it. I was pregnant. Yay!

The pregnancy was pretty great. Other than a little nausea and fatigue I felt great the entire time. I worked up until the day before Isaac was born, and even went golfing the week of my due date...go me! Well, my due date came and went, and no progress had been made and no signs of labor. My doctor was seeing me every two days after my due date. A week past my due date it was determined that Isaac was simply too big and wasn't going to be coming out on his own. I went in to the doctor expecting him to say that I could finally be induced, only to be told that I would need a c-section. I had told my doctor that my mom had big babies--Jarrod being full term and weighing a whopping 10lbs 3oz. I was concerned from the beginning that I would end up having big babies, too. He didn't think it would be an issue. Well, a week overdue and it became an issue. Dr. Barton asked David and me at that appointment if we wanted to have Isaac that day, or the next. Yikes! Holy cow--it became real so fast! We decided to wait until the next day. I was a nervous wreck that night. I couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight--which was horrible. We had to check in at Cottonwood Hospital at 10:30am and we were put in a labor and delivery room where I was monitored until the operating room was available. A couple emergency c-sections pushed us back a bit, but around 1:00 they were putting in IV's and getting David in a funky outfit to wear to the OR. Then, they made me walk to the OR...I was so scared! Once inside they gave me a spinal that numbed my whole body from the chest down, set up the curtain, and began the c-section. It took about 5 minutes before I heard the doctors say "There he is." Then, "Holy cow, he's huge!" Then I heard a loud cry. My little baby was out and crying. Isaac's stats were 9lbs, 11oz and 21.5 inches, born 08.04.04 at 1:29 pm. He had a full, thick head of black hair and a scrunched up little face. I was in love. After being in recovery for close to an hour we were taken to our room where we had many visitors, including my brother Jarrod, who was diagnosed with Leukemia the very next day. My mom and David's mom as well as my sister-in-law, Valerie had all been waiting while we were in the operating room.

Later that night the nurses came to take Isaac to the nursery for the mandatory check-up. They did it at 8am and 8pm, every day. After a while we called the nursery because they hadn't brought Isaac back to the room. The said they'd bring him in, but didn't. Finally, I sent David to the nursery to get him. He came back without him and said that they had to keep him under observation because he was breatihng more than twice as fast as he should have been. We weren't given any other explanation. I just knew that I couldn't have my baby with me. They ran some tests and took cultures. They thought that most likely he had pneumonia or possibly menengitis. They had to put him under an oxygen tent and he had to be fed through a tube. It was horrible. Finally, the day before I was to be discharged, Isaac was doing well enough to be in our room constantly. They found out that he had swallowed some amniotic fluid and some had ended up in his lungs. His lungs eventually absorbed it so he was allowed to come home with us when I was discharged after 4 days in the hospital. It was an incredible experience, and I am so grateful for my little Isaac. I call him my best little friend.

{Pooped}

2009-07-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Eli for pooping in the tub last night. EEEWWW! Yeah, not the cutest thing. One second he's blowing bubbles in the tub, the next David sees the little poops floating around. He must have been trying really hard to blow those bubbles. Hee, hee! Yuck! Hope this didn't gross you out--you're just lucky I didn't take a picture to share! Ugh!

{The 4th of July}

2009-07-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

4th of July 2009

Eli hanging out in the stroller at the carnival while Isaac went on the rides.

Isaac on the giant slide. He probably went on this 25 times or more.

Isaac and me on the ferris wheel.

Eli and Grandpa Brad at the Murray parade.

Eli watching the parade and eating Cheerios.

Isaac (in the red) watching the firetrucks at the parade.

Isaac and Kaili on July 2nd.

I am way behind on my blog updates. I can't believe I'm such a slacker. I'll just go ahead and blame it on the fact that our computer died a few weeks ago and we've been borrowing my father-in-law's laptop since then. Anywho....so, here are some pictures of our 4th of July week. On Thursday the 2nd my dad and Rondi and I took Isaac to the Riverton City Carnival that they do every year the week of the 4th. We thought it would be a good idea to take Isaac on a weekday hoping that the lines wouldn't be so long. When we got there we ran into my cousin, BreeAnn, and her family and Isaac was able to go on some rides with his 2nd cousin, Kaili. They had a lot of fun--especially on the giant slide!

We went to the Murray City parade on the 4th and met my dad and Rondi there. It's sort of a tradition for us. Then we had a late breakfast/lunch at IHOP. We took Eli home to nap and headed back over to the carnival that evening. Isaac and I went on a ton of rides. As it got later we decided to get something to eat and set up a blanket and chairs on the field where they would be shooting fireworks from. We grabbed some Little Caesars Pizza and then Isaac and I headed back across the street to the carnival to go on more rides before the fireworks started. David and Eli stayed with the blanket and chairs. We ended up with the greatest spot to watch the fireworks! Isaac loved them. Eli watched them for about 10 minutes and then lost interest--he just wanted to play. It was a fun and crazy week.

{Make a SPLASH!}

2009-07-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

Last week my cousin, BreeAnn, and I decided it would be fun to take our kids to the splash park in my neighborhood. Isaac was so excited when I told him the plan for the day! We met BreeAnn, her daughter Kaili (who is Isaac's age) and her little boy, Karson (1 day younger than Eli) at the park. After a quick bite to eat we let the older kids run off and play. They both seemed to love it! You could hear Isaac giggling and yelling when the water sprayed him. It was fun. Eli and Karson weren't too sure about the whole situation. They wanted to go over by the water, but once there they both got a little scared. It was funny. We will definitely have to do this again. It was a really fun day, but being the dummy that I sometimes am, I didn't put new batteries in my camera. I only was able to take a couple pictures of Eli before it died. Thanks to BreeAnn for getting this cute shot of Isaac and sending it to me!

Isaac--loving every minute of it!

Eli--in a 12 month swimsuit that drowns him. They look like pants instead of shorts! This was taken while the water wasn't spraying. The second it started Eli cried and waddled over to me.

Having fun eating the sunscreen bottle in the teeny, tiny bit of shade we could find.

So cute!

{Little Slugger}

2009-07-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Isaac started T-ball last week. This is his first time playing, and he LOVES it! It is hilarious to watch the teeny, tiny kids try to hit a ball with at bat as tall as they are. It's a lot of fun! Isaac swings the bat like he's golfing....er, I guess we'd better get working on that right away! Hee, hee! These pictures are from his first game last week. It was a yucky day and very overcast, but they all still had fun! Go, Mariners!

Grandma Rondi and Isaac after his game and with his treats.

Isaac is #1--"Just like Thomas the Train." He told me.

Isaac's first ever swing playing T-ball.

On 3rd base, waiting to run.

Isaac waiting for his turn at bat. Too cute!

{Eli's Special Day}

2009-07-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Eli's birthday party. We kept it simple and had family over for cake and ice cream. The power went out while Eli was opening his gifts. Boo! It was very frustrating to me--especially when it didn't come back on until the last of our guests were leaving. I still can't believe my little baby is 1 year old, already! Wow! Happy Birthday, little buddy!

Eli eating his cupcake. He really didn't eat much of it, just played with it and squished it around. Silly boy!

Isaac helping Eli and David open presents. Eli wasn't sure what to make of the gifts, but Isaac had a blast ripping the wrapping.

Valerie, Kendra, Cynthia and Eli.

I thought these highchair decorations were so cute.

{Father's Day}

2009-06-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Father's Day. My dad insisted that all he wanted to do was watch golf all day and not be bothered (said with lots of love--hee, hee!) So, David and his dad, along with David's sister, Cynthia, the boys and me all went to Little America and enjoyed their Sunday brunch. They usually have a 'special' Father's Day brunch, but they are remodeling the area that it's usually held in, so we just had their regular weekend brunch. They have a lot of similar stuff, but we missed the crepes, crab legs and prime rib. Sad. David was a little disappointed because he had been looking forward to the crepes, and we didn't know until we got there that it wouldn't be the 'special' brunch that we have been to the past few years. The food is always great, though! Later that day the boys and I gave David some gifts. Isaac picked out a tie and some nice, dressy belts for daddy to wear to church. I gave him some golf balls, tees and some household and garden tools that he has needed. He was really excited for it all! Here are some pictures of the boys with David at Little America. There are a few pictures of Eli in there, too--just because he was so cute at brunch, trying new foods and all. Happy Father's Day to all of the daddy's out there. I hope your day was wonderful!

Daddy and Isaac

Daddy and Eli

Cute little Eli

Eli--trying cantaloupe for the first time. He wasn't a fan. Too cute.

{Happy 1st Birthday, Eli!}

2009-06-18T16:09:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my little baby boy is 1 year old today. It seems like yesterday he was still in my tummy--pushing and kicking. I wasn't blogging until 5 or 6 months after he was born, so I'd like to take this opportunity to share our journey of bringing him into this world. It is a very long and boring story, so bear with me, please.

Most of you know that I had three miscarriages within an 8 month period of time just prior to conceiving Eli. It was a very difficult year. Losing my mom, and then the miscarriages. I just couldn't understand why this was happening to me. We finally figured out that the cause of the miscarriages was my body not producing the hormone, progesterone--in fact my numbers were so low that the nurses thought that I wasn't even ovulating, even though I was. So, I was given progesterone pills that I was to take twice a day from 3 days post-ovulation through my 13th week of pregnancy. Progesterone is what builds up the uterine lining allowing an egg to implant. If you don't have enough of a lining the egg will either not implant at all, or implant and then release because it didn't have enough to burrow into.

We conceived Eli right away. His original due date was July 9th--Jarrod's birthday. We didn't tell many people that I was pregnant at first, because of the previous miscarriages. We didn't want to get excited about the pregnancy if it wasn't going to last. I ended up with morning sickness during this pregnancy, unlike my pregnancy with Isaac, but it only lasted about 14 weeks--thankfully. When I was 20 weeks (on Valentine's Day) we found out that Eli was going to be a boy. I was so excited--a little brother for Isaac!

When I was 35 and a half weeks along, Isaac and I were rear-ended while driving to meet a friend for a play date. The whole trunk of the car was pushed forward and over $3600.00 damage was done. I was terrified that something would happen to the baby since I had been shoved forward forcefully against the seat belt. I felt a lot of tightening in my belly and I was worried that the baby was not okay. I ended up going in to see the Dr., and was given a non-stress test to measure the baby's movement and heart rate. Everything appeared to be okay, so I was sent home. Less than a week later, at just over 36 weeks, my water broke. It was so unexpected. I'd had my weekly check-up with the Dr. the day before and I was not dilated or effaced--it appeared that Eli was planning on staying in there for a while. My Dr. had told me that day that he would be out of town for the next week, so I'd better not go into labor just yet. I had been told during an ultrasound performed after the accident that Eli was going to be a big baby, like his older brother, and that I would most likely end up with another c-section. I had gone a week overdue with Isaac. My water never broke and I had never dilated or effaced, and it seemed that it would end up the same with Eli. So, when I got up at 5:30am to go potty and felt something unusual I seriously thought I'd had an 'accident' on the way to the bathroom. I was so embarrassed. I quickly figured out that it wasn't an accident, but that my water had broken. I was 4 weeks early, and hadn't packed a hospital bag or anything. David and I hadn't even discussed names for the baby yet--oops.

So, after dropping Isaac off at my parents house we headed to the hospital. We were checked in and put in a labor and delivery room. At this point, I was hoping that since Eli wasn't full-term and not as large as Isaac was, I might be able to deliver him without having to have a c-section. I was put on Pitocin--a drug to help me have contractions, but my body just didn't cooperate. Nearly 12 hours after my water had broken I was told that since my cervix hadn't dilated at all I would be having another c-section. I was bummed, but had kind of expected that this would be the outcome. So, off we went to the operating room. I was given a spinal that numbed me from the chest down and within a few minutes Eli was born. 6:17pm on June 18, 2008. He weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20.5 inches long. He had a ton of dark hair, and the chubbiest cheeks I've ever seen. He ended up being jaundiced, and we had to have him on bilirubin lights at home for a day or so, but for being a month early he was amazingly healthy.

I can't tell you how much I love this little boy. He has brought so much joy into my life. He is so different from Isaac, and that amazes me. Isaac is a doer, and Eli is a watcher. I just love them both so much. Here are some pictures of us just prior to Eli being born and then right after.

Definitely not the best picture of me. Ugh!

David--just prior to walking with me to the operating room for the c-section.

Baby Eli. Look at those cheeks!

Mommy and Eli. Look at all of his dark hair.

{Flying High}

2009-06-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, while David and I had a night to ourselves in celebration of our anniversary, Isaac spent the night at my dad and Rondi's house. Valerie watched Eli at our house so he would be in a familiar environment--thanks, Valerie. It made it a little easier for me to be away from him knowing that he would be home with his bed and toys. It was rough being away from them for even a night, but it was good for all of us.

Anyway, last Saturday was the end of Air Force Week at Hill Air Force Base. Since they had Isaac already, my dad and Rondi decided that it would be fun to take him and his cousin, Jonathan to see the air show. It started a little rough for them...they missed their turn and ended up having to park nearly two miles from the gates and had to walk with the two boys all the way there, but they ended up having a lot of fun. They had special VIP passes which allowed them to eat and rest under some tents and they were able to avoid the sun a little bit. Grandpa and grandma bought a T-shirt and hat for each of the boys and Isaac thought his were so awesome! I don't remember all of the details of their great day, but I do know that Isaac had a blast and talked about it for days after. So, here are a few pictures of the day (well, more than a few--sorry)! I don't know all of the details of each picture, but I'm gonna share them anyway.

This was right after their long walk. The boys had their heads down and were trying to avoid the sun while waiting in line to get food (I think).

Here they are in the tents where they ate lunch.

Grandma Rondi and the boys.

Don't they look so excited?

Isaac and Jonathan in the cockpit of a plane.

Grandpa Brad and the boys. Notice the plane in the background?

So excited!

Notice the Thunderbirds lined up in the background? Cool!

Thanks for such a wonderful and exciting day, Grandma and Grandpa!

{Day to Remember}

2009-05-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day weekend this year we went up to a cabin with my Dad and Rondi. We left on Saturday night after an open house to celebrate the sealing of my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and their two kids. We had so much fun up at the cabin! My dad had brought up their Wii and some really fun games. Isaac amazed us all with his skills, and the games were totally addicting. I think I need to get a Wii, and soon! Ha ha!

After we got home from the cabin we headed out to visit cemeteries. It is amazing how beautiful they are during this holiday--filled with so many beautiful flowers and tons of people. It's breathtaking. I took a few pictures of the day, but failed to take pictures up at the cabin. Oh, well.

Our first stop was at Bruce's grave at the Redwood Memorial Cemetery. For those of you who don't know--Bruce was Rondi's first husband who was a pilot in the Navy and passed away after his plane crashed during a training flight. In this picture you can see that Eli isn't a huge fan of grass. I don't think he put his arms down the entire time we were at this cemetery. He barely moved at all. So silly!

Eli and Isaac (and David's legs). Eli has a binky now, but is still in pretty much the same position as the previous picture. Ha, ha!

Our second stop was at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery in Bountiful, near the beautiful Bountiful, Utah Temple. This is where both my mom and brother are buried. Here is David, Eli, Isaac and me behind my moms grave marker. I can't take credit for the beautiful set-up of flowers. Rondi and my dad are amazing at making them look wonderful! Thanks so much!

Here are my Dad and Rondi with us standing behind Jarrod's marker. So beautiful.

Jarrod's marker. In front of it is a pinwheel and a golf ball on a tee left by Branigan and Julie--along with some beautiful flowers.

A picture of both graves. Jarrod's on the bottom, my mom's on the top. It was a perfect day with perfect weather.

{Last Day of School}

2009-05-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

Isaac has officially finished preschool for the year. He loved every minute of it. He will be turning 5 in August and we have decided to have him do another year of preschool rather than start Kindergarten in the fall. We would rather him not be the youngest in his class. Plus, he is a highly energetic boy and very easily distracted. I feel that giving him the extra year will get him where he needs to be with his ability to focus to begin elementary. I was the youngest in my class and I hated it. I always wished my parents had held me back a year, so I feel like we are making the right decision. Anyway, here are pictures of Isaac's first day of school, and one of his last day. They had a 'Circus Day' as their last and the picture is of Isaac and his teacher, Mrs. Seegmiller.

Isaac with his Little Einsteins Rocket toy. He took it to show-and-tell his first day.

In class, playing with the toys while waiting for the other kids to arrive.

Isaac and Mrs. Seegmiller on the last day of school.

{First Tooth}

2009-05-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

Finally! Eli got his first tooth this week. I can't believe that he is 11 months old and only has one tiny tooth. I KNOW that he started teething when he was 5 months old. His poor little gums would get swollen, his cheeks red, runny little nose--but then NOTHING. Poor little guy has been miserable for 6 months. I tried to get a good picture of the tooth, but he wasn't interesting in cooperating. So, I got him saying da-da-da-da in between bites of his lunch, and quickly snapped the picture. They are funny pictures...his expression is pretty goofy, and his mouth is a little blurry because he was 'talking'.

The little white spot just to the right of center is his little tooth.

{Mother's Day}

2009-05-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there! I can't think of anything more rewarding and amazing than being a mom. I have been blessed to have two of the most wonderful kids in the world. I would do anything for them. I can only hope that as they grow they will never doubt how much they mean to me and how much I love and adore them both.

I was able to go and visit my mom's grave this morning with my little brother, Caleb. It is always so difficult. I try so hard to prepare myself, but when I get there it hits me again that she is really gone. I miss her so much. It is so beautiful at the cemetery. It's up on the mountain in Bountiful. From her's and Jarrod's graves you can see the Bountiful Temple just a block away, and the entire valley spread out below. It is pretty incredible.

I thought I would share with you the wonderful Mother's Day card that Isaac made for me as part of a Primary activity this past Friday. It is something that I will always treasure. It is a little booklet with a beautiful poem on the front. It also has some questions and answers that were written exactly how Isaac said them. I am going to share it all with you.

This was the front page (above)

Second page

Q: How old is your mom? (he left it blank)

Q: How tall is your mom?
A: Tall

Q: What is your mom's favorite color?
A: Green (true)

Q: What is your favorite meal that your mom cooks?
A: Everything

Q: What color are your mom's eyes?
A: Green

Q: What makes your mom happy?
A: Being a good boy

Q: What's your favorite thing to do with your mom?
A: Sit by her on her bed (watching cartoons..hee, hee!)

Q:What does your mom do when you aren't around?
A: Calls me

Q: Why do we have moms?
A: So we can sit by her on her bed and in my booster seat

Q: How did Heavenly Father make moms?
A: So we can have fun with them

Q:What was you mom like when she was your age?
A: Just played with more little girls

Q:How do you know your mom loves you?
A: Because she's my mom

Q:What food does your mom make best?
A: Chicken nuggets
Recipe: Cooking it

Q: I love my Mother because...
A: She loves me!!!

Aw, I do love my precious Isaac. He brings so much joy into my life. I can't imagine anything better!

{Water Boy}

2009-05-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

I signed Isaac up for swimming lessons this year, and they began in April. We go every Tuesday and Thursday for 40 minutes. I take him to the Murray Aquatics Center--in the kids pool area. He loves it. He has been pretty good to mind his instructor and has been trying to learn all of the skills so that he can move up to the next level. It is so fun to watch him and the 3 other little 4 year old boys in his group. They are so cute. They were all really hesitant at first to put their faces in the water without plugging their noses and pretty nervous to float on their backs--even with support. Now, 4 weeks later they are doing it without hesitation, although with support from the teacher, still. Isaac has a tendency to hold his nose, but is getting better each lesson. I'm so proud of him! Here are some pictures I took at his lesson last week.

Isaac with his certificate showing that he completed the first series of classes.

Isaac, Collin and Josh with their instructor, Erika.

Isaac with his head completely underwater--see his bubbles in the center?

For the last class in the series they each had to become familiar with the use of a life jacket. The instructor pulled them around in the water and had each of them jump into the water unassisted and float on their backs unassisted. The kids thought it was great!

{WiCKED}

2009-04-30T14:15:00.001-07:00

I was very lucky to have the opportunity to see WiCKED at Capitol Theatre in downtown Salt Lake a week ago. I went with my Dad, Rondi, Ramsi, Julie and Grandma McDermott. It was very cool to have Thomas S. Monson, Dieter Uchtdorf, and L. Tom Perry in the audience with us. L. Tom Perry was sitting right across the isle from us. Very cool. I have to say that the show was incredible. The second it was over I wanted to see it again. I lauged and I cried. It was an awesome night! Thanks, Dad and Rondi for taking me!

Here are the only two pictures I took that night.

Julie, Grandma McDermott, Rondi, Ramsi and me.

{First Cut}

2009-04-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took Eli to get his hair cut for the first time. We went while Isaac was at preschool so that I could focus all of my attention on Eli. I had a feeling it might not be the greatest adventure for him. He did pretty well, although he is terrified of the buzzing sound the clippers made. Luckily she only used them to trim around the edges and she used the scissors most of the time. I was amazed at how blonde Eli's hair ended up looking after it was cut. I knew it was getting a lot lighter, but I didn't expect such a difference. Anyway, here are the pictures of Eli's 1st haircut.

This is the 'before' picture, but it isn't very good. You can't tell that his hair is two inches long all over and that it hangs halfway over his ears.

This was after she used the clippers the first time, and was about to take the length off the top. You can tell he's been crying--poor little man.

As you can see, he is not impressed with this whole situation.

All done. Doesn't he look like such a big boy? Hard to believe he is already 10 months old!

{Stood Finder}

2009-04-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

I thought this was too funny not to share...

Two weeks ago David and I were working together to put up a gate at the top of our stairs so that Eli couldn't fall down them. The top part of our stairs leading to the basement is very wide and the wall is on an angle, so we had to custom order a safety gate to fit it. $200.00 later we finally found one that would fit. Isaac was 'helping' us put it together. We had to mount the hardware onto the wall--into a stud. So, David got out our stud finder and we explained to Isaac that it helped us find the stud in the wall. He grabbed the tool and started rubbing it on the wall. When it beeped at him he said, "I found the Priesthood". I asked him what the tool was called and he said it was a 'stood' finder and that he found the Priesthood. David and I thought it was the cutest thing, ever! I don't know where his little mind comes up with these things, but I can't get enough of them!

{Easter Fun}

2009-04-14T09:24:00.001-07:00

So, I feel like I have been a bit of a slacker-mom lately in the picture department. Eli always seems to be sleeping when I have the camera out. Therefore, he isn't present in any of the Easter pictures...what's up with that? I'm a little irritated about it, actually. We waited for him to be in bed before dying eggs because we knew that would be trouble, but I meant to take pictures of him with his basket. He is too small to fit in the Easter outfit that matches Isaac's. Maybe I should have bought a smaller size...but, I really feel that my runt of a baby should be big enough to wear it right now. Poor little kid only weighs 16.1 lbs right now, which isn't even on the charts anymore (according to his 9 month check-up last week). I still can't believe how different my two kids are. Isaac was 19.6 lbs at his 9 month appointment. Interesting.

Anyway, so here are some pictures of Easter. It was a beautiful day. Isaac got lots of candy in his basket and from his Primary teachers. He was thrilled to hunt for the eggs that the Easter Bunny hid around the house. He woke up at 6 am and found his basket--it wasn't even light outside yet, so we made him go back to bed for a while. It was funny. Then...this is the funny part...when we were ready to head to David's mom's house for Easter dinner we locked BOTH sets of house/car keys inside the house. There we were sitting in the car, ready to drive away and David asked me where the keys were. I looked at him and asked, "Are you kidding me?" For those of you who know David, you know that he NEVER makes mistakes like that (according to him). He's pretty sure he is perfect and without fault in any situation. Ha, ha! If it had been me leaving the keys inside he would have been so mad and irritated at me, but he thought it was pretty funny that he did it. Interesting. We sat in the car in the garage with no keys, and the only person with a spare is my dad. Soooo, 40 minutes later my dad had arrived with the spare and we were off to dinner. It was delicious!

Isaac and David dunking eggs in the colors.

Isaac with his newly died eggs--waiting patiently for them to dry.

Isaac after Church, with his bag of candy from his Primary teacher.

Isaac with his and Eli's baskets...he got a new game, new Church outfit, some new books, fun toys, cotton candy, whoppers and plastic eggs filled with candy. He was so excited!

{Happy, Happy Easter!}

2009-04-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

{Thinking}

2009-04-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why, but I have been doing a lot of thinking about life lately. It is so interesting to look back at life, the choices I made and remember the people who, maybe it didn't seem so at the time, had a major impact on my life. It is so easy, during trials and tragedy and heartache, to wonder "Why me?". I wonder, do we ever take the time to look back at those difficult times and try to see the silver lining? It is so easy to put the past in the past and try not to remember times of difficulty that at the time we felt were so unfair. But if we look back I wonder if we will now see what we have gained by going through those times? I wonder...if I hadn't made a certain choice that caused me heartache, would I have ended up with the job I did that allowed David and I to buy our first home? If I hadn't had that job would we have been able to have a baby when we did--would I have my precious Isaac? If I hadn't had that job that eventually led me to another job with greater flexibility, would we have had Eli? Until recently I would look back at that part of my life, where my choices hurt myself and others, and have had regret. Yeah, I wish I hadn't made certain choices, but looking back now I realize how much I gained for going through that and that I should be grateful for the relationship that started my life in a new direction. Does that make sense?

After losing Jarrod I was so angry. I felt like I had been robbed of an older brother. It just didn't seem fair to me. I still struggle to see the silver lining in that, but I know that because of it I have a greater appreciation and love for family and relationships. In my eyes, nothing is as important. I can look back and feel that I was so lucky to have had Jarrod living with David, Isaac and me for the nearly two years just prior to his dying. He was there at the end of my first pregnancy--we were comparing swollen legs and feet (at the time we didn't know the cause of his). He and I used to joke that because he was diagnosed with Leukemia the day after I had Isaac he stole all of the visitors that would have come to see us at the hospital. Hee, hee. Even though we sometimes argued and fought while he lived with me I wouldn't have changed a second of it. I feel like his living with us was such a blessing. I feel like in some way his relationship and deep love for Isaac was supposed to exist knowing that he would die before having kids of his own. He was like a second dad to Isaac. Would I have appreciated it or looked at it this way if he hadn't died? Probably not. Losing my mom less than a year later was devastating. But, I look back on that as well, and I see the silver lining there. She struggled and struggled for years and her health wasn't good. She was so unhappy and missed Jarrod terribly. She had lived her life, and knowing how much she struggled makes having lost her easier to deal with. Yeah, the cause was complications from Diabetes, but I feel like her heart wasn't 'here' anymore long before her death. She is at peace and is no longer suffering. How can I wish her back knowing that she was miserable?

I just really think that we all should take time to look back at our lives--even the difficult times, and see if we can see the silver lining in the trials and pain that we have endured. Maybe even take time to find and thank those who somehow had something to do with the course our lives have taken--even if at the time it hurt. Yeah, life isn't always a 'bowl of cherries', but I can't look back on life and wish the difficult times and heartache away. I feel like it has made me a much better and stronger person. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my life--big or small. I know that without you life just wouldn't be the same.

{Short Cut}

2009-04-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

We have this area between our couches and our lamp table that seems to be a favorite for both kids. It is Isaac's favorite hiding spot when playing hide and seek, and Eli has decided that it is his favorite short cut around the couch. When he isn't playing with it we put his play gym away between the couch and table so it isn't in the way. A few weeks ago I watched Eli crawl into the tight spot to play with the play gym. It was so cute. He couldn't get out, though, because he doesn't know how to crawl backwards and it's too tight to turn around.

Here's the area I'm talking about.

Eli playing with his toy. His expression is so funny, and his feet look huge!

Just playing with toys

{Little Beau}

2009-03-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had a lot going on. A birthday party for my cousin and later a wedding reception. In between the two activities we were lucky to be able to have my baby nephew, Beau, over for a few hours. He is the cutest little baby and it was really fun to see Eli's reaction to him. Beau is three months old, so six months younger than Eli. When Eli woke up from his nap we brought him out to the toys and he noticed Beau right away. His expression was priceless. It was a mixture of, "Hey, why are you playing with my toys?" and "What is this little person?" Here are a few pictures of Beau, Eli and Isaac.

Beau playing on the play mat. He was so fascinated with the star that had lights and music.

Eli looking curiously from Beau to the toy.

Together time...

Isaac--trying to entertain Beau. We tried explaining that Beau can't play with toys the way that Eli can right now. He's still too little. Isaac paid no attention and insisted on showing Beau everything.

{Happy Birthday, Dad!}

2009-03-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

March 24th was my dad's birthday. We invited the family over to our home to celebrate and eat tacos. It was a fun time, with Isaac entertaining everyone with knock, knock jokes about coo-coo clocks and dancing and singing to the Backyardigans. Here are a few pictures of the night. I don't know why I didn't take more. Sorry...

Isaac and my dad pretending to blow out the make-believe candles. Oops, forgot the candles!

My dad wanted he and Isaac to pretend to lick the ice cream cake, but we are all pretty sure that Isaac's little tongue actually touched the whip cream.

The ice cream cake--courtesy of Cold Stone Creamery. It was cheesecake flavored ice cream with yellow cake, raspberry filling and whipped topping. Yummy!

{Fabulous Las Vegas}

2009-03-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

David and I took the boys to Las Vegas (or LOST Vegas, as Isaac would say) this past weekend. My dad and Rondi have a timeshare that they reserve each March for the Mountain West basketball tournament. We were lucky that they didn't need to use the condo for the entire week so we had the opportunity to use the time they didn't. We LOVE the condo and it is great for kids, too. Isaac absolutely loves it. The resort has a lazy river, a kiddie pool and a gated playground area for him to play in. It's awesome!

Isaac has taken his knowledge of The Little Einsteins and has come up with some names for the casinos on the Strip. The Luxor has become "The Golden Pyramid" and the "Great Sphinx" (although he pronounces it "Spanx"). MGM is the "Golden Lion". The Stratosphere is "The Tower of Power". New York, New York has become "The Statue of da Liberty". He also loves to see the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Casino, the dancing fountains at Bellagio and the pirate ships at Treasure Island. I love that Isaac is so excited to see everything. He claims it was the best trip ever, although he said that last year when we took him to Sea World, Legoland and the San Diego Zoo. He just loves everything.

This is where we stayed.

This is my dad and Isaac in the kiddie pool.

David and the boys at the playground next to the lazy river.

Eli playing in the stroller while watching Isaac at the playground.

David and the boys outside of Treasure Island waiting for the pirate ship show to start.

David and Eli as the crowd is getting bigger.

David and Isaac checking out the aquarium while waiting for our table at The Rainforest Cafe. Isaac loved this restaurant!

David and Isaac inside the Bellagio Hotel. They have the most incredible garden area inside with butterfly houses and fountains that shoot water in arches. Very breathtaking.

We had a great time and hope we can do it again next year!

{Finally}

2009-02-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

Eli has finally learned to sit all by himself. It had been driving me nuts that he had absolutely no interest in sitting! I would sit him up and he would pull his legs together and straighten them, leaving no support for his skinny bum and he would topple over. Isaac was sitting by 6 months, so I just assumed that Eli would do the same. Nope. He works at his own pace and nothing I do makes it happen any faster. Now he just needs to figure out how to go from the crawling position to sitting. It might be hard since he still doesn't crawl on his hands and knees--just his little Army crawl. I love this little boy!!

His poor little red face. Teething is making his cheeks rosy and all of the drool is making the area around his mouth chapped--not to mention he is a grump! Poor little guy.

{Crawling}

2009-02-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

Eli has been crawling for the past few weeks and it is the cutest thing. He crawls on his knees and elbows--kind of like an Army crawl. He is super quick now, too. I get a kick out of watching him cruise around and try to squeeze between our couches or under the coffee table. He gets stuck every time, but he doesn't let it stop him from trying and trying. It is amazing the difference between Eli and when Isaac was a baby. They are so different in their milestones and personalities. I love them both so much!!!

These are some cute progression pictures. Eli spies me with the camera and decides he needs to get me! Notice Isaac getting in his way...hee, hee!

Eli playing with Isaac on the wood floor.

He's trying to make his way to me, but he has goofy Isaac in the way.

GOTCHA, Mommy! What a cute, drooly boy!

ISAAC

Here's a picture of Isaac trying to get me soon after he learned to crawl.

{Jungle Jim's}

2009-02-21T20:18:00.000-08:00

Thursday, the 12th of February we celebrated my nephew, Jonathan's birthday at Jungle Jim's or 'Jungle Jimps' as Isaac would say. Isaac loves that place, and he was super excited to be able to go and have some fun with his cousins. Here are a few pictures of the two boys having a great time together. Isaac and I went without Daddy and Eli since Eli had finally recovered from RSV and we were trying to avoid exposing him to anything else.

Isaac and Jonathan in front of the spinning ride (similar to Music Express at Lagoon).

On the spinning ride as it is starting to go in reverse.

On a rocket ride together. They would take turns making their ship go up and down.

On the Jeep Safari ride--so cute!

{Happy Valentine's Day}

2009-02-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

I know it's a day early, but I didn't want to forget to post this, and I'm afraid I will if I wait until tomorrow. Lots of love to all!!!

{Cookie Hearts}

2009-02-10T08:04:00.001-08:00

This weekend Isaac and I decided that we were going to make Valentine's cookies--a decision I later regretted. It's not that I don't like to cook or bake, because I most definitely do. It's that we decided to make sugar cookies, which I haven't done since Jr High, and I didn't realize how much work they would be. The end result was worth all of our hard work. I think David got sick of me telling him to remind me to never make sugar cookies again, though. Hee, hee! Here is a quick picture of the finished cookies. They are nice and soft, and totally delicious!

{Family Photos}

2009-02-03T07:26:00.000-08:00

In December we had my very talented cousin, Lindsey Stewart, take pictures of our family. Eli was nearly 6 months old and we hadn't had a family picture taken yet. We went to the Salt Lake City Library to have them taken. It was my first time there and I must say that it was pretty cool.
I have posted our family picture already and one of Eli, but I wanted to share some others that I absolutely love. There aren't any of just Isaac this time since we just had his taken in August and they were my favorites. Enjoy!

(photo credit Green Apple Photography)

{Playhouse Disney Live!}

2009-02-01T13:13:00.001-08:00

This weekend I was able to take Isaac to the Playhouse Disney Live! show at the Energy Solutions Arena. It was a stage show featuring Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, and Little Einsteins. Isaac had been sick again this week with a bad cold and double ear infection, so I wasn't sure if he would be well enough to go, but he was!

We drove to the Sandy Trax station on 10000 South and rode Trax to the arena. Those of you who know what a train fanatic Isaac is will understand that he was almost more excited for the train ride than the show. Later, after the show, we went to Isaac's cousin, Porter's 6th birthday party. It was a fun day for the two of us. Poor daddy got stuck at home taking care of a very sick Eli who has RSV and pneumonia. I just can't seem to keep these two kids healthy--no matter what precautions I take. We figure that Isaac is bringing icky stuff home from other kids at Preschool.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the show. They are dark, and my camera isn't the best. Sorry!

On TRAX

So excited!

Little Einsteins and Rocket

Intermission--can't see it well, but the stage is in the background.

The whole 'gang'.

Isaac doing the 'Hot Dog' dance.

{Remembering}

2009-01-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

Today marks two years since my Mom passed away, and Saturday marks three years since losing Jarrod. I miss them both so much. I thought I'd post a bunch of pictures of them both (mostly Jarrod) just to remember.

Jarrod... Jarrod and me.

This is a classic photo. Not just of Jarrod, but it shows his attitude. I'm not sure what Branigan is doing...hee, hee!

If Jarrod were here I'm sure he would kill me for posting this picture. I'm sure I'll hear about it from Tyler. You gotta love the 80's.

Jarrod, me, David and my Dad in Yellowstone for a family reunion in 2001 (I think).

Jarrod and Jonathan (Tyler's little boy).

Jarrod and Isaac.

Not sure where this was taken...

I love this picture. Love you, Jarrod.

Mom...

My mom and me, June 2001.

Mom and Jarrod, November 2000. Love you, Mom.

{Walking With Dinosaurs}

2009-01-19T20:11:00.000-08:00

On Friday afternoon I got a phone call from my dad telling me that he had just picked up some tickets for him and Rondi to take Isaac, Jonathan and Dylan to the Walking With Dinosaurs presentation at the Energy Solutions Arena. They were going to go that night. Isaac was so excited because we had seen previews for the show and a news story about it the night before. I gave my dad my camera to capture a little bit of the experience. Sorry the pictures are so dark, but it was dark in the arena, as well as outside after the show. Isaac had a blast and talked about the it all weekend. He wants to see it again!

Jonathan, Dylan and Isaac outside after the show.

Isaac's cheesy smile.

In this dark picture you can see T-Rex (and other dinosaurs I can't name) walking around the floor. It was so realistic. When T-Rex roared it scared Isaac, so he spent most of the time with his ears covered.

Isaac has issues with loud noises (which is shocking since he is the loudest 4yr old I know), so this is how he watched the show.

The 'boys' after the show, in front of the Walking With Dinosaurs trailer. Thanks Grandpa Brad and Grandma Rondi!

{Busted}

2009-01-09T16:55:00.000-08:00

Isaac got a really cool kids digital camera for Christmas from Grandpa Names. He has been going crazy taking pictures of everything. The other day Isaac brought it to me because he thought it wasn't working. Turns out the memory was full--it holds about 155 pictures. So, I started going through the pictures and deleted those that were either completely black or white or really blurry and I came across some pictures that my nephew Jonathan had taken on Christmas day while playing in Isaac's room. The funny thing is that the pictures show Isaac climbing on top of his car and onto the bookshelf in his room. Um, not cool. The bookshelf is not anchored to anything and could have toppled over so easily. I had no idea that Isaac could even get on it. Needless to say he is totally busted. I have evidence. Thanks Jonathan!

The camera that caught all of the action.

The scene of the crime. The bookshelf and the car parked right next to it.

Exhibit "A". Isaac climbing from car to bookshelf.

Exhibit "B". Isaac standing on bookshelf. Busted!

{Not So Happy New Year}

2009-01-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

I sure hope the rest of this new year ends up better than how it has started. A week or two before Christmas Eli got sick. It wasn't anything too bad, just a cough and a raspy voice--it kind of stalled out before getting too bad. But, even though it didn't get too bad--he gave it to me (can't help kissing the cutie, even if he's sick--oops). I got weirdest sore throat I've ever had. Usually, when I get a sore throat it is due to a cold, but no runny or stuffy nose, and no cough. Just a dry scratchy throat that made me sound super hoarse. I got sick just in time for Branigan and Julie to have their baby. Argh. So, I wasn't able to see the little guy after he was born, which was the worst form of torture for me.

About three days after Christmas Isaac started to get sick, naturally. He had a sore throat almost identical to what I had just got over, and a fever. We had been notified on the Sunday before Christmas that my Grandpa (my mom's dad) had developed Pneumonia. He had been sick for several months prior and it wasn't looking good. He died that day. The plan was to leave Isaac with a sitter and take Eli with us to the funeral that was to be on the 2nd of January. Well, because Isaac was still sick I didn't feel like I could leave him with someone and potentially spread what we had all been sick with. So, David and I decided that he would stay home with the kids and I would go to the funeral. The night before the funeral Eli started with a fever. I knew he was getting sick all over again, and that my efforts to clean and sanitize the entire house and all of the toys weren't effective. It was okay, though, because David would be staying with the boys while I went to the funeral. Wrong. David got a call at 8:45am on Friday, Jan 2nd. It was the scheduling supervisor at UPS. There had been some confusion and the supervisor thought that David requested a different day off for the funeral (interesting, since we had printed off the obituary and had given it to the supervisor--the date was clearly on it). So, David was told he had to go into work. With two sick kids I was forced to stay home and not attend the funeral. I was devastated. Eli ended up having croup and has been super sick. It has been a miserable month so far, and I think that Isaac may be getting sick again, too. What the heck? I have been obsessive about the disinfecting and sanitizing. What is going on? Grrrr! January is already my least favorite month. I lost my brother on the 24th of January, three years ago, and my mom on the 22nd of January, two years ago. Now I find out that my other Grandpa isn't doing well. I can't wait for this month to be over, and I STILL haven't been able to see my new nephew!!! I don't want to chance spreading anything. Grrrrrr!

{Merry Christmas}

2008-12-29T16:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I am a few days late for Merry Christmas wishes, but the thought was there earlier and I was too lazy to get on and post it! Sorry! I also want to say thanks to the Becerra's, for letting us be a part of the Christmas Eve get-together. We love to see you! Well, here is the story of our Christmas Day.

Christmas this year was a blast--well, mostly. It dumped over a foot of snow at our house on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. We were pretty much snowed in, since we couldn't get out of our garage. We woke up early and Isaac ran to the tree to see what Santa had left for him. He was so excited! Eli slept until after 9:00am, so he missed all of the fun. Oh well, he's only 6 months old--he didn't really know what was going on, anyway. After opening presents we were supposed to have David's dad over for breakfast. We got a call that he was stranded less than a mile from our house due to getting high-centered on a median that had been covered in snow. I'm telling you, it was a blizzard out here. Anyway, so David went and picked him up and brought him back to have breakfast. The only thing I could think about was that we were going to end up being late to Juan and Lisa's house to talk to my little brother, Zach. He's been in Mexico, on an LDS Mission for nearly a year now. I was sick to my stomach at the thought that we wouldn't make it. So, I called my step-dad, Juan, and let him know what was going on with the weather. He assured me that they would conference me in so that I could talk to him from home. Whew. What a relief. David, Isaac and I all had a chance to speak to Zach and it was great! So, then we left to take Jerry home and visited Juan, Lisa and my other little brother, Caleb (I should mention that it had only snowed a teeny, tiny bit in Murray--what the heck?) I feel bad that it was such a rushed visit, but we always seem to have so much to do on Christmas, and so many places to be. It would be nice to be able to just stay home and have everyone who wants to see us come here instead of us running everywhere. Anyway, then we went to David's mom's house and had a wonderful, but rushed, Christmas dinner. We then headed home around 5:00pm to get ready for my family to come over. We hosted my Dad, Rondi, Ramsi, Stoker, Tyler, Dolly and my two nephews. We missed Branigan and Julie and little Beau, born on December 22nd! It was a fun night, with lots of food and presents. I just love Christmas. I will post a picture of the entire family in our matching Christmas PJ's as soon as Ramsi forwards them to me. I'm sure they are great! Here are some cute pictures of our Christmas...
Isaac--after opening all of the presents from Santa.

Isaac with his "loot". Some of it, anyway.

The Grandson's in their matching PJ's. Little Beau has a matching pair of PJ's too! What cute little boys--wouldn't trade them for anything!

Isaac and Eli lounging together on the couch.

Eli and his cute little smile (and David's arm).

Aunt Ramsi made these adorable, reversible capes for each of the boys. She even made one for Eli and for baby Beau. They are super cute and the boys loved them! Thanks, Ramsi!

{The Polar Express}

2008-12-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Saturday we took a ride onThe Polar Express at the Heber Valley Railroad in Heber, Utah. We wanted to take Isaac on it last year, but were unable to get tickets. This year we ordered our tickets early! For those of you who don't know Isaac very well--he is obsessed with trains! The Polar Express is one of his favorite movies that involve trains and he watches it often. He has been counting down the days and has been so excited that we were going to go this year! This week I found some pictures of a Polar Express ticket, similar to the tickets on the movie. I made some adjustments to the picture and was able to print tickets to give to Isaac and his cousin, Jonathan to take on the train with us. They were thrilled! The tickets looked great and they were the only kids on the train with 'real' tickets! The ride was a lot of fun! It was a much longer ride than I had anticipated--close to two hours long. We were given hot chocolate and cookies, we sang songs, read the story of The Polar Express and looked for the 'North Pole' and Santa out the windows of the train. When we got to the 'North Pole', Santa boarded the train, and since we were on the last car the boys waited excitedly for Santa to make his way to us during the ride back to the station. Finally, Santa was in our car! I couldn't believe how excited the boys were! I thought they were going to cry! Santa went to each child and gave them a special Christmas bell. It was the best! Here are some pictures of the adventure (lots of pictures)! Thanks Grandma Rondi and Grandpa Brad for sharing this adventure with us and for helping keep Eli happy so David and I could take pictures and video of this experience.

Here are Jonathan (my brother's little boy) and Isaac with their special tickets. On the other side it says, "The Polar Express" and "Round Trip" with a picture of a bell and some holly.

Grandma Rondi and Eli. I'm not sure why I cut my dad out of the picture. Sorry, Dad!

This is the part where the boy are anxiously awaiting Santa's arrival. They are standing on their seats and their eyes never left the door of the train car.

"There he is!!!!! I see him!" That is what they were saying when I took this picture. It is hilarious! Don't they look like they are so excited that they might start crying? I love it!

Santa walking down the isle, giving bells to each child and saying "Merry Christmas! Ho, ho, ho!". The boys couldn't wait for their turn.

Santa and the boys.

Here they are after getting their special Christmas bells. Check out Jonathan's expression! Hee, hee!

Here they are after the ride was all over. What a fun adventure!

{Oh, Christmas Tree}

2008-12-03T08:35:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we put up our Christmas tree and most of our decorations. Isaac thought it was awesome and was obsessed with getting the star on top. I kept telling him that it would be the last thing to go on the tree, but for some reason he was worried that I would forget. So, he carried it around with him until it was time to put it on the tree. Here are some photos of our day. Yeah, we pretty much stayed in our PJ's the entire day. It was great!

Isaac--holding up his precious star.

Isaac and Eli in front of the finished tree. I am not sure why I cut off the top of the tree in this picture. Sad. For those of you wondering why a BYU fan would have a red tree, all I can say is that blue doesn't really go with our home decor, but notice the large BYU ornament front and center on the tree. Go cougars!

All I can say is, poor Eli. Isaac isn't the most gentle kid in the world when it comes to holding his brother. Isaac is pretty excited, though.

{Thanksgiving}

2008-11-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

This year we went to Thanksgiving dinner at my uncle Neil and aunt Holly's house and then over to David's moms home a little later. After eating and visiting at each place we met up with my Dad and Rondi, Tyler, Dolly, Jonathan and Dylan to see Madagascar 2. It was a funny show, and the kids loved it! So, it was a busy day for us, filled with food and fun. Isaac had a blast playing with his cousins. He was so bummed when the day ended. Here are a few pictures of our day...

Grandma Rondi and Grandpa Brad with Isaac and Eli at Neil and Holly's house. My nephew Dylan wanted to be in the picture so bad, so he's at the bottom left. What a cutie, huh?

From left to right...David, Isaac, Jonathan, Jace, Dylan, Rondi, Eli and Brad. Do we have enough boys in this family? We have one more on the way via Branigan and Julie, too. Yikes!

Eli and Aunt Cynthia at Grandma Names' house. Eli is looking pretty thrilled in this picture.

{Happy Thanksgiving}

2008-11-26T10:27:00.000-08:00

I have much to be grateful for this year!

I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

{Campout}

2008-11-23T14:15:00.000-08:00

This week David decided that it would be fun to have a campout with Isaac in our living room on Friday night. I thought it was a great idea--as long as the tent was cleaned really well before bringing it into the house. It's been many years since it's been used, and who knows what creepy, crawly things lurk in the folds? Probably none, but my imagination was running wild...

Anyway, so David cleaned the tent and found our Smore's maker. While I was giving Isaac his bath David set it all up in the living room. It was going to be a surprise. Once Isaac was in his jammies I had him come out to find daddy. He walked out and stopped. His eyes were huge and his jaw hung open. "Wow!" was all he said. Then he ran to it and climbed in. He asked David if they were going to have a campout and he was so excited to find out that he and daddy were going to be sleeping out there that night. Here are some pictures of the campout.

This last picture is hilarious. Isaac insisted on taking a "funny" picture. What a goof!

{Twilight}

2008-11-21T09:32:00.001-08:00

So, I went to see Twilight at midnight last night with some of my girlfriends. It was a crazy night for sure. I wasn't sure whether I would regret going since it would be cutting into my much needed sleep time, which is scarce since Eli has been teething.

We met at 9:30 at a very crowded Red Robin for dinner (yummy), and then walked to the theater after eating. There were screaming and excited girls everywhere! It was hilarious! Twilight t-shirts galore and ladies yelling, "I love you, Edward!" at the top of their lungs. I think I counted a total of 6 men in our theater--hee, hee! Poor guys. I have to say that I was a little disappointed in the movie. I'm sure it was just because I had such high expectations. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty good, just not what I hoped it would be. Some of the actors weren't quite right for the part, in my opinion, and I just wanted there to be more. I know that movies rarely are as good as the books and a lot has to be changed or cut out to get the story shoved into two hours, but I was left wanting more. I think if I see it again, and I plan to, I will like it better. I will know what to expect and instead of being bothered by what was left out or changed I will be able to just enjoy it.

All in all, it was a fun night. The food and company were great. It was an exciting experience, and although I didn't LOVE the movie it was worth seeing. I certainly don't regret a night out with friends and an escape from the kids for a while--no matter that it cost me some precious zzz's. Totally worth it! Thanks Lori for arranging everything and getting the tickets for us all--it was great!

{My Big Brother and Me}

2008-11-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

I was going through some old pictures the other day and I found these of Jarrod and me when we were little. I have been thinking about him so much lately. I miss him like crazy and it makes me so sad that he isn't here to see little Eli, or to play rough with Isaac. He and Isaac were such great buddies. Anyway, I miss you big brother!

I was about 1 in the above picture. Jarrod was probably close to 2 and a half. He has the chubbiest cheeks! Hee, hee!

I was 2 in this picture, which would make Jarrod 3 and a half. Don'tcha love my mohawk?

{Yum, yum}

2008-11-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

Over the past week Eli has decided that eating his toes is the best. He grabs his feet the second we get him undressed or change his diaper.

Above is before we got him in the tub...below is what he did the second we put him in the tub! (censored)

What a silly little guy.

This last picture cracks me up. He has this look like, "Oops, busted."

{4 Month Check-Up}

2008-11-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

I took Eli to his 4 month check-up yesterday. The poor guy. He was such a good boy the whole time we were there and then we had to go and ruin it by giving him his shots. Usually we get a couple of nurses and they each give him a shot in different legs at the same time. This time we only got one nurse and he had to get three shots. It was so sad.

So, here are his stats: Weight--12.13lbs, Height--26 inches, Head 15.6 inches. We officially have a runt for a baby! His height is in the 75th%, but his weight is only in the 8th% and his head in the 3rd%. The doctor isn't concerned about any of his stats because he is definitely growing--more in length than weight, but he's getting bigger.

It is so strange to have two kids be so completely different in almost every way. Isaac was a week late, Eli 3.5 weeks early. Isaac weighed 9lbs 11oz at birth, Eli 7lbs 10oz. Isaac was a good eater, Eli isn't--he likes to eat often, but only small amounts. Isaac has a big, round head and Eli's is long and narrow (like his daddy's). They really don't look anything alike--except they were both born with lots of dark hair. Isaac lost his by 5 months, and Eli is on his way there. Their personalities are so different too. It is just so interesting to me.

Here is a silly picture of Eli. He has decided that he is a big boy now and rolls all over the place. He figured out yesterday morning how to roll from his back to his tummy. Every time we put him down to play he rolls over. I mentioned in a previous post that he hates being on his tummy, so when he rolls onto it he just grunts and whines. I keep asking him why he rolls onto his tummy when he hates it so much--he hasn't answered me yet. Silly boy.

{Happy Halloween}

2008-11-06T17:11:00.001-08:00

I finally got my camera to work so I could post the pictures from Halloween! Yippee!

The week of Halloween was a fun week for Isaac. On Thursday he had a Halloween party at his preschool. It wasn't a big production like they have in Elementary School, but he got to dress up and take treats to class.

On Thursday night we carved pumpkins--Isaac insisted that his pumpkin look like him. It was hilarious! It had to have hair and holes in his circle nose so he could breathe. We got him describing what it should look like on video--too cute. (In this picture he is poking his little saw at the camera).

He wouldn't touch the insides of the pumpkin. He said it was to disgusting.

This is the final product.

Friday night we got dressed up and went trick or treating. David's sister, Cynthia and her friend, Alex brought Alex's son to trick or treat around our neighborhood with Isaac. They were too cute together, and Isaac had so much fun! He was running from house to house and yelling "TRICK OR TREAT!" as loud as he could. It was so funny. This is Isaac out "Trick or Treating". Not a great picture--sorry.

This is Isaac and Drew after a long night. They were both totally exhausted!

Poor little Eli. He hated his costume and was super fussy all night--well, until he fell asleep on the way to the Grandparents houses. I only got three or four shots of him in his costume, but it was pretty cute. My little "Pea in a Pod". Last Halloween I had just found out I was expecting this little guy!

{VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!}

2008-11-04T18:54:00.001-08:00

Since I can't get my lame camera to upload my Halloween photos, I will skip my Halloween post for now....

I hope everyone took the time to get out and vote today!

{Tag!}

2008-10-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

So, this is my first tag (thanks Holly)...wish me luck!

1. Where were you 10 years ago?
Hmmmm...I was 21 years old and working at Bank of Utah as a teller, or maybe a New Accounts representative. Can't remember for sure. I was dating David and living at home with my mom and Juan and the boys.

2.What's on your to-do list for today?
-Vacuum and dust the great room, kitchen, Isaac and Eli's rooms.
-Wrap gifts for Julie's baby shower tonight.
-Get treats together for Isaac's preschool Halloween party tomorrow.
-Do a load of laundry.
-Shower.
-Play trains with Isaac.
-Snuggle with Eli.

3. What if you were a billionaire?
I would use the money to finish our basement--finally. I would travel around the world with the family. I would especially love to see Italy, Ireland, Austraila and France. Maybe we could be like Brangelina and buy property abroad and live there for a portion of each year. I would probably hire a housekeeper because no matter how hard I try I never seem to have enough time to clean the house the way it ought to be. I would love to have an indoor playground in our house, but since it wouldn't fit in this one maybe we would have to buy a new house (maybe one with a finished basement so I can stop whining about our current one). I'm sick of having to slather sunscreen on my kiddos and myself only to go out and suffer in the extreme summer heat just to play for 30 minutes. It would be much more sanitary to have one in our own home instead of taking the kids to play at McDonalds or Carl's Jr during the winter, too. I would also use the money to do something really great for my dad and Rondi--not sure what, though. Hmmmm.

4. Five places you have lived:
I can beat five...
-Bountiful
-North Salt Lake
-Provo
-Salt Lake City
-Albuquerque, New Mexico
-San Juan, Puerto Rico
-Murray
-Sandy
-Riverton

5. Three bad habits:
-Definitely procrastination
-I bite my cuticles. Ick.
-Talk on my cell while driving.

6. Snacks you like (love):
-Popcorn
-Any fresh fruit
-String cheese

7. Post random picture:

(David prior to going to the OR with me for my c-section with Eli)

Now, I tag BreeAnn and Taryn! I hope you guys read this! Good luck!